As noted in the preceding material, managers such as Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo, should understand that leadership activities involve directing the behavior of organization members so that the company will achieve success. Managers also should understand that leading and managing are not the same thing. Managing involves planning, organizing, influencing, and controlling, whereas leading is performing an activity that is part of the influencing function of management. To maximize long-term success, managers should strive to be both managers and leaders.

In assessing their leadership abilities, managers such as Iwata should not fall into the trap of trying to increase leadership success by changing personal traits or attitudes to mirror those of successful leaders they might know. Studies based on the trait approach to leadership indicate that merely changing their characteristics will not guarantee leadership success.

Such managers should see behavioral approaches to leadership as being much more useful than the trait approach. The OSU leadership studies furnish a manager with insights on leadership behavior in general situations. According to these studies, managers can exhibit two general types of leadership behavior: structure and consideration. Managers are using structure behavior when they tell personnel what to do—for example, when managers tell them exactly how to design new ink-jet cartridges for HP printers. In contrast, they are using consideration behavior when they attempt to develop a kinder rapport with their employees by discussing their concerns and developing friendships with them.

Of course, depending on how much managers emphasize these two behaviors, their leadership styles can reflect a combination of structure and consideration ranging from high structure/low consideration to low structure/high consideration. For example, if managers stress giving orders to employees and deemphasize developing relationships with them, they are exhibiting high structure/low consideration. If they emphasize a good rapport with their employees and allow them to function mostly independently, their leadership styles would be termed low structure/high consideration.

The situational approach to leadership affords more insights than does the trait approach on how managers like Iwata can help their companies achieve success. The situational approach suggests that successful leadership is determined by the appropriateness of a combination of three factors: (1) the manager as a leader, (2) the manager’s employees as followers, and (3) the situations within the company the manager faces. Each of these factors plays a significant role in determining whether managers are successful leaders.

Although no single leadership style is more effective than any other in all situations, the life cycle theory of leadership provides managers with a strategy for using various styles in various situations. According to this theory, managers should make their style consistent primarily with the maturity levels of the organization members they are leading. As followers progress from immaturity to maturity, managers’ leadership styles should shift systematically from (1) high-task/low-relationships behavior to (2) high-task/high-relationships behavior to (3) high-relationships/low-task behavior to (4) low-task/low-relationships behavior.

The life cycle theory also says that managers should be flexible enough to behave as required according to the situations they encounter at their organizations. If managers find it extremely difficult to be flexible, however, they should attempt to structure their situations in order to make them appropriate for their style. As suggested by Fiedler, if a manager’s leadership style is high task in nature, he or she generally will be a more successful leader in situations best described by octants 1, 2, 3, and 8 in Table 13.1 and in Figure 13.4. If, however, a manager’s leadership style is more relationship oriented, he or she will probably be a more successful leader in situations representative of octants 4, 5, 6, and 7. Overall, Fiedler’s work provides managers with insights on how to change situations so that they will be appropriate for their own leadership styles.

The path–goal theory of leadership suggests that in leading, managers should clarify what rewards are available to followers in the organization and how those rewards can be earned and eliminate barriers that could prohibit followers from earning the rewards. Managers can use directive behavior, supportive behavior, participative behavior, and achievement behavior in implementing the path–goal theory.

One of the most important activities managers perform as leaders is making decisions. They can make decisions in any number of ways, ranging from authoritarian to democratic. As described in the Challenge Case, Iwata made the decision not to compete directly with Microsoft and Sony in the existing marketplace. Instead, he attacked by introducing an innovative product, the Wii console, whose introduction arguably transformed the nature of video entertainment. Iwata could have authoritatively made the decision to compete via the Wii without consulting any employees. Alternatively, he could have used a subordinate-centered style by defining broad competition limits within which Nintendo could compete and then allowing employees to make the final decision on how to compete within those limits. Most likely, Iwata was less extreme in his decision making in that his leadership behavior probably fell in the middle of the continuum. For example, he most likely suggested to the appropriate Nintendo personnel the type of competitive tactics Nintendo needed and asked them to develop ideas accordingly. Next, Iwata probably made his decision about how the company should compete by reflecting on his ideas and on the ideas of other organization members.

In trying to decide exactly how to make decisions as leaders, managers should consider forces in themselves as managers, forces in their subordinates, and forces in the specific organizational situations they face. Forces within managers include their own ideas about how to lead and their levels of confidence in the employees they are leading. If managers believe that they are more knowledgeable than their staff about achieving acquisition success, they will likely make boss-centered decisions about what steps to take to create acquisition success. Forces within subordinates, such as the need for independence, the readiness to assume responsibility, and the knowledge of and interest in the issues to be decided, also affect managers’ decisions as leaders. If a manager’s staff is relatively independent and responsible and its members feel strongly about acquisition success and how it should be achieved, then the manager would be more inclined to allow his or her employees more freedom in deciding how to achieve that acquisition success.

Forces within the company include the number of people making decisions and the problem to be solved. For example, if a manager’s staff is small, he or she will be more likely to use a democratic decision-making style, allowing his or her employees to become involved in such decisions as how to best achieve acquisition success. Managers will also be likely to use a subordinate-centered leadership style if their employees are knowledgeable about what makes a company successful. The VYJ model says that managers should try to make decisions in such a fashion that the quality of decisions is enhanced and followers are committed to the decisions. Managers can try to ensure that such decisions are made by matching their decision-making style (autocratic, consultative, or group) to the particular situation they face.

Based on the preceding information, perhaps Iwata could be characterized as a transformational leader, one who inspires followers to seriously focus on achieving organizational objectives. As a transformational leader, Iwata would encourage new ideas, create a sense of duty, and encourage employees to learn and grow. As Nintendo experienced significant growth, the importance of its transformational leader increased.

Other popular leadership styles also offer managers such as Iwata insights about how to be a successful leader. As a coaching leader, Iwata would focus on instructing followers how to meet the special challenges they face, such as expansion through global acquisition. In the role of coaching leader, he would listen closely, give emotional support, and show by example what should be done. As a servant leader, Iwata would help followers satisfy their personal needs, aspirations, and interests. Skills like being a good listener, being persuasive, and being aware of his surroundings would help Iwata become a successful servant leader at Nintendo. Following Level 5 leadership, Iwata would display humility and a strong will to achieve company objectives. Last, to enhance his success at Nintendo, Iwata should focus on being an authentic leader. Authentic leaders possess high moral courage: the strength to take action consistent with moral beliefs despite pressure to do otherwise.

Overall, managers must keep in mind that these leadership approaches are aimed at getting people involved in an organization and giving them the freedom to use their abilities as they think best. Certainly, leaders are always free to choose bits and pieces from any of these approaches in order to craft a personal leadership style that best fits their personal needs. However, leaders must always keep in mind that regardless of the type of leaders they are, they must earn and maintain the trust of their followers if they are to be successful in the long run.