Leadership theories

Describe different leadership theories and how they can be applied to pharmacy practice. 

Figure 8-4. Situational leadership theory. (Adapted with permission from Herseyand Blanchard, 1988.)...

DeYoung R. 2005. Contemporary leadership theories. In Borkowski N (ed), Organizational Behavior in Health Care. Sudbury, MA Jones and Bartlett. 

This chapter builds on the leadership theories related to organizational behavior discussed in Chapter 8. Specifically, this chapter will help you to gain a greater understanding of the definitions and concepts of leadership, qualities of an effective leader, leadership theories and styles, how to use your personal strengths to enhance your leadership abilities, developing leadership in others, evaluative tools to identify your personal leadership style, and leadership roles within the profession and community for students and pharmacists. 

Leadership theories help us to understand the leadership style ofyour immediate boss and other administrators. Understanding leadership theory and leadership styles enables us to identify the personal values and vision that guide the organizations management team. It also provides insight into your employers expectations of you as an employee. 

The leadership theories discussed in Chapter 8 were trait, behavioral (i.e., autocratic, democratic, and laissez-fare), situational or contingency-based, transactional, and transformational. The majority of these theories are transactional in nature however, transformational leadership is used more often to implement innovation and change within the profession and achievement of organizational goals (Bass, 1985). Building on Chapter 8, other leadership theories or styles used extensively in the health care industry are servant-leadership and strengths-based leadership. 

Kotter J. 1990. Leadership Theories A Force for Change— How Leadership Differs from Management. New York Free Press. 

This chapter considers some of the theories of leadership. It is not a comprehensive analysis of fhe leadership liferafure, but instead reviews basic leadership theories and describes one model of leadership for the practicing professional. 

Two of these situational theories are the situational leadership theory and the contingency theory, in which the organizational environment is considered a major factor in leader effectiveness. The path-goal theory adds another extension to these situational theories — the concept of the leader as a coach and mentor. The concepts of mentoring and coaching are more fully discussed in Chapter 7. The concept of situational leadership as developed by Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard helps participants identify their own leadership styles, understand the four preferred styles available to them, and matches leadership styles to the needs of their followers (see Bennis and Nanus, 1985). 

The research suggests that leaders best accomplish facilitating the shared vision when they value the human resources of their organizations. At least two contemporary theories work with this principle of valuing human resources the transformational leadership theory and the theory of emotional intelligence. 

The transformational leadership theory focuses on the need for consensus development among followers and achievement of organizational goals. 

Thus, classic leadership theories addressed the instrumental aspects of motivation, whereas the new paradigm emphasizes expressive aspects as well. Such emotional appeals can be demonstrated by the words of Anita Roddick, founder and CEO of The Body Shop ... 

Most general references in the literature to follower development actually refer to an intrapersonal, developmental change that followers of transformational leaders presumably undergo the leader transforms followers by serving as a coach, a teacher, and a mentor. Dvir et al. (in press) propose a conceptual framework for examining developmental aspects of transformational leadership theory on the basis of the sporadic theoretical discussions and empirical examinations in the literature. Their framework for follower personal development includes the three domains of motivation, morality, and empowerment. Dvir et al. found evidence of the impact of transformational leaders upon their direct followers development in at least one measure of each category. 

Empowerment Transformational leadership theory, in contrast to early charismatic leadership theories (e.g.. House 1977), never assumed that leadership relationships are based on regression or weakness on the part of the employees. On the contrary, transformational leadership theory has... 

More recent attempts to utihze findings from the new genre of leadership theory in selection use both biodata and assessment center procedures. AvoUo and colleagues from South Africa have developed a preliminary tool to assess the leadership potential of candidates to the South African police force. This tool is based on the multifactor leadership questionnaire (MLQ) developed by Bass and Avolio (1996) to measure the full range leadership styles. The assessment center also includes a biodata survey that has been used in previous research (Avolio 1994). Sinulariy, researchers from the Center for Creative Leadership examined the process of executive selection and identified that success in the top three jobs in large organizations was predicted mostly by relationships with subordinates and expressed affection (Kouzes 1999). 

The above are examples of early application of the new genre of leadership theory in selection. However, since selection procedures require serious legal considerations, the application of findings from recent research to selection is relatively slow. However, recent leadership approaches may provide insights for other recruiting-related functions, such as mentoring. 

We chose to demonstrate the contribution of effective leadership to recruiting using the examples of selection and mentoring. However, leadership and motivation are important parts of other recruiting processes, such as in interviewer skills and assessment of candidates motivation. We chose those aspects that we feel benefit especially from the new genre of leadership theories. We continue to use this approach with the HRM function of performance management. 

In summary, evidence from studies in the new genre of leadership theories offers insights regarding the strong impact of transformational or charismatic leaders on their followers. We believe that performance management is an excellent tool for such leaders to communicate strategic goals and sense followers needs for personal development. 

Bass B. M. (1990), Bass and Stogdill s Handbook of Leadership Theory, Research and Management Applications, Free Press, New York. 

Bass B. M., and Avolio, B. J. (1993), Transformational Leadership A Response to Critiques, in Leadership Theory and Research Perspectives and Directions, M. M. Chemers ruid R. Ayman, Eds., Academic Press, San Diego. 

Yammarino, F. J., and Dubinsky, A. J. (1994), Transformational Leadership Theory Using Levels of Analysis to Determine Boundary Conditions, Personnel Psychology, Vol. 47, pp. 787-811. 

A complementary literature has been developed on leadership theory (Chemers tmd Aymem 1993). Most of this research is based on leaders in organizational contexts. A sampling of factors which have been shown to be related to the effectiveness of leadership include legitimacy, charisma, individualized attention to group members, and clear definitions of goals. These results seem quite compatible with the above findings for leadership in naturalistic, dynamic contexts. 

Although prominent leadership theories have evolved and increasingly reflect changing social contexts, they often still fail to incorporate issues of equity, diversity, and social justice in their conceptualizations (Chin, 2010, p. 150). Attention to diversity is more than measuring numerical representation of different groups in the ranks of leadership. We require a paradigm shift in our frameworks of leadership to incorporate how dimensions of diversity shape our understanding of leadership and influence styles of leadership and followership, and how bias influences the exercise of leadership (Thomas Ely, 2002). 

Uhl-Bien, M. (2006). Relational leadership theory Exploring the social processes of leadership and organizing. Leadership Quarterly, 18 4), 645-676. 

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