Hersey Blanchard Situational Leadership Management Essay

Hersey Blanchard Situational lead Management EssayThe term attracters is a word taken from the common vocabulary and incorporated into the technical vocabulary of a scientific discipline without being precisely redefined. As consequences, it carries extraneous connotations that create ambiguity of meaning (Janda, 1960). Additional mental confusion is caused by the use of new(prenominal) imprecise terms such as index, laterality, management, administration, control and supervision to account equivalent phenomena. An observation by Bennis (1959, p. 259) is as true today as when he made it umpteen years ago Always, it seems, the concept of lead eludes us or turns up in another regulate to taunt us again with its slipperiness and complexity. So we arouse invented an endless proliferation of terms to deal with it. and liquid the concept is not sufficiently defined. Most definition of attractership reflect the assumption that involves a shape whereby intentional influences is exerted over other people to guide, structure, and facilitate activities and bloods in a multitude or organisation. The legion(predicate) definitions of leadinghip appear to have little else in common. They differ in m either respects, including who exerts influence, the in extended tar recrudesce of the influence, the manner in which influence is exerted, and the outcome of the influence attempt. The differences atomic number 18 not just t a case of scholarly nit picking they reflect deep disagreement about identification of attractors and lead appendagees.(Gary Yukl, 2010)Theories of leadersDouglas McGregor described hypothesis X and surmisal Y in his book, The Human Side of Enterprise. Theory X and Theory Y each represent contrasting ways in which leaders invite employees. Theory X coach-and-fours believe that employees are motivated mainly by money, are lazy, uncooperative, and have light overwork habits. Theory Y managers believe that subordinates work hard, are cooperative, and have positive attitudes.Theory X is the traditional view of direction and control by managers.1. It is the nature of average human being who dislikes doing work and will avoid if he or she erect.2. Because of this human characteristic of dislike of work, most people moldiness be control direct, directed, and menaceened with punishment to get them to put forth adequate effort toward the achievement of organizational objectives.3. The average human being prefers to be directed, wishes to avoid responsibility, and has relatively little ambition, wants security above e really last(predicate).Theory Y is the view that individual and organizational goals can be integrated.1. The expenditures of physical and mental effort in work are as natural as play or rest.2. External control and the threat of punishment are not the only means for bringing out effort toward organizational objectives.3. loyalty to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement.4. The average human being learns, under proper conditions, not only to fancy but overly to seek responsibility.5. The capacity to exercise a relatively steep degree of imagination, ingenuity, and creative thinking in the dissolver of organizational problems in widely, not narrowly, distributed in the population.6. Under the condition of modern industrial life, the intellectual potentialities of the average human being are only parti completelyy utilized.Fred E. Fiedlers contingency theory postulates that in that location is no best(p) way for managers to lead. Situations will create opposite leadership title requirements for a manager. The solution to a managerial situation is contingent on the factors that impose on the situation. For example, in a super routinized (mechanistic) environment where repetitive undertakings are the norm, a certain leadership style may result in the best per machinateance. The same leadership style may not work in a truly dynamic environment.Fiedler looked at three situations that could define the condition of a managerial task1. Leader segment dealings Compatibility surrounded by the manager and the employees?2. The task structure Is the job highly structured, fairly unstructured, or roughlywhere in between?3. Position power How more authority does the manager possess?Managers were rated as to whether they were descent oriented or task oriented. Task oriented managers tend to do better in situations that have good leader- particle relationships, structured tasks, and either weak or strong position power. They do well when the task is unstructured but position power is strong. Also, they did well at the other end of the spectrum when the leader member relations were hold back to poor and the task was unstructured. Relationship oriented managers do better in all other situations. Thus, a given situation might call for a manager with a different style or a manager who could take on a different style fo r a different situation.Another aspect of the contingency model theory is that the leader-member relations, task structure, and position power put a leaders situational control. Leader-member relations are the amount of loyalty, dependability, and foul that the leader get winds from employees. It is a measure of how the manager perceives he or she and the group of employees are getting along together. In a favorable relationship the manager has a high task structure and is able to reward or punish employees without any problems. In an unfavorable relationship the task is usually unstructured and the leader possesses limited authority.Positioning power measures the amount of power or authority the manager perceives the organization has given him or her for the purpose of directing, rewarding, and big(a) subordinates. Positioning power of managers depends on the taking away (favorable) or increasing (unfavorable) the decision-making power of employees.The task-motivated style leade r experiences pride and satisfaction in the task accomplishment for the organization, while the relationship-motivated style seeks to build interpersonal relations and extend extra help for the team development in the organization. There is no good or bad leadership style. Each person has his or her own preferences for leadership. Task-motivated leaders are at their best when the group performs successfully such as achieving a new sales record or outperforming the major competitor. Relationship-oriented leaders are at their best when greater customer satisfaction is gained and a positive companionship image is established.Hersey-Blanchard Situational LeadershipThe Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership theory is establish on the amount of direction (task demeanour) and amount of socio-emotional support (relationship conduct) a leader moldiness provide given the situation and the level of maturity of the following. Task behaviour is the extent to which the leader engages in spel ling out the duties and responsibilities to an individual or group. In task behaviour the leader engages in one-way communication. Relationship behaviour is the extent to which the leader engages in two-way or multi-way communications. This includes listening, facilitating, and supportive behaviours. In relationship behaviour the leader engages in two-way communication by providing socio-emotional support. maturity is the willingness and ability of a person to take responsibility for directing his or her own behaviour. People tend to have varying degrees of maturity, depending on the specific task, function, or objective that a leader is attempting to accomplish by dint of their efforts.To learn the leave leadership style to use in a given situation, the leader must first determine the maturity level of the followers in relation to the specific task that the leader is attempting to accomplish through the effort of the followers. As the level of followers maturity increases, the leader should begin to expurgate his or her task behavior and increase relationship behaviour until the followers reach a moderate level of maturity. As the followers begin to move into an above average level of maturity, the leader should slump not only task behaviour but also relationship behaviour.Houses Path-Goal ModelThe path-goal theory positive by Robert House is based on the expectancy theory of motivation. The managers job is viewed as coaching or guiding workers to choose the best paths for reaching their goals. Best is judged by the accompanying achievement of organizational goals. It is based on the precepts of goal setting theory and argues that leaders will have to engage in different types of leadership behavior depending on the nature and demands of the particular situation. It is the leaders job to assist followers in attaining goals and to provide direction and support needed to ensure that their goals are compatible with the organizations.A leaders behaviour i s acceptable to subordinates when viewed as a source of satisfaction and motivational when need satisfaction is contingent on performance, and the leader facilitates, coaches and rewards effective performance. Path goal theory identifies achievement-oriented, directive, participative and supportive leadership styles. In achievement-oriented leadership, the leader sets challenge goals for followers, expects them to perform at their highest level, and shows confidence in their ability to meet this expectation. This style is curb when the follower suffers from lose of job challenge. In directive leadership, the leader lets followers know what is expected of them and tells them how to perform their tasks. This style is appropriate when the follower has an ambiguous job. Participative leadership involves leaders consulting with followers and asking for their suggestions before making a decision. This style is appropriate when the follower is using improper procedures or is making poor decisions. In supportive leadership, the leader is friendly and approachable. He or she shows concern for followers psychological well being. This style is appropriate when the followers lack confidence.Path-Goal theory assumes that leaders are flexible and that they can change their style, as situations require. Effective leaders clarify the path to help their followers achieve their goals and make the journey easier by reducing roadblocks and pitfalls. investigate demonstrates that employee performance and satisfaction are positively influenced when the leader compensates for the shortcomings in either the employee or the work setting.Leadership plays an burning(prenominal) role in ones life. If one is a business owner he needs to be a leader in the field of your business. To be a successful leader, one must demonstrates some or all of the following characteristics1. The ability to listen Most leaders do too much talking but not enough listening. Feedbacks to a persons company services or products are important to that person as they demonstrate the customers needs.2. The ability to acknowledge and change This is probably the hardest part to do. People ofttimes refuse to change. They believe their services or products are the best, which, theres nothing wrong with that. But when there are feedbacks coming from customers you have to listen, then acknowledge them and make changes to provide better customer service.3. The ability to form one-on-one relationships People will need to be able to reach you. If you are just outset a business its especially important for you to be able to spend some time to get to know your customers, and/or employees. If you do that, over time, you will develop a strong trust between you and your customers.4. favored people make sure they surround themselves with like-minded people. Im not saying millionaires should just abridge the poor. But you need to spend time to communicate with like-minded people. You cannot survive by yourself, and by interacting with others you can motivate others or give others a chance to motivate you.5. The ability to know yourself It is very important to know what youre best at, and what your weaknesses are. A business is a team sport. Often one cannot handle all the aspects of a business and need to know when to seek for assistance.6. Successful people refuse to let other people dictate how they should do certain things. We are not living under someone elses shadow. We must take control and ownership of our lives and careers and never let go.7. The ability to communicate Communication is really very important. Even if you are running a home online business and you use email as a communication channel. Down the road, you might want to do a video to promote your company. You might receive TV interviews. Its never too late to practice your presentation and communication skills.8. Successful people unwrap high levels of optimism and confidence. They believe in themselves and t hey are not afraid of failures. They see every obstacle as a stepping-stone to their success. They turn challenges into motivators and become their advantages.9. People who are successful are the ones who are passionate at what they do.10. People who are successful are the ones who develop high levels of patience and dedication to see the results.http//ezinearticles.com/?Top-10-Characteristics-of-a-Successful-Leaderid=1552997Characteristics of Successful and Effective LeadershipIt is not only inborn personality traits that are important but also styles and behaviours that a person learns. Strong autocratic leaders set their goals without considering the opinions of their followers, and then command their followers to attain their assigned tasks without question. Consultative leaders solicit the opinions and ideas of their followers in the goal-setting process but finally determine important goals and task assignments on their own. Democratic or participative leaders participate eq ually in the process with their followers and let the group make decisions. Extremely laid-back leaders, so called laissez-faire leaders, let the group take whatever action its members feel is necessary.A research team at the University of Michigan, inspired and led by Renis Likert, studied leadership for several years and identified two distinct styles, which they referred to as job-centered and employee-centered leadership styles. The job-centered leader closely supervises subordinates to make sure they perform their tasks following the specified procedures. This type of leader relies on reward, punishment, and legitimate power to influence the behaviour of followers. The employee-centered leader believes that creating a supportive work environment ultimately is the road to superior organizational performance. The employee-centered leader shows great concern about the employees emotional well-being, personal ontogenesis and development, and achievement.A leadership study group at Ohio State University, headed by Harris Fleishman, found similar contrasts in leadership style, which they referred to as initiating structure and consideration. The leadership style of initiating structure is similar to the job-centered leadership style, whereas consideration is similar to the employee-centered leadership style. It was the initial expectation of both research groups that a leader who could demonstrate both high initiating structure (job centered) and high consideration (employee centered) would be successful and effective in all circumstances.Many students of leadership today believe that there is no one best way to lead, believing instead that appropriate leadership styles vary depending on situations. Fred Fiedler (1967), for instance, believes that a task-oriented leadership style is appropriate when the situation is either highly favorable or extremely unfavorable to the leader. A favorable situation exists when the relationship between the leader and follower s is good, their tasks are well-defined, and the leader has strong power when the opposite is true, an unfavorable situation exists. When the situation is passably favorable, a people-oriented leadership style is appropriate. Some theorists suggest that situational factors-the type of task, nature of work groups, formal authority system, personality and maturity level of followers, experience, and ability of followers-are critical in determining the most effective leadership style. For instance, when followers are inexperienced and lack maturity and responsibility, the directive leadership style is effective when followers are experienced and willing to take charge, supportive leadership is effective.(http//www.answers.com/topic/leadership)