chapter fourteen
Leadership
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Contemporary Management, 5/e
Copyright © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
DEFINING LEADERSHIP
Leadership – Directing the behavior of others
toward the accomplishment of goals or
“Getting things accomplished through
people”
.
Managers & Leaders
What do managers do?
Managers
Formulate detailed plans
Create efficient org structures
Oversee day to day operations
Strive to meet established objectives
Keep employees productive and efficient
Anticipate, avoid, and resolve problems
Utilize the org’s resources effectively and efficiently
.
Managers & Leaders
What do Leaders do?
Leaders
Challenge the ways things are done
Create visions of the future
Inspire org members to want to perform
Are role models, coaches, mentors, & cheerleaders
Seek responsibility and accountability
Gain the trust of those who become followers
MAKE EVERYONE AROUND THEM BETTER!
.
Leaders & Managers
“Organizations today must combine the Soul of a
leader and the Mind of a Manager”
Q. What the heck do I mean by that?
.
Organizations Today look for individuals with the
MIND of a manager and the SOUL of a leader!
LEADERSHIP TODAY
.
DEFINING LEADERSHIP
The most effective managers over the long term are also leaders!
.
Trait Theories
“Leaders are born, not made”
Leaders possess certain traits:
• Intelligence, judgment, and verbal ability
• Past achievement in scholarship & athletics
• Emotional maturity and stability
• Dependability, persistence, and drive
• Social and adaptation skills
• A desire for status & socioeconomic position
Behavioral Theories
“Leaders are made, not born”



Individuals, no matter what their traits are,
can be trained to be leaders
It is about how people behave, not how they
are wired
If behavioral theories work, then this
expands greatly the number of potential
leaders every company has (everyone)!
Are Leaders Born or Made?
Q. Do you think Leaders are born or
made? Take a position and support it
with facts, opinions, and/or examples
Are Leaders Born or Made?
What the research has shown:
 While some % of the population have “leadership
traits”, Trait Theories have never been proven as a
valid approach
 While people can be taught certain behaviors to
increase their leadership effectiveness, the
Behavioral Theories falls short because they don’t
account for the uniqueness of each situation.
As is often the case, the answer is… IT DEPENDS!
Situational Theories
“It Depends”

(Perhaps) 15% of people are born with those
traits that leaders often have are effective
leaders, an additional 70% can be taught to be
effective leaders, and 15% will never acquire the
necessary traits.

“Successful leadership requires the ideal
combination of leaders, followers, and situations”
Q. Can anyone provide an example of a
scenario you’ve seen or experienced that
supports this notion?
SITUATIONAL APPROACHES TO
LEADERSHIP
Situational Approaches - Successful
leadership requires the ideal combination
of leaders, followers, and situations
.
SITUATIONAL APPROACHES
TO LEADERSHIP
A. Vroom-Yetton-Jago Model: Successful leadership
requires determining which style of leadership will
result in decisions that are ideal for the org and will be
accepted by the employees.
Decision Styles:
1. Autocratic – manager makes the decision alone
2. Consultative – manager gets info and input from
employees, then makes the decision alone
3. Group-focused – manager & employees meet, then
group makes the decision
.
Vroom-Yetton-Jago Model
The five decision styles available to a leader
according to the Vroom-Yetton-Jago Model
.
SITUATIONAL APPROACHES
TO LEADERSHIP
B. The OSU Studies – says leaders exhibit 2
categories of behavior:
• Structure behavior – reflects reporting
relationships & work procedures
• Consideration behavior – reflects friendship,
respect, trust & warmth
There are 4 Fundamental Leadership Styles…use the
best style for the situation
.
The OSU studies
Four fundamental leadership styles based on
structure behavior and consideration behavior
.
SITUATIONAL APPROACHES
TO LEADERSHIP
C. Fiedler’s Contingency Theory – other theories say
the leader needs to change style to fit the group.
This theory says the group must be changed to fit
the leader’s style or find a group within the company
which fits the leader’s style.
D. The Path-Goal Theory of Leadership – managers
primary purpose is to make rewards available to
employees for achieving organizational goals and to
steer employees into pursuing those goals to
achieve the rewards.
.
Is Leadership Just an Attribution?
Attribution Theory of Leadership – You only have to
look like a leader, not actually achieve anything!
Qualities attributed to leaders:
• Leaders appear intelligent, outgoing, having
strong verbal skills, aggressive, and
industrious
• Effective leaders are perceived as consistent
and unwavering in their decisions.
• Effective leaders project a physical
appearance that followers are drawn to.
Q. Do you agree with this Theory?
Characteristics of
Successful Leaders
Leaders Earn the Trust of Their
Followers
 Integrity is perceived
 Competence in skills is demonstrated
 Consistency is shown in handling situations
 Candor is practiced
And as a result, Loyalty is earned
.
Leaders Possess & Promote High
Ethical Standards
 Results must be achieved the right way
 Decisions must balance ethics, business
objectives, and the law
 Leaders must walk the talk
 They persuade others that decisions are optimal
.
Leaders Demonstrate Charisma
 They articulate their vision
 They communicate high expectations & express
confidence that followers can attain them
 They convey the values they want their followers
to hold and then lead by example
 They make sacrifices and do whatever it takes to
ensure that everyone is on board
.
.
Leaders Have Positive Attitudes
Think positive thoughts, do positive things, and
surround themselves with positive people
Find good in everyone and give the benefit of the
doubt
They recognize that the most important person to
motivate is the leader himself or herself
Are high energy, optimistic, and passionate!
Recognize and reduce (bad) stress in their life
Have a genuinely positive nature; faking it will
result in lost credibility
Leaders Create a Positive
Environment
They lead by example with their positive attitude
coupled with positive actions
Leaders know that Synergy (2 + 2 = 5) is a reality!
Positive environments generate productivity,
stimulate self-actualization, reduce turnover &
absenteeism, and attract top quality team additions
In the absence of a positive environment, a
negative one will take hold
.
Leaders Take Smart Risks
Appropriate risks must be taken, based upon
sufficient research done rapidly
They are willing to confront the few to motivate
the majority
They delegate as much as necessary to allow
them to focus on the most important stuff (= trust!)
.
Leaders Are Decisive
They must acquire the right amount of
information needed to make a decision
They must tap into the right sources for beneficial
information
“Right or wrong, go strong”
.
Leaders Seek Responsibility
If something needs to get done, a leader will ask
to own it and then will acquire the resources
necessary to get it done.
Taking on their fair share of the work (and more)
earns credibility
They know how to delegate old responsibilities in
order to take on new ones
.
Leaders Are Great
Communicators
They understand the importance of strong
communication skills:
Written: Positive, persuasive, & succinct
Verbal: Positive, confident, & utilize “framing”
Non-verbal: Facial expressions, Body
language, & Grooming
Listening skills: Approachable, empathetic,
and tuned-in
.
Leaders Are Great Team Leaders
 They serve as troubleshooters
 They manage conflict – not just eliminate it
 They Coach team members – teach, support, and
motivate
 They act as liaisons with constituencies outside
the team
 Great leaders can only exist if they have great
followers!
.
Leaders Chose to Serve as
Mentors
Listen well & Empathize
Share experiences
Act as role model
Share contacts
Provide political guidance
“Leaders try to make heroes, not become them”
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