Leadership Theories and Models - Essay Example

LEADERSHIP THEORIES AND MODELS Leadership in modern times faces many challenges which may threaten the very existence of some organizations. It is important that leaders base their actions on time-tested management strategies. This paper explores contemporary leadership models based on the work of Fiedler and the Hersey-Blanchard. Roles of leaders in organizations, and innovative and transformational leadership models are also discussed. Fiedler's contingency theory and the Hersey-Blanchard’s model These leadership theories and models conceptualize leadership styles and approaches from different perspectives. Fiedler’s contingency theory explains leadership styles by looking at the leader, the subjects and the situation (Fiedler, 1967). Accordingly, leaders are most effective if their actions are contingent upon the situation at hand and the characteristics of the subjects. A successful performance of a managerial task, therefore, depends on three conditions: leader-member relationship, task structure and power of the position. While a task oriented person takes pride and satisfaction in accomplishing a task for an organization. A relationship-oriented leader, on the other hand, is concerned with building interpersonal relations and developing teamwork in an organization. From this theory, we can rate a leader on the basis of relationship- or task-orientation. A task oriented manager does well in situations where the leader-member relationship is good, the tasks are structured, and the leader’s power is either weak or strong. To do well in cases where the task is unstructured, the position of power must be strong. And where the leader-member relations are between moderate and poor and the task unstructured, the task-oriented manager would succeed. We also learn that managers with good leader-member relationship perform well in all situations irrespective of task structure or position power. In a business set-up, task-motivated managers are at their peak when their group hits record sales and outperforms their competitors while the relationship-oriented manager reach their highest point when their organizations gain the highest customer satisfaction and a positive company image. The theory tells us that a leader’s ability to control a situation is dictated by the task-structure, the position power, and the leader-member relations. The leader-member relations comprise the support, loyalty and dependability the manager gets from the employees. In ideal leader-member relations situations, the leader can punish or reward workers without any problems. According to another leadership model developed by Hersey and Blanchard (1977), a leader’s behavior is greatly determined by the subjects’ developmental levels. In this respect, a leader’s task behavior or relationship behavior in a given situation heavily depends on the subjects’ maturity levels. A task behavior refers to the extent a leader goes in stating the responsibilities and duties to an individual or group – telling them how, when, where and who to do what. Task behavior is essentially a one-way communication. Relation behavior is level at which a leader engages the subject by listening, supporting and facilitating them. It is a two-way relationship in which a leader provides social and emotional support. On the hand, maturity is the subjects’ ability and willingness to direct their own activities and take responsibility. The degree of maturity varies for different people, tasks, functions, or the leader’s objective. This theory gives us for leadership styles resulting from the subject’s maturity levels. Directing involves the leader giving clear and specific directions and instructions, and it works well with a follower with a low readiness level. Coaching is a two-way communication in which a leader motivates and builds confidence in a follower but still takes responsibility and controls decision making. This style is best suited for a follower with a moderate readiness level. Supporting is a leadership style in which the leader and subjects share the decision-making process. This participatory style best fits a follower with a moderate readiness level. Lastly, delegating is for leaders whose subjects are ready to perform a task are competent and willing to take full responsibility. A follower with high readiness level is the best suited for this style. We also learn that as the maturity levels of followers increase, leaders need to reduce their task behavior and increase their relationship behavior until the subjects reach the desired maturity levels. When the maturity levels go above average levels, leaders should decrease both task and behavior relationship until they are able to delegate. Can an organisation function without effective leadership? An organization cannot function without proper leadership. A leader of an organisation has been defined as the individual responsible for establishing direction for a group, gaining commitment of the group to its ideals, and motivating the members to achieve the desired outcomes (Abbas & Asghar, 2010). From this definition, an organization needs leaders to set its goals, commit the members to its values and then motivate them to achieve the goals. Without leadership therefore, an organization would be without direction, without commitment and this will definitely affect realization of its targets. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, for example, registers, regulates and ensures that high standards of accounting services are rendered. If the institute’s leadership is ineffective, the standards of service delivery will be greatly compromised. A leader of an organization has also been described as the agent of change of an organization’s vision and strategy (Senior & Fleming, 2006). Organizational change is necessary in view of ever-changing trends and high completion (Abbas & Asghar, 2010). Changes are necessary for an organization’s survival, relevance, and effectiveness. The Australian for Academic Primary Care Inc. represents people involved in teaching and researching in academic primary care. An effective leadership will bring on board the new changes in research and new trends in primary care. Leaders are also responsible for an organization’s growth (McGuire, 2003). A leader oversees resources allocation and leads in formulation of an organization’s blueprint for the future. In this sense, a leader carries the vision of an organization. An effective leader of a business or educational establishment will strive improve capacity, client base, assets, and outcomes. The link between innovation and transformational leadership Prestwood and Schumann (2002) capture the meaning of innovative leadership. They state that leadership is not a position: it is a state of mind. They observe that organizations may come face to face with unexpected and undesired circumstances, leaders should respond with innovative leadership. Innovation involves responding to the market and technological changes in a manner that can lead organizations to long-term sustainability and success (Carneiro, 2008). Transformational leadership on other hand entails a mutual relationship that converts followers into leaders and leaders into possible agents of morality (Burns 1978). It shapes and elevates the followers’ values, motives and goals with respect to a task at hand. It follows that both innovation and transformational leadership complement each other. Both demand for models that are compatible with changing market environments and client needs. An innovative leader is able to manage changes successfully. The theory of transformational leadership assumes that motivational leaders articulate the organisation’s vision and values. They also value and nurture their staff making them committed and hence improving the performance of an organization (Bass & Avolio, 1993). As such, a transformational leader performs certain important functions Bass(1985). These include formulating of strategies to help achieve their visions; communicating visions that promote changes and enhance support for the visions and motivating their followers to use their maximum abilities to complete tasks within schedule. Nanus (1992) adds that transformational leadership is geared towards aligning people and support systems to match their visions by removing procedural and structural hurdles, and providing conducive environment and empowering followers to be consistently with the new visions by their action (Nanus, 1992). These roles require a leader to be innovative. Transformational leadership can increase its chances of success if the leader and the followers are innovative. It can be concluded that effective leadership should be hinged on more than one theoretical framework. The situational leadership theories discussed here show that leader, follower and task characteristics play important roles in defining a successful leader. It has also been demonstrated that innovativeness and transformational leadership are intertwined. Lastly, the status of an organization reveals the prowess of a leader. To the age-old question: does an organization shape a leader or does a leader shape an organization, only one answer suffices: both. References Abbas, W., & Asghar, I. (2010). The Role of Leadership in Organizational Change Relating the Successful Organizational change to Visionary and Innovative Leadership. Unpublished Master’s Thesis. University of Gavile. Bass, B. (1985) Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations. New York: Free Press. Bass, B., & Avolio, B. (1993). Improving Organizational Effects through Transformational Leadership. Sage. Bolden, R., Gosling, J., Marturano, A., and Dennison, P. (2003) A Review of Leadership Theory and Competency Frameworks. Exeter: Centre for Leadership Studies. Burns, J. M. (1978) Leadership. New York: Harper & Row. Carneiro, A. (2008), When leadership means more innovation and development, Journal of Business Strategy Series, Volume, 9, pp176 – 184 Fiedler, (1967) A Theory of Leadership Effectiveness. NewYork: McGraw-Hill. Hersey, P. and K.H. Blanchard (1977) Management of Organizational Behaviour. Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice Hall. McGuire, J (2003), Leadership Strategies for Culture Change, Journal of Developing Change Leadership as an Organizational Core Capability, pp 1-2 Nanus, B. 1992. Visionary Leadership: Creating a Compelling Sense of Direction for Your Organization.San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Prestwood. D and Schumann. P (2002), Innovative Leader, Principles of Innovative Leadership, Volume 11, no 551 Senior.B & Fleming.J (2006), Organizational change, (3rd ed), FT, Prentice Hall Read More