Leadership and Leadership Theories

Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid
and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task”.

There is a profound difference between management and leadership, and both are important. "To
manage" means "to bring about, to accomplish, to have charge of or responsibility for, to conduct."
"Leading" is "influencing, guiding in direction, course, action, opinion."

The manager and the leader

If the manager is an ineffectual leader then an informal leader will spring up, who may
challenge the manager’s position, creating a team within a team. The manager then has four options:
 Get rid of the informal leader.
 Undermine the informal leader’s position
 Try to divide the group so as to diminish the power of the informal leader.
 Come to terms with the informal leader, to supplement the deficiencies in the manager’s
ability.

Manager Leader
You have your affairs managed—when you are
You follow a leader willingly by choice
managed you are told what to do
Merely oversight Decision making 
People either abide by or rebel against someone
People follow their leader
they view as simply a boss
A position of authority bestowed upon someone A position of respect earned by actions
Can only help the team by traditional methods
Inspires the team to achieve its goals
(resources and training)

 Good leaders are not necessarily good managers; on other hand good managers are usually
good leaders.
 "Managers do things right, while leaders do the right thing." Doing the right things implies a
goal, a direction, an objective, a vision, a dream, a path, a reach.
 Groups are often more loyal to a leader than a manager. This loyalty is created by the leader
taking responsibility in areas such as:
Taking the blame when things go wrong.
Celebrating group achievements, even minor ones.
Giving credit where it is due.

Subject Leader Manager

 Essence Change Stability
Focus Leading people Managing work
Have Followers Subordinates
Horizon Long-term Short-term
Seeks Vision Objectives
Approach Sets direction  Plans detail
Decision Facilitates Makes
Power Personal charisma Formal authority
Appeal to Heart Head
Energy Passion Control
Culture Shapes Enacts
Dynamic Proactive Reactive
Persuasion Sell Tell
Style Transformational Transactional
Exchange Excitement for work Money for work
Likes Striving Action
Wants Achievement Results
Risk Takes Minimizes
Rules Breaks Makes
Conflict Uses Avoids
Direction New roads Existing roads
Truth Seeks Establishes
Concern What is right Being right
Credit Gives Takes
Blame Takes Blames
Figure 17.2 The ‘aims dumb-bell’.
Leadership theories

Great Man Theory

Assumptions
 Leaders are born and not made.
 Great leaders will arise when there is a great need.

Trait Theory
Assumptions
 People are born with inherited traits.
 Some traits are particularly suited to leadership.
 People who make good leaders have the right (or sufficient) combination of traits.

Behavioral Theory
Assumptions
 Leaders can be made, rather than are born.
 Successful leadership is based in definable, learnable behavior.

Role Theory
Assumptions
 People define roles for themselves and others based on social learning and reading.
 People form expectations about the roles that they and others will play.
 People subtly encourage others to act within the role expectations they have for them.
 People will act within the roles they adopt.

The Managerial Grid

Country Club
High   Team management
management
Middle of the road
Concern for People Medium    
management
Impoverished Authority-
Low  
management compliance
Low Medium High
 
Concern for Production (Task)

Impoverished management
Minimum effort to get the work done. A basically lazy approach that avoids as much work as possible.

Authority-compliance
Strong focus on task, but with little concern for people. Focus on efficiency, including the elimination of
people wherever possible.
Country Club management
Care and concern for the people, with a comfortable and friendly environment and collegial style. But a
low focus on task may give questionable results.

Middle of the road management

A weak balance of focus on both people and the work. Doing enough to get things done, but not
pushing the boundaries of what may be possible.

Team management
Firing on all cylinders: people are committed to task and leader is committed to people (as well as
task).

Stage 4 Stage 3 Stage 2 Stage 1

Low people High people High people Low people

Low production Low production High production High production

Increasing maturity level

Figure 17.4 The Hersey-Blanchard model