Leadership Styles and Behavior

Qualities of a leader

Effective leaders are characterized by certain personality traits. Leadership traits are not magical in nature. Additionally, the talents and qualities necessary for leadership are not something you either possess or lack. Over the course of your career, you can acquire and hone these qualities. To comprehend the foundations of a strong leadership, all that is needed is focus and perseverance.

Awareness: Leadership necessitates awareness because a leader must be able to perceive his or her environment, comprehend the nuances of various components, and objectively assess both the acts of others and their own. The leader must be conscious of the special situation in which he or she finds themselves. Instead of thinking you are superior to others because you are the leader; you should recognize the special duties and difficulties you confront in this capacity.

Self-knowledge is important for improving awareness. Your ability to recognize your own strengths and flaws will improve your ability to recognize them in others. Whether it be knowledge of the business, the company, or the human consciousness, knowledge is a key component of awareness. The development of better leaders can be facilitated by improvements in several areas.

Confidence: Confidence is a mental state, characterized by a sense of reliance on both your surroundings and yourself. Lack of confidence would cause leadership to fail. Nobody likes to follow a leader who lacks faith in their own abilities or the direction they've set. If the team leader exudes confidence, it not only inspires others to work toward the vision but also increases team confidence.

There are many strategies to increase confidence, but it's important to realize that changing patterns of low self-esteem and lack of belief can take time and deliberate work. Try the following actions if you wish to boost your self- and other-confidence:

Pay heed to the voice inside of you. Your inner voice plays a significant part in how the outside world sees you. Make sure your tone is positive. Tell yourself, "I can do this, I just need to try," rather than, "I'll fail."

Redirect focus from comparisons. Stop focusing too much on what other people are doing and concentrate your attention on your

Get out of your comfort zone. Your confidence will increase if you accomplish something you've never done before because it gives you a sense of accomplishment.

Courage: The foundation of leadership is courage. The capacity to develop a vision, communicates it, and persuades others to follow. Most people cannot handle the knowledge that if your strategy fails, you will likely be held personally accountable as the leader. A leader cannot effect positive change without guts and the understanding that life is somewhat uncertain. Perseverance is always needed while switching from one method to another.

Empathy: As was already established, the focus on staff development distinguishes leadership from management. Empathy is a major force behind empowerment and development. The finest leaders are those that actually care about how their team members are doing and who try to build meaningful relationships with them. When supervisors see problems with their employees, they don't engage in a personal blame game; instead, they work with the employee to identify workable solutions.

It may appear that empathy is a leadership quality that you either possess or lack. However, researches have demonstrated that compassion can be taught in humans. Compassion training, in which you deliberately demonstrate greater compassion for yourself, your family, strangers, and even individuals you don't like, can alter your brain's chemistry and enable you to be more empathic in daily interactions.

Humility: The best leaders are also able to display humility. Leadership can easily be perceived as a pure tool for dominance. You have a great deal of authority and responsibility as a leader, and this should humble you. Being responsible and intervening when you make a mistake are key components of leadership.

People that are humble don't fear taking on responsibility or seek to avoid the spotlight. Understanding the worth of the people and processes around you, as well as their contributions to your development as a leader, is a key component of humility.

Honesty: Another important quality that defines leadership is honesty. It involves the capacity to remain faithful to oneself and the vision even when circumstances are challenging. It also involves having the capacity to accept and offer criticism without it escalating the situation. Above all, being honest involves being transparent with the group while providing information.

Naturally, this doesn't suggest divulging private information, but it does imply that the team's leader is accessible and isn't deliberately trying to keep information from them. After all, leadership isn't about spin control. Umpqua Bank CEO Ray Davis succinctly expressed it thus way in his book Leading Through Uncertainty:

I always tell our people that they’re entitled to get answers to like to answers. But it’s going to be truthful, and I know they can deal with the truth. This might create additional questions, but we’ll get through them. And we do.

Conviction: Leadership largely depends on conviction because you can't provide a vision if you aren't willing to stick with it. Conviction is the ability to trust and believe in your concept and the willingness to persevere through difficulties in order to realize your vision. Leading with conviction will motivate people to follow you.

It's important to realize that conviction differs from obstinate blindness. Trusting in your vision does not imply that you are unwilling to learn from experience, make improvements, or alter your course if necessary. Simply said, it indicates that you don't give up when anything goes wrong or when someone doesn't agree with you.

Flexibility: Flexibility is necessary in leadership because, as was previously noted, conviction does not equate to obstinacy. An effective leader is aware that circumstances and individuals vary, and that various problems may require different answers. Flexibility is a quality that enables a leader to anticipate change, respond to it, and read the situation without losing sight of the bigger picture.

Assertive: Being assertive can occasionally be confused with being aggressive or "bossy." However, the ability to stand up for what you believe in is what it really is. It is not appropriate to use your position of authority as a weapon of intimidation or aggression. Simply put, assertiveness is the ability to communicate your ideas and goals in a constructive way.

Inspirational: The capacity to inspire others is arguably the most crucial leadership quality. Creating a vision of something better or new is at the heart of all effective leadership. The leader's job is to convey the vision in a way that motivates the team to action, yet because the human mind is frequently resistant to change. Creating an atmosphere that inspires people to follow and work toward the desired outcomes, despite the goals' apparent distance and difficulty, is a key component of leadership.

Situation leadership

An adaptable leadership approach is situational leadership. This tactic encourages leaders to assess their team members, consider the multiple factors at work, and select the leadership style that best suits their objectives and situation. According to leadership expert Ken Blanchard, "A leader used to be a boss in the past. Today's leaders cannot operate purely on the basis of their positional authority.

Organizations all over the world who desire to do the following choose the situational leadership model:

1.  Build teams and individuals
2. Use a consistent leadership approach throughout all organizational units, whether local, national, or international, to build relationships and bring out the best in people.

Situational leadership consists of following theory:

Fielder's Contingency Model

 Contingency Theories Background

There are more contingency theories besides Fiedler's. According to the general theory of contingency, there is no one optimum way to organize your business or manage your workforce.

The best course of action will depend on the circumstances. Therefore, contingency theories look at how to manage your group or organization under various circumstances. The ideal leadership approach will depend on the circumstance, to put it another way.

Model

There is no single optimum way to lead your team, according to Fiedler's Contingency Theory. Instead, the circumstance will dictate the most effective method of team leadership.

It's critical to understand that your leadership style is fixed according to Fiedler's Contingency Theory. You are unable to alter your style to fit the circumstance. Instead, you need to place leaders in circumstances that fit their leadership style. The notion is in conflict with more recent contingency theories, such situational leadership. Fiedler's Contingency Theory emphasizes the roles of situational favorableness and leadership style.

Leadership Approach

To use the approach, you must first identify your natural leadership style. Fiedler created a scale known as the Least Preferred Coworker Scale to do this (LPC). You must explain the coworker you least enjoy working with in order to rate yourself on this scale.

What do you think of those whom you find it most difficult to work with?

The model suggests that you are more relationship-oriented if you rate the person you least like to work with more favorably. The more task-oriented you are, the less favorably you assessed the person you least enjoy working with. So, to summarize:

Low LPC Indicates task-oriented leader

High LPC = relationship-oriented leader.

Task-oriented executives typically excel at assembling teams, managing projects, and completing tasks. Relationship-oriented executives typically excel at creating positive connections and handling disputes to move things along.

Situational Favorableness

Understanding how good your circumstance is is the next step. This depends on how much influence you have as a leader over the circumstance (situational control). Examining the following three elements will help you determine how beneficial the scenario is:

Understanding how good your circumstance is is the next step. This depends on how much influence you have as a leader over the circumstance (situational control). Examining the following three elements will help you determine how beneficial the scenario is:

Leader-Member Relations: This variable evaluates the level of trust you enjoy from your team. More trust improves the situation's favorableness, while less trust makes it less favorable.

Task Structure: This factor gauges the volume of work that must be done. Are they specific and definite or ambiguous?

Situational favorability is increased by concrete and clear tasks while it is decreased by vague duties.

Position Power: This is based on your authority, which is the ability to promote or fire employees. As one could anticipate, the situation becomes more favorable when one has greater power.

Summary

According to Fiedler's Contingency Theory of Leadership, the degree to which your leadership style complements the circumstance determines how effective you will be as a leader.

Each of us has a single leadership style that can be rated on the scale of "least preferred coworker" (LPC), according to the theory's underlying tenet. You can identify as a relationship- or task-oriented leader using the LPC scale.

Fiedler contends that task-oriented leaders perform at their peak in situations that are either very favorable or strongly adverse. Relationship-focused leaders achieve the best success in circumstances with mixed favorable.

 

Path Goal Theory

Robert House, an Ohio State University alumnus, created the path-goal theory in 1971 and updated it in 1996. According to the theory, a leader's actions depend on how satisfied, inspired, and productive his or her followers are.

The Path-Goal model is a theory that relies on identifying a leader's behavior or style that best suits the team members and workplace in order to accomplish a goal (House, Mitchell, 1974). In order for your employees to contribute to the business productively, you want to boost their motivation, sense of agency, and satisfaction.

Path-Goal is based on Vroom's (1964) expectancy theory, according to which a person will act in a particular way if they anticipate that their actions will result in a particular outcome and find that outcome to be appealing. Martin Evans established the path-goal idea originally in 1970, and House later expanded on it (1971).

The path-goal theory can be best understood as a process where leaders choose particular behaviors that are best matched to the demands of the employees and the working environment in order to best guide the employees through their route in achieving their daily job tasks (goals) (Northouse, 2013).

Although Path-Goal Theory is not a comprehensive process, it typically follows these fundamental steps, as indicated in the following diagram:

1. Identify the environmental and employee characteristics

2. Decide on a leadership approach

3. Pay attention to the variables that will motivate the worker to achieve.

 

Employee Characteristics

Based on their demands, including the level of structure they require, their allegiance, their perceived level of skill and their desire for control, employees interpret their leader's conduct. For instance, people lose motivation if a leader gives them more structure than they require. A leader must therefore comprehend their team members in order to know how to best inspire them.

Environmental and Task Characteristics

The path-goal philosophy places a strong emphasis on overcoming barriers. When a hurdle becomes too great, the leader must intervene and assist the employee in choosing a route to go past it. These are some of the most challenging task features that frequently appear:

Task design – The task design may require the leader's cooperation. For instance, the leader may need to add more structure to an uncertain assignment or provide support for a particularly challenging work.

Formal authority system - Depending on the job authority, the leader may set explicit objectives or delegate some or complete control to the employee.

Workgroup - If the team is not supportive, the leader must foster teamwork and esprit-de-corps, which fosters camaraderie, zeal, and dedication among all team members.

Leadership Techniques

The leader's behavior, which is adjusted to the qualities of the employee and the work such that the employee's motivation is to succeed at their objective, is one of the independent variables of the path-goal theory.

Four different types of leadership behaviors or styles were identified by House and Mitchell in 1974: directive, supportive, participatory, and achievement (explained in detail below). They are based on two elements that an Ohio State University study of behaviors identified (Stogdill, 1974):

Consideration - interpersonal virtues including respect and trust.

Establishing Structure - task habits including planning, organizing, and ensuring that work is finished.

Directive, the first behavior on the list below, is based on initiating structure. The other three—accomplishment, participation, and support—are founded on thoughtfulness.

The four different paths-goals of a leader's behavior are:

Directive: The leader instructs her subordinates on what is required of them, such as by outlining what to do, how to complete a task, and scheduling and coordinating work. When people are unclear about the task at hand or when the environment is full of uncertainty, it works best.

Supportive: The leader makes work enjoyable for the team members by demonstrating care for them and by being approachable and kind. It works well in circumstances where relationships and tasks are difficult physically or mentally.

Participative: Before deciding how to proceed, the leader consults with his followers. When subordinates are well-trained and invested in their task, it works best.

Achievement: The leader gives her followers tough objectives, demands their best work, and exudes confidence in their capacity to deliver on this promise. It works best in settings that emphasis achievement, like technical or scientific fields of work or sales.

Other leadership philosophies may be applied based on the circumstance, therefore the leaders' behaviour is not predetermined. As an illustration, House (1996) identified the following four behaviours:

• Facilitation of Work;
• Group-Oriented Decision-Making
• Networking and Work Group Representation
• Based on Values

Application

The path-goal theory argues that people (leaders) are flexible in that they may alter their conduct or style based on the environment because, as was previously mentioned, the independent variables of the theory are the behavior of the leaders. This is consistent with research showing that, although nature (our genes) may serve as our internal map, nurture (our experience) serves as our explorer and ultimately determines what we do (Ridley, 2003).

Hersey and Blandchard's Situational Leadership Approaches

According to the Hersey-Blanchard Model, no one leadership style is superior to another. The concept advises leaders to adapt their styles to the followers and their abilities rather than concentrating on workplace conditions. According to the paradigm, effective leadership is pertinent to both relationships and tasks. It is an adaptable, flexible method whereby leaders are encouraged to think about their followers—individuals or a team—before thinking about the variables that affect the work environment. They can be sure they will succeed by doing this. The Hersey-Blanchard model employs an individualistic rather than a communal strategy since it depends on a leader's ability to make decisions. The Situational Leadership Model or Theory is another name for the Hersey-Blanchard Model.

Author Paul Hersey and leadership specialist Ken Blanchard, author of "The One Minute Manager," created the Hersey-Blanchard Model, also known as situational leadership. The leadership style in the model is dynamic. Instead, it is flexible, allowing the manager to adjust their management style to different workplace circumstances, including how they interact with other employees.

Managers who follow the model must therefore determine their leadership style in relation to the maturity of their followers. In situations where follower maturity is high, for instance, the model advises the leader to give little direction. In contrast, if follower maturity is low, the manager may need to give clear instructions and constantly monitor work to make sure the group is aware of its objectives and how it is expected to get there.

There are three levels of maturity for followers: high, moderate, and low. Individuals with high levels of maturity are capable, self-assured, experienced, and capable of working independently. Employees with moderate maturity typically fall into one of two categories: those who are capable but lack the confidence to accept the responsibility, or those who are capable but are unwilling to complete the task at hand. Low maturity employees are very enthusiastic yet lack the necessary skills to complete the assignment.

Leadership philosophies and the Hersey-Blanchard Model

Based on the tasks and interpersonal interactions that leaders encounter at work, Hersey and Blanchard developed four basic types of leadership styles. The model suggests that managers can employ the following leadership philosophies:

Delegating style: A low-task, low-relationship style in which the leader gives the group the authority to make decisions regarding tasks. With followers who are highly mature, this works best.

Participating style, which emphasizes shared ideas and decisions, is low-task, high-relationship style. The moderate followers of participating managers are typically seasoned as well as less self-assured in their ability to do the tasks set.

Selling style: Describes a high-task, high-relationship style in which the leader tries to persuade the group to adopt his ideas by persuading them to follow task instructions. This is also employed with obedient followers. These followers, in contrast to the preceding model, are capable but disinclined to perform the task.

Telling style: This term refers to a high-task, low-relationship approach in which the leader offers clear instructions and closely monitors work. This fashion is intended for people who are less mature.

Main Points

1. No leadership style is superior to another, according to the Hersey-Blanchard Model, which also advises managers to modify their approach depending on the situations and people they manage.
2. The various maturity levels of followers or employees are directly tied to the various leadership styles in the model.
3. Although this leadership approach may make sense in principle, it might not always work in practice. It therefore has benefits and drawbacks.
4. Utilizing an adaptive leadership style has a number of benefits, including the flexibility for leaders to alter their approach whenever they see fit. Second, people might view a leader's ability to adjust to evolving workplace developments as a desirable quality. It is a straightforward and uncomplicated leadership style, allowing a manager to assess a problem swiftly and take appropriate action.

On the negative side, situational leadership may place an excessive amount of responsibility on the manager, who may make poor decisions. It's possible that other civilizations won't be able to use the model. The model may also place a higher priority on connections and tasks than on the long-term objectives of a corporation.

Transactional Leadership

Transactional leadership places a strong emphasis on results, maintains the organization's current structure, and gauges success using the organization's system of incentives and punishments. In an organization, positions of formal power and responsibility are held by transactional leaders responsible for ensuring consistency by overseeing each individual's performance and fostering collective performance. The most popular method of evaluating employee performance is through performance evaluations, which are conducted by transactional, or managerial, executives.

The following is what transactional leaders are anticipated to do:

• Establish objectives and provide clear instructions on what is expected of the employee and how their achievements will be rewarded.
• Offer performance-related feedback that is useful.
• Rather than introducing changes, put your attention on enhancing the effectiveness of current routines and procedures.
• Create and enforce procedures that will increase the organization's productivity and efficiency.
• React to variances from anticipated results and choose appropriate course of action to enhance performance.

Transactional leadership focuses more on preserving the regular course of business. Transactional leaders encourage workers to give their best efforts by using a variety of rewards and disciplinary measures. When a leader is described as "transactional," it means that they essentially inspire their team members by exchanging prizes for good work.

A transactional leader is only interested in making sure that everything goes according to plan today, not in strategically leading an organization to the position of market leadership. a leadership approach that centers on defining clear goals and objectives for followers and using incentives and sanctions to promote compliance. By defining roles and responsibilities, transactional leaders direct or inspire their followers to work toward predetermined goals. The interactions between leaders and followers are the emphasis of transactional leadership, often known as managerial leadership.

The fundamental idea behind transactional leadership is that the person in charge of his or her team, or followers, gives them rewards for doing what the boss wants. Rewards and penalties are used by transactional leaders to drive their people. Although it has drawbacks, it can nevertheless be useful in some circumstances. When the issues are straightforward and basic, a transactional strategy may be effective. Transactional leadership is not the ideal option in complex scenarios when input from group members is necessary since one of the main issues with this style is that it does not inspire group members to explore for answers to problems or to participate creatively. Max Weber initially introduced the transactional style of leadership in 1947, followed by Bernard Bass in 1981.

Rejoice in inefficiency is one of transactional leadership's traits.

• Extremely left-brained
• Tend to be unyielding.
• Resisted change.
• Stopped at short-term objectives.
• Prefer well-defined policies and practices.
• Thrive on doing things right and obeying the rules.

 

Benefits and Drawbacks of Transactional Leadership

In organizations where structure is crucial, transactional leadership excels. In organizations where initiative is valued, transactional leadership is inappropriate:

Benefits of Transactional Leadership

• It provides a clear structure for large companies, systems needing repetitive operations, and infinitely repeatable environments.
• It rewards people who are motivated by self-interest to follow instructions.
• Quickly reaches short-term objectives.
• Employees determine rewards and sanctions.

The drawbacks of transactional leadership include:

The worker is only rewarded on a material level, such as money or perks; • There is no room for creativity because the goals and objectives have already been established.

It does not encourage self-initiative.

 

Transformation leadership

A leader that practices transformational leadership encourages, inspires, and motivates staff to innovate and bring about change that will help the business expand and influence its future success. This is achieved by strong corporate culture, employee ownership, and independence in the workplace, all of which are determined at the executive level.

Without micromanaging, transformational leaders inspire and motivate their team members; instead, they put their trained staff members in charge of making decisions related to their professions. It is a management approach that is intended to provide staff member’s greater freedom to be innovative, consider the future, and come up with fresh answers to persistent problems. Through training and mentoring, staff members on the leadership track will also be prepared to become transformative leaders themselves.

James V. Downton introduced the idea of transformative leadership in 1973, and James Burns developed it in 1978. Bernard M. Bass, a researcher, further developed the idea in 1985 by adding techniques to gauge the effectiveness of transformational leadership. With the hope that followers would be inspired, this leadership paradigm pushes leaders to show powerful, true leadership.

Traits of transformational leadership

These distinguish a transformational leader from other leadership philosophies, according to Bass. A transformational leader is one who supports followers' positive growth and motivation

• Sets an example for moral behavior within the company and encourages others to do the same.
• Promotes a moral workplace with distinct standards, beliefs, and goals.
• Creates a positive work environment by promoting a shift in employees' perspectives from one of self-interest to one of serving the greater good.
• Places a strong focus on sincerity, teamwork, and direct communication
• Offers coaching and mentoring, yet permits staff to take initiative and make judgments.

 

Leadership styles: transactional vs. transformational

The exact antithesis of transformational leadership, transactional leadership relies on rewarding and punishing individuals in order to motivate them. It necessitates structure, management, oversight, and performance tracking. This leadership style makes no attempt to be innovative. The key is to maintain consistency and predictability throughout time. The main objective is to develop effective, standard operating procedures while carefully examining errors and flaws.

The departments or organizations that demand routine and structure—areas where firms wish to decrease confusion or inefficiency—are best suited for this style. But unlike transformational leadership, it does not encourage innovation or long-term planning.

On the other hand, transformational leadership encourages agile settings, particularly those where failing is less risky. While you want the creation and upkeep of an existing product to be consistent and error-free, you also don't want that to impede the development and expansion of upcoming upgrades and improvements.

While transformational leadership frees people to think creatively and consider the future of ideas, goods, and services, transactional leadership takes care of setting up a consistent growth process.