Leadership style

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Under leadership ( English leadership behavior ) is called in economics and management , the manner by which a manager their management responsibilities perceives and their leadership skills exercises.

General

The decision about the management style in companies and authorities is also part of company policy and thus one of the company's goals . In concrete terms, personnel policy and personnel management deal with questions about management style in order to be able to achieve the most uniform management practice possible in companies or authorities. Only a uniform management style of all managers can contribute to management success. Since the management style is shaped by the management techniques used and the internal attitude of the managers to their employees and to the management techniques , there is no uniform management style in companies or authorities from the outset; it must be specified by the personnel policy.

Research on leadership style began in 1939 by Kurt Lewin and his colleagues in experimental leadership research . Since then, leadership research has developed five personnel management approaches, namely characteristic-oriented, behavior-oriented, situation-oriented, relationship-oriented and system-oriented personnel management approaches.

species

Depending on the orientation, a distinction is made between different leadership styles.

Leadership styles (after Kurt Lewin)

Since Kurt Lewin, a distinction has been made according to the degree of discipline :

As a result of Lewin's research, it can be said that - at least in the western-oriented industrialized countries - the cooperative management style is associated with increased job satisfaction among employees.

Directional leadership style (based on Robert A. Blake and Jane Mouton)

Representation of the managerial grid ("GRID model") in a coordinate system.

The directional leadership style according to Robert R. Blake and Jane Mouton differentiates between different leadership styles according to two dimensions: task orientation and person orientation. This then results in different styles with different strengths or weaknesses of the two dimensions. Five positions - the four "corners" and the center of the two-dimensional model - in the resulting behavioral grid are described as examples.

Traditional leadership style (ideal-typical approach according to Max Weber)

In his work Economy and Society in Companies , published in 1921/22, Max Weber examined some executives and came to the conclusion that family businesses or small businesses often have a patriarchal management style in which a manager treats employees in a fatherly manner. The charismatic justifies his claim to leadership with his charisma , which inspires his employees. In addition, he mentioned the autocratic style, whereby the manager uses a management apparatus whose absolute arbitrariness was not subject to any control or justification . The bureaucratic style, which dominated the work processes with instances , separation of powers and precise job descriptions , was based on this. This style of management emphasizes the regulations or bureaucratic authorities and authority. Precise descriptions of authority and administrative procedures are typical. There is no dominant leader here. In many cases, employees receive lifelong pension entitlements. This leadership style lacks flexibility and efficiency .

Group-related leadership style (after Horst-Joachim Rahn)

According to Horst-Joachim Rahn , this management style is based on the individual group members or the type of the entire group . Each employee is treated differently according to his behavior and behavior and his standing in the group. Each group is to be led differently as a whole, depending on the type of group. A distinction is made between the following group-oriented leadership styles:

  • Integrating with newbies and outsiders , e.g. B. by skillful introduction to the group and by offering help. New groups have to be integrated into the company or into the organization .
  • Inspiring for shirkers, lazy and performance weak , for example, by selective activation of their achievement motivation and clearly defined goals. This also applies to underperforming groups as a whole.
  • Supportive for high performers and group stars, e.g. B. by transferring competencies and responsibilities . High-performing groups also need appropriate incentives , e.g. B. Group praise for emerging group performances.
  • Appreciation is also appropriate for cheerful natures, balancing and sociable group members, e.g. B. by recognizing their group contributions or by appreciating their group maintenance roles.
  • Braking in Frechen, ringleaders, querulous , ambition Lingen, intriguers and group clowns. Very restless groups are e.g. B. to lead through benevolent severity and authority or steering towards the performance goals.
  • Encouraging for shy and problematic people, e.g. B. through encouragement, understanding, compassion and a positive attitude. Silent groups as a whole are also encouraging to lead in order to increase their self-esteem.

Full Range of Leadership Model

The "Full Range of Leadership Model" (FRLM) by Bruce Avolio and Bernard M. Bass is a higher-level leadership theory, in which the two management styles transactional and transformational be set with the laissez-faire leadership style (s. O.) With respect.

Contingency theory (leadership theory)

The contingency theory belonging to situational leadership sees leadership success as the result of leadership style and leadership situation . The theory goes back to Fred Edward Fiedler , who presented his convergence model in 1967. However, this way of leading is not “a certain pattern of behavior that is stable in terms of time and situation, but rather a personality-typical style of perception of the leaders”.

Transactional leadership

The transactional guide describes a rather substantive values exchange (transaction) between the performance of an employee, and the reaction of the guiding force thereto (z. B. reward by content). The manager makes clear the requirements and goals for the employee on the one hand and the reward for achieving the expected on the other.

Transformational leadership

Another example of a pragmatic concept is the theory of transformational leadership . To this end, numerous validation studies have been carried out that have proven a close connection between the (charismatic) behavior that is operationalized there and the economic success of companies.

“Transformational leadership changes the values, motives and goals of those being led. Long-term, overarching values ​​and ideals take the place of short-term, selfish goals. This increases the willingness to work, self-confidence and satisfaction of the employees ”. Philip M. Podsakoff and colleagues distinguish six dimensions of transformational leadership:

  1. Role model function
  2. future vision
  3. Individual support
  4. Promotion of group goals
  5. Intellectual stimulation
  6. High performance expectation.

Other leadership styles

Selected examples of other leadership styles are:

Other leadership teachings

Victor Harold Vroom 's leadership model, presented in 1973, was based on the knowledge that there is no such thing as an optimal leadership style that proves to be the best for all situations. He does not understand the leadership style as a consistent motivational disposition of the superior, but as a leadership behavior pattern that can be freely chosen in principle.

The American psychologist Daniel Goleman divides the leadership styles of so-called "emotional leadership" into six different types, which he deliberately does not evaluate or rank, but rather sees as more or less promising depending on a particular company situation. He describes these six types as visionary, coaching, emotional, democratic, demanding, and commanding. All leadership styles deal with the emotions of those involved, whereby the first four styles tend to make use of positive emotions, while the last two should only be used in very special situations and for a limited period due to the dissonance on which they are based.

The mandated leadership practiced in the Bundeswehr , as part of the Inner Leadership, is a leadership style in which the military leader sets the target for the soldiers , usually also prescribing the time window and the required forces .

research

Current research divides research styles as follows:

  • Constructive leadership:
    • change and relationship-oriented leadership (e.g. transformative, participatory),
    • task-oriented leadership (e.g. transactional);
  • destructive leadership:
    • active destructive leadership (e.g. abusive supervision),
    • passive leadership (e.g. laissez-faire).

In the mid-2000s, the concept of leadership styles was criticized much like the theory of personality traits . The criticism had both methodological and content-related reasons:

  • From a methodological point of view, for example, it is criticized that styles are theoretical constructs that are usually statistically condensed into a style from the behavior of many inimitable individual behaviors. It would be difficult to derive concrete, situation-related recommendations for behavior from an abstract style. In addition, a style can only be effective if it suits the person and is enjoyed by them. This case is rather a rare exception.
  • The content-related criticism mainly included the neglect of the situation (type of task) and the “level of maturity” of the employees being led. These aspects were later taken into account in the contingency theories of leadership. The neglect of aspects such as power , fulfilling the role model function , personal relationship, corporate culture or the type of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation also became problematic . Thus, leadership styles are suitable as a (retrospective) description of behavior (comparable to a look in the rearview mirror); From this, however, no forward-looking recommendations could be derived as to whether a certain leadership style will be successful (in terms of target achievement) or whether certain personality types are suitable for assuming leadership responsibility.
Empirical results

Empirical studies and meta-analyzes show that different leadership styles have different effects on work-relevant factors:

  • The laissez-faire leadership has a negative effect on the performance and effectiveness of executives and employees are less satisfied with their supervisor if this makes no management responsibility. In addition, laissez-faire behavior leads to conflicts between the manager and their employees as well as to role conflicts and ambiguities.
  • Destructive leadership: A meta-analysis by Schyns and Schilling (2013) on destructive leadership showed that it negatively affects job satisfaction , individual performance , commitment and well-being of employees and increases the stress of employees.
  • The transactional and transformational leadership have a positive effect on the success factors of job satisfaction, satisfaction with the leadership, motivation, work performance and effectiveness of leadership and work performance of employees, the group or the organization. In a related meta-analysis, positive effects of transformational and transactional leadership on task and context performance as well as the creative performance of employees could be demonstrated. Both leadership styles also had positive effects on performance at the team and organizational level.
Above all, transformational leadership behaviors have a very positive effect on the satisfaction of employees with their manager, as well as on the effectiveness of the manager. Transformational leadership also has a positive impact on employee commitment.
Meta-analyzes of leadership well-being showed that change-oriented and relational leadership (which includes transformative leadership) explained differences in leadership well-being better than task-oriented leadership (e.g., transactional).
Comparison of leadership styles

Other leadership styles such as ethical and authentic leadership as well as servant leadership also show positive effects on the attitudes and behavior of employees, such as job performance, job satisfaction and commitment. In a corresponding meta-analysis, the predictive ability of the three leadership styles for the various work-relevant key figures was compared with the validity of transformational leadership. It is noticeable here that transformational leadership is a stronger predictor of job performance, but ethical and authentic leadership and servant leadership can predict job satisfaction or the commitment of employees more effectively. For the trust in the manager and the Leader-Member-Exchange (LMX), however, the forecast values ​​are relatively similar.

A meta-analysis by other authors, including other management styles, came to a similar result with regard to job satisfaction. Of 14 leadership styles examined, the relationship between leadership and job satisfaction is highest for servant leadership (r = 0.73) and authentic leadership (r = 0.53).
Another meta-analysis examined the relationship between leadership and organizational performance / effectiveness. Of 16 leadership styles examined, the correlation between leadership and organizational performance was highest for safety leadership (r = 0.72), ethical leadership (r = 0.70) and shared leadership (r = 0.51).

Importance of leadership styles

Leadership style can have a significant impact on the success of an organization. Well-managed employees are usually satisfied, motivated and committed. This in turn has a positive effect on customer satisfaction . Empirical studies show that companies with above-average employee and customer satisfaction are also more economically successful. You achieve returns and growth rates that can be a factor of 3.4 higher than with comparable companies. This raises the question of what leadership style a manager practices and what criteria should be used to select and promote young talent. Research on leadership styles tries to answer such questions.

This tradition of research culminated in the 1950s at Ohio State University and is based on the paradigm of behaviorism . This research has unearthed a vast array of “effective” leadership styles. A basic model is the division into task-oriented (goal setting, planning, coordination, organization), relationship-oriented (support, praise, recognition) and cooperative (mutual support and participation in the team). Numerous variants have been developed from this, as described in the following sections.

The word “style” is a taxonomy (classification) of various, mostly a large number of leadership-relevant behaviors that were collected from surveys of those led and then summarized (condensed) into groups (styles) with the help of factor analysis. This construction principle can also include the deductive approach, in which one tries to validate theoretical models through surveys. The research into effective leadership styles represents a step forward compared to the approach of personality traits ( trait theory ). This concept sought typical (innate) traits that make up a leader. These include characteristics such as determination, courage, intelligence, self-confidence or the striving for dominance.

Trends in practice

As described in the Empirical Results section , certain leadership styles have a positive effect on various organizational business management indicators (e.g. work productivity , work performance ). The question here is whether the behavior on which the various leadership styles are based can be learned and applied. In the area of personnel and managerial development, there are different approaches to how the behavior of managers and, as a result, also the management effectiveness can be changed. The combination of feedback and training has proven to be an effective form of leadership development.

A six-step process is proposed:

  • Analysis of strategic company goals,
  • Recording of the current state (e.g. 360 ° feedback to determine the leadership style),
  • Development of the measure,
  • Implementation of the development measure,
  • Transfer security through "on-the-job support",
  • Evaluation.

As part of an evaluation study, the effectiveness of training on transformational leadership was checked. Even several months after the training, there was a significant increase in transformational leadership behavior. The effectiveness of management training could also be proven in two meta-analyzes.

Organizational aspects

Unless the management style is already anchored in the corporate objective, the company management or the management of the authorities must decide whether it should be left to each superior or superior to decide in which way they manage their employees or whether uniform rules should apply through management guidelines. The cooperative management style is not always superior, but only for complex, poorly structured tasks; on the other hand, in the case of highly structured simple tasks, the directive style of leadership seems to lead to better work results. Different leadership styles have a negative effect on work performance, work motivation, work productivity, job satisfaction, working atmosphere and collegiality .

See also

literature

  • Jürgen Berthel, Fred G. Becker: Personnel Management. 9th edition, Schäffer-Poeschel Verlag, Stuttgart 2010.
  • Werner Boysen : Management Turnaround - How managers become effective again through enzymic management. Gabler, Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 978-3-8349-1610-5 .
  • Hans-Jürgen Drumm: Human Resources. 6th edition. Springer Verlag, Berlin / Heidelberg 2008.
  • Joachim Hentze, Andrea Graf, Andreas Kammel, Klaus Lindert: Personnel Management. 4th edition. Haupt Verlag, Bern / Stuttgart / Vienna 2005.
  • Kurt Lewin, R. Lippitt, RK White: Patterns of aggressive behavior in experimentally created social climates. In: Journal of Social Psychology. 10, 1939, pp. 271-301. (the classic study of the effects of authoritarian, democratic and laissez-faire leadership on the group climate)
  • Oswald Neuberger: Lead and let lead. 6th edition. Lucius & Lucius Verlag, Stuttgart 2002.
  • Klaus Olfert: Human Resources. 16th edition. Verlag Neue Wirtschafts-Briefe, Herne 2015.
  • Horst-Joachim Rahn: Management. 9th edition. Verlag Neue Wirtschaftsbriefe, Herne 2015.
  • Horst-Joachim Rahn: Successful team leadership. 6th edition. Windmühle Verlag, Hamburg 2010.
  • Eberhard Seidel among others: Management style and management organization. 2 volumes. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1988.
  • Wolfgang H. Staehle : Management. 8th edition. Vahlen Verlag, 1999.
  • Rolf Wunderer: leadership and cooperation. 8th edition. Luchterhand Verlag, Munich / Neuwied 2009.
  • Klaus A. Zimmermann: Creative leadership. Falken, Gabler Verlag, Niedernhausen 2000.

Web links

Wiktionary: leadership style  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

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