Course: IP6163 - 4 Managing Or x Shine, Chapter 7.pdf X + X -> CA @ https://www.elearning.crandallu.ca/pluginfile.php/82009/mod_resource/content/0/Shine%20%20Chapter%207.pdf . . . of 5 Q + | Page view | A Read aloud | (T) Add text | V Draw Highlight v Erase Why Is it Difficult to Analyze 7 Leadership Few topics in organizational psychology have received as much In this chapter we will attempt to unravel the problem of leadership attention as leadership. As the previous several chapters have dem- so as to become aware of which factors contribute to its complexity. onstrated, any analysis of human nature and motivation inevitably Similar to the difficulties we encountered in trying to devise a leads to a discussion of how leaders and/or managers should handle simple model of human nature, we will see that a simple model of followers. Thus leadership is in a sense the reverse side of motiva- good leadership is impossible to find. Several definitional and ana- tion. Whereas the analysis of motivation and human nature focused lytical problems have to be recognized at the outset. us more on followers, the next chapters will focus explicitly on leaders. After examining in some detail why it has been so difficult to identify just how an effective leader should behave, we go on to PROBLEM 1: IDENTIFYING WHO IS review some major theories of leadership. Not all leadership theories A "LEADER" will be discussed. We shall focus on those of Fiedler, Vroom, Hersey and Blanchard, and Argyris because this cross section illustrates When we set out to analyze leadership behavior, what is our point of some of the most important contrasts in approaches to the leadership reference for the term leader or manager? Consider an organization problem. From these theories also come some of the most carefully like a professional football team, consisting of: (1) owners; (2) a thought out practical programs of training. general manager hired by the owners; (3) one or more levels of In Chapter 8 we will look at leadership as a set of functions and managers below the general manager who deal with the basic busi- attempt to put the various issues of leadership into perspective, ness aspects of running the team; (4) a head coach; (5) a number of particularly the desirability of participative leadership-that is, how assistant coaches dealing with various specialties such as offense, much leaders should share power and decision making with their defense, kicking; (6) one or more team captains elected by the play- followers. Worker participation is a hotly debated issue in organiza- ers or appointed by the coach or both; (7) the quarterback who calls tional psychology, more so because in many countries it is actually the plays; (8) player representatives if the players are unionized; and, being legislated. It becomes critical to understand the implications of finally (9) the various "informal leaders" among the players them- participation so that we can understand the conditions under which selves. it will or will not lead to greater effectiveness for organizations and If we decide to analyze "leadership style" in relation to team satisfaction for employees. performance, whose style do we analyze? Who is the leader on 104 105 OLOBLA N ENG 18:03 IN 27-03-2022Course: IP6163 - 4 Managing Or x Shine, Chapter 7.pdf X + X -> CA @ https://www.elearning.crandallu.ca/pluginfile.php/82009/mod_resource/content/0/Shine%20%20Chapter%207.pdf . . . 2 of 5 Q + | Page view | A Read aloud | (T) Add text | Draw v Highlight v Erase 106 Organizational Psychology 107 Why Is it Difficult to Analyze Leadership? whom we should focus? Some will say we should look at the infor- key skill of higher level managers may be the selection of effective mal leaders-the quarterback or the defensive captain who have the managers below themselves, not their own actual skill in managing most immediate inspirational effect on the players out on the field; those subordinates. If a political or religious "leader" is effective in others will say that the key leader is the head coach, while still communicating a message to large numbers of followers on an im others will say it is the general manager who, after all, decides what personal basis, we consider this good "leadership" even though kind of head coach to hire. Some may even relate the team's per- there is no face-to-face interaction whatsoever. So we must be careful formance to the owners who decide how much money to invest in in looking for the key to leadership to state clearly what degree and the recruitment of high-level talent and whose compensation sched- kind of influence we are really talking about. ule may or may not be considered "fair" and therefore elicit higher or lower levels of morale or performance. Obviously, the organization as a whole will not perform well PROBLEM 3: WHAT IS THE CULTURAL unless the leadership at every level reaches some minimum standard CONTEXT? of effectiveness. The most brilliant coach cannot produce a winning team if there is no talent on the team. And we have all witnessed the A third dilemma is that any definition of "good leadership" usually problems of a brilliant quarterback who does not have good enough reflects the historical, social, or cultural context in which the analy- protection from his offensive line to permit him to throw accurate sis is conducted. What we consider "good" leadership not only passes. reflects our concepts of human nature as outlined in the previous But minimum performance at every level is only a partial an- chapters but is likely to be heavily colored by the political ideology swer, because many organizations reach such a minimum at every and the socioeconomic circumstances in which the behavior takes level and then still perform more or less effectively as a function of place. Table 7.1 illustrates this issue by taking Etzioni's basic types more brilliant performance by one or more leaders somewhere in the of organizations, along with their corresponding forms of involve- organization. And the search for "leadership" is, in a sense, a search ment and bases of authority, and expanding the analysis by adding for those traits or those behaviors which define this brilliance, which the various leadership roles associated with each system. Etzioni's produce some kind of extra effort on the part of subordinates. So we types can be applied to both political systems and to organizations often resolve the dilemma of "who is the leader" by saying that we within the broader society. want everyone in the organization to approximate more closely some In the coercive type of system based on the control of rewards ideal model of good leadership. And we often make the assumption and punishments, or on traditional bases of legitimacy, such terms as that such an ideal exists, that there are universal leadership traits or emperor, king, queen, dictator, autocrat, tyrant, and boss come im- behaviors which would make every level of management more effect mediately to mind. Depending upon how benign the leaders are. the tive, an assumption which, as we will see, is highly questionable. basic feelings of subordinates are likely to be either (a) submission. dependence, and resignation, or (b) anger, resentment, and counter- dependence, or (c) loyalty and commitment to the leaders. PROBLEM 2: WHAT IS THE SCOPE How such coercive organizations will perform typically de- OF "LEADERSHIP"? pends solely on the ability of the dictator or autocrat to correctly analyze what needs to be done, and his or her ability to elicit from a A second dilemma of definition illustrated by the football team and basically passive set of subordinates some reasonable level of per- by every other organization is the scope of a leader's influence. Does formance through the manipulation of rewards and punishments. In leadership refer to the face-to-face influence of a supervisor over his many so-called "developing" countries, it is argued that only a or her immediate subordinates, or do we mean the ability to influ- strong autocratic kind of leadership can work because only a small ence by some means or other all of the levels that are under a given elite group really knows what the country needs, and only strong leader or manager, whether or not he or she deals with them di- centralized control can ensure the coordination necessary to meet rectly? Should chief executives be measured by how they lead their those needs. If such leaders can persuade the citizens or members of vice-presidents, or should they he measured by the overall perform- their organizations that what is being done is ultimately in their own ance of their organization? This is not a trivial question because one best interests, they can elicit fairly high levels of motivation as we N ENG 18:07 IN 27-03-2022Course: IP6163 - 4 Managing Or x Shine, Chapter 7.pdf X + X @ https://www.elearning.crandallu.ca/pluginfile.php/82009/mod_resource/content/0/Shine%20%20Chapter%207.pdf . . . 3 of 5 Q + | Page view | A Read aloud | (T) Add text | Draw ~ Highlight v Erase Table 7.1 him or her fired. In this kind of system such terms as supervisor, manager, bureaucrat, executive, representative, and senator all imply Concepts of Leadership in Different Types of Systems to some degree that the leader's authority basically resides in the office or position granted to the person, and that some minimum BASIC ORGANIZATIONAL TYPE* amount of expertise to perform the duties of the position is ul- Coercive Utilitarian Normative timately required to retain the position. It is nice if we have a boss who really "turns us on" or inspires us, but in the typical utilitarian Basic form of in- Alienative Calculation Moral system, we do not really expect it. All we ultimately expect is equity volvement and fair treatment in terms of whatever the contractual arrangements Basis for authority Nonlegitimate Ration-legal: Charismatic are. Control of re Authority of posi- Rational authority wards an tion based on exper- In this kind of system subordinates typically feel caution, suspi- punishments tise cion, some need for self-protection as would be provided by unions or citizen-consumer groups, a sense of independence, and somewhat Traditional limited involvement with the organization. It is noteworthy that this Leader terms or king or queen Supervisor True leader concepts Emperor or em- Manager Messiah kind of organization typically elicits the greatest concern with how press to be an effective leader, because the basic psychological contract Dictator Executive Savior between the employee and the organization does not guarantee any Bureaucrat Entrepreneur Autocrat Representative Manager initial commitment, loyalty, or motivation. Somehow the individual Benevolent auto- Senator Executive leader or manager must gain the confidence of group members and crat overcome their suspicion and caution. Because utilitarian organiza- Boss tions are typically found in free enterprise systems, and because Subordinate feel- Dependence Caution Involvement ings Submission Suspicion such organizations are in competition with each other, it becomes Commitment Resignation Independence Dedication especially important to solve the riddle of what leaders or managers or Concern with High motivation have to do to get that extra effort to make their organization more Anger equity Sense of shared productive and effective than the competitor's. Resentment Self-protective Counterdepen- Uninvolved Interdependent The leadership problem is least troubling in normative systems. dence those types of organizations which are tied together by common or causes and mutual goals, by high levels of moral involvement and a Loyalty Identification with belief that what is being worked on is important and exciting. leader Authority in such organizations typically rests on the personal quali- Commitment ties of the leader, his or her charisma or basic expertise in solving Basic leadership How to ensure How to create in- How to maintain some important shared problems. The leadership terms one typically dilemma correct goals volvement involvement and how to sell How to manage associates with such systems are entrepreneur, leader, messiah, sav- them succession ior, but the terms supervisor, manager, or executive could fit this concept equally well if the subordinates saw their bosses as "real The types can apply either to total political systems or to organization within a given syst leaders." The fact that a limited number of people do have the particular have frequently witnessed in countries whose dictators are admired personal qualities (charisma) to elicit strong emotional support from and supported. their subordinates at a given time and place further complicates the The situation is quite different in utilitarian systems whose problem of analyzing leadership. It is all too easy to assume that all basic assumption is that the proper relationship between subordi we need to do is to find more such charismatic individuals or to nates and their leaders should be based on rational-legal principles. teach people how to become more charismatic. We forget that many Unless the leader can meet some of the subordinates' needs, the kinds of organizations do not involve tasks or missions that could contract specifies that they can vote him or her out of office or get elicit high levels of involvement in the first place, and that the 108 HOLIOOLE ENG 18:07 IN 27-03-2022Course: IP6163 - 4 Managing Or x Shine, Chapter 7.pdf X + X -> @ https://www.elearning.crandallu.ca/pluginfile.php/82009/mod_resource/content/0/Shine%20%20Chapter%207.pdf . . . 4 of 5 Q + | Page view | A Read aloud | (T) Add text | \\ Draw v Highlight v Erase 110 Organizational Psychology 111 Why Is it Difficult to Analyze Leadership? presence of a charismatic leader (even if we could get one) would new leader facing a new task may require much more guidance and not change a fundamentally utilitarian organization such as a com- autocratic behavior from the leader than a team which has worked pany manufacturing textiles or a government bureaucracy into a together for a long time and could almost make its own decisions normative one. Leadership, then, is partly a cultural phenomenon without the leader even being present. On the other hand, certain and must be analyzed within a given cultural, political, and socio- kinds of autocratic behavior might not be tolerated by a new group economic context. which is testing its leaders, yet be completely accepted by a mature team which trusts its leader. Therefore, when we analyze a leader- ship situation, we must consider how long subordinates have PROBLEM 4: WHAT IS THE TASK? worked with each other, the climate which has developed within the group, the length of time the leader has been in his or her job, and The fourth dilemma of defining leadership is that within a given the kind of relationship he or she has been able to develop with system the nature of the task may change, the situation surrounding subordinates. the task may change, or the subordinates themselves may change, The same issue can be addressed in broader terms within a any of which may require an adaptive change from the leader. As we business context. A young entrepreneurially oriented organization will see later, leadership is ultimately a matter of matching up the needs leadership behavior fundamentally different from a mature personal characteristics of the leader, the personal characteristics of second- or third-generation organization run by professional mana- the subordinates, the nature of the task, and the situation surround- gers. Organizations that have entered turbulent environments and ing the task-such as time constraints, historical circumstances, and must revitalize their mission or goals require different leadership so on. Thus, even if we can pin down one setting in which to behavior, especially at the top of the organization, from those which analyze leadership, we will have to take into account how that have clear goals and exist in stable environments. Organizations in setting may change over time and thus find ourselves once again decline or "ill health" in terms of quality of performance need relying on the leader's diagnostic ability and flexibility. For example, different leadership from those which are growing and thriving. In an engineering manager working with a design group may initially each case, the key will be the basic nature of the task, as this derives decide to be a participative leader. Later, however, the pressure of from the organization's developmental stage, and the form of in- time which may result from a competitor's entry into the market may volvement that is needed from subordinates. force that same manager to exercise a more autocratic style in order To summarize, before we can really analyze leadership behavior to save time and get a product out fast. The subordinates may be we must take into account (1) which level of the organization we are quite willing, under these circumstances, to accept a more autocratic referring to; (2) whether or not we mean face-to-face influence or role from their manager, and may be quite effective in spite of some broader concept of task accomplishment which may cut across having less say in every decision if they understand that the change many organizational levels; (3) what kind of cultural, political, or in style is based on a rational decision. socioeconomic concepts underlie the organization or situation being analyzed; (4) the nature of the task, the subordinates, and the situa- tional constraints that may be operating; and (5) the stage of devel- PROBLEM 5: WHAT IS THE opment of the subordinate group and the leader-subordinate DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE relationship. As we will see, different theorists focus on different BETWEEN LEADER AND FOLLOWERS? aspects of the leadership issue. The fifth and final problem in defining leadership derives from the common observation that what is appropriate and effective leader- A DIAGNOSTIC FRAMEWORK ship behavior will vary as a function of the degree to which a leader FOR ANALYZING LEADERSHIP and a given group of followers have learned to work together. The stage of development of the group being led as well as the "matu- In order to deal with the complexity inherent in the analysis of rity" of the leader-follower relationship will impose limitations and leadership, we need to break it down into a number of components opportunities on leader behavior. For example, a new group with a that can serve as guidelines for reviewing leadership research and N ENG 18:07 IN 27-03-2022Course: IP6163 - 4 Managing Or x Shine, Chapter 7.pdf X + X @ https://www.elearning.crandallu.ca/pluginfile.php/82009/mod_resource/content/0/Shine%20%20Chapter%207.pdf . . . 5 of 5 Q + | Page view | A Read aloud | (T) Add text | V Draw ~ Highlight v Erase 112 Organizational Psychology 113 Why Is it Difficult to Analyze Leadership? theories (see Figure 7.1). The center of the figure (Box A) represents be very systematically arrived at by conscious checking out of vari- an objective picture of the leader as viewed by an outsider in terms ous factors. of his or her inherent characterisics, traits, personality predisposi The leader's actual behavior (Box H) is then a joint result of the tions, skills, and other measurable properties presumed to be more or diagnosis and the actual predispositions of the leader, alerting us to less stable in the person. On the left side are shown the subordinate the commonly observed fact that what the leader intends to do and characteristics as they might be observed by an outsider (Box B), and what he or she is actually observed doing may be quite different. on the right side are the task/situational characteristics from this The actual behavior will then lead to various outcomes (Box I) which same vantage point (Box C). will influence subordinate, task, and leader characteristics in future situations. Much of the early research on leadership was focused on the Actual leader's "traits" (Box A) in an attempt to identify those characteris- Actual characteristics Actual task tics which would clearly distinguish successful from unsuccessful subordinate situational characteristics leaders, for example, intelligence, aggressiveness, judgment, and so characteristics on. Literally hundreds of studies were conducted, but traits that correlated with success in one situation often failed to hold up in another situation, or a trait that seemed to work for one leader failed to work for another. It was the failure of these early efforts which Perceptions of Perceptions Perceptions of ultimately resulted in a redefinition of leadership as a relationship subordinates of self task/situation between the leader, the followers, and the task/situational char- acteristics (Gibb, 1969). Nevertheless, some researchers and theorists Diagnosis of G continue to place important emphasis on basic leader characteristics. leadership The next chapter will review several approaches to the study of situation leadership which represent different ways of focusing on leadership issues. What we must remember is that although each theory refers Actua to most of the components shown in Figure 7.1, it typically focuses leader behavior research and theoretical attention on only one or two of those com- ponents. Actual outcomes Fig. 7.1 The components of a leadership situation. Next is shown a series of leader perceptions-how the leader perceives subordinates, the task and situation, and himself or herself in relation to the subordinates and the task (Boxes D, E, F). These perceptions will be a joint function of the actual characteristics as they might be observed by an outsider and the leader's own pre- dispositions, biases, defense mechanisms, and personality. The sum total of such perceptions will be the leader's "diag- nosis" of his or her total situation, and it is from such a diagnosis, whether consciously arrived at or not, that the leader will choose an Intended course of action (Box G). Such a diagnosis can be highly intuitive and reflect leader perceptions and predispositions, or it can HOLIOOLE ENG 18:07 IN 27-03-2022