Lecture 4

Theories of Leadership
For decades, leadership theories have been the source of numerous studies. In
reality as well as in practice, many have tried to define what allows authentic
leaders to stand apart from others. Also, there as many theories on leadership as
there are philosophers, researchers and professors that have studied and published
leadership theories.
Theories are commonly categorized by which aspect is believed to define the leader
the most. The most widespread ones are:
-

Great Man Theory

Trait theory

Behavioural Theories

Contingency Theories

Transactional Theories and,

Transformational theories

Great Man Theory (1840s)

The Great Man theory evolved around the mid 19th century. Even though no one
was able to identify with any scientific certainty, which human characteristic or
combination of, were responsible for identifying great leaders. Everyone recognized
that just as the name suggests; only a man could have the characteristics of a
great leader.
The Great Man theory assumes that the traits of leadership are intrinsic. That
simply means that great leaders are born... they are not made. This theory sees
great leaders as those who are destined by birth to become a leader. Furthermore,

the belief that great leaders will rise when confronted with the appropriate
situation. The theory was popularized by Thomas Carlyle, a writer and teacher. Just
like him, the Great Man theory was inspired by the study of influential heroes. In
his book "On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History", he compared a wide
array of heroes.
In 1860, Herbert Spencer, an English philosopher disputed the great man theory by
affirming that these heroes are simply the product of their times and their actions
the results of social conditions.
Trait Theory (1930's - 1940's)
The trait leadership theory believes that people are either born or are made with
certain qualities that will make them excel in leadership roles. That is, certain
qualities such as intelligence, sense of responsibility, creativity and other values
puts anyone in the shoes of a good leader. In fact, Gordon Allport, an American
psychologist,"...identified

almost

18,000

English

personality-relevant

terms"

(Matthews, Deary & Whiteman, 2003, p. 3).

The trait theory of leadership focused on analyzing mental, physical and social
characteristics in order to gain more understanding of what is the characteristic or
the combination of characteristics that are common among leaders.
There were many shortfalls with the trait leadership theory. However, from a
psychology of personalities approach, Gordon Allport's studies are among the first
ones and have brought, for the study of leadership, the behavioural approach.

In the 1930s the field of Psychometrics was in its early years.

Personality trait measurement was not reliable across studies.

Study samples were of low level managers

Explanations were not offered as to the relation between each characteristic

and its impact on leadership.

The context of the leader was not considered.

Many studies have analyzed the traits among existing leaders in the hope of
uncovering those responsible for ones leadership abilities! In vain, the only
characteristics that were identified among these individuals were those that were
slightly taller and slightly more intelligent.
Behavioural Theories (1940's - 1950's)
In reaction to the trait leadership theory, the behavioural theories are offering a
new perspective, one that focuses on the behaviours of the leaders as opposed to
their mental, physical or social characteristics. Thus, with the evolutions in
psychometrics, notably the factor analysis, researchers were able to measure the
cause an effects relationship of specific human behaviours from leaders. From this
point forward anyone with the right conditioning could have access to the once
before elite club of naturally gifted leaders. In other words, leaders are made not
born.
The behavioural theories first divided leaders in two categories. Those that were
concerned with the tasks and those concerned with the people. Throughout the
literature these are referred to as different names, but the essence are identical.
Contingency Theories (1960's)
The Contingency Leadership theory argues that there is no single way of leading
and that every leadership style should be based on certain situations, which
signifies that there are certain people who perform at the maximum level in certain
places; but at minimal performance when taken out of their element.
To a certain extent contingency leadership theories are an extension of the trait
theory, in the sense that human traits are related to the situation in which the
leaders exercise their leadership. It is generally accepted within the contingency
theories that leader are more likely to express their leadership when they feel that
their followers will be responsive.

Transactional leadership Theories (1970's)

Transactional theories, also known as exchange theories of leadership, are
characterized by a transaction made between the leader and the followers. In fact,
the theory values a positive and mutually beneficial relationship.
For the transactional theories to be effective and as a result have motivational
value, the leader must find a means to align to adequately reward (or punish) his
follower, for performing leader-assigned task. In other words, transactional leaders
are most efficient when they develop a mutual reinforcing environment, for which
the individual and the organizational goals are in sync.
The transactional theorists state that humans in general are seeking to maximize
pleasurable experiences and to diminish un-pleasurable experiences. Thus, we are
more likely to associate ourselves with individuals that add to our strengths.
Transformational Leadership Theories (1970s)
The Transformational Leadership theory states that this process is by which a
person interacts with others and is able to create a solid relationship that results in
a high percentage of trust, that will later result in an increase of motivation, both
intrinsic and extrinsic, in both leaders and followers.
The essence of transformational theories is that leaders transform their followers
through their inspirational nature

and

charismatic personalities. Rules and

regulations are flexible, guided by group norms. These attributes provide a sense of
belonging for the followers as they can easily identify with the leader and its
purpose.

Lecture 5

Leadership and Management

Leadership and management are two essential functions in business. Leadership
represents individuals involved with balancing varying interests among managers,
employees and other business stakeholders. Management commonly is defined as
the organization and coordination of various economic resources in a business.
While leaders can be managers, managers may not be leaders. Leaders often have
specific character traits that lend their skills more to directing a company than
managing resources.
Leadership and management must go hand in hand. A leader should not be
confused with a manager but they both complement each other. Any person in a
position of authority may be put in a leadership role.
does not mean that you can play the part.

Being in a leadership role

The fact that opportunity has been

provided does not mean that you can deliver. That is why we have so many square
pegs in round holes, which means many people occupying the wrong positions.
While a leader is sets a new direction or vision for a group that they follow, that is,
a leader is the spearhead for that new direction.

A manager controls or directs

people/resources in a group according to principles or values that have been

established.
Characteristics of Managers and Leaders
In his 1989 book On Becoming a Leader, Warren Bennis summarized a list of the
differences:
The manager administers; the leader innovates.
The manager is a copy; the leader is an original.
The manager maintains; the leader develops.
The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.
The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.

 The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.
The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.
The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leaders eye is
on the horizon.
The manager imitates; the leader originates.
The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.
The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person.
The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.
-

The manager instructs and directs; the leader empowers and mentors.

The distinction between leadership and management is quite useful in gaining a

better understanding of these different functions in an organization.

Leadership

and management operate hand in hand. To be a good manager requires leadership

skills, and an effective leader will be reliant on applying their own and others'
management skills to achieve their vision.
Project Management

Lecture 6
Essentials of Organizational Leadership
An organization is a unit of people that is structured and managed to meet a need
or to purse collective goals. All organizations have a management structure that
determines relationships between the different activities and the members, and
subdivides and assign roles, responsibilities, and authority to carry out different
tasks.

Organizations are open systems-they affect and are affected by their

environment.
The first thing in excellent organization is culture; it can make or break a company.
Culture is incredibly important because it sets the tenor for everything from how
the early team interacts to the kinds of staff made to how customers are treated.
One mistake can make the company to lose profit.

Organization can be

distinguished by building a winning corporate culture, good work environment and

an enhanced relationship.

Basic Concepts in Organizational Leadership

Facts
Organizational leadership often manifests itself in the business owner or executive
directors of a company. Many owners are seen as leaders because they start new
businesses based on an idea or vision. Business owners are responsible for handling
all aspects of creating the new business venture, regardless of how many difficult
situations arise. Organizational leaders may respond to various negative business
situations based on their core personality traits.

Features
Leadership traits include enthusiasm, conscientiousness, boldness, self-assurance
and competitiveness. These characteristics give individuals intangible business skills
for accomplishing tasks and inspiring people to work with the leader during tough
situations. Specific organizational leadership traits may include intuitiveness,
maturity, team orientation, charisma and empathy. These may closely relate to the
organizational structure of the business in which the leader works.
Function
Business owners and leaders usually develop a mission or value statement for the
organization. This statement includes information that will promote the transfer of
information, knowledge and methods to individuals working in the business.
Organizational leadership often recruits individuals to help the leader fulfill his
vision. Leaders also have a tendency to delegate non-essential tasks to lower-level
employees. This delegation allows leaders to maintain a singular focus on the
overall goal of their business organization.
Effects
Businesses with strong leadership usually have a better understanding of their goals
and objectives. While the main goal of many businesses is to make a profit, they
also may have other goals when operating in the business environment. Leaders
not only provide these goals and objectives, but also ensure the company achieves
them. Leaders can help a company return to its original goals or objectives if the
business begins to lose its way.
Warning
Organizational leadership can create some conflict in businesses. Leaders may be
so focused on a single goal or objective that they overlook other needs in the
business. Managers and employees can be overlooked or seen as less important if
organizational

leadership

goals

are

placed

ahead

of

these

individuals.

Organizational leadership that continually critiques and punishes employees can

create an unfavorable environment in which individuals do not feel comfortable as
employees.
Culture and Climate
Culture and climate are two distinct forces that dictate how to act within an
organization:
Each organization has its own distinctive culture. It is a combination of the
founders, past leadership, current leadership, crises, events, history, and
size (Newstrom, Davis, 1993). These results in rites: the routines, rituals,
and the way we do things. These rites impact individual behavior on what
it takes to be in good standing (the norm) and direct the appropriate
behavior for each circumstance.
The climate is the feel of the organization, the individual and shared
perceptions

and

attitudes

of

the

organization's

members

(Ivancevich,

Konopaske, Matteson, 2007). On the other hand, culture is the deeply

rooted nature of the organization that is a result of long-held formal and
informal systems, rules, traditions, and customs. This differs from climate,
which is a short-term phenomenon created by the current leadership.
Climate represents the beliefs about the feel of the organization by its
members. This individual perception of the feel of the organization comes
from what the people believe about the activities that occur in the
organization. These activities influence both individual and team motivation
and satisfaction, such as:
o

How well does the leader clarify the priorities and goals of the organization?
What is expected of us?

What is the system of recognition, rewards, and punishments in the

organization?

How competent are the leaders?

Are leaders free to make decisions?

What will happen if I make a mistake?

Organizational climate is directly related to the leadership and management

style of the leader, based on the values, attributes, skills, and actions, as
well as the priorities of the leader. Compare this to ethical climate the
feel of the organization about the activities that have ethical content or
those aspects of the work environment that constitute ethical behavior. The
ethical climate is the feel about whether we do things right; or the feel of
whether we behave the way we ought to behave. The behavior (character)
of the leader is the most important factor that influences the climate.
On the other hand, culture is a long-term, complex phenomenon. Culture
represents the shared expectations and self-image of the organization. The
mature values that create tradition or the way we do things here. Things
are done differently in every organization. The collective vision and common
folklore that define the institution are a reflection of culture. Individual
leaders cannot easily create or change culture because culture is a part of
the organization. Culture influences the characteristics of the climate by its
effect on the actions and thought processes of the leader. But, everything
you do as a leader will affect the climate of the organization.
Organizational Environment
Every organization has a particular work environment, which dictates to a
considerable degree how its leaders respond to problems and opportunities.
This is brought about by its heritage of past leaders and its present leaders.
Leaders exert influence on the environment via three types of actions:
1. The goals and performance standards they establish.
2. The values they establish for the organization.

3. The business and people concepts they establish.

Successful

organizations

have

leaders

who

set

high

standards

and goals across the entire spectrum, such as strategies, market leadership,
plans, meetings and presentations, productivity, quality, and reliability.
Values

reflect

the

concern

the

organization

has

for

its

employees,

customers, investors, vendors, and surrounding community. These values

define the manner in how business will be conducted.
Concepts define what products or services the organization will offer and the
methods and processes for conducting business.
These goals, values, and concepts make up the organization's personality or
how the organization is observed by both outsiders and insiders. This
personality defines the roles, relationships, rewards, and rites that take
place.
Roles and Relationships
Roles are the positions that are defined by a set of expectations about
behavior

of

any

job

incumbent.

Each

role

has

set

of

tasks

and

responsibilities that may or may not be spelled out. Roles have a powerful
effect on behavior for several reasons, to include money being paid for the
performance of the role, there is prestige attached to a role, and a sense of
accomplishment or challenge.
Relationships are determined by a role's tasks. While some tasks are
performed alone, most are carried out in relationship with others. The tasks
will determine who the role-holder is required to interact with, how often,
and towards what end. Normally the greater the interaction, the greater the
liking. This in turn leads to more frequent interactions. In human behavior
it is hard to like someone whom we have no contact with, and we tend to
seek out those we like. People tend to do what they are rewarded for, and
friendship

is

powerful

reward.

Many tasks

and

behaviors

that

are

associated with a role are brought about by these relationships. That is, new
tasks and behaviors are expected of the present role-holder because a
strong relationship was developed in the past, by either that role-holder or
by a prior role-holder.
Leadership has been described as a process by which a person influences others to
accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more
cohesive and coherent. Good leaders are developing through a never ending
process of self-study, education, training and experience. While leadership is
learned, the skills and knowledge possess by the leaders can be influenced by his or
hers attributes or traits such as beliefs, values, ethics and characters.

Lecture 7
Effective Management through Leadership
A leader has been described as the person who leads or commands an organization.
A boss is the one who instruct others on what to do.

Most people are natural

followers most of their lives. They wait for instructions and expect leaders to tell
them what to do. However, once a follower suddenly becomes a leader, then the
perspective changes so quickly that few are able to cope effectively. As a result, the
stereotypical horrible bosses emerge out of magnified personality disorders the
bully, the wimp, the mouthpiece and the psycho. If you find yourself suddenly
placed in a management position, what are the basic concepts of management that
you should master, if you wish to avoid being labeled as one of the above?
1.

Lead by Example

As a manager, you should never expect your subordinates to perform tasks that you
are unwilling to do by yourself. If you are asking for your employees to take
Saturday shifts, work several Saturdays as well to show that you are not placing
yourself above them or the company. If upper management hands down mandates

that you do not personally agree with, you should never show your personal
dissatisfaction to your staff, which will encourage your subordinates to behave in
the same negative manner. Rather, learn to spin negative news to make the glass
appear half full rather than half empty. A good number of employees will mirror the
attitude and behavior of their boss to some degree; he takes him as a model of
acceptable behavior in the workplace.
2.

Be Flawlessly Consistent

Consistency is the key to successful management. It is said that Sun Tzu, to

demonstrate the importance of consistency to an emperor, held a military practice
session using the emperors concubines. When one of the concubines, the
emperors favorite, refused to participate in the manly exercises, Sun Tzu had her
beheaded. Needless to say, practice went smoothly after that, as the other
concubines realized that the punishments would be severe but consistent, and that
favorites meant nothing. As a manager, when you set the rules, they cannot be
broken not even by your top employees or by yourself. Punishing your favorite
employees or yourself for rule violations sends a loud, clear message no one is
exempt, and the rules are final.
3.

Positive Reinforcement

Enough talk of military style strictness. Positive reinforcement is also a valuable tool
in successful management. Ben Franklin famously stated, Tart words make no
friends; a spoonful of honey will catch more flies than a gallon of vinegar. While
you need to discipline employees for underperforming, you should also reward and
compliment them when they impress you. Positive behavior needs nurturing, and
letting them taste honey is far more effective than force feeding them with vinegar.
The popular Yes Sandwich in which a manager leads with a compliment,
sandwiches in the negative comment, then closes with a second compliment is a
popular example of Franklins philosophy. While the request for improvement was
received, the employee does not feel insulted in the process.

4.

Evolve as a Leader

Being all of these the office patriarch, the good cop and the bad cop all at the
same time is never easy. That is why there are endless books written on
successful office management. Do not be rigid, but stand your ground and evolve
your management style through trial and error.
The Role of Leadership and Management in Employee Motivation
It is important for leaders and managers to find out what satisfies the needs of its
employees? Organizations have found out that even if employees are satisfied with
pay and condition of work, they still complain that their employer does not do a
good job in motivating them.
Motivation is vital because even at the most fundamental level, it is expensive to
get another set of staff than that to keep existing one. Employees want to be
involved and regarded and making them happy means they will be at service of the
organization for longer period. Have it in mind that at most not convenient time,
leader and manager need to motivate staff.
It is important that you lead by good characters when there is an issue with staff, if
you expect your employees to work late, then you should stay at work too for such
period. At the same time, if you don't want staff coming in at 10am on first working
day of the week, then make sure you're at work very early. Its not always about
hours of working; show your staff respect and you will hopefully get it back. They
will observe you on the way you discus with people around and act in same
circumstances, so it is important to behave in the way you will like them to behave
as well.
Investing in employee is paramount, not only will it mean we are getting the best
and latest in the organization but they will appreciate us for being able to develop
under our cares. We make sure we fully research courses to send our employee on
to acquire the full training. It is equally good to get feedback from employee on
how the course has improved their standard individually.

Communicating with our employee is high on our list of priorities. Most of them like
a leader or manager they can easily reach whenever there have problems. Leaders
should hold frequent job discussion with our employee to make sure they are most
happy, doing on good and aren't confused about anything. Apart from this, we do
communicate with our employee every day. Exchanging greetings are simple
motivational techniques but can make a world of difference.
Contribution of performance management techniques as organizational
processes
Managers use performance management techniques to test employees working
status on a regular basis. By examining each employees performance, the
organization also measures the overall effectiveness of its workforce and how well
the company achieves its objectives.
Assigning roles to workers that improve their strengths is a difficult job. Workforce
optimization is a plan to put the right people in the best job roles to maximize their
work output. By doing regular appraisals, leaders and managers easily track
employees' performance and suggest if they need more training or if they could be
more productive with different responsibilities.
Another performance management technique usually employ is compensation
package. Overall morale always increase most especially when the employee sees
the process to be fair. A happy worker is a hard worker.
Organizations should provide leaders and managers with legitimate authority to
lead. There is need for individuals to imbibe this strong leadership and management
trait for optimal effectiveness. In nowadays changing work environment, there is
need for leaders that can challenge the status quo and inspire and persuade
organization members. There is also need for team leaders to assist in changing
and improving a smoothly running place of work.