Using the “Traits Associated with Leadership” table in your textbook, please research and assess a current corporate or political leader to see if they have the traits to be a true leader. Does this person meet the criteria discussed in the textbook for being an effective leader? What type of leaders are they?
Please cite all sources in MLA format; this should be 800 or more words.
Fundamentals of Management
Eleventh Edition
Chapter 13
Leadership and Trust
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
If this PowerPoint presentation contains mathematical equations, you may need to check that your computer has the following installed:
1) Math Type Plugin
2) Math Player (free versions available)
3) NVDA Reader (free versions available)
1
Learning Objectives
13.1 Define leader and leadership.
13.2 Compare and contrast early leadership theories.
13.3 Describe the four major contingency leadership theories.
13.4 Describe modern views of leadership and the issues facing today’s leaders.
13.5 Discuss trust as the essence of leadership.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
Define leader and leadership.
Compare and contrast early leadership theories.
Describe the four major contingency leadership theories.
Describe modern views of leadership and the issues facing today’s leaders.
Discuss trust as the essence of leadership.
2
Learning Objective 13.1
Define leader and leadership.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
3
Leaders and Leadership
Leader:
someone who can influence others and who has managerial authority.
Leadership:
the process of leading a group and influencing that group to achieve its goals.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
A leader is someone who can influence others and who has managerial authority. Leadership is what leaders do—that is, the process of leading a group and influencing that group to achieve its goals.
Because leading is one of the four management functions, ideally all managers should be leaders. Let’s study leaders and leadership from a managerial perspective, with research aimed at answering the question: “What is an effective leader?”
4
Learning Objective 13.2
Compare and contrast early leadership theories.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
5
Trait Theories of Leadership
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Researchers began studying leadership in the early part of the twentieth century and focused on the:
The person (leader trait theories).
The behaviors–how the leader interacted with his or her group members (behavior theories).
When asked the question, “What do you know about leadership?” most people cite a list of qualities they admire in leaders—intelligence, charisma, decisiveness, enthusiasm, strength, bravery, integrity, and self-confidence, and so forth.
That’s the trait theories of leadership in a nutshell—the search for traits or characteristics that differentiate leaders from nonleaders. If this concept was valid . . . all leaders would have to possess those unique and consistent characteristics, making it easy to find leaders in organizations.
But despite the best efforts of researchers, finding a set of traits that would always differentiate a leader (the person) from a nonleader hasn’t happened.
6
What Traits Do Leaders Have?
Exhibit 13.1 Traits Associated with Leadership
Source: Based on S. A. Kirkpatrick and E. A. Locke, “Leadership: Do Traits Really Matter?” Academy of Management Executive, May 1991, p p. 48–60; and T. A. Judge, J. E. Bono, R. Ilies, and M. W. Gerhardt, “Personality and Leadership: A Qualitative and Quantitative Review,” Journal of Applied Psychology, August 2002, p p. 765–80.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Attempts to identify traits consistently associated with the process of leadership (the process, not the person) have been more successful. The seven traits associated with leadership are described in Exhibit 13.1.
The seven traits associated with effective leadership are: drive, desire to lead, honesty and integrity, self-confidence, intelligence, job-relevant knowledge, and extraversion.
Next, researchers recognized that the identification of effective leaders needed to include interactions of leaders with their group members, as well as situational factors. Possessing the appropriate traits only made it more likely that an individual would be an effective leader.
Therefore, leadership research from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s turned to finding the preferred behavioral styles that leaders demonstrated. Researchers wondered whether there was something unique in the behavior of effective leaders.
Long Description:
The traits are as follows. 1. Drive: Leaders exhibit a high effort level. They have a relatively high desire for achievement, they are ambitions, the have a lot of energy, they are tirelessly persistent in their activities, and they show initiative. 2. Desire to lead: Leaders have a strong desire to influence and lead others. They demonstrate the willingness to take responsibility. 3. Honesty and integrity: Leaders build trusting relationships with followers by being truthful, or nondeceitful, and by showing high consistency between word and deed. 4. Self-confidence: Followers look to leaders who don’t self-doubt. Leaders, therefore, need to show self-confidence in order to convince followers of the rightness of their goals and decisions. 5. Intelligence: Leaders need to be intelligent enough to gather, synthesize, and interpret large amounts of information, and they need to able to create visions, solve problems, and make correct decisions. 6. Job-relevant knowledge. Effective leaders have a high degree of knowledge about the company, industry, and technical matters. In-depth knowledge allows leaders to make well-informed decisions and to understand the implications of those decisions. 7. Extraversion: Leaders are energetic, lively people. They are sociable, assertive, and rarely silent or withdrawn. 8. Proneness to guilt: Guilt proneness is positively related to leadership effectiveness because is produces a strong sense of responsibility for others.
7
Behavioral Theories of Leadership
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Would behavioral theories of leadership provide more definitive answers about the nature of leadership?
If behavioral theories could identify critical behavioral determinants of leadership, people could actually be trained to be leaders. This is the premise behind management development programs.
Let’s look at some major studies of leadership: University of Iowa, Ohio State, University of Michigan, and the Managerial Grid.
8
University of lowa and Ohio State Studies
University of
Behavioral Dimension
Democratic style: involving subordinates, delegating authority, and encouraging participation
Autocratic style: dictating work methods, centralizing decision making, and limiting participation
Laissez-faire style: giving group freedom to make decisions and complete work
CONCLUSION
Democratic style of leadership was most effective, although later studies showed mixed results.
Ohio
Behavioral Dimension
Consideration: being considerate of followers’ ideas and feelings
Initiating structure: structuring work and work relationships to meet job goals
CONCLUSION
High–high leader (high in consideration and high in initiating structure) achieved high subordinate performance and satisfaction, but not in all situations
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The University of Iowa study identified three leadership styles: democratic, which means involving subordinates, delegating authority, and encouraging participation; autocratic, which means dictating work methods, centralizing decision making, and limiting participation; and laissez-faire, which means giving a group freedom to make decisions and to complete work. This study concluded that the democratic style of leadership was most effective, although later studies showed mixed results.
The Ohio State study identified two factors, consideration, which involves being considerate of followers’ ideas and feelings; and initiating structure, which involves structuring work and work relationships to meet job goals. The study concluded that a high–high leader (high in consideration and high in initiating structure) achieved high subordinate performance and satisfaction, but not in all situations.
9
University of Michigan Study and Managerial Grid
University of
Behavioral Dimension
Employee oriented: emphasized interpersonal relationships and taking care of employees’ needs
Production oriented: emphasized technical or task aspects of job
CONCLUSION
Employee-oriented leaders were associated with high group productivity and higher job satisfaction.
Managerial
Behavioral Dimension
Concern for people: measured leader’s concern for subordinates on a scale of 1 to 9 (low to high)
Concern for production: measured leader’s concern for getting job done on a scale 1 to 9 (low to high)
CONCLUSION
Leaders performed best with a 9,9 style (high concern for production and high concern for people).
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The University of Michigan study identified two styles, employee oriented, which emphasizes interpersonal relationships and taking care of employees’ needs; and production oriented, which emphasizes technical or task aspects of a job. The study concluded that employee-oriented leaders were associated with high group productivity and higher job satisfaction.
The Managerial Grid uses two behavioral dimensions, concern for people, which measures a leader’s concern for subordinates on a scale of 1 to 9 (low to high); and concern for production, which measures a leader’s concern for getting a job done on a scale 1 to 9 (low to high). The conclusion is that leaders performed best with a 9,9 style (high concern for production and high concern for people).
10
Situational Leadership
Which leadership styles might be suitable in different situations, and what are those different situations?
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The dual nature of leader behaviors—that is, focusing on the work to be done and focusing on the employees—is an important characteristic of each of these studies.
Leadership researchers were discovering that predicting leadership success involved something more complex than isolating a few leader traits or preferable behaviors. They began looking at situational influences. Specifically, which leadership styles might be suitable in different situations and what were these different situations?
11
Learning Objective 13.3
Describe the four major contingency leadership theories.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
12
Least-Preferred Coworker Questionnaire
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Now let’s examine four contingency theories—Fiedler, Hersey-Blanchard, leader-participation, and path-goal—that each look at defining leadership style and the situation, and attempt to answer the contingency: If this is the context (or situation), then this is the best leadership style to use.
The first comprehensive contingency model for leadership was developed by Fred Fiedler and was based on the premise that a certain leadership style would be most effective across all different types of situations.
Fiedler proposed that a key factor in leadership success was an individual’s basic leadership style, which could be categorized as either task oriented or relationship oriented. To measure a leader’s style, Fiedler developed the least-preferred coworker (L P C) questionnaire. This questionnaire contained 18 pairs of contrasting adjectives—such as pleasant–unpleasant and boring–interesting. Respondents were asked to think of all the coworkers they had ever had and to describe that one person with whom they least enjoyed working by rating him or her on a scale of 1 to 8 for each of the sets of adjectives.
If the leader described the least preferred coworker in relatively positive terms, then the leader was primarily interested in good personal relations with coworkers and the style would be described as relationship oriented. In contrast, if the leader saw the least preferred coworker in relatively unfavorable terms, then that leader was primarily interested in productivity and his or her style would be labeled as task oriented.
Fiedler did acknowledge that a small number of people might fall between these two extremes, but he also assumed a person’s leadership style was fixed regardless of the situation.
Richard Branson, founder and C E O of Virgin Group, is a relationship oriented leader. Pictured here with an in-flight teammate while showing the interior of a new Virgin airplane, Branson is fun loving, takes a personal interest in the needs of employees, emphasizes interpersonal relations, and accepts individual differences among workers.
13
Fiedler’s Model
Exhibit 13.2 The Fiedler Model
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
After an individual’s leadership style had been assessed through the L P C, the leader was matched with the situation. Fiedler’s research uncovered three contingency dimensions that defined the key situational factors in leader effectiveness as:
Leader-member relations: The degree of confidence, trust, and respect employees had for their leader; rated as either good or poor.
Task structure: The degree to which job assignments were formalized and structured; rated as either high or low.
Position power: The degree of influence a leader had over activities such as hiring, firing, discipline, promotions, and salary increases; rated as either strong or weak.
Each leadership situation was evaluated in terms of these three contingency variables, which, when combined, produced eight possible situations that were either favorable or unfavorable for the leader. (See the bottom of the chart in Exhibit 12.2.) Situations I, II, and III were classified as highly favorable for the leader. Situations IV, V, and VI were moderately favorable for the leader. Situations VII and VIII were described as highly unfavorable for the leader.
Once Fiedler had described the leader variables and the situational variables, he could define the specific contingencies for leadership effectiveness. To do so, he studied 1,200 groups to compare relationship-oriented versus task-oriented leadership styles in each of the eight situational categories. He concluded that task-oriented leaders performed better in very favorable and in very unfavorable situations. (See the top of Exhibit 13.2 where performance is shown on the vertical axis and situation favorableness is shown on the horizontal axis.) On the other hand, relationship-oriented leaders performed better in moderately favorable situations.
Research testing the overall validity of Fiedler’s model has shown considerable evidence to support it. However, its major criticisms include:
It’s unrealistic to assume that a person can’t change his or her leadership style to fit the situation.
The L P C wasn’t very practical.
The situation variables were difficult to assess.
Despite its shortcomings, the Fiedler model showed that effective leadership style needed to reflect situational factors.
Long Description:
The data from the graph are as follows. Task-oriented performance is good under favorable and unfavorable conditions, and poor under moderate conditions. Relationship-oriented performance is poor under favorable and unfavorable conditions, and good under moderate conditions. The table shows four row headers: Category, leader-member relations, tasks structure, and position power. The column entries are as follows. Column 1: 1, good, high, strong. Column 2: 2, good, high, weak. Column 3: 3, good, low, strong. Column 4: 4, good, low, weak. Column 5: 5, poor, high, strong. Column 6: 6, poor, high, weak. Column 7: 7, poor, low, strong. Column 8: 8, poor, low, weak. Categories 1 and 2 correspond to highly favorable, categories 4 and 5 correspond to moderate, and categories 7 and 8 correspond to highly unfavorable.
14
Situational Leadership Theory (1 of 2)
Why does a leadership theory focus on the followers?
What does readiness mean?
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The Situational Leadership Theory (S L T) is a contingency theory that focuses on followers’ readiness. It was developed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard and enjoys a strong following among management development specialists.
Let’s stop here to clarify two points: (1) why a leadership theory focuses on the followers, and (2) what is meant by the term readiness. The emphasis on the followers reflects the reality that it is the followers who accept or reject the leader, regardless of what the leader does, so the group’s effectiveness depends on the actions of the followers. Readiness, as defined by Hersey and Blanchard, refers to the extent to which people have the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task.
S L T uses the same two leadership dimensions that Fiedler identified—task and relationship behaviors—but takes it a step further by considering each as either high or low and then combining them into four specific leadership styles.
15
Situational Leadership Theory (2 of 2)
LEADER
FOLLOWERS
Now—let’s put the two together!
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Telling (high task–low relationship), in which the leader defines roles and tells people what, how, when, and where to do various tasks.
Selling (high task–high relationship), in which the leader provides both directive and supportive behavior.
Participating (low task–high relationship), in which the leader and followers share in decision making and the main role of the leader is facilitating and communicating.
Delegating (low task–low relationship), in which the leader provides little direction or support.
The final component in the model is the four stages of follower readiness:
R1: People are both unable and unwilling to take responsibility for doing something. Followers aren’t competent or confident.
R2: People are unable but willing to do the necessary job tasks. Followers are motivated but lack the appropriate skills.
R3: People are able but unwilling to do what the leader wants. Followers are competent but don’t want to do something.
R4: People are both able and willing to do what is asked of them.
S L T essentially views the leader-follower relationship like that of a parent and a child, in which a parent needs to relinquish control when a child becomes more mature and responsible. As followers reach higher levels of readiness, the leader responds not only by decreasing control over their activities but also by decreasing relationship behaviors.
16
Leader-Participation Model
Exhibit 13.3 Contingency Variables in the Revised Leader-Participation Model
Importance of the decision
Importance of obtaining follower commitment to the decision
Whether the leader has sufficient information to make a good decision
How well structured the problem is
Whether an autocratic decision would receive follower commitment
Whether followers “buy into” the organization’s goals
Whether there is likely to be conflict among followers over solution alternatives
Whether followers have the necessary information to make a good decision
Time constraints on the leader that may limit follower involvement
Whether costs to bring geographically dispersed members together are justified
Importance to the leader of minimizing the time it takes to make the decision
Importance of using participation as a tool for developing follower decision skills
Source: Stephen P. Robbins and Timothy A. Judge, Organizational Behavior, 13th e d., ©2009, p. 400. Reprinted and electronically reproduced by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., New York, N Y.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
In 1973, Victor Vroom and Phillip Yetton developed a leader-participation model that related leadership behavior and participation to decision making. Recognizing that task structures have varying demands for routine and nonroutine activities, these researchers argued that leader behavior must adjust to reflect the task structure.
Vroom and Yetton’s model was normative; that is, it provided a sequential set of rules to be followed in determining the form and amount of participation in decision making in different types of situations. The model was a decision tree incorporating seven contingencies (the relevance of which could be identified by making yes or no choices) and five alternative leadership styles. More recent work by Vroom and Arthur Jago has expanded the contingency variables to twelve, as listed in Exhibit 13.3.
The original leader-participation model provided some solid, empirically supported insights into key contingency variables related to leadership effectiveness. It confirmed that leadership research should be directed at the situation rather than at the person—that is, it should talk about autocratic and participative situations rather than autocratic and participative leaders.
17
Path-Goal Theory
Four leadership behaviors:
Directive leader
Supportive leader
Participative leader
Achievement-oriented leader
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Another approach to understanding leadership is path-goal theory, which states that the leader’s job is to assist followers in attaining their goals and to provide direction or support needed to ensure that their goals are compatible with the goals of the group or organization.
Developed by Robert House, path-goal theory takes key elements from the expectancy theory of motivation. The term path-goal derives from the belief that effective leaders clarify the path to help their followers get from where they are to the achievement of their work goals and to make the journey along the path easier by reducing roadblocks and pitfalls.
House identified four leadership behaviors:
A directive leader lets subordinates know what’s expected of them, schedules work to be done, and gives specific guidance on how to accomplish tasks.
A supportive leader shows concern for the needs of followers and is friendly.
A participative leader consults with group members and uses their suggestions before making a decision.
An achievement-oriented leader sets challenging goals and expects followers to perform at their highest level.
18
The Path-Goal Model
Exhibit 13.4 Path-Goal Model
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
In contrast to Fiedler’s view that a leader couldn’t change his or her behavior, House assumed that leaders are flexible and can display any or all of these leadership styles depending on the situation.
As Exhibit 13.4 illustrates, path-goal theory proposes two situational (or contingency) variables that moderate the leadership behavior-outcome relationship:
Those in the environment that are outside the control of the follower (such as task structure, formal authority system, and the work group).
Those that are part of the personal characteristics of the follower (which include locus of control, experience, and perceived ability).
Environmental factors determine the type of leadership behavior required to maximize subordinate outcomes. Personal characteristics of the follower determine how to interpret the environment and leadership behavior. For example, some predictions from path-goal theory are:
Directive leadership leads to greater satisfaction when tasks are ambiguous or stressful and followers aren’t sure what to do.
Supportive leadership results in high employee performance and satisfaction when subordinates are performing structured tasks.
Subordinates with an internal locus of control will be more satisfied with a participative style of leadership.
Research findings on the path-goal model have been mixed due to the number of variables to examine. However, evidence does show that an employee’s performance and satisfaction are likely to be positively influenced when the leader chooses a leadership style that compensates for shortcomings in either the employee or the work setting.
Long Description:
The factors that affect outcomes are environmental contingency factors, leader behavior, and employee contingency factors. Environmental contingency factors include task structure, formal authority system, and work group. Leader behavior includes directive, supportive, participative, and achievement oriented. Employee contingency factors include locus of control, experience, and perceived ability. Outcomes include performance and satisfaction.
19
Learning Objective 13.4
Describe modern views of leadership and the issues facing today’s leaders.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
20
Leader-Member Exchange Theory
A leadership theory that says leaders create in-groups and out-groups and those in the in-group will have higher performance ratings, less turnover, and greater job satisfaction.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Contemporary views of leadership include:
Leader-member exchange (L M X);
Transformational-transactional leadership;
Charismatic-visionary leadership; and
Team leadership.
These views of leadership have a common theme: leaders who interact with, inspire, and support followers.
Leader-member exchange (L M X) theory says that leaders create in-groups and out-groups and that those in the in-group will have higher performance ratings, less turnover, and greater job satisfaction than those in the out-group. Leaders encourage L M X by rewarding employees with whom they want a closer linkage and punishing those with whom they do not. How a leader chooses who falls into each category isn’t definitive, but evidence indicates that in-group members have demographic, attitude, personality, and even gender similarities with the leader, or they have a higher level of competence than out-group members.
Research on L M X supports the idea that leaders do differentiate among followers who report greater satisfaction with their boss, which is consistent with leaders choosing to invest time and resources in those whom they expect to perform best.
21
Transactional versus. Transformational Leaders
Transactional Leaders:
lead primarily by using social exchanges (or transactions).
Transformational Leaders:
stimulate and inspire (transform) followers to achieve extraordinary outcomes.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Contemporary views of leadership include:
Leader-member exchange (L M X);
Transformational-transactional leadership;
Charismatic-visionary leadership; and
Team leadership.
These views of leadership have a common theme: leaders who interact with, inspire, and support followers.
Leader-member exchange (L M X) theory says that leaders create in-groups and out-groups and that those in the in-group will have higher performance ratings, less turnover, and greater job satisfaction than those in the out-group. Leaders encourage L M X by rewarding employees with whom they want a closer linkage and punishing those with whom they do not. How a leader chooses who falls into each category isn’t definitive, but evidence indicates that in-group members have demographic, attitude, personality, and even gender similarities with the leader, or they have a higher level of competence than out-group members.
Research on L M X supports the idea that leaders do differentiate among followers who report greater satisfaction with their boss, which is consistent with leaders choosing to invest time and resources in those whom they expect to perform best.
22
Charismatic versus. Visionary Leaders
It’s good to be charismatic!
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Amazon.com founder and C E O Jeff Bezos is a charismatic leader. Shown here introducing Amazon’s new Kindle Fire tablets, he is described as energetic, enthusiastic, optimistic, and self-confident. Bezos has the drive to set and pursue goals for risky new ventures and uses his charisma to inspire his employees to work hard to achieve them.
A charismatic leader is an enthusiastic, self-confident leader whose personality and actions influence people to behave in certain ways. The most comprehensive analysis of charismatic leaders identified the following five personal characteristics they share:
They have a vision.
They have the ability to articulate that vision.
They are willing to take risks to achieve that vision.
They are sensitive to both environmental constraints and follower needs.
They demonstrate behaviors that are out of the ordinary.
An increasing body of evidence shows impressive correlations between charismatic leadership and high performance and satisfaction among followers. Although a small number of experts still think that charisma can’t be learned, most believe that individuals can be trained to exhibit charismatic behaviors.
Although the term “vision” is often linked with charismatic leadership, visionary leadership is the ability to create and articulate a realistic, credible, and attractive vision of the future that improves upon the present situation. This vision effectively “jump-starts” the future by calling forth the skills, talents, and resources to make it happen.
An organization’s vision should offer clear and compelling imagery that taps into members’ emotions and inspires enthusiasm to pursue the organization’s goals. It should generate possibilities that are inspirational and unique and offer new ways of doing things that are clearly better for the organization and its members.
23
Leaders and Teams
Exhibit 13.5 Team Leader Roles
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Because leadership is increasingly taking place within a team context, the role of the leader in guiding team members has become increasingly important. The role of team leader is different from the traditional leadership role and many leaders are not equipped to handle the shift to employee teams.
Managers have to learn skills such as patiently sharing information, being able to trust others and to give up authority, and understanding when to intervene and when not to. One study looking at organizations that had reorganized themselves around employee teams found certain common responsibilities of all leaders, including:
Coaching
Facilitating
Handling disciplinary problems
Reviewing team and individual performance
Training
Communication
A good way to describe the team leader’s job is to focus on two priorities:
Managing the team’s external boundary.
Facilitating the team process.
These priorities entail the four specific leadership roles we see in Exhibit 13.5.
24
Contemporary Issues: Employee Empowerment
Managers are increasingly leading by not leading; that is, by empowering their employees.
Say What? Lead by NOT Leading
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Leading effectively in today’s environment involves several important leadership issues, such as empowering employees, cross-cultural leadership, and emotional intelligence.
Today’s managers are increasingly leading by “not leading”; that is, by empowering their employees. Empowerment involves increasing the decision-making discretion of workers.
One reason more companies are empowering employees is that if organizations want to successfully compete in a dynamic global economy, employees have to be able to make decisions and implement changes quickly. Another reason is that organizational downsizings have left many managers with larger spans of control, so these managers have had to empower their people to cope with increased work demands.
Technology also has contributed to the increases in employee empowerment because managing employees who aren’t physically present in the workplace requires the ability to communicate support and leadership through digital communication and the ability to read emotions in others’ messages.
25
Contemporary Issues: National Culture
Exhibit 13.6 Cross-Cultural Leadership
Korean leaders are expected to be paternalistic toward employees.
Arab leaders who show kindness or generosity without being asked to do so are seen by other Arabs as weak.
Japanese leaders are expected to be humble and speak frequently.
Scandinavian and Dutch leaders who single out individuals with public praise are likely to embarrass, not energize, those individuals.
Effective leaders in Malaysia are expected to show compassion while using more of an autocratic than a participative style.
Effective German leaders are characterized by high performance orientation, low compassion, low self-protection, low team orientation, high autonomy, and high participation.
Sources: Based on J.-H. Shin, R. L. Heath, and J. Lee, “A Contingency Explanation of Public Relations Practitioner Leadership Styles: Situation and Culture,” Journal of Public Relations Research, April 2011, pp. 167–90; J. C. Kennedy, “Leadership in Malaysia: Traditional Values, International Outlook,” Academy of Management Executive, August 2002, p p. 15–17; F. C. Brodbeck, M. Frese, and M. Javidan, “Leadership Made in Germany: Low on Compassion, High on Performance,” Academy of Management Executive, February 2002, p p. 16–29; M. F. Peterson and J. G. Hunt, “International Perspectives on International Leadership,” Leadership Quarterly, Fall 1997, p p. 203–31; R. J. House and R. N. Aditya, “The Social Scientific Study of Leadership: Quo Vadis?” Journal of Management 23, no. 3 (1997), p. 463; and R. J. House, “Leadership in the Twenty-First Century,” in A. Howard (e d.), The Changing Nature of Work (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995), p. 442.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Leadership research shows that effective leaders do not use a single style—rather, they adjust their style to the situation—and national culture is an important situational variable in determining which leadership style will be most effective. National culture affects leadership style because it influences how followers will respond. Managers are therefore constrained by the cultural conditions their followers have come to expect.
Exhibit 13.6 shows findings from selected examples of cross-cultural leadership studies. Because most leadership theories were developed in the United States, they have an American bias.
However, the GLOBE research program, which is the most extensive and comprehensive cross-cultural study of leadership ever undertaken, has found that there are some universal aspects to leadership. Specifically, a number of elements of transformational leadership appear to be associated with effective leadership, regardless of what country the leader is in. These elements include vision, foresight, providing encouragement, trustworthiness, dynamism, positiveness, and proactiveness.
Some people suggest that the universal appeal of these characteristics is due to the pressures toward common technologies and management practices that are a result of global competitiveness and multinational influences. What do you think?
26
Contemporary Issues: Emotional Intelligence (E I)
E I, more than any other single factor, is the best predictor of who will emerge as a leader.
Becoming a STAR
leader
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Some recent studies indicate that emotional intelligence (E I)—more than I Q, expertise, or any other single factor—is the best predictor of who will emerge as a leader. While technical skills are necessary, they are not sufficient for leadership. Possession of the five components of emotional intelligence—self-awareness, self-management, self-motivation, empathy, and social skills—allows an individual to become a star performer.
E I has been shown to be positively related to job performance at all levels, but it appears to be especially relevant in jobs that demand a high degree of social interaction—which is what leadership is all about. Most research concludes that E I is an essential element in leadership effectiveness and that it could be added to the list of traits associated with leadership that were described at the beginning of this chapter.
27
Learning Objective 13.5
Discuss trust as the essence of leadership.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
28
The Importance of Trust
Exhibit 13.7 Suggestions for Building Trust
Building trust:
Practice openness
Be fair
Speak your feelings
Tell the truth
Be consistent
Fulfill your promises
Maintain confidences
Demonstrate confidence
Why is it important that followers trust their leaders?
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
In today’s uncertain environment, leaders need to build, or even rebuild, trust and credibility. Before we can discuss ways leaders can do that, we have to know what trust and credibility are and why they’re so important.
The main component of credibility is honesty. Surveys show that honesty is consistently singled out as the number one characteristic of admired leaders. In addition, credible leaders are competent and inspiring. They are personally able to effectively communicate their confidence and enthusiasm.
Trust is closely entwined with the concept of credibility, and is defined as the belief in the integrity, character, and ability of a leader. Research has identified five dimensions that make up the concept of trust:
Integrity
Competence
Consistency
Loyalty
Openness
Of these five dimensions, integrity seems to be the most critical when someone assesses another’s trustworthiness. Workplace changes have reinforced the importance of these leadership qualities because employee empowerment and self-managed work teams have reduced many traditional control mechanisms used to monitor employees. Employees have to trust managers to treat them fairly, and managers have to trust employees to conscientiously fulfill their responsibilities—whether they are onsite, members of cross-functional or virtual teams, or a strategic alliance.
Research has shown that trust in leadership is significantly related to positive job outcomes, including job performance, organizational citizenship behavior, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Leaders need to build trust with their followers. Some suggestions for how to build trust are shown here in Exhibit 13.7.
29
A Final Thought on Leadership
Leadership may not always be important!
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Research indicates that, in some situations, any behaviors a leader exhibits are irrelevant. In other words, certain individual, job, and organizational variables can act as “substitutes for leadership,” which negate the influence of the leader.
For example, follower characteristics such as experience, training, professional orientation, or need for independence can neutralize the effect of leadership. These characteristics replace the employee’s need for a leader’s support or ability to create structure and reduce task ambiguity. Similarly, jobs that are inherently unambiguous and routine, or that are intrinsically satisfying, may place fewer demands on the leadership variable. Finally, such organizational characteristics as explicit formalized goals, rigid rules and procedures, or cohesive work groups can substitute for formal leadership.
30
Copyright
This work is protected by United States copyright laws and is provided solely for the use of instructors in teaching their courses and assessing student learning. Dissemination or sale of any part of this work (including on the World Wide Web) will destroy the integrity of the work and is not permitted. The work and materials from it should never be made available to students except by instructors using the accompanying text in their classes. All recipients of this work are expected to abide by these restrictions and to honor the intended pedagogical purposes and the needs of other instructors who rely on these materials.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
31
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Achiever Papers is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Dissertation Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, if anything is unclear, you may always chat with us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order formOnce we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignmentAs soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download