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Unit 13: Motivation and Leadership

(c) Assess the nature of the work group: The leader should assess its cohesiveness as well as Notes
its experience in working together. The more cohesive the group, the less need for
supportive leadership since this is redundant with the group's character.
(d) Assess the organisation's culture: A culture that supports participation also supports a
participative leadership style. A culture that encourages goal accomplishment or a
results orientation reinforces an achievement-oriented style.
(e) Assess the subordinate's skills and needs: Subordinates skilled in a task require less
direction than those less skilled. Subordinates with high achievement needs, require
a style that helps meet these needs. Subordinates with social needs, require a style
that helps meet these needs.
8. Participation Theory of Leadership: Victor Vroom and Phillip Yetton developed a leader-
participation model that related leadership behaviour and participation to decision making.
They assume that leaders use four basic styles in making decisions: authoritative,
consultative, group-based and delegative. These styles led to different decision-making
processes for solving both individual and group problems. This is shown in the Table 13.4
below.

Table 13.4: Decision-making Process

Source: V.H. Vroom and A.G. Jago, "Decision-making as a social process: Normative and descriptive
models of leader behaviour", Decision Sciences 5 (1974) page 745.
13.10 Contemporary Issues in Leadership

1. Male/Female leadership styles: As more women assume visible leadership roles, many
observers perceive differences in the leadership styles of the two sexes. The studies that
have found differences between male and female leadership styles typically find that
women tend to lead more democratically than their male counterparts. Women are more
likely to encourage participation in decision making, to share power and information,
and to try to enhance the self-worth of their followers. They influence through their
charisma, expertise, personal contacts, and interpersonal skills. In contrast, men are more
likely to rely on the authority of their position and issue directives to their followers.

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