Chapter 6

md Human 1987). lves:The ging work uarterly,32, ' ] .R.,and 1-term field zment s o f 'elations, 29, es for rr leader- :ement. A. S. (1e81). of the .ip:A two ioal leader- Psychology, :s of ?elat ions,29, rn,MA: D. C. \ .(re71). bunits: efforts. t ,22,177202. E., and dyadic dura- :n leader \iler out- :al Behavior, . Overcoming :ontracting. I a1 , { i l : f l f l f l i l | f l cHAPTER i l | | i l I { i l t Po r,ti ci pqtive Le@r@$,SlqS Behelvior Leorning Objectives After reading this chapter, you should be able to do the following: 1. Describe participative leadership behaviors and provide exampleS of specific " ' l eadersh ip behav io rs . 2. Explain why participative leadership can have positive influences on follower behaviors. 3. Describe skills and abilities that are needed to be an effective participative leader. 4. Describe the individual and organizational benefits that can result from effective par t i c ipa t ive leadersh ip . 5. Identify characteristics of followers that make participative leadership highly effective and characteristics that make it ineffective. 6. Identity organizational and task characteristics that make participative leadership highly effective and characteristics that make it ineffective. 7. Describe how leaders can modify situations to increase the effectiveness of their part icipal ive leadership. 8. Explain how leaders can modify followers' work situations to make followers less dependent on the leader's participative leadership. iE Exqmples of Effective Pqrticipolive Leodership 1. When a leader asked for followers' input on a decision, he treated himself on par with them and did not emphasize any status differences between himself and fol- lowers. He did not coerce them to accept a solution he favored nor did he impose his opinions. In this manner, followers sensed a situation of trust, inspiration, and responsibility for making a good decision. 2. A team leader asked a team member for her opinion on a problem the leader was facing. The member described this as an encouraging sign of the leader's trust in her technical knowledse. 131 { I32 ffi PART II Core Leadership Behaviors 3. A department manager asked his immediate and highly experienced subordi- nates for help in designing a new office layout. He reviewed with them the needs of the department and then asked them to come up with a plan they all could agree on that would meet those needs. The new layout was approved with very few modifications and everyone was pleased with the results. 4. A team leader was asked if her team wanted to attend a special seminar that would last four to five hours, and she threw the question out to the team. In light of their work load, the team decided against attending. They indicated they appreciated the leader allowing them to say no to this opportunity. 5. Project managers often lack the technical knowledge needed to make important decisions on high-tech jobs.They supervise highly trained professional employees who are closer to the technical problems and have better information, but the manager may have broader knowledge than the technical professional on mat- ters involving other parts of the system or on external pressures. By sharing their ideas through participative one-on-one or group discussions, the manager and the specialist can often arrive at better decisions than either deciding alone.lJ These are examples of effective participative leadership behaviors by leaders. - Definifion, Bockgroundn qnd lmportonce of Porlicipotive Leodership Behoviors Leaders make decisions on many issues-assigning people to jobs, obtaining supplies and equipment, modifying strategies or procedures, or nurturing new group members. For each decision, leaders weigh alternatives and select strategies they believe to be optimal. Many employees, volunteers, and other participants in today's organizations believe they have a right to be involved in or influence the decisions that affect them. Their reaction to a decision can be affected by the extent to which the leader consults them and allows them to provide input to the decision process. Employees often have extensive experience, information, training, and knowledge that can improve the quality of decisions. For these reasons? leaders often provide opportunities for followers to give input, especially when the decisions will affect followers in some way. When leaders involve followers in the decision processes, they are practicing participative leadership. Managers and researchers have used two meanings for participative leadership. Historically, the most common meaning has been to involve followers in some way in decisions that leaders would otherwise make on their own-through consulting with individuals or holding meetings with groups of followers to discuss decision issues.-s The leader often retains the final authority to make the decision, but followers provide information and ideas that the leader carefully considers in arriving at the final deci- sion. The other meaning of participative leadership goes a bit further. Leaders involve followers in the decision process (such as discussing decision situations or evaluating alternatives), but also share decision-making power with followers by allowing them to directly affect the decision outcomes. Some writers believe that participation exists only when followers share decision-making power equally with the leader.6'7 . In this book, participative leadership refers to numerous behaviors by leaders that involve and include followers in various aspects of the decision process. These behaviors include group discussion sessions or individualized one-on-one meetings in ordi- ICCdS lould very ' that light r r r L J lrtant oyees rt the mat- I their'11nd )IS. ;upplies embers. re to be izations :t them. consults en have : quality s to give leaders lership. dership. : way in ing with issues.r provide ral deci- ; involve aluating , them to rn exists ' l eade rs is. These etings in CHAPTER 6 PartiL' ipative Leodership Behavior ff i 133 which leaclers sharrc decis ior . r - rnaking power wi th fo l lowcrs. This def in i t ion thus inc ludes thc aspect c l l 'shar ing the leader 's powcr. I t a lso inc luc lcs leader act ions such as obta in ing in format ion f rom l i r l lowers, ask ing thc i r opin ions about decis ion a l terna- tives, or obtaining their ideas about how particular strategies might be implemented. The latter activit ies may allow thc leader to make the final clecision. but followers have bcen involvcd in ancl indirectlv infiuence the decision proccss by provicling inputs and uissessments that the leader then incorporates into cleliberations and the final decision. Our def in i t ion of par t ic ipat ive leadership inc luc les e lements of both of the ear l ier r.ncanings uscd by rr.lanagers and researchers. Participative leadcrship includes clescribing a clecision problem to a group of fol- lowers and asking for their input on the implications of various alternative solutions alreadl, developecl by the leacler. It also involves holcling inl 'ormal conversations with individual l 'ol lowers to draw their ideas out, and listening carefully to understand and incorporate their information into a decision solution. Participative leaders hold group meetings with followers to dcscribe thc clecision situation and ask for followers' sug- gested solutions.They make sure that all group mernbers who wish to express an opinion about a decision issue are given plenty of opportunity to do so, and assure the group members that all follower ideas i ind contributions are given scrious consideration. When recommenclations of followers are not implementecl as part of the decision solution. participative leaders explain to followers why their suggestions were not included. When a leader and follower-disagree, the participative leader may hold a discussion session to ai r both s ides of the c l isagreement and help resolve the issue. Par t ic ipat ive leaders sometimes even assign a decision problem to followers for their resolution.8 11 Many var iat ions on these behaviors ex is t . The increasing level of educat ion and increased feelings of equality in the workforce of the Unrted States and other western countries have produced a widespread desire for upward mobil it l ,and interesting work. These factors have resulted in increased pressures fron many workers for more partici- pation opportunitics.When followers in these countries describe their conccpt of an ideal le ader , thcy usual ly inc lude par t ic ipat ivc leadership behavior as one of the top three qualit ies.l l Manv inclivicluals believe that participative leadership is a major part of effec- tive leadership. Figurc 6-1 sumr.r.rarizes major types o1 perrticipative leadcrship behaviors. Participiit ion may zrlso inclucle indivicluerls clutside the lcacler's immecliate group of l ir l lowers, such as pccrs. upperlevel leaclers. or inclividuals outside thr- organization.l-l Even though clecisions can sor.netines bcnefit fror-rr this type of consultation. especially in h ighly lcchnical cnvi ronments, the t rac l i t ional nreaning o i par t ic ipat ive leadership lircuses on inclusion ol'the leacler' 's followers in dccisions.This is the rneaning usecl by nlost experts on participation. arrcl their work wil l be summarized in this chapter. In thinking about participative leadership in relation to the other leadership behav- iors, the roacler shoulcl keep in rrrind that participation cleals with making decisions, whereas clirective leadership (clcscribecl in Chapter 5) often deals with executing a cleci- sion once it has been n-rade. Leaclership writers havc noted that "a leader can be partic- ipative . . . bv consulting employees durir.rg the dccision-making phase, yet sti l l bc clirec- t ive by fo l lowing up c losely on progress toward the ends that have been mutual ly decided on."laThis approirch nright be appropriate for new followers who have up-to- date technical knowlcc lge usel 'u l in making c lec is ions, but l i t t le exper ience in how to irnplement that knowleclge in a specific orgzrnization. Participative ancl clirective lezrder- ship can often be usccl together in zi complementary fashion to zrchieve effective results. l a l -l J { r r r r PART II Core Leadershio Behaviors In the United States and many other developed countries, individuals are taught and encouraged to participate in school, at home, at work, and in their communities. They therefore develop an expectation to participate, and the chance to participate leads to positive attitudes.ls As noted, the rising education of the workforce in these same countries reflects a widespread desire for increased independence, achievement, influence, and personal growth. Participative leadership appeals directly to these needs of organizational members by providing opportunities for satisfaction, and this further increases follower morale and satisfaction. Thus rewarded, followers are often moti- vated to participate actively with their leader to assure continued satisfaction. In many developing countries (such as Mexico and the Peoples Republic of China), values other than participation are often emphasized, such as obedience, submission, and respect for authority. In these countries, participative leadership may not be effective.16 From a group or organizational standpoint, participative leadership improves the availability and flow of information for decision making. For example, followers often have more current information regarding work tasks than do leaders, and their involvement produces better decisions, made with more timely information. Participation also allows followers to learn more about implementing new programs or procedures after decisions are made.17 Some writers have suggested that leaders use participative leadership because they believe it is politically correct and therefore nec- essary to increase the acceptance of the leader's ideas.18 Clearly, participative leader- ship has many possible benefits. Bear in mind, however, that no single leadership behavior pattern is perfect for every situation. Research shows that most followers pre- fer a leader who adapts his or her leadership behavior pattern to fit the situation.le The situational factors that affect participative leadership are discussed later in the chapter. One form of participative leadership has been common in Europe for several decades. Legislation in Sweden, Norway, the former Yugoslavia, and West Germany established workers' counsels to advise high-level decision makers or require union representation on boards of directors. These programs have been used extensively. ?T'i ffiugt,,,,c;1 Asking fbr opinions about alternatives Obtaining information liom fbllowers Jo in t dec is ion mak ing w i th followers f-III I Wilma I ttr. ctt. I have ev I leader I United| "'x; I develo l I Problen I and col I ingredi I have alr I e*u,npt I followe I ulheav I souRC I www.po I n t Eur son Lez ing ada on the ity qui tea pa Shr un ma Fo: caI tar der l i tught ilties. :ipate these ment, needs rrther moti- many lalues n, and :tive.16 'es the i often I their ration. ams or 3rs use fe nec- leader- lership )rs pre- r.leThe rhapter. several ermany e union nsively. CHAPTER 6 Participative Leadership Behavior $l lll { :, A lfl li[ ]r A ril lil $l { $l { fl lN !N fl [ 1|l { LEADERSHIP IN ACTION Wilmo Monkiller { t f l { 135 Wilma Mankiller, former principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, is the only woman to have ever held this prestigious office. She was leader of the second largest tr ibe in the United States, with over 140,000 followers and a budget that exceeded $75 million. As a participative leader, she found that developing teams is an ideal way to solve problems. According to Mankiller, consulting and collaborating with followers are the key ingredients of a good leader. These ski l ls have also helped to revitalize the tribe. As an example of the faith that she placed in her followers, Mankiller says "after every major upheaval, we have been able to gather together as a people and rebuild a community and a government." Because she is a woman, Mankiller met with opposition in the beginning of her term of office. But Mankiller feels that being a woman was eventually the key to her success. Studies in the 1980s and 1990s found that women often choose a participative approach to leadership. Wilma agrees. As a woman, she was "more of a team builder, my unscientific observations are that men make uni lateral dec is ions and charge ahead. . . . There are exceptions to that, but women tend to . . . do things in a more consultative and collabora- tive way." SOURCE: "Wilma Mankiller former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, www.powersource.com/ga11ery/peopl e/wilma.html - t t t f , i l a { t {- In the United States and Japan, the approach is more informal and flexible than in Europe. In these countries, the participative behaviors by a leader are based on a per- sonal relationship between the leader and followers, not on national legislation. Leaders may have casual conversations with a single follower or a prescheduled meet- ing with an entire work group. This approach to participation allows the leader to adapt behavior to the needs of the situation. It may also permit followers to focus input on decisions that affect them most.2O Experts on participative leadership believe that the informal approach provides more of an impact on individual and group productiv- ity than the legislative approach.2l Although many organizations have implemented quality circles, quality improvement groups, semiautonomous or self-managed work teams, and other programs, it is the informal approach that is described in this chapter. One expert points out that in formal organizations, some participative leadership may be politically necessary to get a leader's decisions approved and implemented.22 For example, upper management may want assurance that followers are committed to carrying out a decision. Follower involvement in making the decision may be impor- tant in obtaining this assurance. The Leadership in Action box: Wilma Mankil ler describes participative behaviors by a Native American leader. Some writers have described a continuum that shows how a leader can use degrees of participation to include followers in various types of decision situations.23,2a Figure 6-2 shows these different degrees of participation. First, little or no participation is used under the autocratic decision approach-the leader makes the decision with or without 136 ;il PART Il Core Leadership Behaviors A u t o c r a l i c C o n s e n s u s o r C r o u p' ; ' ' : . * " C o n s u l t a t i o n - " - ' ; . " .I Jecrs lon l jec ts lon Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice ;Tl:rffiW o;z: tus.,eespr po$onercn, SOURCE: Adapted from Gary Yukl. Leadership in Organirytions. Hal l . 1998. input from followers. Next, some participation takes place with the consultative approach-the leader obtains ideas and evaluations from followers, individually or as a group, and uses them to make the decision. With the consultation approach, the leader often obtains follower reactions to the decision option chosen. Increased levels of partic- ipation occur with consensus or group decision making, in which the leader and followers discuss the decision problem and make the decision together.With this approach,follow- ers often have as much influence on the outcome as the leader. Finally, delegation repre- sents the maximum amount of participation, in which the leader assigns a decision prob- lem to one or more followers to decide. The leader may provide overall guidance or maintain veto power over the follower's decision. Real leaders vary their use of these different forms of participation. Some leaders, for example, use consensus decision making only with one or two trusted followers;oth- ers prefer large group meetings in which all points of view are heard. Some leaders use delegation only after carefully specifying guidelines and limits to the decision option chosen, and may require that the final decision be subjected to the leader's approval before implementation.2s Other leaders give followers complete freedom in arriving at and implementing a solution. Most leaders use different combinations of participation at different times, adapting them to each situation and group of followers. Some writers have argued that delegation is a different form of decision making than participation and is more oriented to follower development.26'21 However, research shows that followers see delegation as only one type of participation used along with other approaches to obtain their involve^.n1.28.2e Consultation and con- sensus decision making are also excellent learning opportunities for followers. Delegation is an end point in the continuum of participation, in which followers evalu- ate and make decisions on their own with a minimum of guidance and oversight by their leader, but it is certainly not the only participative procedure conducive to fol- lower development . Table 6-1 indicates some leadership actions that tend to improve the effectiveness of delesation. :3 Ineffeclive Porticipotive Leodership As with other leadership behaviors, participative leadership can be used ineffectively. The following incidents describe leaders' use of participative leadership behaviors in an inappropriate manner: L. A leader called a meeting, supposedly to obtain follower input on a decision problem. During the discussion it became apparent to followers that the leader Do Unc I C Clez e) Mal re Dek Sho, Ren I I ( 4 , - I f \ I I two parli tial\ tive ff isk fot Effe ther lead follc Whr ers' be f, rese able Wht leaC ben, CHAPTER 6 Participa