Leadership Style and

for Engineers
Leadership and Professional Ethics
Situational Approach
Dr Syed Shatir A. Syed-Hassan
CEng MIChemE
 What have we learned?
• Ways of Conceptualising Leaderships
• Definition of Leadership

for Engineers
Leadership and Professional Ethics
• Trait versus Process Leadership
• Assigned versus Emergent Leadership
• 5 Bases of Power
• Leadership versus Management
 Leadership Style
• The style approach emphasises the
behaviour of the leaders

for Engineers
Leadership and Professional Ethics
• Focus exclusively on what leaders do and
how they act towards subordinates
• Two general kinds of behaviours:
 Task behaviours (directive behaviours)
 Relationship behaviours (supportive behaviours)
 Directive Behaviours
• Directive behaviours help group members
accomplish goals:
 By giving directions, establishing goals &

for Engineers
Leadership and Professional Ethics
methods of evaluation, setting time lines,
defining roles and showing how the goals are
to be achieved.
• Often one-way communication
• What is to be done, how it is to be done,
and by whom
 Supportive Behaviours
• Supportive behaviours help group
members feel comfortable about

for Engineers
Leadership and Professional Ethics
themselves, their co-workers and the
situation:
• Involve two-way communication
• For example: asking for input, praising,
sharing information and listening
 4 Categories of Leadership
Style
• S1: High Directive – Low Supportive
(Directing/Telling):

for Engineers
Leadership and Professional Ethics
• S2: High Directive – High Supportive
(Coaching/Selling)
• S3: High Supportive – Low directive
(Supporting/Facilitating/Participating)
• S4: Low Supportive – Low Directive
(Delegating/Observing)
Situational Leadership
• Modern situational leadership theory was
developed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard
• Different situations require different style of
leadership.
• Leadership style is determined by the

for Engineers
Leadership and Professional Ethics
development level of followers.
• Leaders must match their style to the competence
and commitment of their subordinates/followers.
• The subordinates development level can also be
classified into 4 categories
 Situational Leadership
Development Level of Followers:
• D1: Low Competence – High Commitment
• D2: Some Competence – Low

for Engineers
Leadership and Professional Ethics
Commitment
• D3: Moderate to High Competence – Low
Commitment
• D4: High Competence – High
Commitment
(High) THE FOUR LEADERSHIP STYLES
S High Supportive and High Directive and
U Low Directive High Supportive
P Behavior Behavior
P
O
R
T
I
V S3 S2
E

B
S4 S1

for Engineers
Leadership and Professional Ethics
E
H
A
V
I
O Low Supportive and High Directive and
R Low Directive Low Supportive
Behavior Behavior

(Low) DIRECTIVE BEHAVIOR (High)

HIGH MODERATE LOW

D4 D3 D2 D1
DEVELOPED DEVELOPING

DEVELOPMENT LEVEL OF FOLLOWER(S)

Development Level of Followers

for Engineers
Leadership and Professional Ethics
• High skill & • Moderate to • Low to • Low skill
High high skill moderate • Motivated
motivation level development • Need
• Needs low • Just • Unsure they specific
direction or adequate can do it. direction
support motivation • Leaders give • Need close
• Leaders • Leaders key direction but supervision
empowers role is also seeks
followers facilitating input
“Peak “Reluctant “Disillusioned “Enthusiastic
performer” contributor” learner” Beginner”
Leadership and
Organisation:

for Engineers
Leadership and Professional Ethics
Understanding Individual
Differences
Dr Syed Shatir A. Syed-Hassan
CEng MIChemE
ORGANISATION.....???

for Engineers
Leadership and Professional Ethics
An organisation is a collection of
people who work together and
coordinate their actions to
achieve a wide variety of goals
Some Questions To Think
• Why some people in an organisation
embrace change and others are fearful of
it?

for Engineers
Leadership and Professional Ethics
• Why some employees will be productive
only if they are closely supervised, while
others will be productive if they are not?
• Why some workers learn new tasks more
effectively than others?
Individual Difference

• Individual differences have a direct impact

on the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors of
each member of an organization

for Engineers
Leadership and Professional Ethics
• People who perceive things differently behave
differently
• People with different attitudes respond differently to
directives
• People with different personalities interact differently
with bosses, co-workers, subordinates, and customers
Individual Difference

• Effective organisational leadership practice

requires that individual behavior differences
be recognized, and when feasible, taken

for Engineers
Leadership and Professional Ethics
into consideration while carrying out the job
of managing the organisation.
• Two categories of individual difference:
 Personality
 Ability
 The nature of personality
• Personality = The overall profile or combination
of characteristics that capture the unique nature
of a person as that person reacts and interacts
with others.

for Engineers
Leadership and Professional Ethics
• Predictable relationships are expected between
people’s personalities and their behaviors.
• Examples of personality:
• Perfectionist, critical, impatient, demanding,
• Relaxed, easy-going,
• Fun, friendly
• Shy and quiet
The Big Five Personality
Dimensions

Extroversion Agreeableness

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Leadership and Professional Ethics
Conscientiousness

Neuroticism Openness to
(Emotional Experience
Stability)
The Big Five Personality
Dimensions
Outgoing, talkative, sociable,
assertive.
Extroversion The opposite (introversion): quiet,

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Leadership and Professional Ethics
shy, cautious

High Conscientiousness: Careful,

Conscientiousness dependable, self-disciplined
Low Conscientiousness: Careless,
less thorough, more disorganised,
Openness to irresponsible
experience
The Big Five Personality
Dimensions
High Agreeableness: Courteous,
good-natured, emphatic, caring
Agreeableness Low Agreeableness:

for Engineers
Leadership and Professional Ethics
Uncooperative, short-tempered,
irritable

High Neuroticism: Anxious, hostile,

Neuroticism depressed
Low Neuroticism (high emotional
stability: poised, secure, calm
The Big Five Personality
Dimensions

High: Flexible, creative,

for Engineers
Leadership and Professional Ethics
curious
Openness to
experience Low: more resistant to
change, less open to new
ideas,
 Personality Determinants

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Leadership and Professional Ethics
Nature Personality Nurture

Biological heritage Life experiences

The interaction of
personality and situational
factors

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Leadership and Professional Ethics
Feelings
Personality
Thoughts
Nature
Personality Situational
Nurture
Attitudes Factors
Behaviours
The nature of ability

• Ability = what a person is capable of

doing

for Engineers
Leadership and Professional Ethics
• Two types of ability affect performance
 Cognitive ability/mental ability
 Physical ability
 Ability Determinants

for Engineers
Leadership and Professional Ethics
Cognitive
Nature & Physical Nurture
Abilities
Biological heritage Education, practice,
and experience
Class Discussion

Which matters most:

for Engineers
Leadership and Professional Ethics
Personality or Ability?