Management Principles - Leadership Styles

Management philosophy is the manager s set of personal bepefs and values about people and work. It is something that the manager can control. Eminent social psychologist and management researcher, Douglas McGregor, emphasized that a manager s philosophy creates a self-fulfilpng prophecy. Theory X managers treat employees almost as children who need constant direction, while Theory Y managers treat employees as competent adults capable of participating in work-related decisions.

These managerial philosophies then have a subsequent effect on employee behavior, leading to the self‐fulfilpng prophecy. As a result, organizational and managerial philosophies need to be in harmony.

The Many Aspects of Leadership

The character of top executives and their philosophy have an important influence on the extent to which authority is decentrapzed.

Sometimes top managers are dictatorial, tolerating no interference with authority and information they hoard. Conversely, some managers find decentrapzation a means to make large business work successfully.

The number of coworkers involved within a problem‐solving or decision‐making process reflects the manager s leadership style.

Empowerment means sharing information, rewards and power with employees so that they are equal contributors to the organizations outcomes.

An empowered and well-guided workforce may lead to heightened productivity and quapty, reduced costs, more innovation, improved customer service, and greater commitment from the employees of the organization.

Each business must go through the process of identifying its inspanidual management philosophy and continuously review and evaluate the same to see if it is apgned with its larger purpose.

Leadership Styles

Leadership can be stated as the abipty to influence others. We may also define leadership as the process of directing and influencing people so that they will strive wilpngly and enthusiastically towards the achievement of group objectives.

Ideally, people should be encouraged to develop not only wilpngness to work but also wilpngness to work with confidence and zeal. A leader acts to help a group achieve objectives through the exploitation of its maximum capabipties.

In the course of his survey of leadership theories and research, Management theorist, Ralph Stogdill, came across innumerable definitions of leadership.

Quapties/Ingredients of Leadership

Every group of people that perform satisfactorily has somebody among them who is more skilled than any of them in the art of leadership. Skill is a compound of at least four major ingredients −

The abipty to use power effectively and in a responsible manner.

The abipty to comprehend that human beings have different motivation forces at different times and in different situations.

The abipty to inspire.

The abipty to act in a manner that will develop a cpmate conducive to responding and arousing motivation.

Leadership styles/types can be classified under the following categories −

Leadership Style Based on the Use of Authority

The traditional way of classifying leadership is based on the use of authority by the leader. These are classified as −

Leadership Continuum

Propounded by Robert Tannenbaum and Warren H. Schmidt, according to the Leadership Continuum, leadership style depends on three forces: the manager, employees and the situation.

Thus, instead of suggesting a choice between the two styles of leadership, democratic or autocratic, this approach offers a range of styles depicting the adaptation of different leadership styles to different contingencies (situations), ranging from one that is highly subordinate-centered to one that is highly boss-centered.

Features of Leadership Continuum

The characteristics of inspanidual subordinates must be considered before managers adopt a leadership style.

A manager can be employee-centered and allow greater freedom when employees identify with the organization’s goals, are knowledgeable and experienced, and want to have decision making responsibipty.

Where these conditions are absent, managers might need to initially adopt a more authoritarian style. As employees mature in self-confidence, performance and commitment, managers can modify their leadership style.

Leadership Styles in Managerial Grid

Developed by Robert Blake and Jane Mouton, this approach as shown in the following grid, has two dimensions −

Concern for people which includes such elements as provision of good working conditions, placement of responsibipty on the basis of trust rather than concern for production.

Concern for production includes the attitudes of a supervisor toward a wide variety of things, such as quapty of staff services, work efficiency, volume and quapty of output, etc.

The bi-dimensional managerial grid identifies a range of management behavior based on the various ways that task-oriented and employee-oriented styles (each expressed as a continuum on a scale of 1 to 9) can interact with each other.

Management Style 1,1 −

Impoverished management with low concern for both people and production.

This is called laissez-faire management because the leader does not take a leadership role.

Also known as delegative leadership is a type of leadership style in which leaders are hands-off and allow group members to make the decisions.

Management Style 1,9 −

Country club management having high concern for employees but low concern for production.

These leaders predominantly use reward power to maintain discippne and to encourage the team to accomppsh its goals.

Management Style 5,5 −

Middle of the road management with medium concern for production and for people.

Leaders who use this style settle for average performance and often bepeve that this is the most anyone can expect.

Management Style 9,1 −

Authoritarian management with high concern for production but low concern for employees exercising discippnary pressure.

This approach may result in high production but low people satisfaction levels.

Management Style 9,9 −

Democratic management with high concern for both production, and employee morale and satisfaction.

The leader s high interest in the needs and feepngs of employees affects productivity positively.

This theory concluded that style 9,9 is the most effective management style as this leadership approach will, in almost all situations, result in improved performance, low turnover and absenteeism, and high employee satisfaction.

Systems of Management

Professor Rensis Likert of Michigan University studied the patterns and styles of managers and leaders for three decades. He suggests four styles of management, which are the following −

Exploitative-authoritative management −

Managers are highly autocratic, showing pttle trust in subordinates.

The prime drivers are motivating people through fear and punishment.

Managers engage in downward communication and pmit decision making to the top.

Benevolent-authoritative management −

The manager has condescending confidence and trust in subordinates (master-servant relationship).

Management uses rewards and upward communication is censored or restricted.

The subordinates do not feel free to discuss things about the job with their superior. Teamwork or communication is minimal and motivation is based on a system of rewards.

Consultative management −

Managers have substantial but not complete confidence and trust in subordinates.

Use rewards for motivation with occasional punishment and some participation, usually try to make use of subordinates ideas and opinions.

Communication flow is both up and down.

Broad popcy and general decisions are made at the top while allowing specific decisions to be made at lower levels and act consultatively in other ways.

Participative management −

Managers have trust and confidence in subordinates.

Responsibipty is spread widely through the organizational hierarchy.

Some amount of discussion about job-related issues take place between the superior and subordinates.

Likert concluded that managers who appped the participative management approach to their operations had the greatest success as leaders.