Leadership

Professor Craig W Fontaine

Northeastern University
College of Business Administration
Leadership
“The ability to positively influence people and
systems to have a meaningful impact and achieve
results”

In business…
“The increment of influence over and above an
employee’s mechanical compliance with routine
directives of the organization.”
Leadership & Management
 Leadership Role:  Management Role:
to provide inspiration,
create opportunities, to make things happen
energize people and and keep work on track;
make key choices to supervise endless
details and engage in
complex interactions
 “Relationship” that are routinely part of
– Selecting talent an development.
– Motivating
– Coaching
 “Function”
– Planning
– Building trust – Budgeting
– Evaluating
– Facilitating
Why do we follow
leaders?
 Voluntarily

 “Followers”

 Leaders appeal to people. They must want to

follow you enough to stop what they are doing
and perhaps walk into situations they would
not normally consider risking.
Why do we follow managers?

 “Subordinates”

 Compliance

 Managers have a position of authority vested

in them by the company, and their
subordinates work for them and largely do as
they are told.
Leadership vs. Management
 Leadership vs. Management
Working on the system Working in the system
Create opportunities React
Seek opportunities Control risks
Change organizational rules Enforce organizational rules
Provide a vision to believe in and Seek and then follow direction
strategic alignment
Motivate people by satisfying Control people by pushing them in
basic human needs the right direction
Inspire achievement and energize Coordinate effort
people
Provide instructions
Coach followers, create self-
leaders and empower them
 Leadership Management

Establishing Direction Planning/Budgeting

Develop future vision Develop detailed steps/ timetables for
results
Agenda Develop change strategies to achieve
vision Allocate necessary resources

Aligning People Organizing/Staffing

Network Communicate directly by words & Develop necessary planning, staffing,
deeds to those whose cooperation delegation structures
Development needed
for Agenda Provide policies/procedures for guidance
Influence creation of coalition/teams and methods/systems for monitoring
Achievement
that understand & accept vision and
strategies

Motivating/inspiring Control/Problem Solving

Execution Energy to overcome barriers (ex.
Monitor results vs. plan in detail
Political resource, bureaucratic) to Identify results/plan deviations and plan
change by satisfying basic needs and organize to correct

Outcomes Tends to Produce Tends to Produce

Change often dramatic Order/predictability
Provides potential for very useful Key results expected by stakeholders
change (ex. New products)
The manager…; The leader…
 The manager administers; the leader innovates.

 The manager maintains; the leader develops.

 The manager accepts reality; the leader investigates it.

 The manager focuses on systems and structures; the leader focuses on people.

 The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.

 The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.

 The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.

 The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader has his or her
eye on the horizon.

 The manager imitates; the leader originates.

 The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.

 The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person.
Managers Versus Leaders –
a 3rd person’s view
 Managers  Leaders
– Are appointed to their – Are appointed or emerge
position. from within a work group.
– Can influence people only – Can influence other
to the extent of the formal people and have
authority of their position. managerial authority.
– Do not necessarily have – Do not necessarily have
the skills and capabilities the skills and capabilities
to be leaders. to be managers.

Leadership is the process of influencing a

group toward the achievement of goals.
 Leadership: Traits & Behaviors

Who the leader is? (personality traits)

How the leader behaves? (observable

behaviors)

Traits + Behaviors = Desired Results

Introduction to Leadership Theories

 Historically went hand-in-hand with

studies of “the elite”
 Throughout 20th century, numerous
studies conducted which resulted in
theories
 Theories are NOT isolated, but rather
are evolutionary
Timeline of Leadership Theories
1900’s: Are leaders natural-born?
1930’s: How does leadership emerges &
develops in small groups?
1940’s-1950’s: What traits do leaders have in
common?
1950’s-1960’s: What patterns of behavior
result in leadership?
1960’s-1970’s: Which leadership behaviors
work in specific situations?
1980’s: What key traits, behaviors and
situations allow to lead organizations to
excellence?
 Leadership Theories
 Trait Theory
 Behavioral Theories (Ohio State studies)
– Role Theory
– The Managerial Grid
 Participative Leadership
– Lewin’s leadership styles (University of Iowa studies)
– Likert’s leadership styles (University of Michigan studies)
 Contingency Theories
– Fiedler’s Least Preferred Co-Worker (LPC) Theory
– Cognitive Resource Theory
– House’s Path-Goal Theory of Leadership
 Situational Leadership
– Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership
– Vroom and Yetton’s Normative Model
Leadership Theories

Trait Theory
 Early on, it was thought that leaders were born with
inherent physiological and personality traits
– Age
– Height
– Intelligence
– Academic achievements

 Stogdill (1974) – identified several general factors

that differentiate leaders from non-leaders…
Leadership Theories

Trait Theory (continued)

 Capacity: problem-solving capabilities, making judgments
and working hard
 Achievements: accomplishments such as academic record,
knowledge and sports
 Responsibility: dependability, reliability, self-drive,
perseverance, aggressiveness and self-confidence
 Participation and involvement: highly developed social
interaction, popularity, swift adaptation to changing situations,
and easier cooperation compared to non-leaders
 Socio-economic status: effective leaders usually belong to
higher socio-economic classes
Leadership Theories

Behavioral Theories
 Ohio State studies focused on task and social behavior of
leaders
 Identified two dimensions of leader behavior
– Initiating Structure: role of leader in defining his/her
role and roles of group members
– Consideration: leader’s mutual trust and respect for
group members’ ideas and feelings
 Two different behavioral theories:
 Role Theory
 Managerial Grid
Leadership Theories

Role Theory
 Assumptions about leaders’ in organizations are
shaped by culture, training sessions, modeling by
senior managers, etc.
– People define roles for themselves and others based on
social learning and reading.
– People form expectations about the roles that they and
others will play.
– People subtly encourage others to act within the role
expectations they have for them.
– People will act within the roles they adopt.
Leadership Theories

Managerial Grid
 Developed by Drs. Robert R. Blake and Jane S. Mouton
 Believed managers have different leadership styles which
led to two different dimensions of leadership:
• Concern for Production: manager who is task-
oriented and focuses on getting results or
accomplishing the mission (X-axis of grid)
• Concern for People: manager who avoids conflicts
and strives for friendly relations with subordinates
(Y-axis of grid)
Leadership Theories
Managerial Grid (continued)

9
8
7
6
5 **manager’s goal is 9,9**

4
3
2
1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Leadership Theories
Participative Theories
 Assumes the following
– Involvement in decision-making improves the
understanding of the issues involved and the commitment
of those who must carry out the decisions.
– People are less competitive and more collaborative when
they are working on joint goals.
– Several people deciding together make better decisions
than one person alone.
 Two different participative theories:
 Lewin’s leadership styles
 Likert’s leadership styles
Leadership Theories
Lewin’s Leadership styles
 Kurt Lewin’s studies at the University of Iowa (1939)
 Identified three different styles of leadership:
• Autocratic: centralized authority, low participation
(works where input would not change decision or
employee motivation, excessive styles lead to revolution)
• Democratic: involvement, feedback
(appreciated by people, most effective style but
problematic when there are a range of opinions)
• Laissez-Faire: hands-off management
(works when people are motivated and there is no
requirement for central coordination)
Leadership Theories
Michigan Studies
 Studies conducted by Michigan University beginning in the 1950s
 Found 3 critical characteristics of effective leaders:
- Task-oriented behavior
– Effective Leaders didn’t do the same work as their subordinates.
- Relationship-oriented behavior
– Focus on task, but also on relationship with subordinates
- Participative leadership
– Use a participative style, managing at the group level as well as
individually
– The role of the manager is more facilitative than directive
Leadership Theories
Contingency Theory
 Assumptions:
– No one best way of leading
– Ability to lead contingent upon various situational factors:
• Leader’s preferred style
• Capabilities and behaviors of followers
• Various other situational factors
 Effect:
– Leaders who are successful in one situation may
become unsuccessful if the factors around them change
Leadership Theories
Contingency Theory: Fiedler’s Least Preferred Co-Worker
(LPC) Theory
 Assumptions:
– Leaders prioritize between task-focus and people-focus
– Leaders don’t readily change their style
 Key situational factor in matching leader to situation:
• Relationships
• Power
• Task structure
 LPC Questionnaire
– Determines leadership style by measuring responses to 18 pairs of contrasting
adjectives.
– High score: a relationship-oriented leadership style
– Low score: a task-oriented leadership style

 Tries to identify the underlying beliefs about people, in particular whether the
leader sees others as positive (high LPC) or negative (low LPC).
Leadership Theories
Findings of the Fiedler Model

Exhibit 17.4
Leadership Theories
Contingency Theory: Cognitive Resource Theory
 Assumptions:
– Intelligence and experience and other cognitive resources are
factors in leadership success.
– Cognitive capabilities, although significant are not enough to predict
leadership success.
– Stress impacts the ability to make decisions.
 Predictions:
1. A leader's cognitive ability contributes to the performance of the
team only when the leader's approach is directive
2. Stress affects the relationship between intelligence and decision
quality
3. Experience is positively related to decision quality under high stress
4. For simple tasks, leader intelligence and experience is irrelevant
Leadership Theories

Contingency Theory: Path Goal Model

 States that the leader’s job is to assist his or her
followers in attaining their goals and to provide
direction or support to ensure their goals are
compatible with organizational goals.
– Leaders assume different leadership styles at different times
depending on the situation:
• Directive leader
• Supportive leader
• Participative leader
• Achievement oriented leader
Leadership Theories
Path Goal Theory

Exhibit 17.8
Leadership Theories
Situational Leadership
 Situational factors (motivation, capability of
followers, relationship between followers and
leader) determine the best action of leader
 Leader must be flexible to diagnosis leadership
style appropriate for situation and be able to apply
style
 No one best leadership style for all situations
Leadership Theories
Hersey & Blanchard’s Situational Leadership (1977)
Identified 4 different leadership styles based on readiness of followers
R1. Telling (high task/low relationship behavior)
• Giving considerable attention to defining roles and goals
• Recommended for new staff, repetitive work, work needed in a short time span
• Used when people are unable and unwilling
R2. Selling (high task/high relationship behavior)
• Most direction given by leader encouraging people to ‘buy into’ task
• Used when people are willing but unable
R3. Participating (high relationship/low task behavior)
• Decision making shared between leaders and followers, role of leader to
facilitate and communicate
• Used when people are able but unwilling
R4. Delegating (low relationship/low task behavior)
• Leader identifies problem but followers are responsible for carrying out
response
• Used if people are able and willing
Leadership Theories
Hersey & Blanchard’s Model

Source: Reprinted with permission from the Center for Leadership

Studies. Situational Leadership® is a registered trademark of the Center
for Leadership Studies. Escondido, California. All rights reserved.
Leadership Theories
Situational Leadership:
Vroom & Yetton’s Normative Model
 Offers guidelines on how decisions ought to be
made in specific situations
 Vroom, Yetton, Yago Model
– Decision quality (DQ) - the selection of the best
alternative
• Organizational decisions should be of highest quality
– Decision acceptance (DA) - the degree that
subordinates should accept and be committed to
organizational decisions that are made
Leadership Theories
Situational Leadership:
Vroom & Yetton’s Normative Model (continued)
5 different decision procedures:
Autocratic
– A1: leader takes known info and then decides alone
– A2: leader gets info from followers and decides alone
Consultative
– C1: leader shares problems with followers individually, listens to ideas,
then decides alone
– C2: leader shares problems with followers as a group, listens to ideas,
then decides alone
Group based
– G2: leader shares problems with follors as a group and then seeks and
accepts consensus agreement
Leadership Theories
Situational Leadership:
Vroom & Yetton’s Normative Model (continued)
 Situational factors that influence model
– When DQ is important and followers possess useful info, A1 and A2 are
not best
– When leader sees DQ as important but followers do not, G2 is not best
– When DQ is important, problem is unstructured, leader lacks info/skill to
make decision alone, G2 is best
– When DA is important and followers are unlikely to accept autocratic
decision, A1 and A2 are not best
– When DA is important but followers will disagree with one another, A1, A2,
and C1 are not best
– When DQ is not important but DA is critical, G2 is best
– When DQ is important, all agree with this, autocratic decision won’t work,
G2 is best
Summary of Leadership Theories
Theory Leadership Based On…
Trait Theory Leaders born with leadership traits

Behavioral Theory Initial structure and consideration

- Role Theory Shaped by culture, training, modeling

- Managerial Grid Concern for production and concern for people

Participative Leadership More people involved = better collaboration

- Lewin’s Style Autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire

- Likert’s Style Task oriented, relationship oriented, participative

style
Contingency Theories No one best leadership style

- Fiedler’s LPC Theory Task focus v. relationship focus

- Cognitive Resource Theory Intelligence and experience make a difference

- House’s Path Goal Theory Help followers make their goals compatible with
organizational goals
Situational Leadership Similar to contingency theory

- Hersey and Blanchard Based on relationship between leader and follower

and task behavior
- Vroom & Yetton Decision quality and decision acceptance
 Gender & Leadership

Of the 425 high-level executives evaluated, each by about 25 people, women

execs won higher ratings on 42 of the 52 skills measured.
Source: R. Sharpe, “As Leaders, Women Rule,” BusinessWeek, November 20. 2000, p. 75.
 Gender & Leadership
 New Hiring Bias
– ''I would rather hire a woman,'' says Anu
Shukla, who sold her Internet marketing-
software company Rubric Inc. earlier this
year for $390 million. ''I know I'm going to
get a certain quality of work, I know I'm
going to get a certain dedication,'' she
says, quickly adding that she's fully aware
that not all women execs excel.
– Brent Clark, CEO of Grand Rapids-based Pell
Inc., the nation's largest foot-care chain,
says he would choose a woman over a man,
too. Women are more stable, he says, less
turf-conscious, and better at ''all sorts of
intangibles that can help an organization.''

Source: R. Sharpe, “As Leaders, Women Rule,” BusinessWeek, November 20. 2000, p. 75.
 Gender & Leadership

 So why don’t more women have upper

management jobs?
– Women get stuck in HR or PR
– Some businesses view women as “work
horses, well-suited for demanding
careers in middle management but not
for prime jobs”
• Thus, many leave to start their own
companies

Source: R. Sharpe, “As Leaders, Women Rule,” BusinessWeek, November 20. 2000, p. 75.
Race & Leadership

 Little research comparing white leaders vs. leaders of

color
 Leaders are effective but leadership style differs
– Thailand - close directive supervision
– U.S. - democratic participative approach
– Mexico - autocratic directive approach
 Cultural differences must be considered in managing
people from different countries and cultural
backgrounds