Administration and Management
in Criminal Justice
Chapter 7: Leadership
Administration and Management in Criminal Justice
Chapter 7: Leadership
What is Leadership
• Very difficult to define; no agreement on
definition
• Two characteristics of leadership
▫ Influencing members of a group
▫ Directing the group’s effort toward the
achievement of organizational goals
Administration and Management in Criminal Justice
Chapter 7: Leadership
What do Leaders do? How is
Leadership Behavior Explained?
• Some examples
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They change follower behaviors
They overcome resistance
They work toward the achievement of goals
The coordinate ideas, people, and resources
• How do we explain leadership behavior?
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Traits
Behaviors
Contingency theories
Transactional leadership
Change leadership theories (e.g., transformational
leadership)
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Chapter 7: Leadership
Trait Theories: Overview
• Certain characteristics or traits are assumed to be
linked with effective leadership
• Implication
Leaders were born rather than
made since characteristics were inherent in person
• Examples
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Honesty
Integrity
Sense of achievement
Self confidence
People skills
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Chapter 7: Leadership
Trait Theories: Criticisms and
Current Status
• Focused on what people are rather than what
they do
▫ A police office is promoted to sergeant based on
exam scores. Does their intelligence necessarily
translate into strong leadership behaviors?
• Research has not consistently found links
between traits and leadership
Administration and Management in Criminal Justice
Chapter 7: Leadership
Behavioral Approaches: Overview
• Focus on actual leadership behavior rather than
characteristics
• Ohio State University studies identified two
different dimensions of leadership behavior
▫ Consideration: tend to employee needs; caring; two
way communication
▫ Initiating structure: set goals and standards of
performance; focused on completing task
• Problem: studies could not determine best
combination of behaviors that resulted in positive
outcomes
Administration and Management in Criminal Justice
Chapter 7: Leadership
Contingency Theories
• Also referred to as situational theories
• Summary
▫ There is no one best style of leadership
▫ The best style depends (it is “contingent” upon) the
situation
• Examples of contingency theories (differ based on the
contingencies or variables considered)
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Fiedler’s contingency theory
Hersey and Blanchard’s contingency theory
Path-goal theory
Vroom and Yetton’s model
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Chapter 7: Leadership
Fielder’s Contingency Theory
• Two leadership styles: determined by least
preferred co-worker scale (positive
description=relationship; less positive=task)
▫ Relationship-oriented: similar to consideration
▫ Task-oriented: similar to initiating structure
• Contingency variables
▫ Group atmosphere
▫ Task structure
▫ Position power
Administration and Management in Criminal Justice
Chapter 7: Leadership
Fielder’s Contingency Theory
(cont’d)
• Operation
▫ When all contingencies are favorable or unfavorable, a
leader should adopt a task-oriented style.
▫ When contingencies are mixed, a relationship-oriented
approach should be used.
• Criticisms
▫ The LPC measure suggests that leadership is one
dimensional (a person is high in one style or the other)
▫ LPC score is a trait that does not change much; a
person’s style is fixed
Administration and Management in Criminal Justice
Chapter 7: Leadership
Hersey and Blanchard’s
Contingency Theory
• Leadership styles
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Telling
Selling
Participating
Delegating
• Contingencies
▫ Psychological readiness: are followers
willing/eager/confident to perform task?
▫ Task readiness: are followers able to perform task?
Administration and Management in Criminal Justice
Chapter 7: Leadership
Hersey and Blanchard’s
Contingency Theory (cont’d)
Telling
Selling
Participating
Delegating
Low
readiness:
Moderate
readiness:
High
readiness:
Very high
readiness
Worker lacks
skills & is
unwilling to
perform
Worker may
be unable but
is
eager/willing
to learn
Worker has
skills (able)
but lacks
confidence
Worker is both
able and
willing
Administration and Management in Criminal Justice
Chapter 7: Leadership
Path-Goal Theory
• Leadership behavior
▫ Supportive: open, friendly
▫ Directive: telling workers what to do
▫ Participative: consults workers; allows them to participate in
decision-making
▫ Achievement-oriented: trust workers to be highly productive
• Contingencies
▫ Personal characteristics of group members: skill, abilities,
willingness to perform
▫ Work environment: clarity of task; power
• Style depends on contingencies as examples illustrate
▫ Unclear task requires directive behavior
▫ Achievement-oriented style used when workers are confident and
able to perform task
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Chapter 7: Leadership
Vroom and Yetton’s Model
• Leadership involves effective decision-making
▫ Quality of decisions determines whether goals are
achieved
▫ Including subordinates in decision-making can
improve process
• Amount of subordinate involvement depends
upon a variety of factors including:
▫ Amount of information available to subordinates
▫ Amount of time available to make decisions
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Chapter 7: Leadership
Transactional Leadership Theory
• Focuses on interaction between leader and followers
• Two interaction processes
▫ Contingent reward leadership: manager helps
subordinate reach goals by providing structure,
support, goals
▫ Management by exception: manager interacts only
when subordinate deviates from expectations (e.g.,
violates standards)
 Active
 Passive
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Chapter 7: Leadership
Change Leadership Theories
• Rather than just focus on how leaders and
groups interact, these theories focus on how
leaders can change an entire organization
• Examples (collectively called outstanding
leadership theories)
▫ Charismatic leadership
▫ Transformational leadership
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Chapter 7: Leadership
Charismatic Leadership
• Generate organizational change by having
personality characteristics that draw people in
(motivating/inspiring)
• Earn the trust and confidence of followers
• Motivate followers to aspire to higher levels of
motivation (recall Maslow’s hierarchy)
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Chapter 7: Leadership
Transformational Leadership
• Leaders work to change the organization by motivating
subordinates to achieve higher levels of performance
• Process for inspiring subordinates
▫ Increase their awareness of the importance of the task
▫ Make them aware of their own need for growth and
development
▫ Motivate them to fulfill their growth and development
needs and be a part of the organization’s success
• Additional elements: inspirational motivation;
intellectual stimulation; idealized influence;
individualized consideration
Administration and Management in Criminal Justice
Chapter 7: Leadership
Leadership Styles
• One of the most famous examples of leadership style is
the Managerial Grid (Blake and Mouton)
• Two axis in the grid
▫ Concern for people (consideration)
▫ Concern for results (initiating structure)
• Combinations result in five leadership styles
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Team management: high people, high results
Control and dominate: low people, high results
Yield and comply: high people, low results
Balance and compromise: mid-range people and results
Evade and elude: low people and low results
Administration and Management in Criminal Justice
Chapter 7: Leadership
Leadership Skills
• The assumption is that these can be developed
through training/education
• Derived from the Competing Values Framework
▫ Clan skills: interpersonal skills
▫ Adhocracy skills: address future issues and
promote change (e.g., create a vision)
▫ Hierarchy skills: manage time/stress, keep control
▫ Market skills: motivate others; manage external
relationships
Administration and Management in Criminal Justice
Chapter 7: Leadership
Criminal Justice Organizations
• Generally dominated by authoritarian
(transactional) leadership approaches
• A growing body of research suggest that criminal
justice workers prefer more transformation or
participative styles
▫ Results in higher productivity and job satisfaction