Leadership in Organizations

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Leadership in Organizations

• MBA 502

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What is Leadership?
Think of good leaders and poor leaders. What
distinguishes them?
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What leaders have to say about leadership
Glory is fleeting but obscurity lasts forever.

We are all worms, but I think I am a glow worm.
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What leaders have to say about leadership
The wicked leader is he who the people
despise. The good leader is he who the people
revere. The great leader is he who the people
say, we did it ourselves. - Lao-Tzu
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Defining Leadership

• Leaders can shed light or impose darkness
• Leaders do the right thing, while managers do
  things right
• Leaders deal with change while managers deal with
  complexity (Kotter)
• Leadership is the ability to get men to do what
  they dont like to do and like it (Harry
  Truman)

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Defining Leadership (More!)

• Persuading others to set aside for a period of
  time their own concerns and pursue a common goal
  that is important for the responsibilities and
  welfare of the group (Homan)
• Ability to anticipate, envision, maintain
  flexibility, think strategically, and work with
  others to initiate changes that will create a
  visable future for the organization ((Ireland
  Hitt on strategic leadership)

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Does leadership make a difference?

• What outcomes does leadership impact?
• Is there any evidence that leadership matters?

Is leadership a romantic concept?
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Does leadership make a difference?

• Consider Lieberson OConnor study (1972)
• After controlling for economic conditions,
  industry, and firm-level variables (size,
  location, reputation, and facilities), the
  leadership effect accounted for insignificant
  variance in firm earnings, sales, and profit
  margins.

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Does leadership make a difference?

• Consider estimates of managerial incompetence
• According to ratings by subordinates, the base
  rate for managerial incompetence in US is between
  60 and 75 (Hogan, 1990)
• Failure rate among senior management in the
  1980s was 50 (DeVries, 1992)
• Common complaints unwillingness to exercise
  authority and tyrannizing subordinates

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Does leadership make a difference?

• Consider the studies done by the Center for
  Creative Leadership
• Derailment of fast trackers studied since 1983
• Men, Women, Americans, and Europeans
• Enduring themes
• Problems with interpersonal relationships
• Failure to meet business objectives
• Failure to build and lead a team
• Inability to change or adapt during transitions

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What Prof. Scholl has to say

Zones of Influence
Leadership
Preferred
Indifferent
Legitimate
Influence
Non-influence
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How should we examine leadership?
Question I Leadership Style Processes
and Outcomes Question II Internal and External
Variables Leadership Styles
In other words, what impact does ones style
have in different situations? And what are the
personal and situational variables that affect
ones leadership style?
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What is leadership style?

• Pattern of behaviors that one engages in to
  influence others in goal achievement
• Does a person have one style or can he/she
  develop a variety of styles?

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What impact does ones style have on processes
and outcomes?

• What processes are affected directly by
  leadership?
• Setting direction for others
• Building culture
• Information exchange
• Training and motivation
• Organizing and coordinating work
• Role clarification and assignment

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What impact does ones style have on processes
and outcomes?

• Processes (cont.)
• Provision of resources
• Coordination with other groups/units
• Building teams
• Making decisions and ensuring implementation
• Managing conflicts

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What impact does ones style have on processes
and outcomes?

• Outcomes may be affected by variables other than
  leadership
• Outcomes may be indirect effects of leadership
• Examples profitability, goal accomplishment,
  efficiency, financial and market measures,
  stakeholder satisfaction, survival of the firm,
  adaptation

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What kinds of leadership styles can individuals
enact?

• Focus on task vs. focus on people
• Decision making styles
• Power and Influence Styles

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Focus on Task vs. People

• Task
• Provide direction
• Structure work
• Monitor information
• Set deadlines
• Getting resources

• People
• Networking
• Developing and mentoring followers
• Supporting followers
• Managing conflicts
• Encouraging participation

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When to Focus on Task vs. People

• Task
• Complexity
• Disorganization
• Low performance norms
• Crisis situation
• Inexperienced, immature, or uncommitted followers

• People
• Boring, dangerous, or stressful tasks
• Discouraged employees
• Process or teamwork problems

Focus is on Maintenance, Satisfaction, Retention
Focus is on Performance Motivation
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Decision Styles

• Autocratic
• Consultative
• Participative
• Delegated

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What decision style to use?

• Consider
• Quality requirements
• Commitment requirements
• Who possesses information needed?
• Problem structure
• Likelihood subordinates will abide by leader
  decision
• Leader-follower goal congruence
• Conflict among subordinates

Decision trees used to determine Decision
style
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Power and Influence Styles

• Transactional or Exchange Styles
• Reliance on positional power bases such as formal
  authority, control of rewards and punishments,
  and centrality in networks to influence people

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Example of Exchange Behaviors

• Setting clear behavioral expectations and
  outcomes
• Providing valued rewards contingent on behavior
• Providing equitable treatment based on different
  input/outcome ratios
• Works well with instrumentally-motivated
  individuals

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Power and Influence Styles

• Transformational Styles
• Reliance on personal characteristics such as
  expertise, charisma, attractiveness, effort,
  reputation
• Tap into follower value system or influence them
  to take on leader values

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Examples of Transformational Behaviors

• Reinforcing followers self concepts
• Continually raising performance levels
• Focus on continuous improvement and success vs.
  focus on failure/mistakes
• Leader modeling appropriate behavior and making
  sacrifices
• Being consistent in words and deeds
• Publicly defending and recognizing followers
• Create and reinforce clear cultural values

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Influence Tactics

• Specific techniques that people use to influence
  followers
• Examples Legitimate requests, rational
  persuasion, exchange, personal appeals,
  ingratiation, inspirational appeals,
  consultation, pressure, building coalitions
• Results resistance, compliance, commitment

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Summary of Leadership Styles

• Different leadership styles are effective under
  different conditions
• Best leaders have a full repertoire of styles and
  know when to use them
• In some situations, leadership is irrelevant and
  redundant (subordinate characteristics, task
  characteristics, and organizational systems
  substitute for leadership

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How does leadership style affect followers
motivational sources?

• Intrinsic process laissez-faire or fun style
• Instrumental exchange-based or transactional
  styles
• External self concept Providing recognition,
  positive reinforcement, or socio-emotional styles

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How does leadership style affect followers
motivational sources?

• Internal self concept
• Empowerment
• Participative or delegated decision making
• Task focus that directs followers in using skills
  and competencies
• Transformational styles that focus on continually
  raising performance standards on tasks

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How does leadership style affect followers
motivational sources?

• Goal Identification
• Creating and communicating vision that
  incorporates followers values
• Linking work to organizational mission
• Creating, communicating, and reinforcing
  cultural values

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Cases

• Precision Plastics
• American Financial
• Alvis Corporation
• Norton Manufacturing

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Question II What variables affect leadership
style?

• Personal variables
• Internal to leader
• Nature and nurture
• Situational variables
• Demands, constraints, and opportunities for
  discretion or choice

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What are some personal variables?

• Personality traits
• Past experiences in leading others
• Implicit theories (cognitive schema) of
  leadership
• Social identities and self concept
• Role modeling (scripts) of other leaders
• Personal power sources

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More Personal Variables

• Cognitive intelligence (technical and conceptual
  competencies)
• Emotional intelligence (interpersonal
  competencies)
• Needs (achievement, power, affiliation) and
  interests
• Perceptual biases and information processing
  capacity and methods

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Personality Traits Associated with Successful
Leadership

• Adaptable
• Alert to ones social environment (open)
• Ambitious and achievement oriented
• Assertive
• Cooperative
• Decisive

• Conscientious
• Dominant/Extroverted
• Energetic
• Persistent
• Self-confident
• Tolerant of stress
• Willing to assume responsibility

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Emotional Intelligence

• Self Awareness
• Recognize and understand own emotions
• Self Regulation
• Thinking before acting and controlling impulses
• Motivation
• Energy, drive, and persistence

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Emotional Intelligence

• Empathy
• Understanding the emotional feelings of others
• Social Skill
• Ability to manage relationships, establish
  rapport, and network

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Model of Emotional Intelligence
Managing Self
Individual Motivation
Self Awareness And Regulation
Emotional Trigger
Emotional Response
Behavioral Response
Managing Others
Empathy
Motivational Influence
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Situational Variables

• Micro Situational Variables
• Direct work setting
• Macro Situational Variables
• Indirect and structural

Constraints
Choices
Demands
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Micro situational variables

• Role expectations/demands of others and conflicts
  among these
• Task performance pressures or responsibilities
• Followers competencies, needs, maturity levels,
  experiences
• Work rules and regulations
• Positional power

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Macro Situational Variables

• Organizational Design
• Bureaucratic vs. Entrepreneurial
• Level of Management
• Top, middle, lower
• Technology
• Workflow Interdependencies
• Functional area
• Finance vs. marketing

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More Macro Variables

• External coordination needs or boundary
  spanning needs
• Organizational culture and politics
• Organizational life cycle stage
• Crises
• Stakeholder demands
• Cross cultural demands

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Model of Leadership
Internal Leader Variables
Leadership Style
Processes (first level)
Outcomes (second level
Situational Variables
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Changing Leadership Style

• Should we focus on changing the person or
  changing the situational variables to fit the
  person?
• How do we get people to recognize their need to
  change?

The tragedy of life is that we can only
understand it backwards but we must live it
forward.
--Soren Kirkegaard
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Consider Models of Change
Prochaska et al. Pre-contemplation Contemplation
Preparation Action Maintenance
Kurt Lewin Unfreezing Changing Refreezing
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Processes of Change

• Experiential/Cognitive
• Consciousness Raising
• Dramatic Relief
• Environmental Re-evaluation
• Social Liberation
• Self Re-evaluation

• Behavioral
• Helping relations
• Stimulus control
• Counter-conditioning
• Reinforcement management
• Self Liberation

Used in early stages of change
Used in Action and Maintenance
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Transtheoretical Model

• Leaders may be in the pre-contemplation stage
• Dont recognize their behaviors are inappropriate
• Must raise their consciousness with regard to
  the need for change
• How?
• In early stages of change, it is more effective
  to emphasize the pros of change, while playing
  down the cons

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Clinical and Coaching Approaches

• Life Case Studies
• Information Gathering
• Feedback to leader
• Diagnosis
• Personal plan
• Periodic checks and re-planning

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General Steps in Change

• Self Diagnosis
• Situational Diagnosis
• Develop and Implement Change Strategies
• Reinforcement of Changes

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Self Diagnosis

• Assuming one is beyond pre-contemplation
• What are my traits, competencies, values, needs,
  motives, implicit theories, etc. at this point in
  time?
• What impact are my behaviors having on others and
  the situation at hand?

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Situational Diagnosis

• What situational variables are contributing to
  the present state of affairs?
• What hand have I been dealt?
• Can these situational variables be changed to
  better suit my preferred styles?
• Are there other situations for which I am better
  suited?

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Develop and Implement Change Strategies

• Self Change Strategies
• Training and Development, Coaching, therapy,
  mentoring
• Appeal to sources of motivation in change effort

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Situational Change Strategies

• Job redesign and organizational restructuring
• Change others role expectations
• Change rules and regulations
• Change reward systems or culture
• Change power sources
• Hire new people

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Reinforcement of Changes

• Monitor implementation efforts through active
  feedback
• Develop contingency plans
• Examine effects on process outcomes
• Examine effects on results
• Rewards for change