Perspectives of Leadership

1. Perspectives of Leadership James Collins Centre for Executive Learning and Leadership

2. Overview • Opening Questions • Leadership Paradigms Intro & Critique • New ‘Takes’ on Leadership

3. Some ‘What’ Questions • What is a leader • What is Leadership? • Name Leaders Please!

4. Leaders!!

5. Some Often Cited Quotes Leadership is one of the most observed but least understood phenomena on earth (Burns) Leadership is like the abominable snowman, whose footprints are everywhere but who is nowhere to be seen(Bennis & Nanus) Leadership is not a familiar, everyday idea, as readily available to common sense as to social science. It is a slippery phenomenon that eludes them both(Selznick) Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it (Dwight D Eisenhower)

6. Quotes • People ask the difference between a leader and a boss; the leader works in the open, and the boss in covert. The leader leads, and the boss drives(Theodore Roosevelt) • A leader is best when people barely know that he exists, not so good when people obey and acclaim him, worst when they despise him. Fail to honour people they fail to honour you. But of a good leader, who talks little, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will all say, ‘we did this ourselves’ (Lao Tzu) • Leadership is all hype. We’ve had three great leaders in this century - Hitler, Stalin and Mao(Drucker)

7. Theoretical Approaches: Principal Paradigms • Overview – The ‘History’ of Leadership – Traditional Views – • Is it four, five or six paradigms? (Different Phases) It depends which book you look in!!! It’s not so simple to categorise them - there are overlaps • This leads to more recent (& some emerging) ideas

8. Traits Approaches • An individual’s characteristics and traits are important predictors of a successful leader • The notion of a ‘great man’ (sic) Thomas Carlyle mid 19th Century – ‘On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History’ • Leaders have extraordinary qualities – BUT… Which traits? – how long does the list get? What about situation/context? Traits are (mostly) innate qualities – so how can you develop leaders who don’t have the right traits? Perhaps the ‘man’ who does not have the innate qualities can never be a good leader

9. Traits • Re-emergence of traits in leadership theories - • Kirkpatrick & Locke (1991) model describes the traits associated with drive, confidence, motivation, task knowledge, integrity, and cognitive ability – these are considered important to successful leadership – But they acknowledge: …traits are only a precondition. Leaders who possess the requisite traits must take certain actions to be successful …there is a danger that the term ‘trait’ becomes so stretched that it applies to any variable on which leaders differ from non-leaders. (Bryman, 1992) A Nobel Prize awaits the person who resolves the question of whether leaders are born or made. But for now the argument leads nowhere. (Bennis 1997)

10. Behaviour/ Style Approaches • What leaders do rather than who they are Early work - Lippitt & White (1943) identify a single behavioural dimension - Reflecting autocratic, democratic or laissez-faire behaviours Same authors suggest - leaders cannot easily interchange styles Ohio State University: e.g. Fleishman, Harris & Burt, 1955, and others) – A two factor model: Consideration: a concern for themes such as promoting mutual trust, respect, and camaraderie in the relationship between leader and follower Initiating structure: concerns around the task such as defining the work, and organising and structuring tasks and responsibility Is this a early ref to leaders v mangers

11. Behaviour/ Style Approaches • University of Michigan (e.g. French 1950; Katz & Kahn, 1951) Concern for production (job-centred concerns) Concern for relationships (employee-centred concerns). • Blake & Mouton (1964) Leadership Grid Concern for people Concern for results

12. Behaviour/ Style Approaches But • Weak empirical support for how behavioural action contributes to leadership outcome • What behaviours – How long can scholars make the list? - Decades of research have not identified a universal collection of behaviours that contribute to effective leadership. • What of the causal direction between the behaviour of the leader and follower related variables • Behaviour and Styles Research has employed so many scales as to make the results meaningless – Of 120 different scales used - most employed only a few times ( Schriesheim & Kerr, 1977) • What of the environment/context in which leadership takes place

13. Situation & Contingency Approaches • Theories that attempt to account for the influence of environmental or situational factors Fluid variables: e.g. The level of authority leaders have over their subordinates The degree of leader/ follower relations The extent that the goals of the group can be objectively defined These affect the favourability of the situation faced by leaders and followers - can influence the methods of leadership considered appropriate to the situation. The theories include aspects found in the traits and behavioural models

14. Situation & Contingency Approaches • Filley, House & Kerr (1976), Four principle themes: Leader characteristics Followers’ needs, attitudes and expectations Task requirements of the leader and followers The organisational and wider contextual environment • Contingency Model ( Fiedler, 1965) • Path-goal theory (House, 1971) • Situational Leadership Theory [SLT] Hersey & Blanchard (1993):

15. Situation & Contingency Approaches BUT • Validity of the measurement scales • What is being measured • What is the solution when there is a mismatch between situation and leader? • How are followers’ competences and commitment conceptualised - how do they relate to followers’ levels of development • Leader matching (style to needs of situation)- leader may be appropriate for one situation, for example fire fighting a crisis, what becomes of the leader when a status quo is achieved and the style is no longer considered appropriate?

16. ‘New’ Leadership Approaches • 1980s - Disillusionment and pessimism about leadership research ( Bryman, 1992) ‘New’ Leadership Charismatic Leadership (e.g. House, 1977; Conger & Kanungo, 1987; Shamir, House & Arthur 1993; Waldman & Yammarino, 1999), Visionary Leadership (e.g. Bennis & Nanus, 1985; Nanus, 1992). Transformational/ Transactional Leadership (e.g. Burns, 1978; Bass, 1985; Tichy & Devanna, 1990; Kouzes & Posner, 1995; Alimo-Metcalfe & Alban-Metcalfe, 2001)

17. Core concept – charisma Some authors use the general label ‘charismatic leadership’ to describe all of them Burns (1978)Transforming and Transactional leader on a single dimension Bass (1985) Transformational and Transactional leader – separate dimensions The four ‘I’s of transformational leadership Idealised Influence & Inspirational Motivation (which combine to form charisma) Intellectual Stimulation Individualised consideration

18. Covey (1991)

19. ‘New’ Leadership Approaches BUT • Based on studies of ‘distant’ leaders such as CEOs of larger commercial organisations or senior military officers • Based largely on the study of males • Based on white populations • Based, in the main, on the views of those occupying formal leadership positions (Alimo-Metcalf) • Are the constructs really distinctive? – correlation • Dimensions, particularly charisma, lack conceptual clarity, are ill-defined and poorly measured • Transformational leadership viewed as morally superior: some of the transactional items are written in a manner which already implies that the leader is ineffective (Smith & Peterson 1988) • High reliance on rating by subordinates (bias) • Some More in 2 Slides

20. Overview – The ‘History’ of Leadership

21. Exchange Theories Principally concern the relationship between leader and follower(s) • Social Exchange Theory of leadership (SET) Hollander (1958, 1978, 1993) • Leader Member Exchange (Dansereau, Graen & Haga, 1975; Graen & Cashman, 1975; Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1991, 1995) Good quality relationships (ingroup) between leader and follower the negotiated role responsibilities are expanded Poor quality relationship (outgroup) between leader and follower - more likely that subordinate will have formal defined roles

22. Post Heroic • New Leadership - A return to style, behaviour and traits – • A return to the ‘one best way’ (Bryman, 1992) • Lacking context (again) • Leadership is not a simple dyadic relationship • Assumptions about hierarchical arrangements • Individual achievement? (The leader of course)

23. Post Heroic themes A ‘Post Heroic’ Approach to Leadership • Distributed (dispersed)/ Shared/ Collaborative (note: some similarities and differences) • Followership & Follower Centred Perspectives • Servant Leadership • Authentic / Ethical/ Values / Responsible Leadership • Creative Leadership • Spiritual Leadership And others...

24. Homework HOMEWORK! – A DISCUSSION SESSION IN JUNE • Take one of the post heroic approaches… • How can this provide new insights into leadership - Individually take an approach for discussion next time-

25. Fin

26. Manager or Leader