Integrated Psychological Leadership Models

Scouller's analysis of traditional models of leadership - strengths and weaknesses

Leadership model type

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trait-based

• Outstanding leaders are usually distinctive in commanding attention and winning trust (often called 'leadership presence').

• Leadership researchers have not agreed on a shortlist of effective leaders' common traits. 
• Even so, trait-based models would be more useful for selecting leaders than developing them.

Behavioural ideals

• It makes sense for leaders to balance concern for the task with concern for people in most circumstances. 
• Training in the ideal style should be possible in theory.

• The 'ideal' approach may not suit all circumstances. 
• Many leaders' behavioural patterns are restricted by hidden limiting beliefs that persist despite training. 
• Ignores leadership presence.

Situational/Contingency

• Matching leadership behaviour to circumstances, or the experience, commitment and confidence of followers is sensible. 
• New leaders can learn to recognise their circumstances and practise the right behaviours.

• Fiedler's model offers no help in developing leaders; only in selecting them. 
• The other models assume that leaders can change their behaviour, but many are restricted by hidden limiting beliefs and old habits that persist despite training. 
• Situational Leadership® works well one-to-one, but less well in one-to-many circumstances. All models ignore leadership presence.

Functional - notably Adair, Kouzes & Posner

• It makes sense to focus on what effective leaders do (functions) rather than how leaders should be (traits). 
• Leaders can learn the most appropriate behaviours through training.

• The Adair Action-Centred Leadership model does not place vision/future alongside task, team and individual as a distinct principle, which arguably distinguishes leadership from management. 
• The Five Leadership Practices model assumes that all leaders can adopt those behaviours, but many cannot due to limiting beliefs and old habits. The models ignore leadership presence.

Scouller's Three Levels Of Leadership (3P) Model - Summary of details

Public Leadership

Private Leadership

Personal Leadership

The 'Public Leadership' level involves a leader's actions in a group setting (for example, a meeting) or when trying to influence an organisation as a whole.

Includes setting the vision, ensuring unity of purpose, achieving the group task, building an atmosphere of trust and togetherness and creating peer pressure towards shared, high-performance standards.

There are 34 Public Leadership behaviours across two areas:

• 22 Group Purpose and Task
• 12 Group Building and Maintenance

The 22 Group Purpose and Task behaviours set the group's aims and get the job done. They divide into four sub-groups:

• Setting the vision, staying focused (4 behaviours)
• Organising, giving power to others (2 behaviours)
• Ideation, problem-solving, decision-making (10 behaviours)
• Executing (6 behaviours)

The 12 Group Building and Maintenance behaviours create and uphold a group identity and atmosphere of shared responsibility for overall performance. There are two sub-groups of behaviours:

• Leader out in front (5 behaviours)
• Leader in among the group (7 behaviours)

Leaders need to balance their attention to purpose/task and building/maintenance.

Some leaders over-emphasise the former and ignore the need to create a team spirit. Others are more concerned with atmosphere and pay insufficient attention to results.

'Private Leadership' is the leader's one-to-one handling of group members.

It recognises that although team spirit is essential, everyone is an individual with differing levels of confidence, resilience, experience and motivation.

Individuals need individual attention as well as group bonding.

There are 14 private leadership behaviours across two categories:

• 5 Individual Purpose and Task
• 9 Individual Building and Maintenance

There are 5 Individual Purpose and Task behaviours: appraising, selecting, disciplining, goal-setting, and reviewing.

The 9 Individual Building and Maintenance behaviours are for growing and upholding each individual's 'know-how', skills and confidence. They include getting to know colleagues as individuals and building relationships, attracting new talent, and assessing people's competence and commitment.

As in Public Leadership, leaders need to balance their attention to both areas to avoid missing important aspects of individuals' effectiveness.

The 'Personal Leadership' level is the most influential of the three levels. It refers to leaders' technical, psychological and moral growth and its effect on their leadership presence, know-how, skill and behaviour. It drives a leader's emotional intelligence, personal impact, skill, judgement, and insight in action.

Scouller says, "Personal Leadership is the key to what Jim Collins called 'the inner development of a person to level 5 leadership' in his book Good to Great."

Personal Leadership has three elements:

1. Technical
2. Attitude Towards Others
3. Self-Mastery

1. Technical: knowing your technical weaknesses and continually updating your knowledge and skills. It involves:
   • Learning time management and the basics of individual and group psychology.
   • Practising the six skill sets that support the public and private behaviours . They are: (1) group problem solving and planning; (2) group decision-making; (3) interpersonal ability; (4) managing group process; (5) assertiveness; (6) goal-setting.
2. Attitude towards others: this is about believing other people to be as important as you - or learning to believe it. This is important because your attitude towards others will largely decide how much they trust you as a leader. It involves developing the five characteristics of an effective attitude ( interdependence, appreciation, caring, service, balance ) by creating a compelling shared vision and by practising self-mastery .
3. Self-Mastery: this is working on self-awareness and flexible command of your psyche, enabling you to let go of limiting beliefs and old habits, connect with your values, let your leadership presence flow and act authentically in the service of those you lead. It involves:
   • Understanding the principles of and obstacles to personal change.
   • Practising self-mastery techniques, drawing on modern psychology and neuroscientific research.

How Scouller's 3P Leadership Model integrates and extends previous leadership models theory

Traits theory

• Scouller agrees that the best leaders have a certain distinctive quality (often referred to as 'leadership presence'). 
• However, unlike the Traits theory approach, the 3P model says that 'leadership presence' cannot be defined by common pre-determined qualities or behavioural characteristics. Indeed Scouller argues that these common traits - which supposedly guarantee leadership success - don't exist, which is why, he suggests, researchers have found so many leadership traits. 
•  Instead, the Three Levels model says leaders should let their distinctive presence flow according to their individual personality, so expressing their unique combination of character strengths to the best effect. Scouller says leaders can develop their presence through self-mastery.

Behavioural Ideals theory

• Scouller's 3P model accepts the Behavioural Ideals view that a leader should usually combine a high concern for task with equal concern for people. 
• However, it goes further in showing leaders how to work on their psychology so they can adopt this attitude if it doesn't come naturally to them. 
• Scouller also argues that the true behavioural ideal is not one fixed style of behaviour because leaders can and should flex their approach according to the circumstances (for example, being more 'task-focused' in emergencies) while staying true to their values.

Situational/ Contingency theory

• Scouller's 3P model supports the Situational/Contingency idea of flexing leadership behaviour to match the follower(s) or circumstances. 
• But it recognises that many leaders get caught in certain mindsets (beliefs) and behavioural habits and find it hard to change their behaviour - even if they have had training and know in theory that it is a good idea to do so. 
• The 3P model shows how leaders with inflexible habits can change their beliefs and behaviour while remaining 'authentic'. Scouller says the solution is to remove inner psychological blocks (limiting beliefs) by practising self-mastery.

Functional theory

• Like the Functional models, Scouller's 3P model describes what leaders must do by listing key leadership behaviours. 
• However, it goes further by explaining the know-how and skills underlying the behaviours and how to learn them. 
• It also addresses the psychology of leaders and explains how self-mastery can help them develop their leadership presence and stop limiting beliefs blocking the use of their skills.