Theories on Leadership and Its Implications to the Manager

A Term Paper Requirement

for

MGT 104- Organizational Behavior

Patrick Gerard Cheng Go

University of the Philippines Visayas

Theodore Roosevelt once said, “People ask the difference between a leader and
a boss. The leader works in the open, and the boss in covert. The leader leads, and the
boss drives.” Leadership is defined as the art or process of influencing people so that
they will strive willingly and enthusiastically toward the achievement of group goals
according to Harold Koontz and Heinz Weihrich. A leader is someone who can influence
and at the same time adjust to the uniqueness of its members. Thus, there are many
theories and ideas made by different people around the world that helps us differentiate
what a leader is from its own followers. In early times, leadership is based on the
leader’s characteristics known as the leadership trait theories which helps us
differentiate leaders from non-leaders. Some of the traits studied included physical
structure, appearance, social class, emotional stability, fluency of speech and
sociability. Other facts that are being studied is on how leaders interact and deal with
the group members. Men before were considered as leaders rather than women
because they are seen as more capable and diligent. In England, there was even a
theory wherein men with longer ring fingers tended to be a more successful leader.

There are specific behaviors that leaders portray in terms of dealing with the
members of the group. The first leadership theory is leadership based on the use of
authority according to the University of Iowa. It is classified into 3 kinds namely
autocratic, democratic and the laissez faire style. The autocratic leadership is defined as
a leader who dictated work methods, made unilateral decisions and limited employee
participation. Autocratic leaders don’t often illicit opinions or expertise from the people
who report to them, as do democratic and laissez-faire leaders. Instead, autocratic
leadership implies one person makes all the decisions for a group, team or assembly.
They have ominous responsibilities. Not only are they expected to make all the
decisions, they’re expected to make all the right decisions. Autocratic leaders seem to
portray the characteristics of a boss when they demand something and the members
will just follow what the leader has said. If the members don’t follow, they are going to
be reprimanded. An example for this leader is Donald Trump. Democratic leaders are
described as someone who involved employees in decision making, delegated authority
and used feedback as an opportunity for coaching employees. This type of leader tends
go hand in hand with its members in the jobs that they do and the problems that they
face. They continue to consult each other for more ideas in order to achieve that goals
that they need to accomplish. An example is Indra Nooyi who is known as an Indian
American business executive who served as the Chairwoman and Chief Executive
Officer of PepsiCo, the second largest food and beverage business in the world by net
revenue, for 12 years from 2006-2018. The last type in this theory is the free-rein or
laissez faire.The laissez faire style happens when a leader lets the group members
decide and complete the work in whatever way they saw fit. They are simply given
freedom to do what in whatever way to accomplish the goal that the leader has set. An
example of a leader for this theory is Mahatma Gandhi. He believed that people should
lead by example and be the change that they wish to see in the world so that others can
follow. Among these three kinds, the most favorable among them is the democratic
leader because both leaders and members tend to accomplish more when they work
and communicate together. Studies showed that the democratic style produces more
good quality and quantity of work. However, there are later studies that showed mixed
results.

Implications of the theory on Leadership based on the use of Authority to a manager

This theory applies to a real life manager especially on the way how he treats the
members of the group. This theory is evidently seen on a day to day basis between a
manager and an employee. For example is in Jollibee, when a leader just orders his
employees without asking them for support means that he is implied to be an autocratic
leader. If the leader goes hand in hand with the employees by having a gathering where
they discuss the problems and solutions to it means that he portrays to be a democratic
leader. In terms of the effectiveness of the leader, it is seen that the democratic way is
most effective. However, this theory does not apply to all real life situations because
each and every person has different responses to a certain leader. There are persons
that abide and produce good output when he or she is just being asked to do a task.

Another theory is known as the Dimensions of leader behavior described by

group members according to the Ohio State University. A leader is known to be either a
person-oriented (consideration) or a task-oriented (initiating structure) in terms of
facilitating goal accomplishment. Consideration is defined to the extent to which a
leader had work relationships characterized by mutual trust and respect for group
members’ ideas and feelings. A leader is considerate when he cares for the well-being
of his followers. It could either be through the emotional, physical and the spiritual
aspects of his members. This leader treats all group members as his/her equal. On the
other hand a task oriented leader is to the extent to which a leader defined his or his
role and the roles of group members in attaining goals. The leader lets the group
members know what is expected of them and what defined standards of their
performance they should achieve. The leader constantly checks on whether the
members follow the standard rules and regulations. The theory classifies a leader to be
either a high task-high relationship, low task-high relationship, low task-low relationship
or a high task-low relationship. According to this research, the most effective leader is
high in consideration and high in initiating structure. This leader has achieved high
subordinate performance and satisfaction but not in all situations. The dimensions of
leader behavior described by group members is related to the theory on behavioral
characteristics related to performance effectiveness. It is composed of two styles known
as the employee oriented leadership styles and production-oriented leadership style.
Employee oriented leadership styles emphasizes the concern for employee welfare,
needs, advancement and personal growth while the production-oriented leadership style
emphasizes the use of rules, procedures and close supervision of subordinates. Both
theories are interconnected because when you describe a leader to be either a high
task or a high relationship determines how effective you are to your employees. When
you are a high task oriented individual, you mostly focus on the production that an
employee could achieve for a certain standard. You would simply emphasize strict
supervision in order for you to reach the goals. For this theory, Employee-oriented
leaders were associated with high group productivity and higher job satisfaction.

Implications of the theory on the Dimensions of leader behavior described by group

members and its performance effectiveness to a manager

This theory applies when a leader shows high concern for either people or task.
He shows concern for task when he only focuses on finishing the job without thinking of
his or her employees. An example would be when employees tend to have an overtime
because the manager tells them to finish the job today so that they can accomplish the
goals. There is a sacrifice happening wherein the employees tend to increase their
stress level. They are not anymore working in the normal working hours. Therefore,
there is an effect on the physical and emotional state of the employee. However, it also
implies that employees have to do an overtime because it is very crucial for the
company to finish this job in order to catch up with important deadlines. A clear example
would be is that an accountant in the company is catching up with the deadlines of the
BIR. On the other hand, a person is person oriented wherein he considers mostly the
employees’ health despite of a lot of important deadlines. As they say, an employee
cannot work well if he or she is sick. The best type in this theory is being a high task and
high relationship leader. He focuses on completing a certain task to accomplish a goal
who sacrifices like an overtime for a very important work but gives employees also a
break time to relieve stress. The employee is also given different benefits to make them
healthier and make them relax especially during off-seasons. This does not apply to all
real life situations in order to make good performance.

Another theory that explains deeper on the concerns for production and people is
known the Managerial Grid by Robert Blake and Jane Mouton. This theory also focuses
on people and production just like the theory on dimensions of leader behavior and the
theory in relation to its performance effectiveness. However, this theory is more detailed
and specific than the ones before this. Blake and Mouton stated the five leadership
styles based on the managerial grid known as the impoverished style, country style,
team style, Middle of the road style and Produce Style. An impoverished style of
leadership is described as a lazy and disappear approach wherein the manager has low
concern for both people and production. He does not care or not to be held responsible
in case the employees makes mistakes. He does not even mind to correcting them
when they cause trouble. Thus, it will lead to the downfall of the management and
disorganization of the company. There will also be disharmony and dissatisfaction
between employees due to lack of effective leadership. Second, the produce or perish
management states that managers believe that their group members are just means to
an end. They are nothing but tools that is needed to be sharpened. The manager
provides employees money and expects them have a good performance in their work.
There is no collaboration between them and constantly pressures them with strict rules
and regulations through punishments to achieve company’s objectives. This will result
to a higher output but only in a short run. Some or most of the employees tend to find it
uneasy therefore will have a higher probability for them to leave the company. There is
employee dissatisfaction because they are being prevented from having relax and
enjoyable periods. The third type is known as the country style. It is characterized as a
manager who has a high concern for people but low concern for production. He pays
much attention to the needs, comfort, security and benefits of the employees. The
manager does not want to hurt the employees through strict rules and regulation
because he is afraid that they might get offended. This will jeopardize performance of
the company in terms of achieving their goals. It will result to a friendly but not
productive atmosphere. The fourth style known as the middle of the road, is considered
to be a neutral style because it will only produce an average performance. This style
does not maximize both production and people. Lastly, the Team Management is known
to be as the most effective because it will maximize both people and output. Thus, team
environment is based on mutual trust and respect between managers and employees
which will lead to high satisfaction and production.

Implication of the Managerial Grid to Managers

It is implied that managers should not and cannot use an impoverished style of
leadership because it will completely affect and destroy the business itself. The most
favorable among the fives is the Team style which shows high concern for people and
production. It is implied that when a manager shows commitment to his rights and
virtues, it will show that he is willing to take risks for his employees to grow instead of
them being used as just tools for the company. It is utmost important to treat your fellow
employees just like one of your family members in order for them to support you as a
manager. An ethical focus in effective leadership helps both managers and employees
grow in the sharing of the company’s goal. It also creates a sense of belongingness and
good environment to hone their skills. Managers can align the company’s values, roles
and rules if ever there is trust and mutual respect between the employees and
managers. It is vital that employees have trust because they will tend to be more
creative and flexible when doing work and times of changes. Thus, it will help
employees and managers to grow and improve production. No leadership style is best
for all situations. However, it is useful to know this in order to develop one’s skills that
are missing. There could even be a compromise between approaches which will likely
result to only average performance

The next theory of leadership is known as the four systems of Management by

Rensis Likert which consists of exploitative-authoritative, benevolent-authoritative,
consultative and participative. An exploitative-authoritative leader is described as one
who imposes fear in order to achieve employee motivation. Employees should abide by
the decisions of management and its only concern is for the completion of work. A
benevolent-authoritative leader uses reward to increase the productivity and satisfaction
of the employees. It is basically a top-down approach wherein there is an upward
mobility of information but restricted to what makes management happy. A consultative
leader accepts listens to ideas of his subordinates however most of them don’t feel a
sense of achievement in accomplishing the company’s goal. There is still a gap
between the employees and the company that prevent them to coincide. Lastly, the
participative leader is the most favorable because the leader engages with their
subordinates through teamwork, trust and respect.

Implication of the four systems of Management by Rensis Likert to managers

It is implied that not all of this are applicable in real life situations. Fear according
to Likert can motivate employees. In real life, fear or punishment can bring us down or
motivate us. It is the same with regards to rewards wherein it could attract a person or
make him go away. They are certain things on why an employee wants to work in your
company whether there are punishments or reward. For example is that a teacher with
low salary continues to work as an ordinary teacher because he dreams to be a good
teacher. His purpose of teaching is to learn more and love students but not for rewards
or punishments.

Aside from theories relating to people and production and behavioral theories,
there are also theories regarding in matching leaders with real life situations. These are
known as contingent theories. An example of this theories are Fiedler Contingency
theory, Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational theory and the Path Goal Theory.

Fiedler Contingency Model is a theory that effective groups depend upon a

proper match between a leader's style and the degree to which the situation gives
control and influence to the leader. There are three steps that enable one to match a
leader with the situations. The steps are identifying the leadership style, defining the
situation and matching leaders with situations. In identifying the leadership style, you
have to know first about yourself by thinking about the person you’ve least enjoyed to
work with. The manager must answer the Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC)
Questionnaire consisting of 18 pairs of opposite adjectives. The LPC questionnaire will
help you determine if ever you are task-oriented or relationship-oriented. If the manager
has a score of 57 or below, he is classified as a task-oriented manager while if your
score is 64 or above, you are considered as relationship-oriented. The second step
need to be taken is to define the situation in order to determine the favorableness of it. It
is determined by three factors consisting of leader-member relations, task structure and
position power. Leader-member relations is the extent where a leader is accepted by
the members of the group. Task structure is the extent to which the jobs are being
defined. Position power refers to the ability of the leader to control his subordinates. The
situational favorableness is determined through a table which helps determine on which
situation is effective to your leadership style. The last step is to match leaders with
situations. If the situation is favorable to the manager, then the manager should take it.
If it is unfavorable to the manager, replace him from that position.

Implications of Fiedlers Contingency Model to managers

It is implied that this this theory rejects the thought that there is only one way to
manage a situations. It suggests that for every situation, there are different leaders that
is applicable it based on the table of situational favorableness. However, there are still
those that do not apply this situations even though you are favorable to it. A person
unfavorable to this might even bring good performance to the situation being faced.
Managers should be flexible and alert to different situations ahead. As we know, future
is uncertain and we don’t know what situations we will face later on. Managers have to
prepare multiple alternatives that may help in solving issues in the company. They must
compare and contrast which of this alternatives is the best among them.

Another Contingency theory is known as the Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational

Leadership Theory. This theory is based on variable leadership which depends on a
variety of circumstances wherein a leader is able to adapt to the situations he faces.
This theory also focuses on the responsiveness and readiness of the follower to be able
to catch up with the commands of the leader. According to Robbins and Coulter,
readiness is defined as the extent to which people have the ability and willingness to
accomplish a specific task. This situational theory varies according to three factors
namely: circumstances, maturity of the leader and knowledge & skills. A leader is able
shape and mold their way to maturity and talent of his team members only when the
team is ready and face various circumstances. The theory has defined four leadership
styles and four levels of maturity that make up the relationship of the leader and the
members of the team in order to achieve optimal performance. These styles are: Telling
(High Task-Low
Relationship), Selling (High Task-High Relationship), Participating (Low Task-High
Relationship) and Delegating (Low Task-Low Relationship). Telling is one of the most
basic, direct and straight type of leadership. The leader simply tells each and every
member what to do and how to do this various tasks. This approach is more directive
rather than collaborative in nature. The second style known as selling is considered to
have a little bit more collaboration. The leader is engaged with his team members while
he is directing them with their tasked. Selling comes from an idea where you have to
convince your team members by promoting yourself to them in order for this members
to follow you. The style Participating is considered to have a building block of
relationships wherein the leader blends in more fully with those people he is working
with. There is a gathering between members to share their ideas and knowledge for a
better understanding. Finally, Delegating represents the passing of responsibilities and
tasks by the leader to the various members of the team. This style considered
experience teams to handle because they don’t really need much attention and direction
at the point of their careers. After identifying the leadership styles, there are four levels
of continuum for readiness namely: R1- low follower readiness, R2 - low to moderate
follower readiness, R3 - moderate to high follower readiness and R4 - high follower
readiness. Decisions are made based on the follower’s readiness in their various tasks
and responsibilities. First of all, R1 followers refers to followers who are unable and
unwilling to do their jobs because they aren’t competent and confident enough. They
are followers who are new or who have been given new tasks may lack the knowledge,
experience or skill to complete the task. R2 followers refers to followers that are unable
but willing to do their tasks. They may not know or only have a slightly more knowledge
and skills but however are eager to learn new things. This level of maturity is
characterized as a person is not only measured by the skill he currently has but the
capacity and willingness he is in taking the task. R3 followers are considered as those
able but unwilling to do their jobs and tasks. They know how to do this tasks but
becomes apprehensive when he begins a new task on his own. R4 followers are
experienced at doing the specific tasks and confident in his or her ability. They are able
and willing to explore new tasks.

The leadership styles are being matched with the follower’s readiness in order to
achieve high performance levels. For S1-Telling, the most appropriate follower for this is
R1 with having low readiness. It emphasizes high behavior but has limited relationship
with each other. For S2-Selling, the most appropriate style is the low to moderate
follower (R2). It emphasizes a high-high relationship between task and relationship
behavior. For S3-Participating, the most appropriate style is the moderate to high
follower (R3).There is emphasis on the high amount of relationship behavior between
them. However, there is only a low degree of task behavior. For S4-Delegating, the
most appropriate style is the high follower (R3). It is composed of both low-low level of
task and relationship behavior. Thus, the Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership
promotes flexible leaders to adjust to the readiness in terms of experience, skills,
knowledge and alertness of their members.

Implications of Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Model to managers

Each and every member is unique and managers should be able to adjust to
them. They may be slow-learners or fast learners with regards to the new jobs they
receive. They even have different personalities on how they will react to different
situations. However in real situations, this theory does not apply to all situations.

The third contingency theory, Path-Goal Theory, states that the main job of a
leader is to ensure that the followers are in in right tract in attaining their goals and
objectives. Leaders assist and provide direction or support needed to ensure that their
goals go hand in hand with the goals of the organization. The theory matches the
leader’s style or behavior which best fits the employees and environment in order to
increase their motivation, empowerment and satisfaction. There are three basic steps to
follow consisting of: determine the employee and environmental characteristics, select a
leadership style and focus on motivational factors that will help the employee succeed.
It is leader’s task to facilitate, coach and reward his employees. The Path-Goal Theory
identifies four leadership styles and these are Directive Leader, Participative Leader,
Supportive Leader, and Achievement Oriented Leader. Directive Leader refers to those
who lets subordinate know what is expected of them, scheduled works and the
company’s guidelines on how to accomplish their tasks. Participative Leader refers to
those who consults with group members and uses their suggestions before making a
decision. Supportive Leader refers to those who shows concern for the needs of
followers and is friendly. Achievement Oriented Leader refers to those who shows Sets
challenging goals and expects followers to perform at their highest level.

Implications of Path-Goal Theory to managers

Path-Goal Theory implies that managers should be flexible and can adapt to
different to different environment. It implies that leaders should be credible and
trustworthy enough so that their members will follow and respect them. Without respect,
members will be disorganized because leaders should be role models to their followers.

Theories before focuses on the favored management of production and authority.

There is an opportunity cost wherein a manager has to focus on either production or
people in order for them to thrive in the company. They continue to aim for both task
and people oriented to be able to have a good overall performance. It began to shift to
by having different managers and members with regards to real life situations. They are
being match on whether which manager is best for this type of followers and situations.
This theories does not really focus on whether they are task or people oriented. On the
other hand there is another type of theory that came from the evolution of the early
theories. This theory is known as the Contemporary leadership theories. It attempted to
reframe the focus to a discourse and social purpose by shifting away from the early
theories relating to production and authority. There are three contemporary theories
such as Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory, Charismatic-Visionary Leadership
and the Transformational-Transactional Leadership

The first type is the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory which is considered
to focus on the relationship that develops between managers and members of their
teams. The theory states that there are three stage about the relationship between
managers and its group members. These are the role taking, role making and
routinization. Role taking occurs when leaders tend to assign specific task to the
members based on their assessed abilities and skills. While Role making constitutes
into two types and there are the in-groups and out-groups. In-groups are those team
members who are loyal, trustworthy and skilled. There are the ones that the manager
trusts the most and they have closer working relationship with each other. Most of the
time they have similar personalities and work ethics compared to the manager. While
Out-group refers to team members who betray the trust of the manager. This group
tends to be restricted and unchallenging because they have less working relationship
with the manager. The last stage is known as routinization which is defined as having a
routine between the members and the managers in maintaining an environment filled
with trust, patience, persistence, respect and empathy.

Implications of Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LTX) to managers

It is implied that managers differentiate among the followers in terms of their

differences as a person. Managers tend to have their specific liking to the people they
are most comfortable of. If the manager does not want you, you become an out-group to
him. In this theory, there is a bit of a bias with regards to choosing your members and at
the same time a good strategy because you could work effectively with the people you
trust.
It is implied also that leaders should not be really choosy towards the people you work
because each and every one of us are unique in personality and culture. For example is
that Indians have a unique because of the spices they eat and so you have to adjust to
make them fit within you group.

Charismatic-Visionary Leadership consists of two type of leaders known as the

charismatic leaders and visionary leaders. Charismatic leaders refer to an enthusiastic,
self-confident leader whose personality and actions influence people to behave in
certain ways. Visionary Leaders refers to a leader who have the ability to create and
articulate a realistic, credible and attractive vision of the future that improves upon the
present situation. On the other hand, Transformational-Transactional Leadership have
two types of leaders known as the Transactional Leaders and Transformational
Leaders. Transactional Leaders are leaders are those who primarily use social
exchanges as a means in guiding and motivating followers to work toward an
accomplished objective by exchanging rewards for their productivity. Transformational
Leaders are leaders who stimulates and inspires followers to achieve extraordinary
outcomes. These theories are mostly based on the leaders himself. It is within him that
lets him to be described as either visionary, charismatic or others. It is innate in the
leader himself on how he handles his people and followers

Implications of Charismatic-Visionary Leadership and Transformational-Transactional

Leadership to managers

It is implied that each leader has their unique personality that overshadows others to
continue to follow you. For example is that they follow you because you have the
charisma that attracts others to you. Therefore, they tend to follow you in your way of
working things
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