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Chapter
8
The Supervisor as Leader
A leader’s job is to make people’s strengths effective
and their weaknesses irrelevant.
—Peter Drucker
Characteristics of a Successful Leader
Sense
of responsibility
Self-confidence
High energy level
Empathy
Internal locus of control
Sense of humor
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Leadership Styles
Degree
of authority retained
Authoritarian
leadership
Democratic leadership
Laissez-faire leadership
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Possibilities for Retaining Authority
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Leadership Styles (continued)
 Task-oriented
versus people-oriented:
 A task-oriented
leader focuses on the jobs to be
done and the goals to be accomplished.
 A people-oriented leader is primarily concerned
with the well-being of the employees being
managed.
 Most
organizations expect that their
supervisors can combine some degree of
task orientation with some degree of people
orientation.
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Leader Attitudes



Theory X managers believe employees:
 Dislike work and responsibility and try to avoid it
 Must be coerced to perform
 Have a primary need for security
Theory Y managers believe employees:
 Treat work as a natural activity
 Will work hard to achieve objectives they are committed to
 Can learn to seek responsibility and be creative problem
solvers
Theory Z managers seek to involve employees in making
decisions, to consider long-term goals when making plans, and
to give employees freedom in carrying out their duties
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Contingency Theories of Leadership
 Fiedler’s
Contingency Model
 Each
leader has a preferred leadership style, which
may be people oriented or task oriented.
 Performance depends on three characteristics of the
leadership situation:



Leader-member relations
Task structure
The position power of the leader
 Fiedler
recommends that a leader determine whether
his or her preferred leadership style fits the situation.
If not, the leader should try to change the
characteristics of the situation.
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Contingency Theories of Leadership
(continued)
 Hersey-Blanchard
theory a.k.a life cycle
theory
 Assumes
that the leader’s behavior should adapt
to the situation.
 Leadership style should reflect the maturity of the
followers as measured by traits such as ability to
work independently.
 Leaders should adjust the degree of task and
relationship behavior in response to the growing
maturity of their followers.
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Leadership Style
Characteristics
of the leader:
 The
manager’s values
 Level of confidence in employees
 Personal leaderships strengths
 Tolerance for ambiguity
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Leadership Style (continued)
 Characteristics
of the subordinates:
 Need
for independence
 Readiness to assume responsibility
 Tolerance for ambiguity
 Interest in the problem to be solved
 Understanding of and identification with goals
 Knowledge and experience
 Expectations
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Leadership Style (continued)
Characteristics
of the situation:
 Type
of organization
 Effectiveness of the group
 The problem or task
 Time available
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Six Distinctive Leadership Styles
Coercive, which demands compliance.
2. Pace-setting, which sets extremely high
standards.
3. Coaching, which focuses on developing people.
4. Democratic, which seeks consensus through
participation.
5. Affiliative, which creates harmony and emotional
bonds.
6. Authoritative, which mobilizes employees with
enthusiasm and vision.
1.
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Giving Directions
 Supervisors
can practice leadership by giving
directions.
 The way a supervisor gives directions can influence
how willingly and how well employees respond.
 The most effective way to give instructions is to do so
confidently and politely, without apologies.
 If employees are not complying with a supervisor’s
directions, the supervisor can examine whether the
directions follow the guidelines (listed on the next
slide).
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Checklist for Giving Directions
 Wording
is appropriately specific for the task
 Wording is clear and unambiguous
 Employee can restate directions
 Supervisor verifies progress toward completion
 Directions do not change after project is assigned
 Employees know reasons for the directions
 Supervisor’s tone is confident and polite, not
apologetic
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Supervisors’ Self-Images
 The
self-image a supervisor has influences
the supervisor’s behavior.
 Success as a supervisor requires that the
supervisor think in terms of how to create a
positive team environment.
 Awareness of their self-concept can help
supervisors cultivate positive thoughts.
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Supervisor’s Relationships with
Their Employees
 Supervisors
as role models:
 When
employees evaluate the organization, they look
at the supervisor’s behavior and use it as a guide for
how they should act.
 Supervisors should follow all the rules and regulations.
 Supervisors should be ethical and impartial.
 Developing
trust:
 The
most important way to build trust is to engage in
fair, predictable behavior.
 The supervisor should fulfill promises and give
employees credit when they do something well.
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Supervisors’ Relationships with
Their Managers
 Expectations
 Loyalty
 Cooperation
 Communication
 Results
 Learn about your manager
 If you are dissatisfied
 Consider the source of the
 Talk to your manager
 Hunt for another job
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problem
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Supervisors’ Relationships with Their Peers
 Competition
 The
more you cooperate, the better you will all look.
 Criticism
 Do
not go looking for things to criticize about your
peers or anyone else.
 If a co-worker must be criticized, go directly to that
person and point out the problem before escalating to
management.
 Focus on the problem and its consequences to the
organization, not the personalities involved.
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Summary
 Traits
such as a sense of responsibility, selfconfidence, etc. alone do not predict success as a
leader.
 Supervisors can be:
 Authoritarian
(retaining much authority)
 Democratic (sharing authority)
 Laissez-faire (giving up most authority)
 Task-oriented
 People-oriented
 Supervisors
may build their leadership style on
Theory X, Y, or Z.
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Summary (continued)





Both the Fiedler and Hersey and Blanchard contingency
theories hold that leaders can be most effective by matching
different leadership styles to varying circumstances.
A supervisor should select a leadership style that suits his or
her own characteristics, as well as those of the employees and
the situation.
The way the supervisor gives directions can influence how
willingly and how well employees respond.
The supervisor’s self-concept influences how he or she
behaves.
Supervisors should project a positive attitude, take an interest in
others, and help out as needed while being loyal, cooperative,
and friendly.
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