PSYCHOLOGY SCHOOL OF University of East London, School of Psychology, Romford Road, London E15 4LZ, UK Leadership BSc Psychology

PSYCHOLOGYSCHOOL OF

University of East London, School of Psychology,Romford Road, London E15 4LZ, UK

www.uel.ac.uk/psychology

Leadership

BSc Psychology

Occupational Psychology module

Jonathan Passmore

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Learning outcomes

• At the end of this session and with additional reading you will be able to– describe a selection of popular theories of

leadership– critically evaluate their conceptual

approaches– critically evaluate their utility in the

organisational setting– understand one model in detail.

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What have these five got in common?

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Definition

• Leadership is the process whereby one person influences others to work towards a goal

(Yulk and Vanfleet,1992)

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A brief history of leadership theory

• Types: ‘Great men’• Traits: Behavioural Psychology• Contingency models: Situational factors• Transactional models• Transformational models• Distributed leadership models• Complexity models

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Trait Approaches to leadership

• Lord et al (1986)– intelligent– extrovert– dominant– masculine– conservative– better adjusted

• Kirkpatrick and Locke (1991)– intelligent– desire to lead– energy and ambition– self confidence– honesty and integrity– knowledge

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Style approaches to leadership -Lowin (1968)

• Autocratic– direction/obedience– close supervision– control and

accountability– absence of

participation and feedback

• Democratic– open

communication/positive attitudes

– self direction/self control– conflict is confronted– group based problem

solving – consensus rather than

coercion

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Contingency leadership models

• Fiedler, (1967), Trait contingency model

• Vroom & Yetton, (1973): Normative contingency model

• House & Mitchell, (1974) Path-Goal model

• Hersey & Blanchard, (1969) Situational leadership model

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Kotter’s comparison of transactional and transformational leadership

Transactional leadership (management)

Transformational (leadership)

Creating agenda Planning & budgeting: developing a plan – a detailed map of how to achieve the results

Establishing direction:developing direction – a vision which describes a future state along with a strategy

Developing HR Organising & staffing:which individual best fits each job and what part of the plan fits each individual

Aligning people:a major communication challenge getting people to understand and believe the vision

Execution Controlling & problem solving: monitoring results; identifying deviations from the plan and solving the ‘problems’

Motivating & inspiring: satisfying basic human needs for achievement, belonging, recognition, self esteem, a sense of control

Outcomes Produces degree of predictability & order

Produces changes – often to dramatic degree

Source: Kotter, J. A. (1990)

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Emotional Intelligence – Leadership Styles

VISIONARY COACHING AFFILIATIVE DEMOCRATIC PACE-SETTING

COMMANDING

ImpactMoves towards shared dreams

Connects people with organisational

goals

Develops harmony between people

Values input. Gains commitment

Meets challenging goals

Soothes fears + uncertainty

CircumstancesWhen changes need a new vision or clear direction

To improve individuals’ performance – building long term capacity

To heal rifts in teams. Motivate + strengthen connections

To build consensus. Get input from employees

To urge top results from a competent team

To kick start during a crisis or with stuck problem

Goleman, D. et al (2002)

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Leaders

Results

Members

Commitment(External and internal)

More good things happen; fewer bad things happen.

Michael Fullan

Leading in a Culture of Change

Understanding Change

Relationship Building

Moral Purpose

Coherence Making

Knowledge Creation & Sharing

HO

PEE

NE

RG

Y

ENTHUSIASM

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Enabling Performance

•Saying yes to the mess

•Encouraging connectivity

•Fostering diversity

•Challenging habits and assumptions

•Supporting initiative

•Reducing power differentials

•Keeping people motivated

Far from certainty

Far from agreement

Close toagreement

Near to certainty

Managing Performance

•Technical/rational decision making

•Simple structures

•Effective procedures

•Monitoring/co-ordinating

•Providing directionAfter Ralph Stacey

The Context of Leadership

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Top 10 de-railing behaviours

• Arrogance: they are right everyone else is wrong

• Melodrama: they want to be the centre of attention

• Volatility: their mood swings creates performance swings

• Excessive caution: they cant make key decisions

• Habitual distrust: they focus on the negative all the time

Furnham 2005

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Top 10 de-railing behaviours II

• Aloofness: they disengage and disconnect staff

• Eccentricity: they think its fun to be different

• Passive resistance: their silence is misinterpreted as agreement

• Perfectionism: they get little things right, even if big things go wrong

• Eagerness to please: they stress being popular matters most

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Hogan scale

Enthusiastic - Volatile

Careful - Cautious

Charming - Manipulative

Confident- Arrogant

Shrewd - Mistrusted

Independent - detached

Diligent - Perfectionist

Dutiful - dependent

For Hogan Development Survey, see Fico, et al 2008

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Complexity leadership

Complex

Complicated

Simple

Chaotic Disorder

Snowden & Boone, 2007

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Understanding complex systems

• Complex systems have the following characteristics:– Large number of interacting elements– Interactions are non-linear: small things can have

big impacts– Solutions cant be imposed: they emerge– System has a history which influences present– System appears simple & ordered, but is complex &

at times disordered– Constant change– Stakeholders have multiple identifies

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Complexity leadership

Complex

Complicated

Simple

Chaotic Disorder

Probe, sense, respond

Sense, analyse, respond

Sense, categorise, respond

Act, sense, respond

Snowden & Boone, 2007

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Implications for leadership theory

• In Simple domains: – most people can manage

• In Complicated domains leaders need :– competencies (learned skills) to succeed– to be able to identify the key people to solve problems– to provide opportunities for diverse voices to communicate &

share knowledge– to make decisions when demanded

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Implications for leadership theory II

• In Complex domains leaders need to :– rely on natural abilities– Understand the context– Live with paradox and ambiguity– Watch for emerging patterns– Allow solutions to emerge based on multiple actions/pilot

schemes• In Chaotic domains:

– Leaders need to act to establish order– Work to transfer situation from chaotic to complex

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Further reading

• Millward, L (2003). Understanding Occupational & Organisational Psychology. P233-242.

• Snowden, D., & Boone, M. (2007) A Leadership Framework: Wise leaders tailor their approach to fit the complexity of the circumstances they face. Harvard Business Review, November 69-76.

• Babiak,. P & Hare, R. (2007). Snakes in suits: When psychopaths go to work. New York: Harper Collins

• See also Donald Ridley’s website for more information on leadership

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References, J. A. Force for Change (1990), Free Press

• Avolio, B. (2007). Promoting more integration strategies for leadership building theory. American Psychologist, 62(1),25-33.

• Fico, J., Brady, J., & Hogan, R. (2008). Identifying potential derailing behaviours. In J. Passmore, (Ed). Psychometrics in coaching. London: Kogan Page.

• Fiedler, F. (1967). A theory of leadership effectiveness. New York: McGraw-Hill.

• Fullan, M. ( 2001 ). Leadership in a culture of change. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

• Furnham, A. (2005). Icarus effect in leadership. Conference Paper to Human Resources & Development Conference, London: CIPD

• Goleman, D., et al (2002) The New Leaders. Little Brown Books.• Hersey, P., & Blanchard, K. (1969). Life Cycle theory of leadership, Training &

Development, 23, 26-34. • House, R., & Mitchell, T. (1974). Path Goal theory of leadership, Journal of

Contemporary Business, 3, 81-97.

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References II• Goleman, D., et al (2002) The New Leaders. Little Brown Books.

• Kirkpatrick, S. A., & Locke, E. A. (1991). Leadership: Do traits matter? Academy of Management Executive, 5, 48-60.

• Kotter, J. A. (1990). Force for Change. New York: Free Press.• Lowin, A. (1968). Participative decision making: A model, literature

critique, and prescriptions for research. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance. 36: 683-704.

• Stacey, R. (2005). Experiencing emergence in organizations local interactions and the emergence of global pattern (Complexity as the experience of the organization). Abingdon: Routledge.

• Vroom & Yetton, (1973). Leadership & decision making. New York: Wiley.

• Yulk, G., & Van Fleet, D. (1982). Cross situational, multi method research on military leaders. Organizational Behaviour and Human Performance, 30, 87-108.

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PSYCHOLOGY SCHOOL OF University of East London, School of Psychology, Romford Road, London E15 4LZ, UK Leadership BSc Psychology