Blog 1: Theories and Models of Leadership and Management

Leadership forms a very important part of an organization. It can be defined as the influence of others to do what the leader wants the people or followers to do in order to achieve some goals or objectives. Leadership has also been defined as a way that one takes the organization in a particular direction using the various techniques such as solving the problems, being creative, initiating new and progressive programs, building effective organizational structures and striving to improve quality such as the quality of products (Razak, 2012). For one to become an effective leader he has to possess certain leadership traits such as  ability to supervise work of others through controls and influence, desire for success, creativity and intelligence, ability to make sound decisions, and ability to find new and innovative ways of doing things (Gebhardt, Heinrici & Pavan, 2003). These features help the leaders to influence others to do those activities that fulfill a shared goal or vision.

There are different styles of leadership. One of the leadership styles is the autocratic style which involves the leader telling or giving the workers instructions on what to do. On the other hand, participative leadership is the case where leader allows the workers or followers to participate in the decision making concerning key factors that affect them. Under the democratic style of leadership the leader often seek the opinion of the majority and ensure that decisions made or resolutions passed are favored by the majority of workers (Adebiyi, 2007). In the leadership style of Laissez-Faire the leader allows the group or followers to make all the decisions.

There are varied forms of theories that explain the leadership in the organizations. The theories can be categorized in different groups such as management, relationships, behavioral, situational and trait theories (Razak, 2012).

Blake/Mouton’s Managerial Grid Theory

Managerial Grid theory is a behavioral theory that looks at the managers’ attitudes toward the human resources and other resources that are available in the organization (Lussier & Achua, 2010). It tries to establish the role of the leader and that of the subordinates in achieving the common organizational objectives. The model finds that high consideration of the roles of the subordinates creates high satisfaction among them (Molloy, 1998). The model has two major aspects which include concern for production or tasks and concern for people. The concern for production implies that leadership should strive towards achieving the results while concern for people implies that leaders ought to think of others as they exercise their leadership (Molloy, 1998). The leaders or management need to achieve high-high of the two dimensions so that the organization can effectively achieve its goals. At this level the managers are able to develop a relationship of trust and respect with the employees and other people they interact with (Lussier & Achua, 2010). The organization will also be able to achieve high productivity.

Fiedler’s Contingency Model

Contingency model is a situational theory and states that effective leadership depends on how the leadership or management is able to deal with the situation at hand. The model states that there is no one best style of leadership and leader’s effectiveness depends on how his style is able to favorably match the situation at hand (Antoine, 2005). The leadership style is assumed to be relation oriented or task oriented. The leadership style has to be marched with the situational factors and in cases where there is no match; the situation may be adapted to fit the style (Bryman, 1986). Under extreme situations, task oriented style of leadership seem to be more effective as compared to the relationship-oriented style (Antoine, 2005). For instance, task oriented will be favorable where there are unfavorable situations such as fire or floods among others.

Hersey-Blanchard Situational Theory

According to this theory a situational leader adapts to the leadership behaviors that fit the situation at hand. Therefore, should be flexible and able to adapt to the changes that take place in the business environment and in the needs of the employees (Gebhardt, Heinrici & Pavan, 2003). The leadership style that is adopted needs to match with the subordinates’ level of maturity. The leadership needs to be more relationship motivated than task motivated with the increasing level of employees or subordinates maturity (Gebhardt, Heinrici & Pavan, 2003).

REFERENCES

Adebiyi, MA. (2007) “Effective Leadership Management: An Integration of Styles, Skills & Character for Today’s CEOs,” AuthorHouse, Bloomington, IN.

Antoine, P. (2005) “Fielder’s Contingency Theory of Leadership,” Viewed on September 20, 2012 <http://www.stfrancis.edu/content/ba/ghkickul/stuwebs/btopics/works/fied.htm&gt;

Bryman, A. (1986) “Leadership and Organization,” Routledge, London.

Gebhardt, A, Heinrici, F & Pavan, A. (2003) “Important Theories of Leadership and Management,” Viewed on September 20, 2012 <http://home.hio.no/~araki/arabase/emne/frncangel.pdf&gt;

Lussier, RN & Achua, CF. (2010) “Leadership: Theory, Application, Skill Development,” 4th Edition, Southwestern/Cengage Learning, Australia.

Molloy, PL. (1998) “A Review of the Managerial Grid Model of Leadership and Its Role as a Model of Leadership Culture,” Viewed on September 20, 2012 <http://www.aquarico.com/web-storage/Publications/Aquarius%20Grid%20Paper%20Mar%2098.pdf&gt;

Razak, J. (2012) “Blog 1: Theories and Models of Leadership and Management,” Viewed on September 20, 2012 <http://culcrazakj.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/blog-1-theories-and-models-of-leadership-and-management-3-2/&gt;