The document discusses several leadership theories including trait theory, behavioral theory, and situational/contingency theories. It specifically focuses on explaining Hersey and Blanchard's Situational Leadership Theory. This theory proposes that effective leadership depends on matching the leader's style to followers' readiness level. The theory identifies four leadership styles - telling, selling, participating, and delegating - that should be used depending on if followers have low or high competence and commitment. The key to success is for leaders to identify followers' maturity levels and adapt their style accordingly.

1. Leadership
Course Co-Ordinator:
Ms. Neetu Kushwaha

2. Meaning of Leadership
• Leader is an integral part of work & social life. In any
situation, when people want to accomplish some goal, a leader is
required.
• Leadership occurs in all formal & informal situation.
• In a non-formal situation, such a group of friends, leadership
behaviour occurs when one individual takes lead in most of the
group activities and influences people to work toward common
goal.
• People have to be guided to contribute to goal with zeal &
confidence.
• The ability to influence the behaviour of others is known as
leadership.
• Leader exploit human potential and transform it into output.

3. • Leadership is a process by which a person
influences others to accomplish an objective and
direct the organization to make it cohesive &
coherent. It is the ability to build confidence and
zeal among people and create an urge to be let. It
inspires confidence and support among group
members to achieve the organizational goals.
• “A leader is one who conducts, act as a guide to
others in action or opinion, one who takes the lead
in any enterprise or movement, one who is
‘followed’ by disciples, the most eminent member
of a profession, a person of eminent position &
influence”

4. • Leadership is “influence, that is, the art or process
of influencing people so that they will strive willing
and enthusiastically towards the achievement of
group goals.”- Koontz & Weihrich
• It is “the ability to persuade others to seek defined
objectives enthusiastically.”- Keith Davis
• “Leadership is the relationship in which the leader
influences others to work together willing on
related tasks to attain goal desired by the leader
and/or group.”- Terry & Franklin

5. Nature of Leadership
Leadership depends upon personal traits
Situational
Role model
Leaders are also followers
Pervasive function
Leaders are also followers
Leadership aims at goal achievement

6. Importance of Leadership
Task support
Psychological support
Develop individuals
Build team spirit
Motivation
Provides feedback
Facilitates change
Maintain discipline

7. Basis of
difference
Management Leadership
Concept Broader concept and includes
leadership
It is a part of management
Purpose Management aims at
accomplishment of organizational
goals.
It may or may not attain
organizational goals. It can occur
outside the organization also.
Function It is planning, organizing, directing,
controlling the organizational
behaviour.
It is influencing behaviour to
achieve a specific purpose.
Inter-
changeabil
ity
Good managers are normally good
leaders. Managers may carry out the
functions of leaders also.
Good leaders need not
necessarily be good managers.
Leaders do not normally carry
out the functions of managers

8. Basis of
difference
Management Leadership
Formal
Structure
Manager belong to the
organizational hierarchy. They
manage structured group of people.
Leaders are not of
organizational hierarchy.
They may even lead
unstructured groups of people.
Followship Since managers are part of formal
hierarchy, they act as managers
whether or not subordinates like
them.
Individuals are accepted as
leaders only if followers accept
them. Leadership cannot exist
without followership.
Focus of
attention
Management is a process of getting
things done. It is more of a
procedure and result-oriented.
Leadership is a process of
influencing behavior. The focus
is more on human relation.
Nature Management is directive in nature.
It directs people to behave in a
particular way.
Leadership is participative. It
invites followers to participate
in the decision making process.

10. Autocratic
Leaders
-Characterized by individual control over all decisions
and little input from group members.
-Provides clear expectations for what need to be done,
when is to be done and how it should be done.
-They normally follow negative leadership style to
motivate workers.
-The threat of punishment and penalties makes people
obey the orders.

11. Democratic
(Participative)
Leaders
Involves leader and one or more employees in the decision
making process (determining what to do & how to do)
-However, leader maintains the final decision making
authority.
-This style is normally used when leaders have part of the
information and employees have other parts.
-A good democratic leader encourages participation &
delegates wisely, but bears the responsibility of leadership.
- He motivates his team by empowering them & guides
them.

12. Free- Rein Leaders or
Laissez Faire
-Leaders give responsibility of setting
goals & devising means to achieve
them to the group members.
-They allow members to carry out the
work on their own within the broad
policies framed by them.
-The leader play minor role in affecting
the group goals.

13. Basis Autocratic Style Democratic
Style
Laissez-faire
Style
Decision Making Decisions are
made by leader.
(Centralized
decision
making)
Followers
participate in
the decisions
making process.
(Decentralized
decision
making)
Decisions are
made by the
subordinates.
(Decentralized
decision
making)
Authority Leaders retain
the authority
for decision
making.
It is partly
delegated to
subordinates.
It is completely
delegated to
subordinates.
Motivation Negative
motivation
(Threats &
Punishments)
Positive
motivation
(Rewards &
incentives)
Self- motivated
to work

14. Basis Autocratic Style Democratic
Style
Laissez-faire
Style
Behaviour
orientation
Task Oriented
Behaviour
Relationship
Oriented
Behaviour
Relationship
Oriented
Behaviour
Need
Satisfaction
Lower order
needs
Lower order &
partly higher
order needs.
Higher order
needs
Communication Vertical, one
way, top to
bottom
Vertical, two
way, top to
bottom and
bottom to top
Vertical &
horizontal
Scope of
development
No scope for
development of
employees
Employee’s
innovative &
creative skills
are developed
Full scope for
employees
development

15. TRAIT THEORY
BEHAVIOURAL THEORY
-Lowa Studies
-Michigan Studies
-Ohio State Studies
-The Managerial Grid
-Rensis Likert’s Systems of Management
SITUATIONAL/CONTINGENCY THEORY
-Tannenbaum & Schmidt’s Leadership Continuum
-Fiedler’s Contingency Theory
-House’s Path Goal Theory
-Hersey & Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory

16. • According to trait leadership theory, effective
leaders have in common a pattern of personal
characteristics that support their ability to
mobilize others toward a shared vision. These
traits include dimensions of personality and
motives, sets of skills and capabilities, and
behavior in social relationships. Using traits to
explain effective leadership considers both
characteristics that are inherited and attributes
that are learned. This approach has been used
to differentiate leaders from non-leaders.
Understanding the importance of these traits
can help organizations select, train, and
develop leaders
TRAIT THEORY

17. Leaders’Traits
Following studies of trait leadership, most leader traits can be
organized into four groups:
•Personality: Patterns of behavior, such as adaptability and comfort
with ambiguity, and dispositional tendencies, such as motives and
values, are associated with effective leadership.
•Demographic: In this category, gender has received by far the
most attention in terms of leadership; however, most scholars have
found that gender is not a determining demographic trait, as male
and female leaders are equally effective.
•Task competence: This relates to how individuals approach the
execution and performance of tasks. Hoffman groups intelligence,
conscientiousness, openness to experience, and emotional stability
into this category.
•Interpersonal attributes: These relate to how a leader approaches
social interactions.

18. Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory
• Situational theories of leadership work on the assumption that the
most effective style of leadership changes from situation to
situation. To be most effective and successful, a leader must be
able to adapt his style and approach to diverse circumstances.
• The term “situational leadership” is most commonly derived from
and connected with Paul Hersey and Ken
Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory. This approach to
leadership suggests the need to match two key elements
appropriately: the leader’s leadership style and the followers’
maturity or preparedness levels.

19. The theory identifies four main leadership approaches:
• Telling: Directive and authoritative approach. The
leader makes decisions and tells employees what to
do.
• Selling: The leader is still the decision maker, but
he communicates and works to persuade the
employees rather than simply directing them.
• Participating: The leader works with the team
members to make decisions together. He supports
and encourages them and is more democratic.
• Delegating: The leader assigns decision-making
responsibility to team members but oversees their
work.

20. In addition to these four approaches to leadership,
there are also four levels of follower maturity:
• Level M1: Followers have low competence and
low commitment.
• Level M2: Followers have low competence, but
high commitment.
• Level M3: Followers have high competence,
but low commitment and confidence.
• Level M4: Followers have high competence
and high commitment and confidence.

22. In Hersey and Blanchard’s approach, the key to successful
leadership is matching the proper leadership style to the
corresponding maturity level of the employees. As a general
rule, each of the four leadership styles is appropriate for the
corresponding employee maturity level:
• Telling style works best for leading employees at the M1
level (low competence, low commitment).
• Selling style works best for leading employees at the M2
level (low competence, high commitment).
• Participating style works best for leading employees at
the M3 level (high competence, low
commitment/confidence).
• Delegating style works best for leading employees at the
M4 level (high competence, high
commitment/confidence).

23. Identifying the employee maturity level becomes a very important
part of the process, and the leader must have the willingness and
ability to use any of the four leadership styles as needed.