Leading and Learning as a Cure for Pathological Management Styles

Learning organizations are likely to be more successful in developing new methods to compete on the market. Research by Michie & Zumitzavan (2012) furthers the argument that those organizations that foster learning and are managed by learning leaders are more successful than those who are reactive and focused on pathological styles. Learning leadership is progressive, open-minded, humanistic, and goal orientated that results in higher firm development and profits.  

Leadership and learning are two components that come together to foster development. The way in which leaders learn has an impact on how they act as administrators. Those that engaged in all four learning styles action, thinking, feeling and assessing others are more capability of using multiple leadership styles such as challenging, inspiring, enabling, modeling, and encouraging (Brown and Posner, 2001). 

Learning is one way in which organizations can continually renew themselves versus accepting the fate of a rigid decline. According to (Johnson and Scholes, 2002), organizations that are willing to continue learning throughout their lifecycles become more sustainable in the sense that they can adjust to new market trends, structures, and realities. If such organizations are not willing to learn and change they will be eventually crushed under new market realities by more competitive and nimble organizations. 

Leaders have the ability to prime the behavior of their followers. When leaders have a healthy respect for learning they can influence the expectations and behaviors of managers who further impact the social structure of employees. Creating a culture that respects and fosters learning, helps to enhance both the employees’ abilities, as well as the ability of the organization to adapt to market changes. 

The researchers Michie & Zumitzavan (2012), attempted to see how the attributes of managers impacted the learning and leading styles that influence organizational success. Twenty North Taiwanese firms were selected for the overall interviews and questionnaires.  They found that there was no relationship between learning styles and the demographics of the organization or location. In other words, learning leadership is not tied to organizational demographics. The impact of organizational learning styles was influenced by the leadership styles within the organization. 

Effective Organizations: Managers within effective organizations believed that technology and cost reduction were two important factors. However, they agreed that by developing employees skills their organizations could be enhanced. Thus, they sent people to seminars, workshops, training, educational outlets, etc… to improve their skills. They welcomed open opinions, managed workplace problems progressively, delegated for employee enhancement, and continued to forecast the needs of their organizations into the future. 

Less Effective Organizations: Less effective organizations are marked by their short-sighted thinking that focused on day-to-day issues. They were less able to forecast the future of the organization or able to solidify the goals of the organization. They rarely sent people for enhancement training or education and did not do well in managing employee problems. Furthermore, they were not willing to delegate authority and did not encourage employee opinions. 

The research results indicate that short-sighted behaviors, whereby individuals are not learning, are more prone to poor performance. With such results it is important to understand how training and development has an enhanced place in the most successful organizations.  Such training doesn’t need to be formal but does need to encourage constant learning and development to be effective. The learning style of the leaders and their level of expectation setting appear to foster organizational learning. 

Micromanaging leads to poor results and creates a systematic structure that damages the organizations ability to effectively compete on the market. Some have argued that micromanaging is a pathological behavior rooted in the manager’s childhood experiences, perceptions of incompetence, and their inability to think beyond their most immediate needs. Such managers foster fiefdoms in the workplace, manage by fear, and often take credit for others work. Many times their policies, procedures, and departmental approaches are based in the need for self-validation. For investors and executives who desire to see their organization succeed, they should take considerable care in fostering learning within their organizations and limit the advancement of those with the least capacity to lead. New ideas bring opportunities for organizational advancement. Where profits are low, adaptation slow, and employee development under toe….you may just have an abundance of pathological management styles.

Brown, M. and Posner, Z., (2001). Exploring the relationship between learning and leadership.

Leadership and organizational development journal,  22 (5–6), 274–280.

Johnson, G. and Scholes, K.,(2002). Exploring corporate strategy. Essex: Pearson Education.

Michie, J. & Zumitzavan, F. (2012). The impact of learning and leadership management styles on organizational outcomes: a study of Tyre Firms in Thailand. Asia Pacific Business Review, 18 (4).

Higher Employee Performance through Path-Goal Theory

The Path-Goal theory helps to define methods and pathways to successful achievement of organizational objectives. The theory postulates that leadership behavior is subject to the satisfaction, motivation, and performance of their subordinates. Strong leadership implies that such leaders should engage in behaviors that enhance employee abilities and reduce deficiencies. Organizations can do this through coaching, counseling, servant leadership, and engagement. The specific style of leadership and direction are based upon two contingencies that include the environment and the employee characteristics. Through the use and application of Path-Goal Theory organizations can realize higher performance.

The path-goal theory was originally developed by Robert House in 1971 and then revised again in the mid 1990’s. The theory came into business as a strong approach of managing employees and improving upon their overall performance. The ultimate goal is to provide them a path to achieve their objectives through proper communication and encouragement.  It is seen as a method of encouraging engagement.

The success of leadership depends in part on environmental factors and follower characteristics. 1.) Environmental factors relate to culture, power dynamics, team characteristics, etc… that is outside the employees control. 2.) Employee characteristics are those individual characteristics that depend on employees themselves such as employees’ needs, locus of control, experience, perceived ability, satisfaction, willingness to leave the organization, and anxiety. Proper leadership requires the ability to adjust that leadership style based upon these two contingencies. 

A study conducted by Sikandar Hayyat explored path-goal models of leadership and found that both directive and participative leadership styles encourage higher levels of performance (2012).  The study also indicates that subordinate job expectations are influenced heavily by leader behaviors. Directive styles are more focused clarifying paths while participative styles are more beneficial in setting, clarifying, and achieving goals. Employees take cues from their leaders to determine proper courses of action.

The directive style offers paths for employees to accept or reject while the participative style tries to draw subordinates into defining and understanding these goals. It is possible to see the benefits of directive methods once employees have been acclimated into a company and trust the organization while the participative style may be more beneficial for new employees that seek direction but must willingly accept paths and goals as appropriate. The researcher Robert House actually suggested a servant leadership style as most appropriate.

Columbia Records is an excellent example of an organization that used Path-Goal Theory to realize objectives. They inspired performance, contentment, and motivation by clarifying paths on how to achieve goals, rewarding employees once they have achieved those defined goals, and removing organizational obstacles that lowered the chances of employees being successful (Vandergrift & Matusitz, 2011). The process and its defined goals were transparent and trusted by employees which lent to higher levels of engagement.

The path-goal theory is one method of viewing leadership and workplace engagement. Organizations that seek to increase employee’s abilities should think about how their leadership provides appropriate direction on expectations, reward employees who follow appropriate paths, and encourages employees to adopt those paths for themselves. Through proper management organizations can realize higher levels of performance beyond job descriptions and basic standards. 

Kinicki, A. & Kreitner, R. (2009). Organizational Behavior: Key concepts, skills & practices (fourth edition). McGraw-Hill Company.

Malik, S. (2012). A study of relationship between leader behaviors and subordinate job expectations: a path-goal approach. Pakistan Journal of Commerce & Social Sciences, 6 (2). 

Vandergrift, R. & Matusitz, J. (2011). Path-goal theory: a successful Columbia Records story. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 21 (4).

Learning and Leadership Influence on the Financial Performance of Organizations

Leaders often wonder how they can improve upon organizational effectiveness and encourage higher levels of employee learning and development. A study conducted by Jonathan Michie from Oxford University and Vissanu Zumitzavan from Mahasarakham University sheds further light on how learning styles and leadership abilities influence the entire organizational performance. As organizations try to encourage higher levels of financial and personal development in a global market they may consider these connections as significant contributors

Leadership style can have a significant influence on the overall financial success of the organization (Ulrich and Ulrich, 2010). It is through this implementation of proper management techniques that systematic changes in the organization can be made that create higher levels of performance. It is the leadership style that attracts and pushes appropriate visions for organizational members.

 A second major component of successful influence on the organization is continuous learning by management (Rowley 2011). When managers are able to learn and adapt to the environment they are more able to align their operations to customer needs. The process of learning also opens managers thought processes to new methods and ways of conducting business. 

Learning also influences overall behavior of managers. How people learn has an impact on how they act as a manager (Brown & Posner, 2001). Managers who frequently engage in the four learning styles of action, thinking, feeling and assessing others also engage more frequently in a variety of leadership styles that include challenging, inspiring, enabling, modeling, and encouraging. It is this adaptation of styles to the situation that creates more effective approaches.

Yet knowledge for knowledge sake is worthless. New knowledge must be applied within the workplace before it can be useful.  A learning manger thus becomes the facilitator of learned information as well as the creator of higher expectations within the organization that encourages others to also learn (Handy 1995).  It is through the process of learning and applying, learning and applying, and learning and applying that continually makes incremental change that can add up to bid dollars.

The study was conducted of tyre firms within Thailand to understanding this learning, leadership, and performance connection. The researchers used questionnaires and interviews to assess the success of 140 firms. The results of the study found that the learning styles of pragmatist and reflector with transformational and transactional styles significantly improved upon organizational effectiveness. Such leaders were able to increase teamwork and skill development to create higher levels of organizational and financial performance.

The pragmatist is a person who studies concepts that are associated to specific problems while the reflector learns by pondering the causes and effects of events before implementation. It is through the process of learning about specific problems, thinking about them, and using one’s transformational vision to create positive transactional changes that helps organizations develop. As the global economy becomes more complex it will be such leaders who can encourage their employees to adapt, learn and implement to overcome environmental challenges.

Brown, M. and Posner, Z. (2001). Exploring the relationship between learning and leadership. Leadership and Organizational Development Journal, 22 (5–6), 274–280.

Handy, C., 1995. Managing the dream. In: S. Chawla and J. Renesch eds. Learning organisation. Portland, OR: Productivity Press, 45–55.

Michie, J. & Zumitzavan, V. The impact of ‘learning’ and ‘leadership’ management styles on

organizational outcomes: a study of tyre firms in Thailand. Asia Pacific Business Review, 18 (4).

Rowley, C., 2011. Organisational learning. In: C. Rowley and K. Jackson eds. HRM: the key concepts. London: Routledge, 142–146.

Ulrich, D. and Ulrich, W., (2010). The why of work: how great leaders build abundant organizations that win. New York: McGraw-Hill.

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Servant Leadership being Chosen by Many Leaders

Servant leadership is now being selected by senior leaders and boards of trustees as a style of leadership over authoritarian, democratic, or lassiez-faire styles.  Spears (2005) wrote:

In countless for-profit and not-for-profit organizations today we are seeing traditional, autocratic, and hierarchical modes of leadership yielding to a different way of working—one based on teamwork and community, one that seeks to involve others in decision making, one strongly based in ethical and caring behavior, and one that is attempting to enhance the personal growth of workers while improving the caring and quality of our many institutions. This emerging approach to leadership and service is called servant-leadership. (p. 1)

The idea of servant leadership seems to be paradoxical.  How can one be a leader if they are a servant?  But it is much more about the style of leadership than the name itself.  Imagine a stereotypical authoritarian style where the employee is not put first nor the customer, but rather that the bottom-line is key.  A servant may not feel comfortable in an organization that is militaristic and authoritarian in style. 

Servant leaders, by definition, place the needs of their subordinates before their own needs and center their efforts on helping subordinates grow to reach their maximum potential and achieve optimal organizational and career success” (Greenleaf, 1977).  A study by Blanchard (2010) found that servant leadership increases employee passion and customer devotion which leads to overall satisfaction with the organization. "Not only are people looking for deeper purpose and meaning as they meet the challenges of today's changing world, but they are also looking for principles that actually work. Servant leadership works" (Blanchard, 2010, p. 279).

Spears quoted the Indianapolis Business Journal which said, "Servant leadership has emerged as one of the dominant philosophies being discussed in the world today."  Servant leadership seems to fit well in all aspects of business whether a profit or a non-profit organization.  "Servant-leadership crosses all boundaries and is being applied by a wide variety of people working with for-profit businesses; not-for-profit corporations; and churches, universities, health care, and foundations" (Spears, 2005, p. 5)

Servant leadership is focused on the servant or employee.  This is an advantage versus an authoritarian approach.  Many major companies have adopted the servant leadership approach as part of their mission statement.  "Among these are The Toro Company (Minneapolis, Minnesota), Synovus Financial Corporation (Columbus, Georgia), ServiceMaster Company (Downers Grove, Illinois), The Men’s Wearhouse (Fremont, California), Southwest Airlines (Dallas, Texas), Starbucks (Seattle, Washington), and TDIndustries (Dallas, Texas)" (Spears, 2005, p. 5). 

Author: Dr. Andree Swanson

References

Blanchard, K. (2010). Leading at a higher level, revised and expanded edition: Blanchard on leadership and creating high performing organizations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: FT Press.

Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. New York, NY: Paulist Press.

Spears, L. (2005). The understanding and practice of servant leadership. Regent University. Retrieved from http://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/sl_proceedings/2005/spears_practice.pdf