Unit 5: Leadership
A business' success hinges on how its leaders can inspire all stakeholders – especially employees – to commit to success. Numerous theories of leadership explain some aspects of leadership. Employees need assurance that their efforts will be acknowledged and rewarded. This unit explores leadership theories, the behaviors and characteristics of good leaders, and how good leaders establish trust. We also examine dysfunctional leadership.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 10 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- categorize behavioral styles such as laissez-faire, autocratic, democratic, transformational, transactional, or charismatic and models of situational leadership using the contingency approach;
- characterize leader effectiveness based on theories and traits of leadership such as behavioral theory and modern trait theory ;
- assess the effects of leadership on human support systems and workforce planning to ensure employee well-being and achieve high organizational performance;
- compare the characteristics of trustworthy leaders (fairness, role models, trust in followers, passionate, inspirational, align values and actions) to those of untrustworthy leaders (narcissistic, abuse power, irrational, disagreeable, dishonest, and careless); and
- explain the benefits of organizational trust and its role in conflict management and creating a collaborative culture.
5.1: The Role of Leadership
Although leadership occurs in everyday situations, organizations have formal roles for leaders. Informal leadership also occurs in organizations. Furthermore, sometimes leaders serve for temporary purposes, such as on a project team. This section focuses on the role of leadership within the organization.- Watch this video for a humorous view of how we can all be leaders in our daily lives. It shows how small actions add up to leadership. It will help you understand that leadership may not always fit our preconceived notions.
- The text points out that we can examine individual, group, and organizational behavior.
- Watch this video to review the problems of continuing to do business the same way in a rapidly changing and very complex world. The speakers highlight the problems with trusting corporations and governments. They state that the world needs courageous, humble leaders who have a moral compass and are willing to tackle difficult global issues.
- Previous units have addressed how organizations are changing in response to the dynamic business environment. This leaves questions about how the role of leadership will change as well. This resource offers insights into the nature of leadership, the process of leadership, and how leaders emerge in organizations.
- There has been a shift in emphasis from management to leadership in modern organizations, with the roles overlapping. This text will refresh your memory about the role of managers within the organization and distinguish them from the role of the leaders who inspire action.
- Leaders have an attitude that is different than that of followers. This video addresses taking risks as a leader and distinguishes leadership skills from a leadership attitude.
5.2: Theories of Leadership
We can examine leadership from different viewpoints, which give rise to theories. For example, a behaviorist will develop different theories than someone exploring cognition. Today's four most common theories are modern trait theory, behavioral theory, contingency theory, and full range theories. This section will explore these theories of leadership.- This resource will give you an overview of the four major leadership theories.
- This text provides a high-level definition of leadership. It also differentiates between management and leadership. Interestingly, the author posits that the evolution of a managerial role may not develop into a leadership role. You will examine the theories of servant leadership, transformational leadership, collaboration/meta leadership theory, and shared leadership.
- This resource explains the difference between transactional and transformational leadership. It also addresses some of the challenges that organizations face in a rapidly changing workplace and the role of teams.
- Watch this video to see how the study of leadership has evolved. The video also introduces Theory X and Theory Y.
- This text examines the following leadership styles: directive, path-goal clarifying leaders, achievement-oriented leaders, participative leaders, and supportive leaders.
5.3: Styles, Behaviors, and Traits
Consider what you have learned in the previous units, and then think about the leaders you know. Does your understanding of individual behavior, motivation, communication, and decision-making help you understand how managers manage and leaders lead? Is there a clear distinction for you? Is there a process to becoming a leader, or can you practice certain behaviors to demonstrate leadership? What are leadership styles, and is there only one way to explore leadership styles? This section provides an overview of leadership styles, behaviors, and traits. We will explore each of these in more depth in the upcoming sections.- The autocratic leader leads from the top down and expects compliance with their decisions. Autocratic leaders rely on their position of authority, not relationships. Democratic leaders use a more collaborative approach and solicit feedback before making decisions. The laissez-faire approach is very hands-off, which gives people space to perform their work without much interference. Watch this video for clear examples of the different styles.
- The previous video explained autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire. This video adds transactional, transformational, and charismatic leadership and concludes with ethical guidelines for leaders.
- Studying leaders in terms of their traits was one of the earliest approaches to researching leadership. There is no "wrong" way to study leadership. Even though this approach is older, it is no less valid. Leaders still have the traits identified in early research, and the theory has regained traction. Still, we limit our understanding if we take only one approach to learning about leadership and how to be one. This section will explore the history of studying leadership traits and modern approaches. This resource identifies the traits that are most commonly associated with leadership. The first trait is intelligence which includes both mental intelligence and emotional intelligence. Other leadership traits that researchers have identified are self-esteem and integrity. The text addresses the challenges of using the trait approach and its continued usefulness.
- The text is in furtherance to the traits discussed in the previous resource but adds the traits of drive, desire to lead, and business knowledge. Drive is an indicator of being highly motivated.
- Watch this video to explore bad leadership qualities and the consequences of toxic traits.
- We have previously been introduced to leadership styles and leadership behaviors. This section will explore both topics in more depth. Again, each of these concepts is just a construct for studying leadership. The more leadership is studied, the more researchers recognize that no single viewpoint captures all the facets of leadership. Each is just a framework that provides a particular way to view leadership. Consider how many of these styles and behaviors you have observed in leaders. Then think of the leaders you know that may exhibit more than one style or behavior. Trait theory has focused on the traits of the leader. However, the interaction with others begins to show whether a leader is effective or not. This text examines leadership in terms of what leaders do. Be sure to carefully examine the leadership grid, which classifies leaders' behaviors using a grid based on case studies.
There are different leadership styles, such as transactional and charismatic styles. This text introduces the idea of using different styles in specific situations.
- Kouzes and Posner are well-recognized researchers in leadership and management. Read this resource to identify the behaviors that they both have observed. Specifically, they found that the five behaviors of effective leaders are modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, challenging the process, enabling others to act, and encouraging the heart.
- When we look at leaders' types (or styles), we can consider transactional versus transformational leaders or even a blended approach to leadership. We may fall into the trap of our thinking about leadership and think one way of leading is right for all situations. Instead, This text should help you understand that different situations may require us to exhibit different leadership skills. Consider a manager at a fast-food restaurant that mostly hires teenagers to work versus a senior manager with well-experienced professionals on their team. This section compares transactional and transformational leadership. Be attentive to the key differences between them. The section on transactional leaders explores how transactional leaders operate within the organization. This type of leader uses extrinsic motivational tools. The key behaviors of transformational leaders are more focused on how they interact with and inspire their followers. This leader fosters teamwork and has a broad, inclusive vision. Finally, the text explores the blended approach of transactional and transformational leadership.
- This text will show you the multiple ways that leadership has been studied. Most of these perspectives are more contemporary viewpoints. We have previously looked at how the workforce is changing and considered the constantly changing business environment. We also want to consider leadership in different contexts. This text will briefly review emotional, interactive, moral, servant, shared, and e-leadership.
5.4: Situational Leadership
There is some logic in using different leadership styles in different situations. Consider leading a group of volunteers at a social function versus leading a project in your workplace. Using the same style or behaviors may not work well in each situation. This section examines research that has studied leadership in operating within certain situations. We will introduce you to the Fiedler model, Goleman's model, normative decision theory, Hersey and Blanchard's model, the path-goal theory, and the Vroom-Yetton-Jago model.- This resource discusses the Fiedler leadership model, which uses the "Least Preferred Co-worker" (LPC) test to measure leadership traits. Be attentive to the end of the text that examines the criticisms of using this model.
- Read this text to look at how leaders and followers interact in task behavior and the relationship. The group's maturity in its ability and willingness to complete the job is one of the determinants of the leadership role that the leader should take – telling, selling, participating, or delegating.
- This resource identifies both leadership and task/follower characteristics. It explores leadership styles, including directive, achievement-oriented, participative, and supportive styles. You will examine the Path-Goal model as a framework for the Outstanding Leadership Theory.
- Up to this point in our study of leadership, there have been multiple viewpoints and perspectives. This text uses the contingency approach and looks at leadership from working within the group and how leaders must make different decisions based on the tasks and situations. The decision tree presented in This text may prove helpful when trying to work out what to do and what leadership approach to take. Pay attention to the Vroom-Yetton-Jago model, which starts at the most autocratic style and moves along a continuum of five scales to a collaborative group decision.
5.5: Destructive Leadership
We have examined how to become a better leader or the characteristics of leadership that we admire. However, almost all of us have been exposed to negative leaders or toxic leadership. This is more than just having a leader that we do not resonate with. Destructive leadership harms the people who work under the person, or the behavior reduces productivity and efficiency. The materials in this section will provide a brief overview of poor leadership. This is an emerging field of study. When managing people, these are the behaviors we want to avoid.- The organizational climate is surface level and changes quickly, whereas organizational culture runs deeper and is much less changeable. This video describes the constructs used to discuss leadership.
- Watch this video for a description of the Peter Principle, which states that people are promoted in an organization until they reach their level of incompetency. At this point, they are not promoted further. The video provides a lively real-life scenario that helps illustrate the concepts.
- Read this article to examine research conducted on the dark side of leadership. The author concentrates on leadership styles using the construct of personality. He uses a framework of various factors, including emotionality, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, to examine the negative effects of dishonesty, disagreeableness, and carelessness. Be attentive to the paragraph on psychopathic leaders. There is also a discussion about what organizations should do to prevent the rise of TNT (Three Nightmare Traits) leaders. Some thought that people with TNT tend to apply to work at organizations that have a culture that encourages certain behaviors.
- Watch this video on the seven signs of toxic leadership, including failure to listen and narcissism. These traits are negative and create a culture of distrust, anxiety, fear, and conflict. Think of the opposite behaviors as producing a more positive organizational culture.
- Read this article for an overview of research published on dark leadership.
- This text explores the negative consequences of abusive supervision and exploitative leadership. As you read, focus on the theoretical and practical implications.
5.6: Strategic Workforce Management
It is time for us to turn our attention to how leaders apply their efforts within the organization. Managers and leaders have responsibilities in the organization; otherwise, they would not be in the position that they are in. One of the duties of a manager is to ensure that the workforce they have in place is right for the job and high performing. The resources in this section will help you understand the duties and responsibilities of leadership positions.This text is a short reading that introduces the concept of workforce planning applied to achieving business strategy. The text explains the process of workplace planning.
- This article reminds us that technology has impacted the workforce in many ways. It is a review of how digitalization shapes organizations and challenges leaders. Digitalization has increased connectivity and information sharing. Employees can use it to create new value when they are directly participating. It is up to leaders to capture that value. To do so, they need to incorporate digitalization in their management of people. Be attentive to the section on the relationship between e-leaders and organizations. The article also discusses the role of ethics in the organization and provides insights on how we can integrate leadership and digital tools.
5.7: Trust
No leadership discussion would be complete if it did not address the issue of trusting the leader and the organization. This topic has been touched upon in your prior resources, but this section will explore the impacts of trustworthy and untrustworthy leaders. If you consider your own experience with leaders, you know that you have to trust the person leading you into an unknown future. You need to trust that they are committed to the vision that they see. Within the organization, trust builds an atmosphere of security and commitment.- Watch this video that explains how our trust in organizations is built on a foundation of ethical behavior. The speaker gives an example of an ethical dilemma and how the decisions were made. He brings out the heart-rending decisions that must be made even when the performer has good intentions. This video will make you think about how stepping over ethical lines can lead you down a slippery slope that undermines trust in an organization.
- This article explores what is required to build trust and the benefits of building trust. Having open communications is critical for building high-performance teams. The authors interviewed managers and asked how trust can be managed and supported. They found that it takes time and conscious actions, including one-on-one meetings and team-building exercises.
5.8: Characteristics of Trustworthy and Untrustworthy Leaders
What factors determine whether someone is seen as a trustworthy or untrustworthy leader? We have looked at leadership styles, characteristics, and behaviors. We have looked at the rapidly changing business environment that requires companies to be nimble in their business practices, implying that firms must be prepared for constant change. How can leaders build trust with their followers in a constantly changing environment? This section will explore those characteristics.- This resource compares two companies. One company has a distrustful culture, and one has a trusting culture. The researchers look at the difference in managerial attitudes. One fostered fear and suspicion, which led to a lack of cooperation. The other fostered trust and collaboration. Be attentive to the different results when people are undervalued or appreciated. Also, think critically about the differences between authoritarian leadership and democratic (authentic) styles. Is there a way to use an authoritarian style yet still build trust?
- This article points out that confidence in business leaders is declining. The researchers explore the relationship between trust, emotional intelligence, and the servant leadership style. Thie reading will help you understand the followers' perception of servant leadership.
- This video posits that good leaders create a safe and trustworthy environment for their followers. After you watch, reflect on how trust inspires increased productivity and is the key to building a high-performing team.
- This blog post is a short read on the sources of untrustworthy leadership and the behaviors of untrustworthy leaders. The post also gives five practical tips on dealing with an untrustworthy leader.
5.9: Organizational Trust
While organizations do not have a formal way to measure trust in an organization, researchers have found that high-performing organizations have high levels of organizational trust. The reverse is also true; low trust levels reduce performance levels. This section explores the concept of trust within the organization and how it permeates an organization's culture.
- When trust is missing, fear creeps in. One study shows that high-trust companies may outperform low-trust companies by 300%. This video points out how the lack of trust in an organization reduces innovation and increases anxiety. The speaker offers tips on building trust within the organization, including being competent, consistent, authentic, and interested in others.
- Watch this video for ideas on what companies and organizations can do when trust has been broken. The speaker explains that the three components of trust are authenticity, empathy, and rigorous logic in thought processes. Empathy is the most difficult to show, usually due to pressures on time. Displaying empathy relies on deep listening.
- This case study explores the relationship between an organization and its employees. The researchers used social exchange theory and inducement-contribution theory to conduct the study. The research aimed to determine if employees are more innovative when organizational trust is high.
5.10: Creating a Collaborative Organizational Culture
Companies benefit when teams can collaborate. However, collaboration depends on the team members trusting each other and the leaders in the organization. The benefits of collaboration are a higher commitment to implementing group decisions and fostering open dialogue across the organization. Open communication improves the quality of decisions because people are more willing to share all their information. When the organization's culture is collaborative, people deal with conflicts differently. This section illustrates that building a collaborative culture is not easy because leaders must put the group's interests above their own.- This video supports the idea that collaborative leaders are good listeners with good facilitation skills and can manage conflict. The speaker discusses how a leader can let followers fail without making them feel like failures. After completing the text, you should know what an inversion of expertise is and what reverse mentoring is.
- Read this article to review the value of collaboration in open-source communities. It examines research completed by the Harvard Business Review that shows that IT departments that are collaborative and are willing to take a more open approach are more innovative.
Study Guide: Unit 5
We recommend reviewing this Study Guide before taking the Unit 5 Assessment.
Unit 5 Assessment
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Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.
- This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
- You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
- You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.