Food-Service-Manual-for-Health-Care-Institutions

Food Service Manual for Health Care Institutions
28
Behavior Theories of Effective Leadership
Theories on effective leadership styles have evolved from early research that focused on analyzing
personality traits of individuals who demonstrated leadership ability. Studies conducted
before World War II identified traits such as intelligence, self-confidence, and physical attractiveness
as—not surprisingly—being desirable. These studies, however, were unable to isolate
a single trait that could predict leadership ability. Research since World War II has focused
more on behaviors as indicators for identifying what creates an effective leader.
Two recent studies, one by Ohio State University (OSU) in Columbus and another by the
University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, were conducted to identify leadership behaviors. The OSU
studies concluded that leaders exhibit two main types of behavior, structural and consideration.
Structural behavior is leadership activity that either delineates the relationship between the
leader and the leader’s followers or establishes well-defined procedures that the followers should
adhere to in performing their jobs. Consideration behavior is leadership behavior that reflects
friendship, mutual trust, respect, and warmth in relationships between a leader and followers.
The Michigan studies, conducted by Rensis Likert (described by Dessler), defined two
basic types of leader behavior: job-centered and employee-centered behavior. Job-centered
behavior is leader behavior that focuses primarily on the work or production a subordinate is
doing as well as the job’s technical aspects. Employee-centered behavior is leader behavior that
focuses primarily on subordinates as people, personality needs, and on building good interpersonal
relationships.
Using the behavioral approach, leadership styles have been defined or categorized using a
variety of terms. Perhaps the most familiar categories (or terms) are autocratic, democratic, and
laissez-faire approaches. Another classification uses terms such as directive, supportive, participative,
and achievement. Work conducted by Robert R. Blake and Jane S. Mouton in the late
1970s grouped behaviors into five categories to identify leadership styles:
• Task management describes a behavior that exhibits little concern for employees and
emphasizes production activities. A task-management leader delegates little authority and is
autocratic in dealings with subordinates.
• Country club management is demonstrated by a manager whose primary interest is in
keeping employees happy and satisfied in their work. The work environment is permissive, and
pressure of any kind is avoided.
• Middle-of-the-road management characterizes the style of a manager who seems to
focus on tasks and employees. However, decision making is marked by compromise and
ambivalence, with constant fluctuation between opposing viewpoints.
• Impoverished management describes the management behavior of one who provides virtually
no leadership to subordinates, with all productivity attributable to the employees’ own
initiative.
• Team management is demonstrated by a manager who shows a high level of concern for
both people and productivity. Unlike middle-of-the-road management, however, this behavior
emphasizes the importance of mutual trust, understanding, and common objectives.
These leadership behaviors, and their variations, will be revisited throughout this book as
necessary.
Situational Leadership
The theories on situational leadership attempt to identify basic factors in the work environment
that determine appropriate leadership behavior. One such theory, called the contingency theory,
suggests that effective leadership behavior is based on three factors: the organization’s task,
the relationship between the leader and other members of the organization, and the leader’s
power base within the organization. The contingency theory assumes that a leader is either task