Early Ideas of Leadership

• Historic leadership was about

Early Leadership Theories being strong, brave, defeating
countries, winning wars.
Trait and Behavioural Theories

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Modern Leaders Trait Theories (1920–1950)

• Main idea: “great leaders are born, not made”
• Our views have changed, • Key work: identifying whether and if so which traits make someone a good
particularly in the last few leader
decades, and particularly with • Assumptions: traits are innate as opposed to being acquired
regard to business leaders. • Output: lots of lists of traits but with no universal agreement

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 An Example of Trait Theory Research An Example of Trait Theory Research (cont.)
• Judge et al. performed a meta-analysis on previous studies using the trait • Judge et al. (2002) found that leaders tend to be:
perspective of leadership (2002) • High in extraversion
• Meta-analysis: analysing lots of data gathered by others to try to discover broader • High in openness
patterns and ideas • High in conscientiousness
• They organised others’ findings around the “big five” personality traits • Low in neuroticism
• Big five personality traits: extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and • (Their agreeableness was found to be largely irrelevant)
neuroticism

Judge et al. (2002). ‘Research on the link between 5FPM and leadership’. Judge et al. (2002). ‘Research on the link between 5FPM and leadership’.
Sacket & Walmsley. (2014). ‘Research on the link between conscientiousness and overall job performance’. Sacket & Walmsley. (2014). ‘Research on the link between conscientiousness and overall job performance’.

Trait Theory Summary From Traits to Behaviours

Type of leadership Trait
theory
Main proposition Leaders are born, not made The trait approach is about what you are born with – but
Key activities Trying to develop a list of traits that good leaders have
surely leadership can be developed?
Example of theory Judge et al. (2002): meta-theory of leadership traits
Main strengths 1) Intuitively appealing
2) Lots of research to back it up: some traits really do
make a difference
3) Helps us to consider who the right people for
leadership may be Behavioural approaches focus on which behaviours great
Main criticisms 1) Still hasn’t come up with a definitive list leaders seem to use.
2) Fails to take situations into account – being a good
leader in one setting may make you a terrible leader
in another (and therefore ignores country cultures)
3) Problematic for training and development
 From Traits to Behaviours (cont.)
• Researchers determined that An example of
leadership is comprised of two
Relationship Task
behavioural
general kinds of behaviours. behaviours: behaviours: research:
• Leaders can/should combine these enable enable goal
two types of behaviours to influence followers to accomplishment,

their followers to achieve a goal.

feel
comfortable
helping group
members to
Blake and
with each
other, with
achieve their
objectives
Mouton’s
Ohio State University and University of Michigan in
the 1940s; Blake and Mouton in the 1960s
the situation,
and with
leadership
themselves grid

A Summary of Behavioural Theories

Type of Behavioural
leadership
theory
Main proposition Leadership is a sum of task and relationship behaviours
Key activities Identifying leaders’ current behaviours and improving them
Example theory Managerial grid (Blake & Mouton)
Main strengths 1) Shifts towards the idea that leadership can be developed
2) Provides clear, easy-to-understand way to think about and
develop leadership
3) Wide range of studies validate the idea that leaders undertake
The End
two sets of behaviours (relational and task) in their roles
Main criticisms 1) Not clear whether/how the behaviours lead to improved
performance
2) Not clear when/how to juggle between task and relationship
roles and whether it’s always beneficial to be high-high
3) Very focused on western cultures: different cultures may prefer
different leadership styles
 Which Is Best?
• Which sort of walk is best?
Contingency and Follower Theories • Which type of computer is best?
• Which type of leader is best?
Newer Lenses on Leadership

Contingency Theories of Leadership Example of a Contingency Theory

Contingency theories realise that required • Situational leadership II (SLII) is a model that focuses on the need
leadership approach, and likely leader for different leadership in different situations (Blanchard et al.,
effectiveness, both depend on context. 1993).

• How the power of the leader impacts

leadership
Different • How the will and skill of the followers should
contingency be taken into account by leaders choosing
theories focus an approach
on different
factors, • How different tasks require different
leadership approaches
including:
• How different organisational features
require different leadership approaches
 Building Blocks of SLII How to Lead, According to SLII
• SLII stresses that leadership is composed of: • By assessing how much support and direction a follower
needs, you can decide whether to lead in a way that is:
Supportive leadership Directive leadership • Directing (high direction, low support)
behaviours behaviours • Coaching (high direction, high support)
• Supportive behaviours involve two- • Directive behaviours clarify what is
way communication, which facilitate to be done, how it should be done, • Supporting (high support, low direction)
and show social and emotional and who is responsible for doing it
support to others • Often one-way: from the leader to • Delegating (low support, low direction)
the follower

A Summary of Contingency Theories

Type of leadership Contingency
theory
Main proposition Good leadership depends on context
Key activities Identifying that a particular leader or leadership approach
will be more or less successful, dependent on context
Example theory • Hershey and Blanchard’s situational leadership model
Main strengths 1) Easy to understand, intuitively sensible, and easily
applied
2) Prescriptive (good for providing clear advice)
3) Encourages leaders to be flexible in approach
Main criticisms 1) All focus on different factors – which to prioritise? How
do they work in combination?
2) Little explanation overall of why a particular approach
will lead to a particular effect
3) Hard to apply in situations where you have a “mixed
bag” of factors
 But What About Followers? The Importance of Followers
• Can we link to this video?
https://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_ Various research projects have shown:
movement/transcript?language=en • Why different sorts of relationships develop between
a leader and their various subordinates (LMX theory)
• Critical to leadership is followership – you are not a leader • How followers can have more effective relationships
without followers. with their leaders
• How leaders and followers attempt to manage one’s
impressions of the other
• The sort of roles that leaders can and should play in
managing followers who have performance
deficiencies

Bases for Establishing

A Leader-Follower Theory High-Exchange Relationships
LMX theory was one of the first to recognise of the 1. The leader has control over outcomes that are
follower-leader relationship to leadership effectiveness
(Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995). desirable to the subordinate, such as:
• Assignment to interesting and desirable tasks
LMX: leader-member exchange; it looks at the relationships • Delegation of greater responsibility and authority
between the leader and each individual follower.
• Tangible rewards such as a pay increase
2. In return, the subordinate provides benefits to
Leaders develop an exchange relationship with followers as
the two parties mutually define the subordinate’s role. the leader, such as:
• Working harder and/or carrying out administrative
Exchange relationships are formed on the basis of personal duties
compatibility and subordinate competence and dependability.
• Being more committed to task objectives
• Being loyal to the leader
 What Is the Value of LMX Theory? What Does a Follower Do?
• Good evidence that LMX impacts performance, • In an attempt to further advance the study of followership, Carsten (2014)
suggests that there are several ways to think about the important work that
organisational commitment, job climate, and innovation followers do.
(Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995) 1. Followers get the job done.
• Not fully explained how high-quality leader-member 2. Followers work in the best interest of the organisation’s mission.
3. Followers challenge leaders.
exchanges are created 4. Followers support the leader.
5. Followers learn from leaders.
• Carsten asserts that, for all these reasons, we need to continue to pay
strong attention to followers.

A Summary of Followership Theories

Type of leadership Followership theories
theory
Main proposition Followership is an integral part of the leadership equation, and
affects how effective leaders are
Key activities Showing that leadership is best understood as a relationship
between leader and follower
Example theory LMX (leader-member exchange) theory (Graen & Uhl-Bien,
1995)
Main strengths 1) Forces a whole new way for people to think about leadership
2) Invites us to view leadership as a co-constructed process in The End
which followers and leaders share equally
3) Provides a set of basic prescriptions for what a follower
should or should not do to be an effective follower
Main criticisms 1) Its honesty about in-groups and out-groups runs against the
central idea of fairness
2) A risk that realising that in-groups and out-groups can lead to
effective leadership may encourage inequality by promoting
having in-groups and out-groups
 Until Now

New Leadership Approaches

Behavioural Follower
theories theories
Transformational Leadership and Authentic Leadership • Big five
“meta-study” • Leadership
• Situational
leadership II • LMX theory –
– Judge et grid – Blake – Blanchard Graen & Uhl-
al., 2002 & Mouton, et al., 1993 Bien, 1995
Trait 1991 Contingency
theories theories

The “New Leadership Paradigm” The “New Leadership Paradigm” (cont.)

A transition away from models that are highly
practical and towards an emphasis on affective,
charismatic, authentic elements of leadership

Two models dominate:

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• Transformational leadership
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• Authentic leadership
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 Transformational Leadership The Theory Suggests Three Leadership Types
• “Moves followers to accomplish more than what is usually expected of them”
• An example of a theory in the “New Leadership Paradigm” • Denial of leadership responsibility
• Treating leadership as a process that changes and transforms followers Laissez-faire • Absence of leadership
• Failure to supervise work

Transformational leadership • Contingent reward

• Management by exception (active: spotting
Idealised Inspirational Intellectual Individualised Transactional problems)
influence
+ motivation
+ stimulation
+ consideration • Management by exception (passive: responding to
problems)

• Idealised influence (charisma)

Transactional
• Inspiration
leadership Transformational
• Individualised consideration
Contingent reward Performance • Intellectual stimulation
Expected
+ beyond
outcomes
Management by exception expectations

Copied from Northouse (2018),

based on Bass & Avolio (1990). Modified from Bass (1990)

A Summary of Transformational Leadership Authentic Leadership

Type of Transformational
leadership theory Another newer area of leadership research
Main proposition Leadership is a process that changes and transforms people
Key activities Identifying what makes leadership transformational (as opposed to In recent times, the upheavals in society of eg, 9/11,
laissez-faire or transactional) Covid-19, “fake news” and so forth have created
anxiety and uncertainty
Example of a • Bass (1990)
transformational • Bass & Avolio (1990)
leadership theory People feel apprehensive and insecure about what is
going on around them
Main strengths 1) Substantial evidence that it is an effective form of leadership
2) Intuitively appealing, reflecting what we claim to want in leaders
3) Advocates paying attention to follower needs and concerns They long for bona fide leadership they can trust and
Main criticisms 1) Lacks conceptual clarity (eg, What does “idealised influence” for leaders who they believe to be honest and good
mean precisely? Does it mean the same to you as it does to me?)
2) Glorifies strong, controlling leaders who get stuff done but they
can harm companies if they push for negative changes People’s demands for trustworthy leadership make
3) Does it actually transform? Or is it just a way to get results? the study of authentic leadership worthwhile
 What Is Authentic Leadership? An Example of Authentic Leadership Theory
• No single accepted definition; different definitions from • Authentic leadership presented as a
different viewpoints and with different emphases; two process (Luthans & Avolio, 2003)
main approaches:
1. Practical: “how to” of authentic leadership, originating from
real-life examples, training, and development literature Positive Self-awareness
psychological
2. Theoretical: trying to develop a proper, robust social sciences capacities Internalised
moral
theory of authentic leadership Critical life perspective Authentic
events leadership
Balanced
processing
Moral
reasoning Relational
transparency

A Summary of Authentic Leadership Summary

Type of Authentic leadership
leadership theory • Leadership is a key element of management
Main proposition Contemporary leaders who know themselves well and can be their
authentic selves in leadership roles make good leaders
• A wide range of theories, with thoughts on what makes a good
Key activities Academics are working to establish a theoretical approach to leader changing over the years
authentic leadership after it started in the training/self-help world
Example of Luthans & Avolio (2003)
• Early ideas focused on traits
authentic
leadership theory
• Theories evolved to looking at contexts, situations, and
Main strengths 1) Speaks to people’s current desire for honest, transparent, values- contingencies
led, ethical leadership
2) Provides guidelines for those who want to be authentic leaders • Followers became a focus
3) Early evidence suggests it improves follower performance
Main criticisms 1) Not clear why morals are related to authenticity
• Current focus is on authentic, transformational leaders: “the new
2) Not clear why positive psychological capacities are included as leadership paradigm”
an inherent component of authentic leadership
3) It is just early evidence of positive impacts on follower
performance – more research needed
The End