Theoretical Approaches to Leadership - Essay Example

Running Head: THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO LEADERSHIP Theoretical Approaches to Leadership s Theoretical Approaches to Leadership Introduction Leadership is a multifaceted combination of five major responsibilities. The leader must be able to direct, motivate, manage, evaluate, and mentor people. This combination of duties, ethics, and tasks are required for the successful leadership of any project or organization that involves people. In this paper, in order to give a clear understanding of leadership I shall analyze a few of the models and approaches of leadership. Analysis Contingency Model for Leadership Fred Fiedler developed the first contingency model for leadership, known as The Fiedler contingency model. It is suggested the model is "the most comprehensive programme of research ever conducted on leadership" (Fiedler, 1967, as cited in Elkin and Inkson, 2000, p. 212). Fiedler developed this theory by studying hundreds of groups and teams, ranging from basketball teams to military unit, to examine leadership style and its effectiveness in different situations (Forsyth, 1999, p.355; Elkin and Inkson, 2000, p. 212). The theory suggested "That successful group performance relies upon the appropriate match between the leaders approach of interacting with his or her followers as well as the extent to which the circumstances gives control and authority to the leader (Robbins, 1993, 372). In other words, leadership effectiveness is contingent or dependant upon the suitability of the leaders style and the favourability of the situation (Forsyth, 1999, p. 355). In Fiedlers model, he utilized a measure called the LPC (least preferred co-worker scale) to measure between task-orientated and people- orientated leadership. People who scored high on LPC were considered people- orientated whereas people who scored low on the LPC was considered task-orientated. Individuals LPC scores would determine the type of situation for which they were best suited. Furthermore, the situation was defined and measured through 3 important variables, 1.         Leader-member relations 2.         Task- structure 3.         Leader position power Thus in theory, the "better the leader-member relations; the more structured the task, and the higher the position power, the more favourable the situation is to the leader" (Elkin and Inkson, 2000, p.213). However, if a leaders style did not fit the group- task situation, there are two remedies Fiedler suggested, one, it is to change the leader to fit the situation, alternatively, change the situation to fit the leader (Keyton, 1999, 295). Fiedler did not conduct this model to determine which leadership style is better, but Fiedlers theory predicts that task- orientated leaders are most effective in situations that are either extremely unfavourable or extremely favourable; conversely relationship- oriented leaders are most successful in intermediate situations (Forsyth, 1999, p. 371). Fiedlers study has been the object of much controversy, providing sound evidence for and against the theory. In one side, his study falls short of providing additional contingency variable but on the other hand, his study is recognized for its integration of ideas of personal and situational factors and providing a comprehensive study on leadership effectiveness (Robbins, 1993, p. 376). In conclusion, process of leadership is broad and multi- stranded. The topic of leadership certainly doesnt lack for theories; theories related to leaders and leadership are broad, intense and contradicting in some cases. However, leadership is an essential element of society and in everyday groups to lead, direct, guide, motivate and to influence others. Example A good example of the Contingency theory of leadership would be the leadership theory which James parker followed. James Parker, CEO of southwest airlines, appears to use them to facilitate daily operations within the company. Parker has worked diligently at maintaining a company where employees are encouraged to interact with senior officials. This has helped his employees to maintain optimal communication with some of leading decision makers. James Parker has continued to gain the trust and respect of co-workers throughout the organization. James has not let this success alter his focus on maintaining the satisfaction of his employees. It by utilizing his power to maintain a high level of employee satisfaction, James Parker has proven that southwest will not fall victim to shortcomings like poor employee retention. Parkers behavior proves that he has successfully mastered the ability by using many of the concepts found at the heart of the theory. Charismatic and Transformational Leadership Recent leadership theories, such as transformational leadership theory (Bass, 1985; Burns, 1978) and charismatic leadership theory (Conger and Kanungo, 1987; House, 1977), have emerged. This perspective refers to the process of influencing major changes in the attitudes and assumptions of organisation members and building commitment for the organisations mission. Transformational Leadership Theory Bass (1985) has compared two kinds of leadership behaviours: transactional and transformational. Transactional leadership stems from traditional views of workers and organisations, and it involves the position power of the leader to utilise followers for task completion (Burns, 1978). Transactional leaders make use of contingent rewards to motivate employees, as well as apply corrective action at times when subordinates fail to attain performance goals that are already established. Transformational leadership looks for ways to assist in motivating followers by means of fulfilling higher-order needs and more completely engaging them in the process of the work (Bass, 1985). In organizations Transformational leaders produce visions that motivate their employees and persuade followers by means of arousing intense emotions as well as identification of their leader. They may also transform employees by serving as a coach, teacher, and mentor and encourage each employees development so that the results achieved exceed expectations. Studies generally showed that transformational leaders were rated as significantly more effective than transactional leaders and could initiate and cope with change. Nevertheless, they are not mutually exclusive in an organisation. A leader might make use of both types of leadership at diverse times and in different situations (Bass, 1985). Example Good example of this kind of leadership can be found in AVON, it secret to success lyes in this leadership style. Since Andrea Jung took over Avon as CEO in 1999, she successfully transformed this declining company into one of the worlds most valuable brands, and was named as one of Fortune Magazines most admired companies As a transformational leader, Jung posses’ ability to bring about innovation and change -transforming this traditional organization, enabling it to adapt to its new scenario in order to survive and prosper. She pushed the company into e-business: to sell its products from web sites despite resistance and skepticism. To avoid conflicts with its independent sales representatives, Jung involved them closely in every step the company took. Situational Leadership Theory One more approach, was given by Hersey and Blanchard (1988) was the situational leadership theory, this theory examines how the efficiency of task as well as relations behaviour is dependent on subordinate development. The theory prescribes different combinations of these behaviours depending on a subordinates confidence and skill in relation to the task. This approach gives a clear over view of the fact that leadership may well be different in different circumstances (Saal and Knight, 1988). It provides a more practical analysis of leadership by permitting complexity as well as situational specificity of general effectiveness (Horner, 1997). As organizations nowadays are faced with enduring alterations in technology, environment circumstances, and internal processes, this approach can present a more sophisticated understanding of the leadership process and emphasise the idea of flexible, adaptive leadership that may contribute to the success of a company. However, the various models in contingency theory have been criticised largely for the difficulty in testing the contingency variables selected since variables may affect each other or be influenced by a leader. The intricacy of situational factors as well as a variety of combinations of task as well as follower characteristics makes a single inclusive test of the model impracticable (Wagner and Hollenbeck, 1992). As it is entirely possible that different leaders in the same situation may reach different conclusions about the situation, which may in turn cause them to take very different actions, the practical use of this theory in business is quite limited. Example The business world is continuously evolving and the demands for new ideas are uprising. In such situation, Whitman the CEO of ebay is comfortable going with the flow, rather than being rigid, thus it can be said that her leadership style was situational leadership. In order to maximize output and to cope with todays diverse workforce, Meg Whitman thinks both in terms of flexibility and adaptability. What started out as a pure consumer-to-consumer auction marketplace, is now inviting large and small businesses to sell to consumers and other businesses. Charismatic leadership theory The idealized influence aspect of transformational leadership is very close to charismatic leader. Charismatic leadership has always been defined as the ability to "make common people do astonishing things in the face of hardship" (Conger, 1991). The charismatic leader ‘s behaviour comprise of impression management, setting high expectations regarding followers performance whilst at the very same time expressing confidence to subordinate for task achievement; providing an attractive vision relating to the values and hopes of followers; and arousing motivation by appealing to followers aspirations through rousing speeches or regular contact. Major studies showed that charismatic leadership was positively associated with followers individual performance, job satisfaction, and satisfaction with the leader. Nevertheless, the consequences of charismatic leadership are not always beneficial. Negative charismatic are likely to have a narcissistic personality and a personalised power orientation whereas the culture fostered by positive charismatic leaders may produce undesirable consequences if individual needs of followers are ignored. Transformational and charismatic leadership theories are especially relevant to companies which are suddenly recognising the need for major changes or deal with major crisis. They also help an organisation to keep and motivate todays employees who demand for challenging, meaningful work and expect for more responsibility and autonomy (Wilson, 1994). Nevertheless, the process by which transformational or charismatic leaders arouse enthusiasm and commitment in followers is still not clear. The theories also ignore the importance of "ordinary" leadership; the day-to-day backbone of organisations and the key to efficiency and short-term success (Mello, 1999). Moreover, it fails to deal with leadership in organizations that are not experiencing a key crisis and/or amongst non-stressed supporters. Example Jack Welch has participative leadership style, and he is a charismatic leader. His super passion for GE is myth. When he became GE CEO, Welch saw the company in trouble even though others saw GE as a strong healthy corporation, secure in its position as a world industrial leader. But Welch knew that the company was too large to fail. Welch never feared of change, he said company needs to change. The first step he walked was set the goal that to be either #1 or #2 in their business, or he would rather sell or close the business. Welch had broken bureaucracy in GE and flatted the organization pyramid. He removed the mid-level, with the purpose of insuring CEO could hear voice from everyone and responds speedily, it has shrunken GEs management expenditure as well. Welchs cuts were cruel, but those were strategic and designed to strengthen GEs chances for long-term growth. Afterwards, Welch forged "Boundaryless" in GE, the best ideas and processes could be transferred from one part of the company to the rest to fostered improvement, managers were expected to look everywhere for ideas. Welch transferred the best practices of business, thus making knowledge useful to everyone within GE.Welch infused huge doses of passion into his team, and was energetic in driving others forward. Current model Emotional Intelligence leadership Emotional Intelligence is becoming increasingly more important in leadership roles organizations hold workshops for their mangers regarding this concept. Any CEO who is void of this cannot prosper as it encompasses a wide range of abilities, These abilities are as follows: Self Awareness - recognizing the emotion, Self Regulation - the handling of emotions positively and appropriately, and Motivation - the channeling of the emotions to reach a goal, taking initiative and striving to succeed and, to persevere when faced with setbacks and frustrations. Empathy - showing sensitivity by putting yourself in the other persons shoes, and then acting the way you would want someone to act in the same situation and Social Skills - reading social situations and acting accordingly are also abilities of an emotionally intelligent person. Example The employees at Kaiser Permanente admire and respect their CEO, George Halvorson because he truly values the human resources of this organization as he is highly empathic and believes in motivating his employees . He is a master at Self regulation and does everything he can to maintain collaborative relationships formed during the development and adoption of the shared vision. Due to the social skills of the CEO now People are Kaiser Permanentes most important strength. Conclusion In the past few years there has been a noticeable increase our countries appetite for training, self-help, and literature on the subject of leadership. 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