MGT3002

Leadership, Traits and Behavior, Leadership Styles © 2016 South University

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Organizational Behavior

©2016 South University

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The four fundamental factors of production are land, labor, capital and entrepreneurship. The final factor belies the vital importance of leadership in business settings. Leadership acts as the catalyst that makes all other elements work together; without leadership, all other business resources lie dormant. Savvy business leaders are in tune with the needs and issues of their subordinates, and keep up to date on new developments in leadership theory and methodology to maximize their effectiveness.

"What makes a good leader?" Until the 1940s, researchers tried to answer this question by identifying the qualities and characteristics that are necessary for effective leadership. These findings and conclusions are referred to as the trait theories of leadership. According to these theories, personality, social status, physical characteristics, and intelligence are all factors that contribute to good leadership. In addition, some studies of physical characteristics actually focused on physical size to determine whether this was an important factor.

Ultimately, these studies yielded inconclusive results. Many researchers began to recognize that there are no universal traits that can define and describe leadership. This led to a focus on

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Organizational Behavior

©2016 South University

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leadership behavior to explain effective leadership rather than traits. The first behavioral studies were conducted at The Ohio State University in the late 1940s. The researchers examined a wide range of leadership behaviors and came to the conclusion that Initiating structure and Consideration were two key elements that defined good leadership.

Initiating structure refers to the degree to which the leader structures various roles in order to achieve group goals. This involves the organization and allocation of work, defining schedules and establishing norms and work boundaries. Consideration on the other hand, concerns relationship issues, including levels of trust, respect for employees, and consideration of employees' feelings and expectations.

The Ohio State researchers concluded that leadership behavior that was characterized by both initiating structure and consideration was the most successful in terms of goal attainment and was therefore indicative of the most effective leadership.

Around the same time, similar studies were being conducted at Michigan State University. The researchers hypothesized that leadership consisted of either production-oriented or employee- oriented behavior.

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Organizational Behavior

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The researchers concluded that employee-oriented leadership behavior was associated with higher productivity and job satisfaction, and thus more productive and effective leadership.

From the findings and conclusions of the Ohio State University and Michigan State University studies, Robert Blake and Jane Mouton developed the well-known "Managerial Grid" to show the relationship between two leadership styles. They called these styles "Concern for People" and "Concern for Production."

Each of these leadership styles can be measured on a nine-point scale (from low to high), as shown in the diagram below.

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Organizational Behavior

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Blake and Mouton suggested that the 9,9 leadership style (high concern for both people and production) delivers the best performance, while the 1,1 style results in poor performance. They described the 9,1 style as autocratic leadership behavior, and the 1,9 style as a laissez-faire style (A French term meaning "to leave alone").

For example, before September 11, 2001, New York City's mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, exhibited behavior leadership that was perceived to be of the 9,1 style—he was seen as a hard task master with little

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Organizational Behavior

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consideration or concern for others, and most people felt that he was arrogant. However, after September 11, his leadership behavior was perceived as a very strong 9,9 style, and he had earned the respect and admiration of New Yorkers.

The laissez-faire style (1,9) is genial and noninterfering, and some employees are more productive under this style because they can be self-directed. This style can be an effective one when the employees are committed, honest, and hard working.