Leadership Behaviour

Introduction

Leadership behavior refers to a set of behaviors which are considered appropriate in leading others towards the attainment of set goals and objectives. There are several leadership behaviors which help in the attainment of goals in varying circumstances. In other words, leadership behaviors need to be adjusted in order to fit into certain conditions. Individual leaders can either acquire their capabilities through learning experiences, or possess traits that align them to leadership in general. However, what is important for leaders to take note of is the fact that their role is more of a process which involves others. As such, they have to determine ways through which they can win the support of their followers, and consequently allow them to influence them towards the attainment of goals or objectives.

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In doing this, leaders often use varying styles or models, which may include leading from the front, or allowing the followers to take charge and, as a leader, only conducting supervisory roles to ensure everything remains under control. This paper extensively tackles the aspect of leadership behavior by introducing the perspective of emotional intelligence (Brown & Moshavi, 2005). Leaders must have the capacity to study the minds of their followers and be equipped with ways through which they can influence them in order to win their support. This involves transformational and transactional qualities of leadership which mainly focus on understanding the followers and having them accomplish the targeted goals and objectives without creating too much friction. This is the only way through which the focus on goal attainment can be actualized. This paper will also discuss how leadership behavior needs to adapt to varying environments for purposes of ensuring the goals and objectives remain within focus. Thus, leaders must be multi-strategic because the external environment is not stagnant and also remains highly unpredictable.

Define the Concepts of Leadership Behavior

Leadership behavior is a broad concept which encompasses a number of constructs, such as leadership skills, styles, relationships, traits, as well as attributes, which add more meaning and value. Leadership is considered to be a trait in which case different individual leaders bring onto the table specific qualities which heavily influence on the way they lead. The aspect of describing leadership as a trait puts a lot of emphasis on the individual leader, and on his or her special gifts. Numerous traits have been singled out by researchers as being ideal for good leadership behavior. However, it is a combination of traits that eventually brings out the quality leadership in a person (Downey, Papageorgiou & Stough, 2006).

Leadership is also an ability in which case an individual leader also portrays the capacity to lead. Leadership ability within a person can either be acquired or obtained through natural capacity. Thus, there are two categories of leaders distinguished by the origin or source of their leadership abilities. Some leader’s ability to practice leadership is purely natural while others develop such abilities through sheer hard work.

The third perspective of leadership is the aspect of skill. This implies that leadership is a capability or competency which is developed purposely in order to effectively accomplish a task. Leaders who have skills are fully competent and understand the specific means as well as methods through which they can carry out their respective responsibilities (Goleman, Boyatzis & McKee, 2002). Looking at leadership in terms of a skill basically avails leadership to everyone. This is because skills refer to competencies which people can either learn or develop systematically. Even where natural leadership ability lacks, it is still possible for individuals to improve on their leadership through practice, instruction, as well as feedback from others. Thus, leadership skills can be studied through learning from experience. Leadership behavior, therefore, refers to what leaders do while taking role in their leadership (Goleman, Boyatzis & McKee, 2002). The behavioral dimension particularly focuses on how leaders act toward their followers in various situations. In general, leaders engage in either task behaviors or process behaviors (Brown & Moshavi, (2005). The task behaviors purposely enable the leaders to have the job done while process behavior aid them to achieve comfort and ease within a group. It is important to point out that leadership is in itself a process through which individuals seek to achieve certain predetermined goals by influencing others. Emotional intelligence, on the other hand, refers to the set of abilities which provides one with the capabilities to understand clearly their own emotions, as well as the emotions of others.

Leaders particularly require having a higher measure of emotional intelligence because it helps in providing them with an insight into their followers’ moods, and consequently provide them with the capacity to guide thinking. This combination ultimately leads into successful action which can accurately cope with the external pressures and demand of the environment. The trait and ability concepts of leadership discussed, thus, are meant to be interactive between the followers and the leader.

Describe and Discuss the Concepts of Transactional and Transformational Leadership, and the Relationship to Emotional Intelligence for both Transformational Leadership

According to Antonakis and House (2002), transformational leaders encourage their followers to learn so that they may be able to easily achieve their targeted or desired development. Transformational leadership has five significant dimensions as noted by Bass and Avolio (1997). These dimensions include idealized influence, both through attributes and behaviors, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, as well as individual consideration. The idealized influence, which is attributed, corresponds to the social charisma of an individual leader and determines the extent to which he or she is committed and confident to high-order related principles. The idealized influence which stems from behavior, on the other hand, relates to the leader’s charismatic actions which are based on principles, values, and beliefs (Atwater & Yammarino, 1993). Inspirational motivation refers to the capabilities of leaders to influence their followers such that they inspire them in a way. The intellectual stimulation refers to capabilities to behave in a way that influences their followers to think creatively, participate in an intellectual manner as well, and constructively challenge their assumptions. Individualized consideration refers to the extent at which leaders get involved with the needs and other concerns that are raised by the followers.

Transactional Leadership

Transactional leaders, according to Avolio, Waldman, and Yammanno (1991), define, communicate, as well as reward work that is done by their followers. Through their action, these leaders decrease job ambiguity by engaging in careful organization of the work. Transactional leadership is complimentary to transformational leadership in pursuing and bringing about change (Bass and Avolio, 1990). An augmentation effect exists whereas varying degrees of transactional behaviors and transformational leadership can be existent within an individual leader (Bass, 1985). A meta-analysis research conducted by Judge and Piccolo (2004) concluded that transformational leadership behaviors could be a factor of transactional skills together with behaviors.

Describe and discuss two other Leadership Models you find Interesting and Explain why you chose them

Leading by Doing

This is a leadership style that is characterized by high execution and low imagination. In this leadership style, the individual leader will focus much of his efforts and attention on directing his followers into accomplishing what is expected or required of them. This model of leadership, however, does not concentrate on discussing the benefits and limitations of majority of the decisions which the leader makes concerning his leadership (Atwater & Yammarino, 1993). The leader also spends very little time discussing or listening to the opinions voiced by the team members. The leader virtually takes up the roles and tasks by himself and executes them, instead of sitting and commanding the followers. This actually shows the way to the followers and is more likely to be considered as role modeling by the followers. From a topological point of view, this model of leadership basically leads from the front and perfectly shows the way through which the rest of the team, group, or organization should be headed to.

This style is particularly interesting because often leaders ought to fully understand and realize what it entails to do certain jobs. The challenges that are involved in a certain task or role can best be understood by the leader if he or she experiences it in actual sense. Equally, there are very high possibilities and likelihood that a team or group will attain its goals and objectives easily if leadership is right at the front. The motivation for the followers comes directly from the front and they are able to follow suit (Gardner, 1998).

Leading by Empowering

Leading by empowering is actually characterized by low imagination as well as low execution. However, leaders who execute their roles by focusing on empowering their followers do not remain passive in their duties. This leadership style entrusts much of the decision making and role playing with the followers (Goleman, 1995). What the leader mainly preoccupies himself with is determining the vision of the team or group, as well as accurately formulating strategies that enable the realization of the vision. The leader also sets up appropriate support systems and conditions in order for the process of empowerment to effectively work out. The people are set free to execute the roles and tasks expected of them in an appropriate manner as they feel (Salovey & Mayer, 1990). Most importantly, leading by empowering recognizes the achievers through rewards as a way of motivating them to perform even better. From a topological point of view, this leadership style can be referred to as ‘leading from the rear’.

Teams and organizations often exist for the purpose of attaining collective goals. Thus, all stakeholders to take charge of this goal attainment effort effectively provide them with the right empowerment. When followers or subordinates in an organization are given responsibilities, they tend to work perfectly well in order to prove their capabilities (George, 2000). In this regard, therefore, leading by empowering particularly becomes efficient in not only achieving the goals and objectives of the organization but building on the interest and individual capabilities as well.

Leadership behavior can be very different and needs to adapt to specific circumstances. Please discuss how leadership behavior and demands on emotional intelligence might vary according to the examples

Conflict

Conflicts occur in teams mainly as a result of emotional mood and emotional differences among the individuals. This problem solving and attainment of a consensus, according to Avolio et al. (1991), is attained by transformational leaders through the building of confidence and trust amongst all the followers. Kupers and Weibler (2005) point out that while the transformational leaders make an effort to empower their followers into attaining the set goals, they ought to be ready to maneuver and wade through a sea of varied emotions that the followers experience as they endeavor themselves to the challenges. This transformational process is described by Fullan (2001) as reculturing, whereby radical change is involved via the process of strengthening and building moral purposes. All these activities and processes happen as a result of creating and sustaining collaborations between individuals. Change can sometimes turn out to be very emotional and the skills and understanding required to be cognizant of the whole process properly and clearly are important for guiding the followers through the reculturing process.

Emotions are actually signals and can be effectively responded to by the leader through executing a shift in the relationship existing between the individuals, a shift in the relationship that the individuals have with the environment, as well as an internal perception about a shift in relationships. Every emotion has the potential of triggering a particular reaction, such as a flee response that results from fear (Mayer, Salovey & Caruso, 2007).

Crisis

The existence of a crisis within a group basically destabilizes the emotional make up of members. As a leader, an environment characterized by destabilized mindsets cannot help in the attainment of objectives. Thus effective leadership during crisis periods must entail emotions’ evaluation and expression, emotions effective regulation, as well as the use of emotions for purposes of motivating followers in order to achieve desirable targets (Meyer and Saloney, 1997). In addressing the crisis within a group, training and instructions may impart such skills as goal setting, communication, as well as managerial qualities and capabilities onto an individual. Similarly, emotional knowledge may be acquired by virtue of continuous experience and training. However, for such training to be efficient in addressing the crisis, the leader’s emotional IQ must be such that he understands beforehand what the moods of the followers would be like after the training is done (Law, Wong & Song, 2004).

Personality

Certain situations within teams call for leadership behaviors that mainly focus on personality issues and aspects. Transformational leadership qualities are strongly associated with several factors in the biographical background, like high moral standards taught by parents, strong interest from parents on the development of their children, and past experiences of an individual within a school environment or employment (Avolio, 1994). Bono and Judge (2004) further look at transformational leadership on a psychological perspective and link it with very high levels of extraversion, emotional stability, openness, as well as extraversion traits.

However, these personality traits may not be accurately applied if the leader of the team is unable to carefully study the moods of his followers and consequently work out on recreating a personality that will make them feel appreciated within the team. The leader must be capable of developing or creating the personality mood within himself before being able to show out to the followers (Watson, Hubbard & Wiese, 2000).

High Diverse

Leaders of teams characterized by high diversity of the members need to ensure each member feels equal to the other, and that the group has some sense of belongingness. The leader’s main focus is to attain increased awareness of issues touching on the organization, while enhancing the confidence of the followers at the same time (Goleman, Boyatzis & McKee, (2002). Transformational leadership qualities will perfectly aid in the attainment of these objective within such circumstances. Thus, the leader’s main aim would be to build long-term commitment, and sharing of mutual interests within the team. In other words, such a culture comprises of some sense of interdependence between the leader and the followers. The focus of transformational leadership is more to do with the organization’s innovation and less to do with supervision and direct control. Hallinger (2003) describes it as a distributive type of leadership owing to the fact that it covers commitment to change and a shared vision. Followers will always experience an increase in their commitment and self-motivation when they are not subjected to monitoring from above or strict supervision. The transformational leadership aspect that particularly sets it apart from numerous other styles of leadership is the fact that its main intention is to transform others into being leaders as well.

Conclusion

Leadership behavior is a very broad area of knowledge which involves many aspects, including skills, traits, styles, models, as well as attributes. Leaders are people who own appropriate skills which they use in attaining predetermined objectives and goals. Often, leaders head a group of followers with whom they combine to form a team for purposes of easy attainment of goals. Leadership also entails traits which are acquired by way of blood from individuals who are related. However, not all leaders are born. Some leaders acquire their capabilities through learning and development which in turn builds appropriate experience in them. Leadership is a process which takes place over time, and which involves other people directly. Followers look up to the leader for a specific direction and therefore leaders must have the capabilities of relating with their followers. To complete the process, the leader and his team must build a relationship to enable them work in harmony. The leader must communicate and also receive feedback from the team. Various leadership models exist which enable the team attain harmony. Transformational leadership is required in order to transform the minds of the followers into seeing in the same direction as their leader.

To compliment on the ability of transforming workers’ minds, transactional leadership qualities are also required. Other leadership styles also exist, all of which target the attainment of goals and objectives in an efficient manner. Leaders can lead from the front by participating in the actual execution of roles and tasks which are also expected of their followers. Here, the leaders become role models to their followers because the followers watch the way they perform the tasks. Leaders can also choose to empower followers by allowing them to take full charge of their activities as they any control where necessary. This style builds the overall confidence of the followers and also ensures that the team attains its objectives in a highly efficient manner. In all these areas, emotional intelligence is highly required for the leader to study the moods of his followers and consequently make appropriate decisions. Leadership behavior, therefore, is varied and each behavior can only be suitable or specific conditions occurring in the external environment. Specific leadership skills and attributes will be required in order to adapt to certain circumstances. Leaders can use motivation to urge their followers into improved participation, particularly in circumstances where followers lose interest with team or its related activities.

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