Great Leaders: Styles, Activities, and Skills |  |
Chapter SummaryThis chapter is concerned with leadership styles (the way leaders/managers influence followers/employees), activities (what leaders/managers do in their day-to-day jobs), and skills (how leaders/managers can be effective). Leadership styles have been studied the longest and are derived from both the classic leadership studies and the modern theories. Examples of well-known approaches to leadership styles include Blake and
Mouton’s managerial grid and Hersey and Blanchard’s situational, or life-cycle, model. Both of these approaches to style have been around for a long time but still have implications for the practice of leadership. The grid is valuable mainly because it allows
managers to describe their styles. Hersey and Blanchard’s approach shows how well managers can match the appropriate style with the maturity level of the group being led. However, these approaches to style lack the research backup to make significant
contributions to effective practice.
The shift in attention from styles to roles and activities reflects a more empirical emphasis on what leaders really do. Through observational methodology, Mintzberg identified interpersonal (figurehead, leader, liaison), informational (monitor, disseminator,
spokesperson), and decisional (entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, negotiator) roles. Closely related is the observational study of leader/manager activities.
The author’s (Luthans) Real Managers Study investigated the question of what leaders/managers do in their day-to-day activities and what successful and effective leaders/managers do. It was found that the managers spend about a third of their time and effort in communication activities, a third in traditional management activities, a fifth in human resource management activities, and a fifth in networking activities. The analysis of successful managers (those rapidly promoted) found that networking made the biggest relative contribution to their rise and human resource management activities the least. In contrast, however, the analysis of effective managers (those with satisfied
and committed subordinates and high-performing units) found that communication and human resource management activities made the largest relative contribution and networking the least. This difference between successful and effective managers has
considerable implications for how one gets ahead in an organization (networking involves socializing/politicking and interacting with outsiders) and the reward systems of
organizations (the effective managers may not be promoted as fast as the politically savvy ones).
The last part of the chapter is concerned with leadership skills—how leaders behave and perform effectively. Although there are many skills, such as cultural flexibility,
communication, HRD, creativity, and self-management of learning, the more research-based skills identified by Whetten and Cameron seem most valuable. Their personal skills model, involving developing self-awareness, managing stress, and solving
problems creatively, and the interpersonal skills model, involving communicating supportively, gaining power and influence, motivating others, and managing conflict, are especially comprehensive and useful. Recently, leadership skill development, especially centered on competencies and coaching, has been receiving increased attention. Finally, the more widely recognized organizational behavior techniques found in other chapters (for example, training, job design, and behavioral management) can also be effectively used by leaders. |
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2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education