Behavioral Approach

An approach to leadership research that focuses on behavior and examines what leaders do and how they act

• Emphasizes the behavior of the leader

• Focus is exclusively on what leaders do and how they act

• Task Behaviors

• Relationship Behaviors

Both behaviors are independent behaviors. Leaders can perform high, low, or in between on both of these two dimensions.

• Facilitate goal accomplishment

• Helping group members to achieve work objectives

• Addresses how a leader focuses on how work is accomplished

• Focus on the interactions between the followers and the leader/team/organization

• Interpersonal behaviors

Two Orientations

• Concern for People (Relationship)

• Concern for Production (Task)

Each orientation is rated 1- 9

• 1 represents minimum concern

• 9 represents maximum concern

The results are plotted on a grid and identified as

• 5 leadership styles on the grid

• Authority-Compliance (9,1)

• Country-Club Management (1,9)

• Impoverished Management (1,1)

• Middle-of-the-Road (5,5)

• Team Management (9,9)

2 additional styles often utilized as combinations of some of the five

• Team building

• Building organizational commitment and trust

• Providing good working conditions

• Promoting good social relations and interactions

• Attention to policy decisions

• New product development

• Processes

• Workload

• Production and sales volume

• Primary focus is on assessing leadership as a behavior

• Offers means of leadership behavior assessment

• Efficiency in operations results from arranging conditions of work such that human interference is minimal

• Role Focus:

  • Heavy emphasis on task and job requirements and less emphasis on people

  • Communicating with subordinates mainly for task instructions

  • Results driven – people regarded as tools to that end

  • 9,1 leaders – seen as controlling, demanding, hard- driving, & overpowering

• Thoughtful attention to the needs of people leads to a comfortable, friendly organizational atmosphere and work tempo

• Role Focus:

  • Low concern for task accomplishment coupled with high concern for interpersonal relationships

  • Deemphasizes production; leaders stress the attitudes and feelings of people

  • 1,9 leaders – try to create a positive climate by being agreeable, eager to help, comforting, noncontroversial

• Minimal effort exerted to get work done is appropriate to sustain organizational membership

• Role Focus

  • Leader unconcerned with both task and interpersonal

    relationships

  • Going through the motions, but uninvolved and withdrawn

  • 1,1 leaders – have little contact with followers and are described as indifferent, noncommittal, resigned, and apathetic

• Adequate organizational performance possible through balancing the necessity of getting work done while maintaining satisfactory morale

• Role Focus:

  • Leaders who are compromisers; have intermediate concern for task and people who do task

  • To achieve equilibrium, leader avoids conflict while emphasizing moderate levels of production and interpersonal relationships

  • 5,5 leader – described as expedient; prefers the middle ground; soft- pedals disagreement; swallows convictions in the interest of “progress”

• High performing leaders in both behavioral orientations.

• Role Focus:

  • Strong emphasis on both tasks and interpersonal relationships

  • Promotes high degree of participation & teamwork, satisfies basic need of employee to be involved & committed to their work

  • 9,9 leader – stimulates participation, acts determined, makes priorities clear, follows through, behaves open-mindedly and enjoys working

• Reward and approval are bestowed on people in return for loyalty and obedience; failure to comply leads to punishment

• Role Focus

  • Leaders who use both 1,9 and 9,1 without integrating the two

  • The “benevolent dictator”; acts gracious for purpose of goal accomplishment

  • Treats people as though they were disassociated from the task o Regards the organization as a family

  • Makes most of the key decisions

  • Rewards loyalty and punishes non-compliance

• People adapt and shift to any grid style needed to gain maximum advantage

• Role Focus:

  • Performance occurs according to a system of selfish gain

  • Leader uses any combination of the basic five styles for the purpose of personal advancement

-> Seen two ways, depending on how you look at it:

• May be seen as ruthless and cunning (self-serving)

• May also be seen as adaptable and strategic (situational leadership)

• Behavioral approach marked a major shift in leadership research from exclusively trait focused to include behaviors and actions of leaders

• Well researched

• At conceptual level, a leader’s style is composed of two

  major types of behaviors: task and relationship

• Heuristic Value

• Scientific Criticism

  • Lack of proven association with performance outcomes

• Practical Criticism

  • Universally preferred style not identified

• Training and development programs designed with this approach

• Managers can gain self-assessment information regarding their leadership style and actions