Interactional Leadership Theories

Interactional Leadership Theories
- Basic premise is that leadership behavior is generally

determined by the relationship between the leader’s
personality and the specific situation.
- Interaction occurs when a behavior of one member causes

change in the behavior of another. This change itself a
response that stimulates the follower responding stimulates
the leader.
Schein (1970)
- Was the first to propose a model of human as complex

beings whose working environment was an open system to
which they responded.
- A system may be defined as a set object, with relationships

between the objects and between their attributes.
- Schein’s model, based on systems theory, had the following

assumptions:
o Peoples are very complex and highly variable
o People motives do not stay constant but change over

time
o Goals can differ in various situations
o A persons performance and productivity are affected by

the nature of the task and by his ability, experience,
and motivation
o No single leadership strategy is effective in every

situation.
Hollander (1978)
- Was among the first to recognize that both leaders and
followers have roles outside the leadership situation and that
both leaders and followers have roles outside the leadership
situation and that both may be influenced by events
occurring in their other roles.
- Saw leadership as a dynamic two-way process. A leadership

exchange involve three basic elements:
o The leader, including his or her personality, perceptions

and abilities.
o The followers, with their personalities, perceptions and

abilities.
o The situation within which the leader and the followers

function, including formal and informal group norms,
size and density.
- According to Hollander, leadership effectiveness requires the

ability to use the problem-solving process; maintain group
effectiveness; communicate well; demonstrate leader
fairness, competence, dependability, and creativity; and
develop group identification.
Greenleaf (1977)
- Coined the term servant leadership.
- He noticed that most successful managers lead in a different

way from traditional managers. The managers he termed
servant leaders put serving others, including employee,
customers, and the community, as their first priority.
- The successful managers shared certain defining qualities,

including:
o The ability to listen on a deep level and to truly

understand
o The ability to keep an open mind and hear without
judgment
o The ability to deal with ambiguity, paradoxes and

complex issues
o The belief that honestly sharing critical challenges with

all parties and asking for their input is more than
important than personally providing solutions
o Being clear on goals and good at pointing the direction

without giving orders
o The ability to serve, help, and teach first, and then lead
o Always thinking before reacting
o Choosing words carefully so as not to damage those

being led
o The ability to use foresight and intuition
o Seeing things whole and sensing relationship and

connections
Kanter (1977)
- Who developed the theory that structural aspects of the job

shape a leader’s effectiveness.
- She postulated that the leader becomes empowered through

both formal and informal systems of the organization.
- The three major work empowerment structures within the

organization are: opportunity, power and proportion.
Ouchi (1981)
- Was a pioneer in introducing interactional leadership theory

in his application of Japanese-style management to
corporate America. Theory Z, the term Ouchi used for this
type of management, is an expansion of McGregor’s Theory
Y and supports democratic leadership.
Nelson and Burns (1984)
- Suggested that organizations and their leaders have four

developmental levels and that these levels influence
productivity and worker satisfaction.
o Reactive-leader focuses on the past, is crisis-driven,

and is frequently abusive to subordinated
o Responsive- the leader is able to mold subordinates to

work together as a team, although the leader maintains
most decision-making responsibility.
o Proactive- the leader and followers become more

future-oriented and hold common driving values.
o High-performance- associated with maximum

productivity and worker satisfaction are apparent.
Brandt’s (1994)
- Interactive leadership model suggests that leaders develop a

work environment that fosters autonomy and creativity
through valuing and empowering followers.
- This leadership affirms the uniqueness of each individual,

motivating them to contribute their unique talents to a
common goal.
- The leader must accept the responsibility of quality of

outcomes and quality of life for followers.
Wolf, Boland and Aukerman (1994)
- Also emphasized an interactive leadership model in their

creation of a collaborative practice matrix.
- This matrix highlights the framework for the development

and ongoing support of relationships between and among
professionals working together.
Kanter (1989)
- Perhaps best summarized the work of the interactive

theorists by her assertion that title and position authority
were no longer sufficient to mold a work force.
Charismatic Leadership
Charismatic Leaders
- Gardner defines charisma as the quality that sets one person

apart from others: supernatural, superhuman, endowed with
exceptional qualities or powers.
- Charismatic Leadership can be good or evil.
- Emerged in troubled times and in relation to the state of

mind of constituents.
Influence of Constituents on Leaders
- Constituents and leaders have an equal influence on each

other.
- Constituents confer the leadership role. Good constituents

select good leaders and make them better.
- Loyal constituent’s supports leader who help them meet
their needs and solve problems.
Influence of Leaders on Constituents
- Leaders choose to be leaders. They must adapt their

leadership style to situation and their constituents.
- Leaders influence their superiors and their subordinates and

have the courage to defy their constituents.
Transforming Leaders
- Respond to people’s basic needs, wants, hopes and

expectations. They may transcend the political system or
even attempt to construct it in order to operate within it.
- Innovative
- The best leadership may be that which focuses on self-

development and self-actualization.
Habel describes Charismatic Leaders as follows:
1. Emerge during crisis
2. Advocate vision that differs from status quo
3. Accurately asses the situation
4. Communicate self-confidence
5. Use personal power
6. Make self-sacrifices
7. Use unconventional strategy

Roles of Manager
Henry Mintzberg categorized the roles of manager into three:
1.) Interpersonal 2.) Informational 3.) Decisional Role.
Interpersonal
- As a symbol, leader, liaison
Informational
- As a monitors, disseminates function and spokesperson
Decisional-Role
- Makes him/her entrepreneur or innovator, trouble-shooter

and negotiator when conflicts arise.

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Interactional Leadership Theories

- Basic premise is that leadership behavior is generally

- Interaction occurs when a behavior of one member causes

- Was the first to propose a model of human as complex

- A system may be defined as a set object, with relationships

- Schein’s model, based on systems theory, had the following

o Peoples are very complex and highly variable

o People motives do not stay constant but change over

o Goals can differ in various situations

o A persons performance and productivity are affected by

o No single leadership strategy is effective in every

- Saw leadership as a dynamic two-way process. A leadership

o The leader, including his or her personality, perceptions

o The followers, with their personalities, perceptions and

o The situation within which the leader and the followers

- According to Hollander, leadership effectiveness requires the

- Coined the term servant leadership.

- He noticed that most successful managers lead in a different

- The successful managers shared certain defining qualities,

o The ability to listen on a deep level and to truly

o The ability to deal with ambiguity, paradoxes and

o The belief that honestly sharing critical challenges with

o Being clear on goals and good at pointing the direction

o Always thinking before reacting

o Choosing words carefully so as not to damage those

o The ability to use foresight and intuition

o Seeing things whole and sensing relationship and

- Who developed the theory that structural aspects of the job

- She postulated that the leader becomes empowered through

- The three major work empowerment structures within the

- Was a pioneer in introducing interactional leadership theory

Nelson and Burns (1984)

- Suggested that organizations and their leaders have four

o Reactive-leader focuses on the past, is crisis-driven,

o Responsive- the leader is able to mold subordinates to

o Proactive- the leader and followers become more

o High-performance- associated with maximum

- Interactive leadership model suggests that leaders develop a

- This leadership affirms the uniqueness of each individual,

- The leader must accept the responsibility of quality of

- Also emphasized an interactive leadership model in their

- This matrix highlights the framework for the development

- Perhaps best summarized the work of the interactive

- Gardner defines charisma as the quality that sets one person

- Charismatic Leadership can be good or evil.

- Emerged in troubled times and in relation to the state of

Influence of Constituents on Leaders

- Constituents and leaders have an equal influence on each

- Constituents confer the leadership role. Good constituents

Influence of Leaders on Constituents

- Leaders choose to be leaders. They must adapt their

- Leaders influence their superiors and their subordinates and

- Respond to people’s basic needs, wants, hopes and

- The best leadership may be that which focuses on self-

Habel describes Charismatic Leaders as follows:

1. Emerge during crisis

2. Advocate vision that differs from status quo

3. Accurately asses the situation

5. Use personal power

7. Use unconventional strategy