Over the past few weeks, I’ve been learning more about different leadership approaches and theories.  Two weeks ago I talked some about trait and skills approaches to leadership.  This week, I want to tell you about the behavioral and situational approaches as well as path-goal and leader-member exchange theories, defined by Northouse (2016), that may be helpful when looking at leadership.

The behavioral approach looks at task-based and relationship-based behaviors and actions of the leader, rather than the follower.  Building task based approaches allows leaders to guide followers to the goal by setting out tasks to be completed in a specific order.  Relationship approach builds on the leader’s concern for the followers.  This approach is easily applied and proven by multiple studies of success, but it is hard for leaders to balance both the task and relationship parts of this approach.

 

Situational approach is as implied, based on the situation the leader finds himself or herself in when working with a follower.  The approach looks at both the supportive and directive behaviors of the leader as well as the competence and commitment of the follower.  The biggest takeaway from this approach is the flexibility of the leader to adapt to what the follower needs as well as the what the leader can provide for a given situation.  As Northouse points out, “it is ideal for use with followers whose commitment and competence change over the course of a project” (2016).

Now switching from an approach to a theory, path-goal theory is pretty much like is sounds.  The leader helps define a path for the follower to perform the task or achieve the goal.  From this, the leader can help identify and troubleshoot any obstacles that may be an issue for the follower.  The leader can then provide support throughout the path as well as participate, direct, or set achievement-based goals.  This theory helps explain the motivation dynamic between leaders and followers.

The second theory is the leader-member exchange theory.  This theory is about the relationships between leaders and followers that is individualized and doesn’t leave anyone out.  It includes those with primary roles as well as those sitting on the sideline unsure of how they are participating in the activity.  The leader establishes a relationship with all of the participants, regardless of what group or clique they may be a part of, to move them towards obtaining the goal.

All of these approaches and theories are ways to look at leadership and help us pinpoint some strengths and weaknesses of our own leadership.  There are assessments to go with each approach or theory that you might find helpful in identifying your strengths or weaknesses as a leader and where you can work to improve your leadership traits.

 In an attempt to improve my own leadership, on a recent trip I listened to a few audio books.  Both happened to be by John C. Maxwell.  The first was Leadership 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know and the second was How Successful People Lead: Taking Your Influence to the Next Level.  The first book goes through various ways to lead such as mentoring and creating loyalty.  He also focuses on learning from leaders before you that have produced strong leaders.  One of the points that was reinforced during listening to the audiobook was the idea of mentoring and how to empower others.  I have been in a few other mentoring programs in the early years of my career and I think some of those relationships have helped shape the person that I am today.  It made me want to start doing some mentoring to younger employees that I work with to encourage them to reach their potential.

In the second book, Mr. Maxwell discusses 5 levels of leaders and how you can try to achieve each level as you develop as a leader.  The first level was position, the place you are in due to being hired by a company to do certain tasks.  The second level is permission which is where followers follow a leader because they choose to.  Production is the third level where followers want to shadow a leader based on their accomplishments within the organization.  Development of people is the fourth level which is when followers want to follow the leader eager for more based on what the leader has helped them accomplish.  At the pinnacle, the fifth level, he argues that people follow because of the legacy you have created.  He also challenges leaders to leave a legacy by training his replacement.  After listening to this book, it challenges me to look at my organization to see who needs to be groomed for future leadership roles and work with them.

Both books were great pieces of motivation and I hope that you will check them out soon.  Between them and learning about the various approaches and theories is providing a variety of viewpoints of leadership that anyone can use to improve and I hope you will join me in making improvements to your leadership style.  So, before I end this, I want to leave you with a few videos to think about the situation these leaders are in and their approach:

Leadership clip from a classic…The Breakfast Club

From We Were Soldiers

This is also a TED Talk that might make you think about your leadership…

https://www.ted.com/talks/roselinde_torres_what_it_takes_to_be_a_great_leader

Let’s see how our leadership skills grow!

Monica

Reference:

Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice (7^th Ed). Thousand Oaks, California : SAGE