An Attempt At A Consentience Regarding Formal Leadership

Abstract

Given the importance of leadership in organizations, an attempt to integrate the many disparate concepts and constructs related to this topic is long overdue. With that goal in mind, an integrative framework was created that focuses on three distinct levels of abstraction- big leadership, mid-range leadership, and small leadership. Within this tripartite taxonomy, an attempt was made to reconcile some vexing issues that have been frustrating academics and practitioners alike.

Big leadership is viewed as transformational in nature, requiring a charismatic visionary being in the right place at the right time. Both mid-range and small leadership, however, are transactional in nature, but small leadership is so to a fault.

Our approach to mid-range leadership theory attempts to identify the important dimensions of transactional leadership, differentiate the normative from the situational ones, and specify the conditions under which the situational leadership factors apply.

In our framework, small leadership consists of the myriad of quotidian interactions between the leader and subordinates that are easy to overlook but have an important cumulative effect on the social compact between leader and subordinates that is so essential to gaining subordinate compliance.

Lastly, whenever appropriate, contingencies are specified at all three levels, and substitutes for leadership identified. While not a mega-theory, our leadership framework is integrative and, thus, useful to managers who lead organizations, teams, and individuals.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Balasco, J.A. & Staver, R.C. (1993). Flight of the Buffalo: Soaring to Excellence, Learning to Let Employees Lead ( New York: Warner Books).

Bass, B.M. (1985). Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations (New York: Free Press).

Bevin, A. (1993). How Great Generals Win. (New York: Norton).

Blake, R.R. & Mouton, J.S. (1964). The Managerial Grid. (Houston : Gulf Publishing Co.).

Bowers, D.G. & S. E. Seashore, S.E. (1966). Predicting Organizational Effectiveness With Four-Factor Theory of Leadership, Administrative Science Quarterly, 11, 328-263.

Campbell, A. & Alexander, M. (1997, November/December). What's Wrong with Strategy? Harvard Business Review, 42-51.

Cash, J.I. , McFarlan, F.W. , McKenney, J.L. & Applegate, L.M. (1992). Corporate Information Systems Management. Homewood, IL: Irwin .

Collins, J. (2001). Good to Great. New York: Harper Business.

Conger, J.A. & R.N. Kanungo , R. N. (1988a). "Behavioral Dimensions of Charismatic Leadership ," in Charismatic Leadership. San Francisco : Jossey-Bass.

10.

Conger, J.A. & Kanungo, R.N. (1988b). The Empowerment Process: Integrating Theory and Practice. Academy of Management Review, 13, 471-483.

11.

Conger, J.A. (1989). Leadership: The Art of Empowering Others. Academy of Management Executive, 11, 17-24.

12.

Fiedler, F.E. (1967). A Theory of Leadership Effectiveness. New York: Mc Graw-Hill.

13.

Fisher, G.M.C. (1997, March). A New Relationship With Employees. CEO Series Issue No. 14, Center for the Study of American Business, Washington University in St. Louis, -7.

14.

Fleishman, E.A. (1953). The Description of Supervisory Behavior. Personnel Psychology, 37, 1-6.

15.

Gardner, J.W. (1987, Spring). The Tasks of Leadership. New Management, 9-14.

16.

Gibney Jr, F. (2002, January 14). Vrroooom At The Top. Time, 42-44.

17.

Greiner, L.E. (1972, July/August). Evolution and Revolution as Organizations Grow. Harvard Business Review. 37-46.

18.

Hersey, P. & Blanchard, K. (1982). Management of Organizational Behavior, 4th ed., Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.

19.

Hersey, P. and K.H. Blanchard , K.H. (1988). Management of Organizational Behavior, 5th ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.

20.

House, R.J. (1971). A Path Goal Theory of Leader Effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 16, 324.

21.

Huey, J. (1994, February 21). The New Post-Heroic Leadership. Fortune, 42-45.

22.

Ikeda, D. (1991, November). The Age of "Soft Power" and Inner-Motivated Philosophy. New Century, 9-15.

23.

Ivancevich, J.M. , Lorenzi, P. & S.J. Skinner , S. J. (1997). Managing Quality and Competiveness, 2nd ed., Chicago, IL: Irwin.

24.

Kirpatrick, S.A. and Locke, E.A. (1991) Leadership: Do Traits Matter? Academy of Management Executive, 5(2), 48-60.

25.

Kotter, J.P. (1995, March/April). Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail. Harvard Business Review, 59-67.

26.

Lavin, D. (1993, October 4). Robert Eaton Thinks Vision Is Overrated And He's Not Alone. The Wall Street Journal, Al.

27.

Lewin, K. , Lippitt, R. & White, R. (1939, May). Patterns of Aggressive Behavior In Experimentally Created Social Climates. Journal of Social Psychology, 271-299. Matching Managers to a Company's Life Cycle. (1981, February 23). Business Week, 62.

28.

McGill, M. & Slocum, J.W. (1988, Winter). A Little Leadership, Please. Organizational Dynamics.

29.

Miller, D. & Friesen, P.H. (1984). Organizations A Quantum View. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

30.

Miner, J.B. & Smith, R.N. (1982). Decline and Stabilization of Managerial Motivation Over a 20-year Period. Journal of Applied Psychology, 67,297-305.

31.

Mintzberg, H. (1973). The Nature of Managerial Work. New York: Harper & Row.

32.

Muczyk, J.P. , Schwartz, E.B. & Smith, E.P. (1984). Principles of Supervision: First - and Second - Level Management. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Co.

33.

Muczyk, J.P. & Reimann, B.C. (1987). The Case for Directive Leadership. The Academy of Management Executive, 1(3), 301-311.

34.

Muczyk, J.P. (1988). The Strategic Role of Compensation. Human Resource Planning, 11(3), 225-239.

35.

Muczyk, J.P. & B. C. Reimann, B.C. (1989). MBO as a Complement to Effective Leadership. The Academy Of Management Executive , 3(2),131-138.

36.

Muczyk, J.P. & R.P. Steel , R. P. (1998, March-April). Leadership Style and the Turnaround Executive. Business Horizions, 39-46.

37.

Pfeffer, J. (1978). "The Ambiguity of Leadership," In M.W. McCall , Jr., & M. M. Lombardo (eds.), Leadership: Where Else Can We Go ? Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press.

38.

Porter, L.W. , Allen, R.W. & H. L. Angle, H.L. (1981). "The Politics of Upward Influence in Organizations," in L.L. Cummings and B. Staw , eds., Research in Organizational Behavior, Vol. 3, (Geenwich, CT: JAI Press, 109-149.

39.

Quinn, R.E. & Cameron, K. (1983). Organizational Life Cycles and Some Shifting Criteria of Effectiveness: Some Preliminary Evidence. Management Science , 33-51 ;

40.

Raelin, A. (1987, February). The 60's Kids in the Corporation: More Than Just Daydream Believers. Academy of Management Executive , 21-30.

41.

Reardon, K.K. , Reardon, K.J. & A. J. Rowe, A.J. (1998, Spring). Leadership Styles for the Five Stages of Radical Change. Acquisition Review Quarterly, 129-146.

42.

Sims Jr., H.P. & Lorenzi, P. (1992). The New Leadership Paradigm: Social Learning and Cognition in Organizations. Newbury Park, California: Sage Publications, Inc.

43.

Tannenbaum, R. & W. H. Schmidt, W.H. (1958, MarchApril). How to Choose a Leadership Pattern. Harvard Business Review, 95-101.

44.

Thompson, A.A. & A. J. Strictland, A.J. (1993). Strategic Management Concepts and Cases. Homewood, IL: Irwin.

45.

Vecchio, R. P. , ed. (1997). Leadership: Understanding the Dynamics of Power and Influence in Organizations . Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press.

46.

Vroom, V.H. & Jago, A.G. (1988). The New Leadership: Managing Participation in Organizations, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.

47.

Vroom, V.H. & P. W. Yetton, P.W. (1973). Leadership and Decision Making. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.

48.

Weick, K. (1984, January). Small Wins, Redefining the Scale of Social Problems. American Psychologist, 40-49.

49.

Yukl, G.A. (1989). Leadership In Organizations, 2nd ed., New York: Academic Press .

50.

Yukl, G.A. & Falbe, C.M. (1990). Influence tactics and objectives in Upward, Downward, and Lateral Influence Attempts. Journal of Applied Psychology , 75, 132-140.