Leadership is a complex subject, but for our purposes can be defined as the act of one person influencing another person or group of people towards a common purpose that is beneficial for both the leader and their followers. Many approaches have been taken by academics in attempting to understand what leadership is at its core. Useful information has been unearthed by studying leadership qualities in individuals and by studying the dynamic between leader and follower. However, the abstractness of these studies left researches at somewhat of a loss for practical and relevant information, that is until research began on the observable behavior of leaders. The Style Approach is a useful way to look at the leader-follower relationship because it incorporates elements of behaviorist psychology and applies them to the study leadership as a phenomenon. The goal of this essay is to use observable behavior in the context of the Leadership Grid to determine the best course of action for leadership in any scenario.
Findings on Leadership via the Style Approach The Style Approach differs from other ways of understanding leadership in that it is focused on the here and now rather than traits or tendencies which are more difficult to quantify. This approach allows room for the subject of a study to change over time, rather than being rigidly casted as something because they displayed certain characteristics at a certain time. It also eliminates the idea that a leader depends upon
Leaders have a “the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals” (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p. 402). In the past leaders have been described by certain traits or characteristics. These traits can help an organization identify potential candidates who may be strong leaders. Later behavior approaches of leaders were identified that could be taught. In short, leaders could be made. Situations have an impact on which leader behaviors will be most effect at any given time. Several contingency theories have been formulated over the years to identify how situations influence leadership behavior. Each style has strengths and
The leader behavior approach is the focus of what people do as a leader or leadership style rather than the characteristics leaders inherit as a leader. It is the assumption that the actions of a person opposed to their innate mental state. Because leaders can learn through teaching and observation; specific behaviors are the focus of a leader. An important study of this theory was conducted by the Ohio State University, and the purpose was to identify common leadership behaviors. The study and research uncovered that there are two linked groups of behavior.
I’m predisposed to this leadership theory or style because of its consideration for awareness of the element(s) of reality, that is, life experiences and some other factors, and the adaptability to each environment one finds self. This leadership theory presents itself with the understanding that organizations are different from one to another, and as a result of the differences in structures and the kinds of people that can be found around organizations; the most important leadership capability is the ability to adapt to the environment. There is no one style that fits all, but this style helps to better lead as there are times when one may need to exact authority and at some other time, one would need to show humility. Because we all come from different backgrounds, have difference life experiences and different role models, our values, preferences and priorities become shaped over the course of lifetime. Instead of trying to fit into expectations of people about what a
Leadership is something that comes natural for some and is a developed skill for others. If we take a look at the role of the leader, we look for certain traits in a person. For example, in grade school, there always seems to be clicks, large and small groups of people that cling together. When we examine these social sub-groups, we often find that there is always one person that leads the group. This person is usually the person that brings the group together. I remember being in social circles with people that I knew I would never be friends with. However, we may have one or two people in common, thus we remain friends. Overtime, we
Before this lecture and assignment I never gave it thought about different leadership styles and what type I have or will deal with in the past, present, and future. This paper also gave me chance to break down how I’m a different leader depending on what situation I’m put in. As of right now it would be difficult trying to put my leadership style because I’m always in different positon that allow be that to specific leader. Right now I’m in a great position that allow me to lead other in the direction that benefit them and the
Lord, R. G., Brown, D. J., and Freiberg, S. J. (1999). Understanding the dynamics of leadership: The role of follower self-concepts in the leader/follower relationship. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 78(3), 167-203.
One of the strengths of this approach is that it highlights that leaders and followers mutually affect each other, making leadership an interactive activity that is not restricted to only a formal leader. At the same time this approach lacks wide empirical research, specificity and conceptual
During my examination of the various types of leadership styles, I was able to take a few assessments online. There were two that stood out the most for me which, were The Type A and B personality indicator and the Hemisphere Dominance Personality Assessment. I found that the style that these two assessments closely matched my own style.
Leadership scholars have presented many theories in understanding leadership. However, making sense of hundreds of books and thousands of studies is a complicated task, which is why many mistakenly think that leadership is an indefinable phenomenon. Some of us presume complete authority in our own favored ways. Novel leaders often discard the entire system used by the exiting leaders. In a catastrophic situation, persistence on individual style can be helpful; yet in a democratic culture, leaders don’t own the organization and must consider the right of the followers. Personal style and preference must be
While the behavioral paradigm severed for the basis of a new leadership theory, meta-analytic studies revealed that the behaviors of leaders are important for predicting leadership effectiveness (Derue et. al, 2001). In contrast, Zaccaro (2007) stated that while a situation is important in explaining variance in leadership behavior, it might not be as important when differentiating between leaders and followers. The relative stability or malleability to a specific situation may differ over time and between different leadership traits (Zaccaro, 2007).
style leadership focuses on what those leaders do, not who they are. Style theory refers to three
Reviewing this chapter as whole, I noticed that there is no fixed approach mentioned towards a leadership style, rather it suggests that range of different leadership style must be adapted based on the situation. Furthermore, I found out that this chapter lacked some useful information which should have been
The word ‘leadership’ often times triggers a preconceived image of an ideal leader—typically accompanied by the aura that the effective leader should be at the top of the hierarchy, ready to produce the solutions to complex problems. However, this is not true of leadership, given that effective leadership is not achieved by position but rather through style and situational awareness. Examining leadership requires the consideration of the catalysts for different types of leaders. Popular leader development theories tend to focus on the natural servitude of the leader, his or her capability to manage, and leader behavior.
Leadership is about the interaction between the leader, the followers and the situation (Hughes, Ginnett and Curphy (2015, p. 15-26). If a given situation changes, the interaction between the leaders and followers can change dramatically. The leaders who understand well this interaction have a huge advantage because leaders are able to:
Leadership has been a topic that has been researched for a long time in many disciplines. Leadership as a personality focuses on the characteristics of an individual that gives them power to act as leaders. There is leadership as an attribution this approach views leadership as phenomenon that causes group of followers to have outcomes.(Wu et al, 2010, 90).Researchers have used the following approaches to study leadership; they are mainly trait, behavior, power influence, situation and integrative approaches. Trait approaches focuses on the characteristics, values, skill and personality of leaders. Behavior approaches is focused on the leaders behaviors, differentiating between the behavior of ineffective and effective leaders. Integrative approach combines all the approaches to have a holistic picture of the process, outcomes and determinants of leadership. The approach that this paper uses is situational approach that is not leader centered but more on the significance of the context as an influence of leadership. Leaders should be able to choose the leadership quality appropriate to a particular situation.