A Handbook of

Leadership Styles
A Handbook of
Leadership Styles
Edited by

Ozgur Demirtas
Co-edited by

Mustafa Karaca
A Handbook of Leadership Styles

Edited by Ozgur Demirtas

Co-edited by Mustafa Karaca

This book first published 2020

Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Copyright © 2020 by Ozgur Demirtas, Mustafa Karaca and contributors

All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
the prior permission of the copyright owner.

ISBN (10): 1-5275-4598-9

ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-4598-4
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Illustrations ................................................................................... viii

List of Tables .............................................................................................. ix

Preface ......................................................................................................... x

Chapter One............................................................................................................ 1
Leadership Theories
D. Mehmet Bickes and Celal Yilmaz

Chapter Two ......................................................................................................... 35

Leadership versus Management
Deniz Dirik

Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 60

Ethical Leadership
Ozgur Demirtas, Mustafa Karaca and O. Faruk Derindag

Chapter Four .............................................................................................. 84

Transformational Leadership
O. Faruk Derindag

Chapter Five ............................................................................................ 102

Transactional Leadership
Ufuk Basar, Unsal Sigri and Nejat Basim

Chapter Six .............................................................................................. 126

Participative Leadership
Serdar Yener

Chapter Seven .......................................................................................... 149

Servant Leadership
Ali Bayram and Asli Geylan
vi Table of Contents

Chapter Eight ........................................................................................... 167

Charismatic Leadership
Coskun Akca

Chapter Nine ............................................................................................ 198

Authentic Leadership
E. Gamze Ciftci

Chapter Ten ............................................................................................. 231

Spiritual Leadership
Sema Polatci

Chapter Eleven ........................................................................................ 262

Implicit And Explicit Leadership
Mihriban Cindiloglu Demirer

Chapter Twelve........................................................................................ 294

Autocratic Leadership
K. Emrah Yildirim, Caner Caki and Yasemin Harmanci

Chapter Thirteen ...................................................................................... 311

Democratic Leadership
Inan Eryilmaz

Chapter Fourteen ..................................................................................... 338

Resonant Leadership
Erdem Erciyes

Chapter Fifteen ........................................................................................ 351

Digital Leadership
Bulent Cizmeci

Chapter Sixteen........................................................................................ 368

Cross-Cultural Leadership
Mehmet Canakci and O. Faruk Derindag

Chapter Seventeen ................................................................................... 383

Paternalistic Leadership
Pinar Acar
 A Handbook of Leadership Styles vii

Chapter Eighteen ..................................................................................... 396

Complexity Leadership
Zeynep Eren

Chapter Nineteen ..................................................................................... 429

Coaching Leadership
Gokmen Kara and Ozgur Demirtas

List of Contributors ................................................................................. 453

 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure 1-1 .................................................................................................... 9

Figure 1-2 .................................................................................................. 11
Figure 1-3 .................................................................................................. 12
Figure 1-4 .................................................................................................. 15
Figure 1-5 .................................................................................................. 17
Figure 1-6 .................................................................................................. 24
Figure 1-7 .................................................................................................. 25
Figure 2-1 .................................................................................................. 40
Figure 2-2 .................................................................................................. 41
Figure 2-3 .................................................................................................. 54
Figure 6-1 ................................................................................................ 129
Figure 9-1 ................................................................................................ 207
Figure 9-2 ................................................................................................ 212
Figure 9-3 ................................................................................................ 217
Figure 10-1 .............................................................................................. 243
Figure 10-2 .............................................................................................. 244
Figure 10-3 .............................................................................................. 245
Figure 11-1 .............................................................................................. 270
Figure 11-2 .............................................................................................. 281
Figure 13-1 .............................................................................................. 323
Figure 14-1 .............................................................................................. 343
Figure 14-2 .............................................................................................. 344
Figure 14-3 .............................................................................................. 345
Figure 14-4 .............................................................................................. 346
Figure 15-1 .............................................................................................. 356
Figure 15-2 .............................................................................................. 356
Figure 15-3 .............................................................................................. 358
Figure 18-1 .............................................................................................. 417
Figure 18-2 .............................................................................................. 421
 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1-1.................................................................................................... 20
Table 1-2.................................................................................................... 21
Table 2-1.................................................................................................... 42
Table 2-2.................................................................................................... 49
Table 3-1.................................................................................................... 64
Table 3-2.................................................................................................... 68
Table 3-3.................................................................................................... 71
Table 8-1.................................................................................................. 180
Table 8-2.................................................................................................. 181
Table 10-1................................................................................................ 248
Table 11-1................................................................................................ 271
Table 15-1................................................................................................ 358
Table 17-1................................................................................................ 387
Table 18-1................................................................................................ 403
Table 18-2................................................................................................ 410
Table 18-3................................................................................................ 420
 PREFACE

One of the main reasons we wrote this book, Handbook of Leadership

Styles, was to highlight leadership styles in detail. Another reason is that a
lot of explanations of leadership styles exist, but there are few books that
have gathered these styles together in a detailed manner.
The authors work mostly in the field of organizational behavior and
they mostly deal with leadership theory in their courses. Therefore, the
book has a strong academic background and it gives extensive suggestions
for future research. In addition, the book explains some items for
practitioners.
As we discuss in this book, the leadership phenomenon, which
embraces the economy, business community, and academia, has always
been a popular topic. This vigorous interest led to leadership being one of
the most written about and discussed fields in academic and practitioner
circles. Unlike other academic fields, everyone has a few words to say
about leadership and management, which is a clear indication of how deep
the leadership concept is. This broad participation has actually revealed a
wealth of leadership, but it also has an impact that makes it difficult to
develop more refined and robust theories about leadership.
The leadership capacities of managers play a key role in the success of
companies and even countries. Those who will serve as managers must
have certain leadership characteristics. Some of these features can be
learned, while others are related to one’s character.
In fact, one of the most important elements of leadership is the value
and authority of the position in the eyes of the followers. The
transformation of the economy, our habits, and our mindsets make the
transformation of the leaders inevitable. New challenges and emerging
needs require new leadership approaches. These leadership approaches can
work for a certain time depending on the specific situation and the social
climate. However, irresistible factors such as competition, technology, and
digital transformation require new leadership approaches and make the
transition between existing leadership styles more apparent than ever.
We now live in a world where one or a few leadership approaches
cannot be presented as a recipe to organizations. This multi-layered
ecosystem surrounding us increases the need for multidimensional
leadership styles but also emphasizes the need for new leadership styles.
 A Handbook of Leadership Styles xi

Therefore, it is not difficult to predict that leaders in charge of managing

organizations and teams today will have to acquire new capabilities in the
near future. The change in the classical business and workplace model, the
fact that information becomes more valuable than the power of production
and that it is more difficult to capture consumers in multi-layered channels
shape the expectations of the leaders more sharply.
In order to better comprehend the organic link between styles of
leadership, this book deals with almost all the leadership models to date
and thus demonstrates how dynamic the leadership actually is. This book
is an essential and extensive one-point reference for academics and
practitioners that combines all classical and contemporary types of
leadership styles in the same source.

Ozgur DEMIRTAS
 CHAPTER ONE

LEADERSHIP THEORIES

D. MEHMET BICKES1 AND CELAL YILMAZ2

Abstract
Organizations need a leader who has the required characteristics and skills
to sustain their existence, to grow and develop and to achieve their goals.
Leadership is the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts
and influencing others to achieve common goals. Leadership represents a
process, while the leader refers to an individual. A leader can be defined as
an individual who changes the paradigms of people, creates a vision,
motivates followers with internal resources, engrains the idea that
everyone has something to contribute to the shared goal, leads them and
directly affects the flow of events and results. When the literature is
examined, many studies on leaders and leadership exist, and the common
purpose of these studies is to reveal facts and models about effective
leaders and leadership. Many models have been developed on a theoretical
basis to find an answer to the question of what makes leadership effective.
In this section, within this scope, the nature, philosophy and terms of
leadership are discussed. Thereafter, the basic theories of leadership, the
theory of traits, behavioral leadership theories and situational leadership
theories are examined. Finally, several implications and some suggestions
for future research are provided for scientists, practitioners and others who
are interested in leadership.

Introduction
Leadership a subject that has attracted the attention of people for centuries
[1]. The term “leadership” refers to images of powerful and dynamic

1
Assoc. Prof., Nevsehir Hacı Bektas University, [email protected]
2
Ph.D., Nevsehir Hacı Bektas University, [email protected]
2 Chapter One

individuals who command victorious armies, manage corporate empires

from the top of glittering skyscrapers or shape the future of nations. The
outstanding achievements of brave and intelligent leaders are the essence
of many legends and myths. Historical descriptions are full of stories of
military, political, social and religious leaders who are acclaimed for or
accused of important historical events, although it is unclear what effects
the leaders have on the emergence and development of those events [2].
Comments about leaders and leadership are first seen in the books of
Confucius (Analects), Lao-Tzu (Tao Te Ching) and Sun Tzu (The Art of
War), dating back to the sixth century BC [3].
Leadership, in parallel with developments, has become the most
critical factor of organizational success or failure in every period of history
[4]. Recent developments in the factors affecting business life have
transformed basic dynamics such as competition. In this process, social,
human, and psychological capital types built on the human elements have
come to the fore, whereas the physical capital types, traditional
competition tools, though insufficient, are necessary for competition [5].
Lucas [6] clarifies that the types of capital focusing on the human
elements have a two-way effect on productivity—internal influence, which
refers to an increase in an individual’s own business performance, and
external influence, which points to the increase of productivity in other
production factors shaped and managed by humans. In an organization, it
is possible to divide the human elements into two groups as leaders and
followers. Leaders stand out of the two groups as they have a decisive
power on employees’ perceptions, attitudes and behaviors [7] and
implicitly on organizational success. This fact is emphasized by Mihalcea
[8] as “the basic condition for the effective management of social,
political, economic and national structures or to achieve organizational
aims, is to have a leader with a high ability to adapt to environmental
conditions.” Otherwise, various problems can arise, such as avoiding goals
and facing vital risks when non-merit leaders are effective in the decision-
making mechanisms of organizations.
The leadership phenomenon has been of intense interest to humankind
in every period of history. Bass [4] attributes this interest to the fact that
leadership is a universal activity for humanity and animals and vital for
effective organizational and social functioning. On the other hand, Wice
[9] attributes this common interest in and admiration for leadership to the
fact that it is a mysterious process, that nonetheless has a role in
everyone’s life. Systematic social scientific studies on leadership only
began in the 1900s; however, the phenomenon of leadership has long
existed and has attracted considerable attention [10]. When the literature is
 Leadership Theories 3

viewed, many studies on leaders and leadership can be found, and the
common purpose of these studies is to determine how a leader could be
more effective and successful. Many models have been developed to find
an answer to this question on a theoretical basis. Ladkin [11] compares
each theory to “a piece of the leadership puzzle.” Therefore, it is possible
to argue that each developed theory and leadership style is a kind of light
that reveals an unknown part of the subject. The literature shows that the
development of leadership theories follows a chronological development
parallel to the evolution of management approaches [12]. When the idea of
classical management was developed in the early 1900s, the theory of
traits, suggesting that leaders with certain individual traits are more
effective than others, emerged. In the 1940s, when the neoclassical
approach dominated managerial philosophy, behavioral leadership theories
linking the effectiveness of a leader to particular behaviors during the
leadership process appeared. After the 1960s, when modern approaches
dominated managerial philosophy, situational leadership theories—that
assert that leadership depends on a combination of circumstances—gained
importance.
These theories are the main theme of this chapter. The aim is to
provide information about leadership terms and leadership theories to
students and academicians in this field and to practitioners or people
interested in theology, politics, civil society, military, sports and social life
in terms of leadership.
Within this framework, first, the terms “leader” and “leadership” are
particularly discussed. Then the basic theories, traits, and behavioral and
situational leadership theories are scrutinized.

1. Leadership Terms
The complex nature of leadership makes it impossible to achieve a specific
and common definition [12]. Fiedler [13] and Stogdill [14] state that the
existing number of leadership definitions is as many as the number of
psychologists working in the field. The reason for this abundance lies in
the individual perspectives of researchers and the characteristics of the
phenomena they are interested in [2]. In addition, although it has been
studied for many years, this area has not yet been fully formed [15]. Most
of the hundreds of leadership definitions [4] to date deal with one or more
of the following: goal achievement, the group or organization, its structure,
and interpersonal relationships [16]. This situation, which stands out in the
definitions, shows a strong relationship between leadership and
organization. Briefly, leadership exists in all organizations [17].
4 Chapter One

The word “leadership” is divided into three sections: “lead,” “-er” and
“-ship.” The first part, “lead,” means being a pioneer or taking the first
place. The second part, “-er,” refers to a person who performs a role or
function or undertakes a responsibility. The last part, “-ship,” as in
“scholarship,” refers to a skill, ability or art [18]. Based on this
interpretation, leadership can be defined as determining a path that a group
will follow, leading a group to reach a goal and owning the required skill
set to mobilize followers with intrinsic motivation.
Some theorists consider leadership as the role expertise of individuals,
while others consider it a shared process among members [19]. Groon [20]
identifies the first group of theorists’ conceptualizations as “focused
leadership” and the second group of theorists’ definitions as “distributed
leadership.” Northouse [21] and Waters [22], two of the theorists in the
first group, define leadership as a process in which an individual affects a
group of people to achieve a common goal. Similarly, Rue and Byars [23]
define leadership as pursuing leader guidance willingly or an ability to
persuade others to take over the decisions. Leadership in another source is
considered to be the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts
to achieve common goals and influencing others [24]. Gibb defines the
leader as the person in the group who has a higher ability to influence
others more effectively. However, the results of his empirical research on
leadership in groups disprove this definition. The results reveal that the
influence, which is accepted as leadership in the realization of any work, is
not limited to one person but moves within the group, depending on
various task stages [11]. Groon [20–25] uses the “socially distributed
activity theory” to explain how leadership is conceptualized. This theory
argues that it is possible to monitor the movement of leadership among
individuals who focus on the ideal of realizing shared goals, focusing on
how networks of interaction serve for it and what is done to achieve tasks.
This perspective reveals the following three facts about leadership [11]:
 Leadership emerges as a process from the experience of individuals
working together.
 Leadership is not fixed for a single individual or an appointed
“leader.” It moves predictably within groups of people.
 Leaders perform their duties invisibly and guide the conduct of
activities without instructions and without specifying the source.

Leadership is a phenomenon that exists with the approval of the

followers, not the individual’s own claim. In this sense, Day [26] considers
leadership as a socio-perceptual phenomenon and states that it is “in the
eyes of beholders.” Lord and Maher [27] express leadership as the process
 Leadership Theories 5

of being perceived by others as leaders.

It is clear that leadership is defined using various aspects such as traits,
leader behavior, interaction models, role relationships, follower
perceptions, impact on followers, impact on task objectives and impact on
organizational culture in the literature [28]. The concept is built on an
influence process no matter what perspective it is dealt with. However, it
is a fact that the leaders differ significantly from one another in terms of
the purpose of impact initiatives, implementation and process. In this
sense, Yukl [19] argues that varieties in the definitions emerge not only
from academic rigor but also from deep divisions in defining leadership
and explaining its process among the scientists studying this area.
Although various definitions of leadership exist, they have several
common elements, such as influence, follower and vision [29–30]. One of
the most important elements is influence, a key component of being a
leader. Thus, Hogan et al. [31] describe leadership as persuading and do
not see leadership as dominating with power and commanding others. The
second common element is followers. Leadership that creates trust,
integrity and synergy for the group, as well as organizational and social
success, is plural because the meaningful existence of the leader depends
on the existence of the followers [32]. Blake and Mouton [33] define
leadership as the process of achieving goals through the contributions of
others. In this definition, it is emphasized that it is possible to reach the
aim only by the joint efforts of related people within and outside the
organization. In other words, no leader can achieve the goals set on their
own. The third common element is vision. Leaders have a vision of how
the organization will establish a better future and inspire their followers to
pursue the vision. Meticulously prepared visions are future-oriented,
attractive, powerful, success-oriented, inspiring, convincing and accessible
[34]. Vroom and Joga [29] list the common features of leadership
definitions as follows:
 Leadership is not a property owned by a person but a process.
 The process involves a special form of influence called motivation.
 The nature of intrinsic or extrinsic incentives is not part of the
definition.
 The ultimate goal of the influence is to create collaboration to
pursue a common goal.
 “Great things” occur in the minds of the leader and followers. They
do not have to be desirable to all other parties.

As mentioned above, leadership refers to a process, while the leader is a

person. Allio [3] lists the main functions of leaders as clarifying goals and
6 Chapter One

values, determining directions, creating communities and managing

change. In other words, leaders should develop a well-organized vision, a
viable strategy, a focused plan and a measurable implementation process
within the framework of a strategic management approach, and they
should continuously monitor the environment and ensure compliance
when doing all these activities and tasks. The term “leader,” within the
framework of explanations, refers to the person who changes the
paradigms of people, creates a vision, motivates followers with internal
resources, engrains the idea that everyone has something to contribute to
the shared goal, leads them and directly affects the flow of events and
results.

2. Leadership Theories
When the literature is examined, it is seen that many studies have been
conducted to determine the basic dynamics of effective and successful
leadership, and many models have been developed on the theoretical basis
[35]. Leadership theories follow a chronological development parallel to
the evolution of management approaches [12]. These theories are listed
and explained below in chronological order:
 Trait theory
 Behavioral leadership theories
 Situational leadership theories

2.1. Trait Theory

The theory of traits states that there are some characteristics that
distinguish the leader from the followers [36]. Basically, there are four
types of research to determine what these characteristics are [2]. The first
type of research attempts to explore the characteristics and skills that a
person needs who will pursue a leadership career or as an informal leader
in a group. In some studies, the leader is compared with the non-leaders in
terms of characteristics and skills. Other studies focus on determining the
characteristics and skills of those who emerge as leaders in problem-
solving processes. The second type of research aims to determine the role
of talents and characteristics in the success of a leader in his current
position. The third type of research is a long-term study that takes several
years to determine the talents and characteristics of leading candidates
who deserve to rise to a higher position. The fourth type of research aims
to compare successful leaders. In these studies, the differences and
similarities between managers who reach the top and the talents and
 Leadership Theories 7

characteristics of managers who could not progress in their careers

because of early retirement or plateauing (lack of chance for further
development) are investigated.
When considering the early studies in this theory, it is seen that
characteristics such as intelligence, dominance, self-confidence, energy,
task knowledge and diligence are among the characteristics of a successful
leader [37]. In later studies, the characteristics traditionally associated with
a leader include intelligence, endurance, stability and vision [38].
However, when the studies conducted within the scope of the Trait Theory
are examined, it is obvious that the list of leader characteristics is
gradually increasing [36, 37]. While some studies focus on characteristics,
ranging from physical properties (height, weight, etc.) to personalities,
some studies have expanded the range of traits to include handwriting
styles. Thus, it is clear that no consensus exists about effective leader traits
in the literature [12–36] and that the traits of a successful leader may vary
according to the position [39]. Nevertheless, also observed in the literature
are several efforts to identify the major characteristics that distinguish a
successful leader from the followers and to shorten the increasingly
lengthy trait list. In one of these studies, the leading characteristics are
listed in eight topics: intelligence, alertness to the needs of others,
wisdom/insight, initiative, responsibility, consistency of problem solving,
self-confidence and sociability [40]. In another study, it is reduced to five,
namely, intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity and sociality
[18]. Although no clear consensus exists on the characteristics of a
successful leader, many scientists, but not all, agree on these four traits:
intelligence, maturity and breadth, success motivation and integrity [39].
Leaders with significant and distinctive characteristics and talents can be
successful in one case and may not be in another. Therefore, success cannot
be guaranteed by the characteristics [2]. For this reason, interest in this
approach had disappeared for a long period. However, it has recently been
replaced by a renewed “interest” [37]. In these studies, researchers aim to
add a limited number of characteristics to the leadership literature. Among
these characteristics, emotional intelligence, drive, motivation, honesty,
integrity, self-confidence, cognitive ability, business knowledge and
charisma are discussed [37]. According to Yukl [2], specific characteristics
related to effective leadership are “high energy level and stress tolerance,
internal locus of control orientation, emotional maturity, personal integrity,
socialized motivation power, moderately high achievement orientation,
moderately high self-confidence and moderately low need for affiliation.” In
addition, the author states that five major personality traits (extroversion,
responsibility, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience)
8 Chapter One

and managerial competences (emotional intelligence, social intelligence and

learning ability) play a role in leadership achievement. Similarly, according
to Goleman [38] and Goffee and Jone [41], emotional intelligence plays a
critical role in effective leadership among these attributes. A leader with a
high level of emotional intelligence will become a more effective leader. In
other words, the most effective leaders are those with emotional intelligence,
along with other traits. This is because emotionally intelligent leaders are
equipped with self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and
social skills.

2.2. Behavioral Leadership Theories

Trait theory studies that had lasted for more than twenty years from the
1940s to the mid-1960s were not able to explain fully the reasons behind a
successful leader and led to the behavioral leadership approach [12–36].
Studies on this approach aim at determining the most appropriate
leadership type and their typical behaviors [12, 36, 37]. Within the scope
of the behavioral leadership approach, the three most well-known studies
in this section—Ohio State University leadership research, Michigan State
leadership research and Blake and Mouton’s management style matrix [40-
42]—are discussed.

2.2.1. Ohio State University Leadership Research

This study was conducted through a survey in both military organizations

and enterprises [37]. The research focused on how a leader acts when he or
she starts to lead a group of employees [36]. Although several behaviors
have been identified in the process of this research, two types of leader
behaviors—consideration behavior and initiating-structure behavior—
came into prominence [37]. This model is depicted in Fig. 1-1.
 Leadership Theories 9

Figure 1-1 Ohio State University leadership research [43].

Consideration behavior. Leaders demonstrating consideration behavior

have a human-centered sense of leadership [34]. They understand the ideas
and feelings of their followers and exhibit behaviors showing that they are
interested in them. They strive for mutual trust [36, 37]. Leaders with a
high level of consideration behavior take care to establish a warm,
empathic relationship with their followers and mutual trust in their
interpersonal relations [34]. They actively listen to their followers,
investigate what their capacities are and make suggestions to their
followers in dealing with important issues and problems [50]. Leaders who
adopt this behavior to a high level create high job satisfaction and reduce
the intention to leave.
Initiating-structure behavior. Leaders who exhibit this type of behavior
at a high level define the roles and tasks of the followers, make clear what
they expect from them and exhibit task-oriented behaviors [37]. These
leaders develop and monitor schedules that indicate when work should be
completed. They make clear what needs to be done without caring about
the followers’ suggestions and ideas [34]. They criticize inadequate work
and sometimes exhibit harsh attitudes and behavior. They often emphasize
the importance of completing the work on time and make new suggestions
for solving problems [36]. In cases where there is uncertainty, a moderate
10 Chapter One

display of initiating-structure behavior results in good business

performance. On the other hand, leaders with a low-level initiating-
structure behavior leave their followers to determine the tasks and the
completion time of the work. An excessive display of such leadership
behavior leads to the intention to leave, increasing complaints and
decreasing job satisfaction [34].
As depicted in Fig. 1-1, the Ohio State University leadership studies
suggest that two behavioral dimensions will lead to four different
leadership styles in terms of behavior. These styles are as follows: i-
leaders, who exhibit a low initiating structure and high consideration
behavior; ii- leaders, who build a high initiating structure and show low
consideration behavior; iii- leaders, who have both low levels of initiating
structure and consideration behavior; and iv- leaders, who have both high
levels of initiating structure and consideration behavior [36, 37].
According to the research, leaders who have both high levels of initiating
structure and consideration behavior, rather than other combinations, have
more positive business outcomes [34–36]. However, the results of a study
conducted by International Harvester (Navistar Corporation) show that
followers can exhibit high performance but low job satisfaction under the
management of leaders with high initiating-structure behavior. Followers
display lower performance but have fewer absences from work under the
management of leaders with high consideration behavior [37].

2.2.2. Michigan State Leadership Research

These studies aimed to determine leadership behaviors behind successful

group performance [37]. The Michigan State surveys were conducted
through interviews with managers and followers who had high and low
effectiveness in various enterprises. The leadership behaviors of successful
leaders and less successful leaders were analyzed, and what behaviors
made leaders more effective than others were investigated [37]. The
research shows two types of leadership behaviors: job-oriented and
employee-oriented [34, 36, 37]. The related leadership model is depicted
in Fig. 1-2. The Michigan State studies suggest that a successful leader
cannot display both leadership behaviors at the same time [37].
 Leadership Theories 11

Figure 1-2 Michigan State leadership studies [37].

Job-oriented leadership behavior. This type of leader prefers to spend

a lot of time on work and tasks rather than their followers’ needs [36].
These leaders set targets based on reasonable performance and focus on
work rather than employees. As they ignore the workplace social system,
they prioritize the work being done on time and put time pressure on their
followers. They also monitor their followers closely, explain their work
procedures and pay more attention to performance [34–37].
In the Michigan State leadership studies, it was found that productivity
was high in organizations where job-oriented leadership was adopted. On
the other hand, negative results such as poor follower attitudes were
observed, leading to high turnover or absence from work, less group
commitment and low levels of trust between the parties [34].
Employee-oriented leadership behavior. This type of leader prioritizes
the needs of their followers and provides more support to them. These
leaders consider their workplace as a social system and focus more on
their followers and their personal accomplishments. They determine
performance expectations by taking the views of the followers and then set
targets requiring high performance. In organizations where employee-
oriented leadership is adopted, it is seen that group performance is higher
[34].

2.2.3. Blake and Mouton’s Management Grid

Blake and Mouton, as with the Ohio State and Michigan State studies,
categorize leadership behavior with two main dimensions: concern for
people (consideration behavior, job-oriented) and concern for production
(initiating-structure behavior, employee-oriented) [35–44]. Blake and
Mouton [45], using both dimensions, formed a 9 × 9 matrix to explain
leadership behavior (Fig. 1-3).
12 Chapter One

Figure 1-3 Blake and Mouton’s managerial grid [18].

Concern for output (production), on the horizontal axis, and concern

for people, on the vertical axis, serve as the two main leadership behaviors.
In the matrix, the first position means that the focus is at the minimum
level, and the ninth position shows that the focus is at the maximum level.
Five leadership styles have been identified according to where they are
located in the 9 × 9 matrix, between the highest people-oriented and
output-oriented (production) positions [18, 24, 40].
 Leadership Theories 13

Impoverished leadership. The leader with this style, expressed in

position (1,1), exhibits low levels of concern for people and for output. In
other words, this leader is not interested in establishing a relationship
network or in the completion of works. The insensitive nature of the leader
causes the followers to be indifferent to success and not to make any
effort.
Country club leadership. The leader displaying this style, expressed in
matrix position (1,9), has a low level of concern for output and a high level
of concern for people. Such leaders focus on building a friendly business
environment by focusing on people’s attitudes, feelings and social needs
rather than completing the task. Therefore, tasks are in the second plan.
Authority-obedience leadership. The leader expressed in position (9,1)
exhibits a high level of concern for output and a low level of concern for
people. Such leaders dictate tasks and duties to their followers almost
without emotion. According to such leaders, the completion of tasks is
always in the first plan.
Middle-of-the-road leadership/organizational leadership. The leader
expressed in (5,5) exhibits moderate concern for people and output. Such
leaders attempt to balance concern for people and concern for output.
However, the results are not optimal because it is argued that group
capacity may be much higher, although they are working for success.
Team leadership. In this style, expressed in matrix position (9,9), the
leader exhibits a high level of concern for both output and people. In
addition, they focus not only on the achievement of organizational goals
but also on having a good working environment and good relations among
all employees. It is considered to be the most effective leadership style in
the matrix.

2.3. Situational Leadership Theories

In the theory of traits, the particular characteristics that define successful
leadership are determined. In behavioral leadership studies, ideal
leadership behavior is determined, which will be effective in every
situation [36]. However, the literature states that neither the theory of traits
nor behavioral leadership theories provide satisfactory explanations for
leadership effectiveness in organizations [34]. Solely focusing on traits
and behaviors to determine the best leadership style means ignoring the
situation of the followers and the organization [24, 40, 46]. As a result,
studies conducted within the framework of a behavioral approach for more
than twenty years have failed to provide a single ideal type of leadership
effectiveness for each situation and condition. This results in new
14 Chapter One

approaches focusing on situational factors in leadership effectiveness, and

situational leadership theory began to emerge in the 1960s [12, 35, 36].
The situational leadership approach argues that leadership characteristics
and behaviors should act together with situational varieties to assume
results. According to this approach, the acquired characteristics are
significant with leaders’ interests in their situational circumstances.
Numerous situational leadership models have been developed by
various scientists. Some main models are explained in this chapter.

2.3.1. Fiedler’s Contingency Theory of Leadership

Fiedler [47] has performed many studies on leadership and group

performance for many years and combined the results into a theoretical
formulation. This formulation is also known as Fiedler’s Situational
Leadership Model. This model argues that the contribution of the leader to
group performance depends on the form of leadership and the level of
compliance with situational circumstances [24]. Thus, the theory suggests
that a leader is effective in one case or organization and not in another. In
addition, the theory explains the reasons for this difference and defines the
leader–situation matches that result in effective performance [37]. Namely,
it is possible to view the model in three stages: identification of leadership
styles, the definition of situations and match between leader and situation.
Identification of leadership style. Fiedler has developed “the least-
preferred coworker (LPC) scale,” which measures whether the leader is
business-oriented or relationship-oriented [48]. Through this scale, the
participant is asked to identify the person with whom she/he has found it
the most difficult to work [49]. A set of eighteen short bipolar items,
which are composed of opposite adjectives scaled from one to eight
(friendly to unfriendly, pleasant to unpleasant) to determine the style of
any leaders, is presented [50]. Two of the bipolar scale items are given as
examples below (Fig. 1-4). As seen from the examples of the scale items, a
leader with a high LPC score is defined as a person with relatively positive
attributes, whereas a leader with a low LPC score refers to a person with
more negative attributes. Thus, the former is called relationship oriented,
and the latter is called task oriented [50].
 Leadership Theories 15

Figure 1-4 Fiedler’s least-preferred coworker scale [48].

Fiedler’s theory assumes that the individual’s leadership style is stable.

A leader has either task-oriented or relationship-oriented behavior [34].
Relationship-oriented leaders pay attention to the harmony and bilateral
relations among the group members and care about the emotions of others.
They also expect active participation of group members in decision
making processes and a contribution to development with their ideas and
suggestions. Task-oriented leaders care about task completion and are
satisfied with tangible achievements. They direct the group members with
orders to complete the work, and they care little about their personal needs
and problems. These leaders prefer to work in jobs where tasks are
standard and clearly defined [34, 51, 52].
Defining the situation. After determining the basic leadership style of
the individual depending on the LPC scale, an assessment of the match
between the leader and the situation is performed. Fiedler [50] argues that
situational favorableness is characterized by leader-member relations, task
structure and position power.
Leader-member relations. The relationship between the leader and the
member means the degree of trust and commitment of the followers to the
leader. If the followers respect, trust and favor their leaders, the leaders
will have more power and influence in their relationship with their
followers [51]. A leader perceived as attractive and respected by the
members of the group will have significant power and need less official
authorization [47].
Task structure. Task structure expresses the level of a clear definition
of policies, regulations, rules and job descriptions [53]. Highly structured,
clearly defined and programmed tasks give the leader much more
influence and power than unclear, undefined and unstructured tasks [51].
In an environment where unstructured tasks exist, leaders must rely on
their own resources to inspire and motivate their followers [47].
Position power. Position power officially or traditionally refers to the
leader’s rewards and punishments, the group’s rules and regulations and
16 Chapter One

the followers’ organizational support, which are specified according to the

leader’s authority [47]. In short, position power reflects the official
authority of leaders [34]. Leaders will have more power and influence if
their position authorizes them to reward, recruit and dismiss an employee
or a follower. Therefore, position power will increase as the leader reaches
higher positions in the hierarchy [51]. Fiedler, using this set of
classification factors, has developed a taxonomy for the interaction of task
groups (Fig. 1-5). The theoretical assumption is that these groups require
different leadership behaviors to exhibit effective leadership [53].
Match between situation and leader. Each of the elements
characterizes an appropriate situation and are classified as positive or
negative. This leads to an eight-cell classification on the horizontal axis of
Fig. 1-5. The vertical axis represents the correlation between the leader
LPC score and the group performance score [51]. The model argues that
the individual’s LPC score should be matched to eight proper situations to
achieve maximum leadership effectiveness [48]. As a result, the leaders
who exhibit task-oriented behavior are more successful in the situations in
cells I, II, III and VIII, and the leaders who show relationship-oriented
behavior are more successful in the situations in cells IV, V, VI and VII
[47]. Later, Fiedler [54] reduced these eight cells to three. The positive
median correlation shows that relationship-oriented leaders with high LPC
perform better than task-oriented leaders with low LPC scores. On the
other hand, the negative median correlation means that task-oriented
leaders are better than relationship-oriented leaders. While both task- and
relationship-oriented leaders perform well under some situations, they
cannot perform well under others. Thus, leadership effectiveness depends
on the appropriate match between task structure and situational control
[50].
 Leadership Theories 17

Figure 1-5 Findings from Fiedler’s model [48].

Fiedler’s model assumes that a leader cannot be effective in all

situations. Instead, he argues that people with appropriate styles for each
situation should lead [40]. Fiedler points out that organizations cannot
easily and reliably find leaders who are in line with their own situation and
that leadership training designed to change leaders is ineffective since
individuals have stable leadership styles. According to him, what should
be done is to change the situation to suit the leader’s leadership behavior.
Finally, he states that a leader could be trained to understand his own
leadership style and learn how to successfully change the situation to fit
with his own style [34].

2.3.2. House’s Path-Goal Theory

This theory was first submitted in 1971 and is based on the path-goal
hypothesis proposed by Georgopolous et al. [55] and Vroom’s [56]
expectancy theory of motivation [57]. House revised his path-goal theory
in 1996 [58]. This theory focuses on the situation and leader behavior
18 Chapter One

rather than on the stable traits of leaders. In contrast to Fiedler’s

contingency theory, the path-goal theory suggests that leaders could easily
adapt to different situations [37]. The theory attaches great importance to
the day to day interactions between the leader and the follower and
strengthens the responsibility of helping leaders find the appropriate path
to achieve their organizational goals efficiently and effectively [58]. The
path-goal theory argues that followers will be motivated to the extent that
leader behavior affects their expectations. As is understood from the
explanations, the path-goal theory suggests two assumptions about
leadership behavior [59]:
 Leader behavior is acceptable to the extent that it is regarded as a
direct source of satisfaction for followers or as a tool for
satisfaction in a future period.
 Leader behaviors are motivated to the extent that they meet the
needs of their followers in relation to their effective performance
and provide the support, guidance, coaching and rewards they need
for effective performance and create a suitable atmosphere.

House identified four leadership behaviors as directive, supportive,

participative and achievement-oriented [58].
Directive leader behavior. Directive leader behavior assures the
followers know the expectations from them by planning and coordinating
work, providing specific guidance and psychological structure and
clarifying policies, procedures and rules [59]. Directive leaders set out
strict performance standards for their followers [37].
Supportive leader behavior. Supportive leader behavior focuses on
sub-needs and preferences such as showing concern for the well-being of
the followers and creating a friendly and psychologically supportive work
environment. Supportive leader behavior refers to a source of self-
confidence and social satisfaction as well as a source of stress reduction
and frustration alleviation for followers [59]. In addition, supportive
leaders attach great importance to the needs and well-being of followers
[60].
Participative leader behavior. In this leadership behavior, the leader
asks for and uses the followers’ suggestions; however, the leader makes
the decisions. It is stated that participative leader behavior has four effects
[59]. The first of these effects is to clarify “the path-goal relationship
concerning effort and work-goal attainment and work-goal attainment and
extrinsic rewards.” The second is to increase the harmony between the
individual goals of the followers and organizational goals. The third is to
increase the ability and autonomy of the subordinates to achieve their