INTRODUCTION
Leadership is a veritable tool in any organization. The
success or failure of an organization is anchored on the leadership pattern or
style adopted. This has thus made it a focus of study by researchers, theorists
and students over the years. A basic knowledge of contingency theory will
assist the Guidance Counsellor who is the manager in and outside the school
system in the organization and administration of the school’s guidance
programme. These programmes are geared towards the total development of the
individual mentally, socially and emotionally in line with the goal of the
National Policy on Education (NPE 2014).
TYPE OF
LEADERS
The success of the guidance programme depends heavily
on the counsellor who is the manager of the programme. Depending on how they
pilot the programme, they may be categorized by their subordinates since they
do not work in isolation. They may fall into any of the types of leaders
described below.
Max Weber one of the theorists on leadership, classifying
leaders based on the authority they exercise came up with three types of
leaders: - traditional, charismatic and legal rational or bureaucratic.
The traditional
leaders lead based on tradition. The authority to lead is hereditary and does not
consider whether or not the person is invested with the power, has the ability
and capability to perform the responsibilities of his/her office. Although it
is considered primitive and outmoded it still exists in modern day monarchies.
Charismatic leaders have personal charisma or qualities that
endow them to people or their subordinates.
The legal
rational or bureaucratic leaders
function based on the authority invested in the office or position they occupy
(leaders appointed based on qualification or technical competence).
Ogmu (2002) Egbochuku
(2008) and some other researchers, identified three types of leaders: - autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire.
Autocratic leaders can be likened to a dictator; they make decisions
militarily without consulting with their subordinates. They can employ the use
of force if need be to exact compliance to their laid down rules and
regulations.
Democratic leaders operate on the basis of participation through
consultation or discussion either at a meeting or conference. Agreement on
issues affecting the organization is reached by consensus.
Laissez-faire leaders waver, they are indifferent and indecisive.
They have no control mechanism and care little about the welfare of their
subordinates or work performance.
Getzels and Guba
(1957) employing social systems theory to explain organizational behaviour came
up with three types of leaders: – nomothetic,
idiographic, and transactional leaders.
The nomothetic
leaders are interested on how the organizational goals, task to be performed
can be achieved by subordinates following laid down rules and regulations. They
are hardly interested in the personal needs of their subordinates.
Idiographic leaders are relationship oriented leaders who pay
peculiar attention to the uniqueness of the individual member of the
organization and respect their needs.
Transactional leaders combine the charisma of the nomothetic and
idiographic leaders. This category of leaders recognizes collective effort in
the attainment of organizational goals and the need to satisfy their followers’
personal needs in the course of discharging their organizational duties.
What type of leadership do you have?
