BMA547 Organisational
Behaviour
Week 10: Leading
Week 10 Learning Objectives
Examine contemporary forms of leadership such as
adaptive and distributed leadership
Compare and contrast adaptive leadership with
traditional approaches to leadership
Differentiate distributed leadership from
traditional leadership theories
Leadership
Leadership theory taught in management and OB traditionally focuses on the following concepts:
Trait theory – are leaders born or made
Behavioural theory
Contingency or situational approaches to leadership
Charismatic
Transactional and transformational leadership
The “dark side” of leadership
These forms of leadership remain relevant but contemporary leadership theorists also include the following:
Adaptive leadership
Distributive leadership
Self-leadership
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Adaptive leadership
Adaptive leadership is often best suited to managing problems created by uncertainty or crises than technical
problems (which are often solved through traditional leadership approaches)
Adaptive leadership emphasises leadership in a complex and adaptive system
Emphasis is on change and constantly adapting and thriving
A learning focus – we are unlikely to already know
Adaptive leadership builds on the past rather than starting afresh
Adaptation occurs through experimentation and making mistakes
Diversity is a necessary part of adaptive leadership
Adaptive leadership is a long term effort and is strategy led (but often does not have an end point)
Traditional leadership theories often mistake leadership for authority (i.e., management) – adaptive leadership
views leadership as a process
Viewing organisations from a systems approach
Diagnosing the system
Interpreting, re-interpreting and creating change
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Distributed leadership
Traditional leadership tends to focus on heroic leadership – distributed leadership draws upon theory that leadership
should be multi-level
Emphasis is placed upon a set of people collectively performing leadership functions
Leadership can be distributed across different parts of the organisation
Traditional leadership theory breaks people into leader-follower, distributed leadership expands on this
approach
A collective approach to leadership
Self-leadership and accountability at all levels of the organisation
Power to make decisions and make mistakes
How distributed leadership works at UTAS
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Next week’s topic: Power and politics
