Overview of Leadership Approaches

Leadership is the backbone of organizational success, and it is evident from the fact that leadership has been researched for more than 50 years. In literature, leadership has been discussed based on different schools of thoughts. This chapter articulates different leadership approaches in order to provide a clear understanding of leadership development with the passage of time. It describes trait approach, behavioral approach, and contingency approach to leadership. Furthermore, it also explains full range leadership model and some emerging leadership styles in the organizational context.

How does Leadership Motivate the Innovative Behaviors of Software Developers?

This study examines the relationship between transformational leadership types and the motivation of software engineers. The author uses full range leadership as a major theory and investigates how transformational leadership types influences the innovative behaviors of software developers by using a mediator of affective organizational commitment. For this, this study surveys 352 software developers working in 35 companies in Korea and analyzes the data using AMOS 24. The results show that charisma, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration increase their affective organizational commitment affecting innovative behaviors positively in turn.

Developing Workforce Capability in Nonprofits Through Effective Leadership

Leaders of nonprofit organizations in the United States must build workforce capabilities to meet increasing demands for services. This single-case study explored strategies nonprofit leaders used to build workforce capability to address increasing service demands. The conceptual lens for this study was the full-range leadership theory. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with senior executives of a single nonprofit organization located in the Midwestern region of the United States, which included internal organizational and workforce performance data, strategy plans, annual reports internal and external financial documents, and publicly available information. Four major themes related to building workforce capacity emerged from a thematic analysis of the data: (1) an emphasis on employee development, (2) the expansion of technology systems, (3) a concentration on developing a culture of autonomy and trust, and (4) the introduction of processes and measurements. The findings from this study might contribute to positive social change by providing nonprofit leaders with strategies and data to support a deeper understanding of how to effectively build workforce capability to address increasing service demands.

Preferred leadership style, managerial and entrepreneurial inclination among Hungarian students

Although a great deal of research has been done on leadership styles, and university students have often been the subject of exploratory research in social sciences, the Full Range Leadership model has been applied to young people only in a few instances. In this article, the authors seek to survey the preferred leadership styles among Hungarian students and explore how they correlate with managerial and entrepreneurial inclination. A complex analysis of leadership style preferences of university students combined with their managerial and entrepreneurial inclination, social and cultural resources is rare in the research practice so far. The online questionnaire used in the research was completed by 335 university students studying economics, engineering and social studies both in Budapest and in the country. The questionnaire was completed by 335 university students. The results are exploratory and they amend the existing leadership typologies at some points. Based on the results of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire featuring 36 self-rating items, four distinct leadership styles emerged within the target group, representing the transformational, the supportive, the defensive, and the laissez-faire leadership types. The multivariate analysis has shown that while managerial inclination is related to the transformational style of leadership, entrepreneurial aspirations are associated with the transformational and supportive leadership styles.

Διάδραση παραγόντων ηγεσίας και συναισθηματικής νοημοσύνης στον σύγχρονο επιχειρηματικό κόσμο

H ηγεσία και η συναισθηματική νοημοσύνη εκδηλώνονται με μορφές συμπεριφοράς που συνδέονται με ποικίλους εσωτερικούς και εξωτερικούς παράγοντες, δύνανται δηλαδή να υπάρχουν πολλαπλοί προσδιοριστικοί παράγοντες αλλά το φαινόμενο να προκαλείται από διαφορετικά κάθε φορά σύνολα παραγόντων. Τα συχνά διφορούμενα και αντιφατικά αποτελέσματα δείχνουν πως απαιτείται περισσότερη διερεύνηση προκειμένου να κατανοηθούν και να αποσαφηνιστούν οι προϋποθέσεις ή οι συνθήκες και οι τρόποι με τους οποίους αλληλεπιδρούν. Στην παρούσα διατριβή εξετάζονται οι συσχετίσεις των εννοιολογικών κατασκευών και ερευνάται το κατάλληλο μοντέλο διαστάσεων συναισθηματικής νοημοσύνης που προβλέπει το μετασχηματιστικό στυλ ηγεσίας στα ηγετικά επίπεδα, ενώ ελέγχεται ο ρόλος της διαμεσολάβησης (mediation) της μετασχηματιστικής ηγεσίας στη σχέση της συναισθηματικής νοημοσύνης και των παραγόντων της με την αποτελεσματικότητα της ηγεσίας. Παράλληλα σκοπός αυτής της διατριβής είναι να αναπτύξει μια νέα προοπτική σχετικά με τη φύση της ετερογένειας εντός των οργανισμών, των αντιληπτικών διαφορών μεταξύ ατόμων αλλά και των ομοιοτήτων τους, ανάμεσα στα ιεραρχικά επίπεδα. Εξετάζεται ο βαθμός που οι επιρροές των ιεραρχικών επιπέδων μπορεί να αποτελούν σημαντικούς παράγοντες του πλαισίου για τα στυλ ηγεσίας, που αναλύονται στη βάση της θεωρίας του πλήρους φάσματος της ηγεσίας (Full Range Leadership Theory) και των παραγόντων της, καθώς και της συναισθηματικής νοημοσύνης ως χαρακτηριστικό γνώρισμα της προσωπικότητας (Trait Emotional Intelligence Theory) και των διαστάσεων της. Επίσης, ερευνάται εάν οι ηγετικές συμπεριφορές επηρεάζουν διαφορετικά τα αποτελέσματα της ηγεσίας (Outcomes of Leadership) στα αντίστοιχα ιεραρχικά επίπεδα καθώς αυτά είναι αμφίδρομα μεταξύ των ιεραρχικών επιπέδων, τα οποία αλληλεπιδρούν με τον οργανισμό σχηματίζοντας μια σύνθετη διάταξη δυναμικής ηγεσίας, της οποίας το σύνολο τελικά καθορίζει την αποτελεσματικότητα του. Μεταξύ των πιθανών κατηγοριοποιήσεων που υπάρχουν σε ένα οργανωσιακό πλαίσιο, η πιο διακριτή είναι αυτή των ιεραρχικών επίπεδών ή της αλυσίδας της εξουσίας που συνιστά ένα από τα θεμελιώδη οργανωσιακά θέματα. Ωστόσο, μια διεξοδική ανάλυση των δια-ιεραρχικών διαφορών λείπει σε μεγάλο βαθμό από την μεγάλη εμπειρική έρευνα για το στυλ ηγεσίας, παρόλο που διάφοροι συγγραφείς έχουν αντιμετωπίσει το θέμα εννοιολογικά. Εστιάζοντας σε μια συγκεκριμένη πτυχή με βάση το ιεραρχικό πλαίσιο τα ευρήματα της διατριβής αυξάνουν την κατανόησή τέτοιων πολύπλοκων συσχετίσεων και συμβάλουν στην αποσαφήνιση των οριακών συνθηκών (boundary conditions) των ηγετικών στυλ,αντιμετωπίζοντας επανειλημμένες εκκλήσεις για μια πιο διεξοδική εξέταση των παραγόντων που πλαισιώνουν την ηγεσία.

Moderating Role of Decision-Making Situations between Leadership and Decision-Making in Services Providing Organizations

The present research investigated moderating role of decision-making situations between leadership styles and decision-making styles in services providing organizations of Pakistan. The study was based on Full Range Leadership Theory of Bass and Reggio (2006) which comprise of three leadership styles including transformational, transactional, and laissez faire style. The study incorporated five decision-making styles including rational, intuitive, dependent, avoidant, and spontaneous style. The study comprised of three decision-making situations including certainty, risk and uncertainty. Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, Decision Situations Scale and General Decision-making Styles Questionnaire were administered on 1200 employees. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that certainty moderated between transformational style and rational style. Uncertainty moderated between transformational style and spontaneous style. Certainty moderated between transactional leadership and rational style. Uncertainty moderated between laissez faire and dependent, avoidant decision-making style. Overall, the present study contributes to style, situational and contingency theories of leadership. Keywords: Decision-Making Situations, Leadership Styles, Decision-Making Styles.

Adolescent Athletes’ Perceptions of Both Their Coachs’ Leadership and Their Personal Motivation

Previous studies, framed within the full range leadership approach, have described how the coach’s interpersonal behaviors affected athletic outcomes. However researchers have yet to explore how specific leadership behaviors (transformational vs transactional), as perceived by athletes, may affect athletes’ motivation. The aim of this study was to further examine the link between coaches’ leadership behaviors and athletes’ motivation among high achieving adolescent athletes. Two-hundred and twenty-three elite youth athletes ( M = 15.4 years; SD = 1.6; 53.4% male and 46.6% female) responded to questionnaires pertaining to their coaches’ leadership and their individual motivation levels. We found a direct and linear relationship between transformational leadership and intrinsic motivation, and between transactional leadership and external regulation. None of the moderators we studied (age, gender, age group category, and sport skill level) moderated relations between coaches’ leadership and personal motivation. This research re-emphasized the important interpersonal role that coaches play in athletes’ sport development. We recommend that coaches include more interpersonally focused educational programs that emphasize transformational leadership.

How Coach Educators Deliver Formal Coach Education: A Full Range Leadership Perspective

While recent work recognizes a need for coach education to place greater emphasis on interpersonal knowledge when developing coaching expertise, it is our position that coach educators (CEs) must follow a similar trajectory in embracing the interpersonal knowledge requisite of their role and move beyond a reliance on content and professional knowledge in order to shape their delivery. To better understand CEs’ behaviors, the authors observed four experienced CEs in Alpine skiing, using an adapted version of the Coach Leadership Assessment System during delivery of a coach education and assessment course. The authors also interviewed CEs to further elucidate the observational data. The findings suggest the benefit of transactional approaches to leadership during assessment when set against the backdrop of an environment driven by intentions consistent with transformational leadership. Furthermore, we call for a greater appreciation of context when imagining CEs’ behaviors that align with effective practice.