md Human
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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
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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
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alternatives
Obtaining
information
liom fbllowers
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mak ing w i th
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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
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CHAPTER 6 Participa
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