Leadership

 

1.0 INTRODUCTION 

 Whenever two or more people direct their efforts towards achieving a desired objective, one of the actors or participants usually exert influence on the group behavior than the others and there is always somebody the group looks up to for direction, instruction and vision. This individual maybe

classified as a leader. 

2.0 OBJECTIVES

 At the end of this note, you should be able to:

· define leadership

 · identify and explain a number of leadership theories

· differentiate types of power in leadership 

3.0 MAIN CONTENT 3.1 Definition

Leadership has been defined by McKinney and Howard as “the person who can mesh divergent and conflicting forces, recognize and create  opportunities, use the influence and morale basis of his or her position, and employ the minimal amount of resources to maximally achieve publicly desired ends.

The concept of leadership in Business Management has been surrounded by controversy arising not from conceptual clarification but rather the identification of who truly is a leader. Leadership is synonymous with position, authority or with the task process or the exhibition of a particular behavior. Leadership is multi-dimensional, the use of influence, the dimension of interpersonal relations, leadership as an agent of change and gaol accomplishment. 

3.2 Study of the Concept of Leadership The concept of power and its application is pivotal to leadership effectiveness. Power refers to the ability to influence other people. In the context of the organization, power refers to the ability to get things done or accomplishing one’s goal through people even in the existence of resistance and opposition.  In an organizational context, leadership derive their power from the basic sources:

- Legitimate Power: This is a type of power that resides in an office, the occupant of that office inherits and exercises the power emanating from that office, and this becomes a basis to request others to comply. Since employees are likely to resist instructions given to them by a supervisor who is acting outside or beyond their jurisdiction or authority.

Legitimate power is a power derived from position authority. The higher an employee moves up the organization hierarchy, the more power him or her exercises.

 - Reward Power: This refers to the ability of the leader to reward. Those who comply with, exhibit effort or achieve organizational goals. The presence of this power is enough to induce compliance from those employees who desire the reward.

 Reward power as an instrument at the disposal of the leader is sometimes restricted in situations where reward is based on standard bargaining.

- Coercive Power: This is the use of punishment to accomplish organizational goal. Employees comply with regulations or rules to avoid being sanctioned by the leader. –

Referent Power: Referent Power is deduced from the personal characteristics that leaders bring to organizational setting. These characteristics of the leader appeal to others in the work setting.

These characteristics of the leader appeal to others in the work setting and consequently elicit the compliance.

 - Expert Power: This refers to the expertise, competence or business knowledge possessed by the leader that makes subordinates to comply, because they believe that, they can learn from the leader. 

 SOURCES OF POWER

 

  3.2.1 The Leaders Attributes (Trait Theory) Leadership was traditionally presented in terms of the traits that the leader possessed and how they influenced the achievements of organizational goals. A leadership trait is a physical or personality characteristics that can be used to differentiate leaders from followers. The trait theory was the dominant thought in the early 20th century; its focus was on the identification of the attributes or traits that are to be found in leaders. The central theme is that leaders are not made but born.

Therefore there must be distinctive characteristics between the leaders and other members of the group. The trait theorists argued that individuals with a need for power prefer such professions as the military, clergy and teaching where they can truly control people. The major characteristics of Trait Theory are as follows:

 - Drive: this is a set of characteristics that reflect a high level of effort. It included the need for achievement striving for continuous improvement, ambition, energy, tenacity and initiative.

These derived, characteristics, though in-born in some people can also be acquired by others through behavioral modification.

 - Leadership Motivation: The instinct or desire to influence people is sometimes inborn in people. From the trait theory perspective. Leaders want to lead rather than be led.

 Leaders have a high view for power. A need for power induces people to attempt to influence others and sustain interest and satisfaction in the process of leadership.

- Integrity: this is the correspondence between action, behavior and utterances and the extent to which a leader is honest and credible. Integrity also includes the extent to which a leader displays morality and subscribes to professional ethics.

- Self- Confidence: This is the ability to stir in the face of difficulties and that setbacks are only temporary restrain. Self-confidence allows a leader to stir in the midst of difficulties and obstacles, make decision despite uncertainty and instill confidence in others.

- Knowledge of the Business: Effective leaders have a high level knowledge about their industries or business, if a leader is to lead, show way, guide or direct or move others, such leaders must be knowledgeable in that endeavor. 

3.2.2 Group Approach

- Wide participation in decision-making

 - Face-to-face group interactions

- Mutual confidence is the primary integration in the organization

- Inter-Group and Intra-Group communication

- Growth for members of the organization is recognized as a priority objective.

As the group approach to leadership become acceptable in theory, the leader’s role becomes primarily one of helping the group to clarify and achieve its goals. One important consequence of this change was a shift in emphasis or even displacement of organizational goals for the groups. Another was almost unnoticed shift of leadership from executive to managerial and supervisory levels.

The group approach also:

- Produced a functional leadership that varied with group needs.

- Recognized the latent power over time of group norms to transform externally, introduced rule like the one from the legislature.

- Transform the leader into a co-ordinator partly leading and partly being led. 

3.2.3 The Situational Approach to Leadership The situational approach maintains that the situation dictates the qualities of leadership. Rather than adjusting the organization to fit the leader, here the leader is adjusted to organizational requirements. Among the situational variables identified are:

- Expectations of following

 - Technology associated with the task to be performed.

- Pressures of schedules and the delivery environment.

- Required degrees of interpersonal contact.

- Various stages of organizational development

There are six – identified organization development that calls for different kinds of leadership.

- Creation of a new organization

 - Survival of a continuing system

- Attainment of stability - Gaining reputation and prestige

- Achieving uniqueness and adaptability

- Contributing to the society

 3.2.4 Forces in the Subordinates Before deciding how to lead a certain group, the manager will also want to consider a number of forces affecting his subordinate’s behavior. Subordinates are influenced by many personality variables. In addition, such subordinate has a set expectation about how a boss should act in relation to him. The better the manager understands these factors, the more accurately he can determine what kind of behavior on his part will enable his subordinates to act most effectively.

The manager can allow his subordinates greater freedom of the following essential conditions exists:

- If the subordinates have relatively high need of independence.

- If the subordinate have a readiness to assume responsibility for decision-making

- If they have relatively high tolerance for ambiguity.

- If they are interested in the problem and feel that it is important.

 - If they understand and identify with the goals of the organization.

 - If they have the necessary knowledge and experience to deal with the problem.

- If they have learnt to expect to share in decision-making.

 The restructure effect of many of the forces will of course, be greatly modified by the general feeling of confidence which subordinates have in the boss where they learnt to respect and trust him, he is free to vary his behavior. He will not be perceived as an authoritarian boss on those occasions when he makes decision by himself.  

4.0 CONCLUSION

 In this note we have dealt with leadership in the context of its traditional meaning and have also examined its study. The three most common theories in which its study is carried out have been explored i.e. the trait, group and situational approaches to the study. 

5.0 SUMMARY

This note covers the definition and theories of leadership as it is traditionally conceived. 


 <<<Previous Note                             View Course Content                                   Next Note>>>