Chapter 10 Leadership and Decision Making in Groups 277vessel as well as expert and referent power. Note also that individuals gain power
only if others grant it to them. That’s true to some degree even of coercive power:
for example, Brody could have chosen to quit his job early on rather than to
acquiesce to the mayor. Thus group members often decide to allow a particular
individual to lead them.
Shared Leadership
With so many sources of power, it’s not surprising that in some groups several
individuals take on leadership roles, each drawing from different sources of
power. Thus leadership can be shared by a few members of the group who divvy
up the power and take control of specific tasks. For example, imagine that your
sorority is planning a trip to Jazz Fest in New Orleans. As chair of the social
committee, you take care of organizing the group for the event—publicizing
the trip and recording the names of individuals who are interested in going.
Another sorority sister, Eva, takes care of booking a block of hotel rooms in the
French Quarter and negotiating a group rate. Lily, the chapter president, gets in
touch with the sister chapter at Louisiana State University to arrange to meet up.
Meanwhile, Keisha, your chapter’s community outreach chair, organizes a fund-
raiser on campus in the hope of raising money for Habitat for Humanity in New
Orleans so that your sorority may present the organization with a generous check
during your visit.
When the talents and powers of each group member are leveraged through
shared leadership, members feel more satisfied with the group process and
more motivated to perform (Foels, Driskell, Mullen, & Salas, 2000; Kanter,
2009). As a result, the group is more likely to achieve its goals. Probably for
these reasons, many businesses and professional organizations in the United
States are moving toward a shared-leadership model, whereby people at lower
levels of an organization carry out leadership and decision-making responsi-
bilities (Krayer, 2010).
Group Leadership Styles
What is the best way to lead a group? Should you accept input from the members
or rule with an iron fist? Do you focus mainly on the task at hand or help resolve
relationship problems? It turns out that there is no one “best” style of leadership.
Rather, scholars argue that effective group leaders, whether they’re leading alone or
sharing power with someone else in the group, adapt their leadership styles to the
needs of the group or the situation at hand. Five possible styles are discussed here—
directive, supportive, participative, laissez-faire, and achievement oriented—each
of which works best under different conditions (Gouran, 2003; Pavitt, 1999).
Directive
A directive leader focuses on the group’s tasks and controls the group’s com-
munication by conveying specific instructions to members. This style works best
when members are unsure of what’s expected of them or how to carry out their
responsibilities. Directive leaders can move their group in the right direction by
charting next steps in the group’s tasks and clarifying the group’s goals, plans,
CONNECT
Shared leadership is at the
heart of the self-directed
work team we describe in
Chapter 9, where sharing
leadership goes beyond
improving group member
motivation to allow mem-
bers to set standards for
the group, conduct peer
evaluations, bring in new
members, and coordinate
plans with management.
The end result is often goal
achievement and a sense
of cooperation rather than
divisive competition among
members.Consider three groups to
which you belong. Is there a
clearly established leader for
each group? If so, what type
of power does this leader
have? Do you find certain
types of power more ethical
or appropriate than others?
Explain your answer.AND YOU?