Cultural Dimensions of Leadership
February 12, 2025
The Battle between Change Agents and Status Quo Adherents Every organization has its change agents who seek to take risks, disrupt the status quo, and introduce changes to steer the organization in a particular direction. On the other hand, there are also those who advocate the Status Quo and want the organization to treasure stability […]
There have been many advances in the field of credit management. Mark to market accounting is one such innovation. Mark to market accounting is now commonly used by many organizations to manage their credit risks. In this article, we will understand what the concept of mark to market is and how it helps in managing […]
The Downfall of Charles Ghosn and his Sudden Fall from Grace Over the last few days, the global media has incessantly covered the fall from grace of one of the most flamboyant and charismatic CEOs (Chief Executive Officers) of the present times, Charles Ghosn of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, the three way automakers alliance which is one of […]
Almost all of the tech giants in the world today are trying to launch their version of self-driving cars. Diverse companies like Google, Uber and even Apple are all queuing up, trying to create the first driverless car which will be used by consumers. Up until now, these companies have made some progress. However, neither […]
A Failure of Governance The phenomenon of the NGOs or the Non Governmental Organizations entering the field of social welfare accelerated in the 1990s. In earlier decades, though there were several charitable trusts and organizations like Red Cross, Medicine Sans Frontiers, and Doctors without Borders, the explosion in the number of NGOs and the concomitant […]
The leadership continuum was originally written in 1958 by Tannenbaum and Schmidt and was later updated in the year 1973. Their work suggests a continuum of possible leadership behavior available to a manager and along which many leadership styles may be placed.
The continuum presents a range of action related to the degree of authority used by the manager and to the area of freedom available to non-managers in arriving at decisions.
A broad range of leadership styles have been depicted on the continuum between two extremes of autocratic and free rein (See figure 1). The left side shows a style where control is maintained by a manager and the right side shows the release of control. However, neither extreme is absolute and authority and freedom are never without their limitations.
The Tannenbaum and Schmidt continuum can be related to McGregor’s supposition of Theory X and Theory Y. Boss-centered leadership is towards theory X and subordinate-centered leadership is towards theory Y.
Figure 1: Continuum Leadership Behaviuor.A manager is characterized according to degree of control that is maintained by him. According to this approach, four main styles of leadership have been identified:
According to Tannenbaum and Schmidt, if one has to make a choice of the leadership style which is practicable and desirable, then his answer will depend upon the following three factors:
If these factors are on a positive side, then more freedom can be allowed to the subordinate by the leader.
When the authors updated their work in1973, they suggested a new continuum of patterns of leadership behavior. In this, the total area of freedom shared between managers and non-managers is redefined constantly by interactions between them and the environmental forces. This pattern was, however, more complex in comparison to the previous one.
According to Tannenbaum and Schmidt, successful leaders know which behavior is the most appropriate at a particular time. They shape their behavior after a careful analysis of self, their subordinates, organization, and environmental factors.
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