Focus on the Followers

Introduction

I often find that leaders get caught up in themselves and forget that they were emplaced to serve their subordinates. Followers seem to be overlooked when the focus is on the leader. However, a good leader will recognize his/her team and will grow them as individuals. Path-goal theory explains how leaders motivate their followers in order to help them accomplish their goals, (PSU, WC, 2022, L.6, p. 10). Leaders adopt a path in order to achieve a specific goal (Harappa, 2020). We will examine path-goal theory by explaining the four primary leadership behaviors and subordinate and task characteristics.

According to Changing Minds, leaders should help their followers by clarifying the followers path so subordinates know which way to go, remove any roadblocks that are stopping them from their path, and increase rewards along the route, (Changing Minds, 2022). A leader setting clear expectations and a follower having a clear understanding is critical to accomplishing goals. Northouse agrees with this and explains that the basic idea behind path-goal theory is to define goals, clarify paths, remove obstacles and provide support, (Northouse, p. 199).

Primary Leadership Behaviors

There are four primary leadership behaviors that are part of the path-goal theory. These behaviors are directive, supportive, participative and achievement-oriented (House & Mitchell, 1974, p.83). As an ROTC cadet, I have had numerous opportunities to be a leader and to practice my leadership approaches. Although I did not know the name for the behaviors at the time, I have used them all.

Directive leadership, similar to the initiating structure concept (Halpin & Winer, 1957), is when a leader gives their followers instructions on their task (Northouse, p. 202). These instructions contain what is expected of them, how they should complete it, and a timeline for when they should have it completed by (Northouse, p. 202). This behavior is extremely useful when you want to keep you team on task and is good for maintaining progress. I currently have 6 subordinates that I work with directly. Each week, I meet with them and we discuss their goals and my expectations for the work time that we have together. This has been extremely beneficial in keeping everyone on task and in having clear, defined goals. I find the most beneficial thing to do is to assign a date for when the task needs to be completed by. This motivates the individual to get it done before the deadline. I have seen the progress and performance increase, from my team, each week.

Supportive leadership is another primary leadership behavior. This friendly approach treats followers as equals and assures the well-being and human needs of followers are being met (Northouse p.202). During the beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic, I was in a Platoon Sergeant position in ROTC. We had just moved to online classes and the world was very unsure on what was to come from the virus. I took the initiative to reach out individually to the 40 cadets in my platoon and to host zoom hours to check in with them. I wanted them to each feel cared for, and to each have the necessary confidence that they needed to succeed (House, 1971). Being a supportive leader was extremely important, especially when my cadets were facing many uncharted waters.

Participative leadership invites followers to share their opinions and to participate in the decision making process, (Northouse, p. 202). Changing Minds describes this approach as, “Consulting with followers and taking their ideas into account when making decisions and taking particular actions, (Changing Minds, 2022).” The words “invites” and “consulting” are the two crucial takeaways from this behavior. They encourage participation and give reassurance that the follower will be listened to. The leader does not need to choose their idea, but does need to make the follower feel heard. After each training event the Army does, the leadership conducts and After Actions Report (AAR). This gives the participants a time to reflect on what should have happened, what did happen, what should stay the same, what should be improved, and how should the improvements happen. This reflection opens up a discussion and encourages opinion sharing.

Achievement-Oriented leadership is when a leader encourages his/her followers to perform at the highest level possible (Northouse, p. 203). This leader will prioritize deadlines, initiate challenging goals and strive for their team to consistently improve (Harappa, 2020). I have done this when delegating tasks. I make it a point to let the person I am tasking know that I have confidence in their abilities and expect the best from them because I know they are capable of providing it.

Overall, I find that Achievement-Oriented leadership and directive leadership work closely together by providing more direction to the follower from the leader. Supportive and participative leadership are more follower led and encourage the most equality between the leader and his/her followers.

Subordinate and Task Characteristics

A follower’s needs can determine the level of satisfaction they receive from the leader’s behaviors, (Northouse, p. 204). For example, followers who have strong needs for affiliation benefit from supportive leadership, whereas followers that are authoritarian need directive leadership, (Northouse, p. 204). It is extremely important to identify your follower’s needs in order to lead them in the most appropriate way. Every person is different and responds differently to authority. Path-goal theory encourages leaders to adapt to their follower’s needs at an individual level.

This chart is adapted from Northouse and explains how path-goal theory works.

Leader Behavior	Group Members	Task Characteristics
Directive Leadership Provides guidance and psychological structure	Dogmatic Authoritarian	Ambiguous Unclear rules Complex
Supportive leadership Provides nurturance	Unsatisfied Needs Affiliation Needs Human Touch	Repetitive Unchallenging Mundane and mechanical
Participative leadership Provides involvement	Autonomous Need for control Need for clarity	Ambiguous Unclear Unstructured
Achievement-Oriented Leadership Provides Challenge	High expectations Need to excel	Ambiguous Challenging Complex

Strengths and Weaknesses

Path-goal leadership theory has many positive aspects. Overall, it is beneficial to time and increases employee motivation (Harappa, 2020). The chart above is also very useful, detailed, and is one of its greatest strengths, (Northouse, p. 209). However, path-goal theory can be complex and confusing, and does not account for gender differences, (Northouse, p. 210). Personally, I find the benefits to outweigh the negatives, due to the adaptation of the leader to the follower.

Conclusion

Path-goal theory provides direction to leaders on how they can best support their followers. The four primary leadership behaviors, directive, supportive, participative and achievement-oriented leadership are the building blocks for the path-goal theory. Path-goal theory encourages the leader to adapt to their followers and to provide them with the emotional and physical support as needed.

References

Harappa Learning Private Limited. (2020, December 8). The path-goal theory of leadership. Harappa. Retrieved February 20, 2022, from https://harappa.education/harappa-diaries/the-path-goal-theory-of-leadership/

Northouse, P.G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and practice. 8th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

Path-Goal Theory of Leadership. Path-goal theory of leadership. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2022, from http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/styles/path_goal_leadership.htm

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2022). PSYCH 485 Lesson 6: Contingency and Path-Goal Theories Retrieved from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2177519/modules/items/33991704

kzg5401 says

March 20, 2022 at 4:53 pm

I really like your blog post and the way you formatted it. It’s easy to read and follow along. To add to your post, path-goal theory places a big emphasis on the followers’ needs and motivations. According to Northouse (2018), the goal of this theory is to enhance follower performance and satisfaction by focusing on follower motivation and the nature of the work tasks. The core of path-goal theory suggests that in order to be an effective leader, the leader must, “Engage in behaviors that complement subordinates’ environments and abilities in a manner that compensates for deficiencies and is instrumental to subordinate satisfaction and individual and work unit performance” (Northouse, 2018, p.117). Path-goal theory puts a lot of emphasis on leaders in terms of designing and facilitating a healthy and productive working environment to propel followers towards success (Northouse, 2018). When working in an office my ideal working environment is quiet, clean, and bright. I wouldn’t be able to stay on task or be motivated to complete my work if there was music blaring in the office or if people’s trash was thrown on the floor. An effective leader would implement a policy that states that people should clean up after themselves and keep conversations at a low volume level. Do you have a preferred working environment? If so, what are some of your needs that help keep you motivated and stay on task?

I would like to expand on your post about how there are four primary leadership behaviors that are part of the path-goal theory. Directive leadership gives followers instructions about their task, what is expected of them, how it needs to be done, and the timeline for when it should be completed (Northouse, 2018). For example, my boss at Town&Gown engages in directive leadership behaviors. She assigned me the task of reviewing Town&Gown’s social media posts and asked me to advise about things we should do differently, and things we should continue. She listed the social media accounts that she wanted me to look over and told me to look over our posts from the past six months. She told me to make a list for each account of what and when we’ve posted. Then, she told me to make recommendations for what we should change (types, frequency, content of posts). Supportive leadership consists of being friendly and approachable as a leader and includes attending to the well-being and human needs of followers (Northouse, 2018). My boss at Town&Gown engages in supportive leadership behaviors. For example, she always thanks me for all my hard work, she gives me praise for the stories I write, and she has an open door policy. She encourages me and everyone to talk to her if we have any questions or concerns. Participative leadership consists of inviting followers to share in the decision making (Northouse, 2018). When I interned for Penn State Sports Properties, my boss held a team meeting every Friday. She always asked us what things went well, what things could have gone better, and what changes she could make to improve our working experience. She wanted our input so that we would be happier, more productive, and more efficient at work. Achievement-oriented leadership is characterized by a leader who challenges followers to perform work at the highest level possible (Northouse, 2018). I think NFL coaches engage in achievement-oriented leadership behaviors. They have very high expectations for their team and challenge them to win games so they can play in the Super Bowl.

Reference

Northouse, P. G. (2018). Path-Goal Theory. In Leadership: Theory and practice (Eight, pp. 117–137). essay, SAGE Publications.

Comments

kzg5401 says

March 20, 2022 at 4:53 pm

I really like your blog post and the way you formatted it. It’s easy to read and follow along. To add to your post, path-goal theory places a big emphasis on the followers’ needs and motivations. According to Northouse (2018), the goal of this theory is to enhance follower performance and satisfaction by focusing on follower motivation and the nature of the work tasks. The core of path-goal theory suggests that in order to be an effective leader, the leader must, “Engage in behaviors that complement subordinates’ environments and abilities in a manner that compensates for deficiencies and is instrumental to subordinate satisfaction and individual and work unit performance” (Northouse, 2018, p.117). Path-goal theory puts a lot of emphasis on leaders in terms of designing and facilitating a healthy and productive working environment to propel followers towards success (Northouse, 2018). When working in an office my ideal working environment is quiet, clean, and bright. I wouldn’t be able to stay on task or be motivated to complete my work if there was music blaring in the office or if people’s trash was thrown on the floor. An effective leader would implement a policy that states that people should clean up after themselves and keep conversations at a low volume level. Do you have a preferred working environment? If so, what are some of your needs that help keep you motivated and stay on task?

I would like to expand on your post about how there are four primary leadership behaviors that are part of the path-goal theory. Directive leadership gives followers instructions about their task, what is expected of them, how it needs to be done, and the timeline for when it should be completed (Northouse, 2018). For example, my boss at Town&Gown engages in directive leadership behaviors. She assigned me the task of reviewing Town&Gown’s social media posts and asked me to advise about things we should do differently, and things we should continue. She listed the social media accounts that she wanted me to look over and told me to look over our posts from the past six months. She told me to make a list for each account of what and when we’ve posted. Then, she told me to make recommendations for what we should change (types, frequency, content of posts). Supportive leadership consists of being friendly and approachable as a leader and includes attending to the well-being and human needs of followers (Northouse, 2018). My boss at Town&Gown engages in supportive leadership behaviors. For example, she always thanks me for all my hard work, she gives me praise for the stories I write, and she has an open door policy. She encourages me and everyone to talk to her if we have any questions or concerns. Participative leadership consists of inviting followers to share in the decision making (Northouse, 2018). When I interned for Penn State Sports Properties, my boss held a team meeting every Friday. She always asked us what things went well, what things could have gone better, and what changes she could make to improve our working experience. She wanted our input so that we would be happier, more productive, and more efficient at work. Achievement-oriented leadership is characterized by a leader who challenges followers to perform work at the highest level possible (Northouse, 2018). I think NFL coaches engage in achievement-oriented leadership behaviors. They have very high expectations for their team and challenge them to win games so they can play in the Super Bowl.

Reference

Northouse, P. G. (2018). Path-Goal Theory. In Leadership: Theory and practice (Eight, pp. 117–137). essay, SAGE Publications.