Session 14

Human Behavior in Organizations
Session 14
Leadership and Followership
Leadership – the process of Followership – the process of being

guided and directed by a leader in
guiding and directing the
the work environment
behavior of people in the
work environment
Formal leadership – the officially
sanctioned leadership based on
the authority of a formal position
Informal leadership – the unofficial

leadership accorded to a person by
other members of the organization
Trait Theories of Leadership
• Trait theories of leadership focus on personal
qualities and characteristics.
– The search for personality, social, physical, or
intellectual attributes that differentiate leaders
from non-leaders goes back to the earliest
stages of leadership research.
12-3
• Extraversion was found to be the most important trait of
effective leaders, but it is more strongly related to the way
leaders emerge than to their effectiveness.
• Conscientiousness and openness to experience also

showed strong relationships to leadership, though not
quite as strong as extraversion.
• Another trait that may indicate effective leadership is

emotional intelligence.
• A core component of EI is empathy. 12-4

Trait Theories of Leadership
• Two conclusions:
– Traits can predict leadership.
– Traits do a better job predicting the
emergence of leaders and the appearance of
leadership than actually distinguishing
between effective and ineffective leaders.
12-5
Behavioral Theories
• Behavioral theories of leadership imply we can
train people to be leaders.
– Ohio State Studies found two behaviors that
accounted for most leadership behavior:
• Initiating structure- organize work, assigning tasks and goals,
meeting deadlines.
• Consideration - trust, respect for employees’ ideas, and regard
for their feelings
12-6
• The GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational
Behavior Effectiveness) study suggests there are
international differences in preference for initiating
structure and consideration.
– Based on the values of Brazilian employees, a U.S.
manager leading a team in Brazil would need to be
team-oriented, participative, and humane. Leaders
high in consideration would succeed best in this
culture.
12-7
LEWIN ON LEADERSHIP
Autocratic Style – the leader uses strong,

directive, controlling actions to enforce the
rules, regulations, activities, and relationships;
followers have little discretionary influence
Democratic Style – the leader takes collaborative,

reciprocal, interactive actions with followers;
followers have high degree of discretionary
influence
Laissez-Faire Style – the leader fails to accept the

responsibilities of the position; creates chaos in
the work environment
• Summary of Trait Theories and Behavioral Theories
– Leaders who have certain traits and who display
culturally appropriate consideration and
structuring behaviors do appear to be more
effective.
– Traits and behaviors do not guarantee success.
• Context matters too.
12-9
Contingency Theories of Leadership
• The Fiedler contingency model: effective group performance depends
upon the proper match between the leader’s style and the degree to
which the situation gives control to the leader.
– The least preferred coworker (LPC) questionnaire:
 Task- or relationship-oriented.
 Assumes leadership style is fixed.
 two ways to improve leader effectiveness: you can either
change the leader to fit the situation, or change the situation
to fit the leader.
12-10
12-11
12-12
After assessing leadership style, it is necessary to match the
leader with the situation.
• Defining the Situation

– Fiedler has identified three contingency or
situational dimensions:
• Leader-member relations
• Task structure
• Position power
12-13
12-14
Situational leadership theory (SLT)
• SLT is a contingency theory that focuses on the followers.
• Successful leadership is achieved by selecting the right leadership style, which is
contingent on the level of the followers’ readiness.
• A leader should choose one of four behaviors depending on follower readiness.
• If followers are unable and unwilling to do a task, the leader needs to give clear
and specific directions;
• If they are unable but willing, the leader needs to display high task orientation
to compensate for followers’ lack of ability and high relationship orientation to
get them to “buy into” the leader’s desires.
• Conversely, if followers are able but unwilling, the leader needs to use a
supportive and participative style.
• If they are both able and willing, the leader doesn’t need to do much. 12-15
Path–Goal Theory of Leadership
Leader behavior styles

• Directive Follower path Follower goals
• Supportive perceptions • Satisfaction
• Participative Effort–Performance– • Rewards
• Achievement oriented Reward linkages • Benefits
Follower Workplace
Characteristics characteristics
• Ability level • Task structure
• Authoritarianism • Work group
• Locus of control • Authority system
Contemporary Theories of Leadership
12-17
The leader-member exchange (LMX) theory
12-18
Leader-Member Exchange
Leaders form two groups of followers:
In-groups Out-Groups
• Members similar to • Managed by formal rules and

leader policies
• Given greater responsibilities, • Given less attention; fewer rewards
rewards, attention • Outside the leader’s communication
• Within leader’s inner circle of circle
communication • More likely to retaliate against the
• High job satisfaction and organization
organizational commitment, low • Stress from being left
turnover out of communication
• Stress from added responsibilities network
Charismatic Leadership
12-20
• Are Charismatic Leaders Born or Made?
– Some individuals are born with charismatic
traits, others are trained to exhibit charismatic
behaviors.
• Develop the aura of charisma.
• Create a bond that inspires others to follow.
• Bring out the potential in followers by tapping
into their emotions. 12-21
• Does Effective Charismatic Leadership Depend on
the Situation?
– People are especially receptive when they
sense a crisis, when they are under stress, or
when they fear for their lives.
– when charismatic leaders surface, it’s more likely to be in politics, religion,
wartime; or when a business firm is in its infancy or facing a life-
threatening crisis.
12-22
• The Dark Side of Charismatic Leadership
– Many leaders don’t necessarily act in the best
interest of their companies.
• Many have allowed their personal goals to
override the goals of the organization.
• Individuals who are narcissistic are also higher in
some behaviors associated with charismatic
leadership.
12-23
Transactional and transformational leaders
12-24
12-25
– Transformational versus Transactional Leadership
• Transformational leadership is more strongly
correlated with lower turnover rates, higher
productivity, lower employee stress and
burnout, and higher employee satisfaction.
12-26
• How Transformational Leadership Works
– Creativity – theirs and others.
– Decentralization of responsibility.
– Propensity to take risks.

– Compensation is geared toward long-term results.
– Greater agreement among top managers about the

organization’s goals.
12-27
• Evaluation of Transformational Leadership
– Transformational leadership has been supported
at diverse job levels and occupations, but isn’t
equally effective in all situations.
• It has a greater impact on the bottom line in
smaller, privately-held firms than in more
complex organizations.
12-28
• Transformational versus Charismatic Leadership
– Charismatic leadership places more emphasis on
the way leaders communicate – are they
passionate and dynamic?
– Transformational leadership focuses more on what
they are communicating – is it a compelling vision?
– Both focus on the leader’s ability to inspire
followers.
12-29
Authentic Leadership
• Building the leader's legitimacy through honest

relationships with followers
– Authentic leaders:
• Know who they are.
• Know what they believe in and value.
• Act on those values and beliefs openly and candidly.
– The result: people come to have faith in them.

12-30
Ethical Leadership
– leadership that is directed by respect for ethical beliefs

and values and for the dignity and rights of others.
– It is thus related to concepts such as
• trust, honesty, consideration, charisma and fairness.
12-31
Servant Leadership
– Servant leaders go beyond their self-interest and

instead focus on opportunities to help followers
grow and develop.
– Characteristic behaviors include listening,
empathizing, persuading, accepting stewardship,
and actively developing followers’ potential.
12-32
Challenges to our
Understanding of Leadership
• Much of an organization’s success or failure is due to

factors outside the influence of leadership.
– In many cases, success or failure is just a matter of
being in the right or wrong place at a given time.
• The attribution theory of leadership says leadership is
merely an attribution people make about other
individuals.
12-33
12-34
• Selecting Leaders
– Identifying effective leaders:
• Review specific requirements for the position.
• Consider personality tests to identify
leadership traits.
• Situation-specific experience is relevant.
– Plan for a change in leadership.
12-35
• Training Leaders
• Teach implementation skills.

• Teach trust building, mentoring, and situational-
analysis.
• Behavioral training through modeling exercises can
increase an individual’s charismatic leadership
qualities.
• Review leadership after key organizational events.
• Train in transformational leadership skills.
12-36
Implications for Managers
• For maximum leadership effectiveness, ensure that your

preferences on the initiating structure and consideration
dimensions are a match for your work dynamics and culture.
• Hire candidates who exhibit transformational leadership
qualities and who have demonstrated success in working
through others to meet a long-term vision.
• Personality tests can reveal candidates higher in extraversion,
conscientiousness, and openness, which may indicate
leadership readiness. 12-37
Implications for Managers
• Hire candidates whom you believe are ethical and trustworthy for
management roles and train current managers in your organization’s
ethical standards in order to increase leadership effectiveness.
• Seek to develop trusting relationships with followers, because, as

organizations have become less stable and predictable, strong bonds
of trust are replacing bureaucratic rules in defining expectations and
relationships.
• Consider investing in leadership training such as formal courses,

workshops, rotating job responsibilities, coaching, and mentoring. 12-38

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Human Behavior in Organizations

Leadership – the process of Followership – the process of being

Informal leadership – the unofficial

• Conscientiousness and openness to experience also

• Another trait that may indicate effective leadership is

• A core component of EI is empathy. 12-4

Autocratic Style – the leader uses strong,

Democratic Style – the leader takes collaborative,

Laissez-Faire Style – the leader fails to accept the

• Defining the Situation

Leader behavior styles

Leaders form two groups of followers:

• Members similar to • Managed by formal rules and

– Propensity to take risks.

– Greater agreement among top managers about the

• Building the leader's legitimacy through honest

• Know who they are.

• Know what they believe in and value.

• Act on those values and beliefs openly and candidly.

– The result: people come to have faith in them.

– leadership that is directed by respect for ethical beliefs

– Servant leaders go beyond their self-interest and

• Much of an organization’s success or failure is due to

• Teach implementation skills.

• For maximum leadership effectiveness, ensure that your

• Seek to develop trusting relationships with followers, because, as

• Consider investing in leadership training such as formal courses,

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