10. Concept of Leadership

7/28/2019 10. Concept of Leadership

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CONCEPT OF LEADERSHIP



Leadership is about creating a vision,

communicating that vision to one’s subordinates,and exhorting them to move towards that vision.



Definitions

• According to Koontz et. al, “Leadership is the art or

process of influencing people so that they will strive

enthusiastically towards the achievement of group

goals.” • In the opinion of Chester Bernard, “leadership is the

quality of behavior of individuals whereby they guide

people or their activities in organizing efforts.”



Formal and Informal Leadership

• Formal leadership occurs when organization officially

bestows upon a leader the power and authority to

guide and direct others in the organization.

• Informal leadership occurs when others in theorganization unofficially accord a person the power

and influence to guide and direct their behavior.



LEADER

• The person who guides or influences the behavior of

others is called leader.



Characteristics of Leadership

• Leadership is a continuous process of influencing

other’s behavior.

• Leadership is basically a personal quality that enables

leader to influence the subordinates behavior atwork.

• The success of leader depends on the acceptance of

his leadership by the followers.

• There is a relationship between leader and follower

which arises out of functioning for a common goal.



Some more hallmarks of successful leadership

• A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and

shows the way.

• The function of leadership is to produce more leaders,

not more followers.

• The leader takes people where they want to go – a greatleader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to

go, but ought to go.

•

A leader must have courage to work against expert’s advice.

• Management is doing things right - leadership is doing

the right thing.

• He that cannot obey that cannot command.



Leadership differs from Management

• Some people treat leadership and management as

synonymous.

• Leadership differs from management,

• Leadership involves influencing people to strivetowards the achievement of group goals.

• Management involves planning, organizing, staffing,

directing and controlling group activities toaccomplish organizational goals.

• Leadership is a part of management not all of it.



Difference between Leadership and Management

Leadership Management

Leaders lead people.

Leaders can use his/her

informal influence.Leaders create a vision and

inspire others to achieve this

vision.

Leaders possess non-sanctioned influencing ability.

Leaders inspire enthusiasm.

Managers manage things.

Managers hold formal

positions.Managers achieve result by

directing the activities of

others.

Managers enjoy formaldesignated authority.

Managers engender fear.



Functions of Leadership

• Developing team work.

• Representing the team.

• Counseling the work men.

• Managing the time.

• Using proper power.

• Securing group effectiveness.



Leadership styles

• Autocratic or Authoritative Style.

• Democratic or Participative Style.

• Laissez – Faire or Free – Rein Style.



Autocratic or Authoritative Style

• In autocratic style, the leader centralizes power and

decision-making in himself/herself.

• The leader command complete control over the

subordinates who are compelled to obey the orders.

•

The subordinates have no opportunity to makesuggestions or take part in decision making function.

• The autocratic leader has little concern for the well

being of employees.

• Employees have a tendency to avoid responsibility and

try to work as little as possible.

• They also suffer from frustration and low morale.



Limitations

• It results in low morale and job dissatisfaction.

• Employee’s efficiency tends to decline over period.

• Potential manager-leader employees do not get

opportunity to exhibit their capabilities.



Suitable situations

• The subordinates are incompetent and inexperienced.

• The leader wants to be active and dominant in decision

making.

• The leader is highly competent for making a rightdecision.



Democratic or Participative Style

• The subordinates participate in decision-making

function.

• Participation in decision making enables

subordinates to satisfy their social and ego need.• It also makes them more committed to their

organizations.

•

Frequent interaction between the manager-leaderand subordinates also helps build up mutual faith

and confidence.



Benefits

• It gives opportunity to the subordinates to develop

their potential abilities and assume greater

responsibility.

• It provides job satisfaction, on the one hand, andimproves the morale of subordinates, on the other.

• Subordinates’ participation in decision-making helps

make right decision because ‘two heads are better

than one’.



Limitations

• Decision-making is a time-consuming process in

democratic style.

• There is possibility that a few dominant subordinates

may influence decision in their favor.• The responsibility of implementing decision cannot

be fixed on an individual subordinate but on the

whole group.

• Sometimes the decisions taken become the distorted

one because ‘many cooks spoil the broth’.



Suitable situations

• The subordinates are competent and experienced.

• The leader prefers participative-decision making.

• The organization has made its objectives transparent

to the employees.

• Reward and involvement are used as the primary

means of motivation and control.



Laissez – Faire or Free – Rein Style

• Laissez – Faire style is just opposite to autocratic style.

• The manager-leader leaves decision making to the

subordinates.

• The leader completely gives up his/her leadership role.

• The subordinate enjoy full freedom to decide as and

what they like.



Limitation

• Due to full freedom to subordinates, it creates chaos

and mismanagement in decision-making.



Suitable situations

• Leader is able to fully delegate the powers of decision-

making to his/her subordinates.

• Subordinates are also well competent and

knowledgeable.• Organizational goals and objectives are well

communicated to the employees.



Studies on Leadership

• Hawthrone Studies.

• Iowa Leadership Studies.

• Early Michigan Leadership Studies.

• Ohio State Leadership Studies.

• Scientific Manager’s Style.



Iowa Leadership Studies

• A series of pioneering leadership studies conducted

in the late 1930s.

• Studies were conducted by Ronald Lippitt and Ralph

K. White under the general direction of Kurt lewin.• The study was done at University of Iowa.



Early Michigan Leadership Studies

• Survey research centre of University of Michigan

conducted leadership studies in the late 1940s.

• The objective of the study was to find behavioral

characteristics of leaders that appeared to be relatedto measures of performance effectiveness.

• At the Prudential Insurance Company, 12 high-low

productivity pairs of groups were selected for

examination.

• Interviews were conducted with the 24 section

supervisors and 419 clerical workers.



Michigan also concluded that employee-

oriented leadership result in high productivity

and high job satisfaction.



Ohio State Leadership Studies

• The research was conducted at Ohio State University,

USA in the late 1940s.

• It provides the basis for behavioral theories.

• The study was done by Bureau of Business Research.

• An interdisciplinary team of researchers from

psychology, sociology economics developed and used

the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire

(LBDQ).



Continued…..

• The outcome was amazingly consistent. The same

two dimensions of leadership continually emergedfrom the questionnaire data.

• Consideration and initiating structure.

•

Consideration: The extent to which a person is likelyto have job relationship that are characterized by

mutual trust, respect for subordinates’ ideas and

regard for their feeling.

• Initiating Structure: The extent to which a person islikely to define and structure his/her role and those

of subordinates in the search for goal attainment.



Scientific Manager’s Style

• F.W.Taylor developed a scientific method to manage

men at work.

• His scientific thought of management was based on

two scientific experiments, namely, time study andmotion study to determine standard time and

standard work respectively.

• This style emphasizes that management of a work

organization must be divorced from human affairs

and emotions.



• People need to adjust to the management and not

management to the people.

• He believes that the leader is supposed to be the

most competent individual in planning andorganizing the work.

• The way he/she does it is called his/her leadership

style.

10. Concept of Leadership

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