LeaksA B C D E F G H IJKL M N O P R S T U VXYZWAutomatic, Persuasive, Consultative and Demo-
cratic. Research into leadership styles tends to
point towards the democratic leadership style
as being superior to the others. However the
Contingency approach to leadership argues that
eff ective leadership depends on a leader being
able to adjust his/her style to suit the context.
Factors in the context that are thought to infl u-
ence the appropriate choice of style include the
nature of the tasks, the position power held by
the leader, and the nature of the relationships
between the leader and subordinates.
Another theory within the Contingency
approach is the Situational Leadership Th eory
proposed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard
(1988). Th is maintains that key factors aff ecting
the choice of eff ective style are the level of guid-
ance and support a leader is willing to provide,
and the degree of readiness among subordinates
as regards performance of the tasks.
Examples of key situational factors identifi ed
by a number of theorists as determining suitable
leadership styles include the nature of the task,
the characteristics of the group and the organi-
zational culture. More recently Daniel Gole-
man (2000) has identifi ed six leadership styles:
Coercive, Authoritative, Affi liative, Democratic,
Pacesetting and Coaching. Goleman argues
that eff ective leaders are able to use all of these
styles depending on the situation. He stresses
the importance of emotional intelligence in the
deployment of these styles.
In Organizational Behaviour (Prentice-Hall,
2007), Andrzej Huczynski and David Buchanan
identify two trends in contemporary thinking
about leadership. One gives ‘recognition of the
role of heroic, powerful, charismatic, visionary
leaders’, whilst the other gives ‘recognition of
the role of informal leadership at all levels’.
Lucy Kung in Strategic Management in the
Media (Sage, 2008) notes the work of Annet
Aris and Jacques Bughin (2005), who ‘propose
two leadership styles for media organisations:
an inspirational, charismatic, hands-on style;
and a performance-orientated, structured style,
involving systematic setting of strategic corpo-
rate and individual goals’.
One point all approaches are agreed on is that
a good leader has to be a good communicator.
▶Annet Aris and Jacques Bughin, Managing Media
Companies: Harnessing Creative Value (Wiley, 2009).
Leakage See facial expression.
Leaks A time-honoured way in which govern-
ments disseminate information, often through
‘sources close to’ the president or the prime
minister; a way of authority manipulating theconnotations. At the same time, says Mills, the
laugh track reminds individual viewers that they
are, in certain circumstances, responding diff er-
ently from the crowd. See preferred reading.
Law of minimal eff ects Point of view that the
media have little or no eff ect in forming or modi-
fying the attitude of audiences. See effects of
the mass media.
LBC: London Broadcasting Corporation Th e
fi rst commercial radio station to come on air
in the UK, in October 1973; followed a few days
later by Capital Radio.
Leadership Leaders can generally be defi ned as
individuals within groups, or organizations who
have infl uence, who provide focus, coordination
and direction for the activities of the group. It
may be argued that the purpose of leadership is
to enable the group to function eff ectively and
achieve its goals, although in practice leadership
may not always have this eff ect. Leadership may
be (and often is) invested in one person, but it
can also be shared.
Leaders may be emergent or appointed. An
emergent leader is one who comes to acquire
the role of leader through the process of group
interaction; he/she may, for example, be the
person with the best ideas or communication
skills. An appointed leader is one who is formally
selected; leaders in work situations are often
appointed to their position.
A considerable amount of research has been
conducted with the aim of trying to ascertain
the qualities and interpersonal skills required
for eff ective leadership, as well as the type of
leadership needed for the optimum performance
of groups or organizations. An early perspective
was the trait approach to leadership, which
argues that individuals who become leaders
have certain personality traits or characteristics
enabling them to cope well with leadership.
The suggestion is that leaders are born, not
made. However, this approach has been widely
criticized for being simplistic and lacking in any
hard evidence to substantiate its claims. The
functional approach to leadership focuses on
identifying the behaviour needed from leaders
so that particular groups and organizations may
achieve their goals. Th e implication here is that
individuals can improve their leadership abili-
ties.
Another approach examines the varying styles
of leadership that may be adopted and the char-
acteristics of each style. An example here would
be represented by the work of Robert Likert. In
Th e Human Organization (McGraw-Hill, 1967),
Likert identifi es four main styles of leadership: