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COPYRIGHT
1998 Baker College System - Center for Graduate Studies
Executive
Summary
Formal leadership is critical to success in condominium and homeowner
association management. To influence
followers and effectively govern a constitutional community, a leader's
managerial style must fit the association's mission-its structure,
function, and goals; and satisfy members' expectations and needs. The
purpose of this evaluation is to determine if there are optimal
leadership styles and strategies to promote member involvement,
acceptable goals, and conflict avoidance in common-interest membership
organizations.
Introduction
Formal leadership is critical to success in condominium and homeowner
association management. To influence followers and effectively govern a
constitutional community, a leader's managerial style must fit the
association's mission-its structure, function, and goals; and satisfy
members' expectations and needs. In self-governing associations, the
general membership delegates formal decision-making authority to
volunteer leaders who direct the property maintenance operation for the
common good (Hanna, 1988). As elected representatives, association
leaders are likely to be relations-oriented in order to retain follower
support and to encourage follower participation in community affairs
(Paul, 1986). As resource allocators, task-focused leaders who
accomplish acceptable goals are likely to satisfy followers who want
minimal involvement in association operations (Jacobs, 1988). If the
leader's style and performance fails to satisfy member requirements,
opposition groups can emerge to stage an electoral coup d'etat
(Weisman, 1986).
Given the roles and challenges of association leaders, what leadership
style is most effective for volunteer directors of condominium and
homeowner associations? Contingency theory asserts that there is no
best leadership style fit to influence every follower, group, and
situation. Leader effectiveness depends on complex interactions between
leader behavior and motivational forces in the follower, as well as
other situational factors (Fiedler, 1967; Vroom & Yetton, 1974; and
Hersey & Blanchard, 1988). Situational factors in associations
include common goals, formal roles, and the personal expectations that,
in turn, affect the nature of leader-follower interactions. This
research examines leadership styles and strategies to assist
association directors in influencing the following outcomes:
* Member participation
* Cooperative relations
* Acceptable goals
* Conflict prevention
*******
A Single-Factor Model
Leaders distinguish themselves from followers in the electoral process
in which activist volunteers seek member approval to serve a one-year
term on the board of directors for condominium and homeowner
associations. In the association setting, member readiness can be
viewed on a continuum from apathy to activism (Paul, 1986). Apathetic
members expect a maintenance-free life in which all services are
efficiently managed in exchange for a monthly fee. Members with
moderate readiness levels participate in elections and attend
occasional meetings. These members expect frequent disclosure of board
activities and open discussion of significant issues. Members with high
readiness levels participate on active committees and are motivated to
be future leaders. A successful leader maintains support of apathetic
followers, provides information to moderately active followers, and
recruits active members to direct committee assignments.
A Situational Leadership Model
Situational leadership theory (Hersey & Blanchard, 1988) asserts
that follower readiness is the sole determinant of leader success.
Effective leaders select a managerial style with the decision methods
and communication techniques that satisfy a follower's readiness to
participate. Leaders who match or closely match leadership style and
follower readiness will be more effective than leaders who mismatch
style and readiness. The following chart reflects a hierarchy of
matches ranging from the best fit to the least effective:
FOLLOWER
BEST SECOND
READINESS
FIT BEST
Low
Telling Selling
Moderately
Selling Telling
Low
Moderately
Participating Delegating
High
High
Delegating
Participating
FOLLOWER
THIRD LEAST
READINESS
BEST EFFECTIVE
Low
Participating Delegating
Moderately
Participating Delegating
Low
Moderately
Selling Telling
High
High
Selling Telling
A telling style uses one-way communication and unilateral
decision-making to satisfy apathetic members' need for noninvolvement
and to support timely and decisive action. A selling style involves
two-way communication, active listening, and access to the decision-process
for moderately involved members (Blanchard, 1991). A participating
style invites follower involvement community meetings to discuss
significant issues and seek feasible solutions. Delegating behavior is
reserved for highly active members who can independently direct
committee tasks.
A Test of Leader Adaptability
In a study of leader adaptability, association members participated in
a survey used to test the effectiveness of a match of style and
readiness on the following outcomes: (1) follower satisfaction with
communication, (2) follower satisfaction with decision-making, and (3)
conflict prevention effectiveness. Each respondent was asked to read
various situations that required the leader to select one of four
alternative decision methods. For each situation, the respondent was
requested to identify the one alternative action that most closely
described the collective leadership style of his/her board of directors
in the situation presented. Finally, each respondent was asked to rate his/her
satisfaction with leader communication methods, with decision-making,
and with conflict management effectiveness.
Survey results (Table 1) support the predicted relationship between
leader adaptability and the leader's ability to influence follower
satisfaction with communication. The mean score of the high
adaptability group (3.38) exceeded the mean of the moderate
adaptability group (2.89) and the low adaptability group (2.26).
Association leaders who match style and readiness communicate more effectively
than leaders who mismatch style and readiness.
******
A Multi-Factor Model
Recent advances in situational leadership theory emphasize the utility
of a multifactorial approach to understanding leader effectiveness
(Wofford, 1994). Several models (Smith, 1993; Benson, 1994) introduce
relevant situational variables that affect the leader's selection of
consideration (relationship) and structure (task) to influence follower
behavior. Zorn and Leichty (1991) changed the two-dimensional
leadership grid into a message analysis framework that matches
leader-initiated communication and feedback to follower's need for
direction, esteem, and autonomy. Innovative communication methods and
relevant situational factors are integral elements of a conflict
management strategy to promote goal congruence and decision
acceptability (Irgens, 1995; Smith, 1993; and Korsgarrd, Schweiger,
& Sapienza, 1995). Relevant situational factors that influence
leadership style include: (1) decision time availability, (2) risk of
mistake, (3) decision significance, and (4) membership support.
A leadership graph (Figure 1) displays the relationship between leader
task and relationship behaviors and five situational factors that
influence leader success and other outcomes. Telling is an appropriate
decision style for low-risk, routine decisions, especially if member
support is high and member readiness is low. Decisions that increase
fees or reduce services are likely to significantly affect the members.
To avoid a potential conflict, the leader needs to assess overall
member support for a controversial decision. If member support is low
to moderate, then the leader needs to use a selling or participating
style to inform and involve followers in the problem investigation and
solution process. Delegating behavior provides an opportunity to
improve decision quality and acceptability by using highly motivated
committee members to formulate cost-effective and feasible solutions
for the board of directors' consideration.
The choice of an appropriate leadership style depends, in part, on
diagnosing the situation and answering the following questions to
determine if member involvement is appropriate:
1. How quickly is a decision required?
2. Is the decision controversial?
3. Is member acceptance important?
4. Will member commitment be affected by a unilateral decision?
5. Is there opposition to the board's policy proposal?
The answer to each question translates into a selection of one of four
leadership styles. If a routine decision requires a timely response,
and member support is high, then a telling style's unilateral decision-making
is appropriate. If a proposal is controversial and member acceptability
is important, then a selling or participating style should be
considered. If a controversial decision is expected to arouse organized
opposition, a conflict management strategy should be considered.
Conflict management demands adaptable leadership with an ability to
encourage and manage member involvement.
Conflict Management
Follower readiness plays a prominent role in formulating conflict
prevention strategies. Follower perception of fairness in the
decision-making process requires the leader to share influence in an
open discussion of potentially divisive decisions. Without openness in
community governance, high-quality decisions will not correlate with
commitment and cooperation if members perceive a closed and autocratic
decision process. When an issue is divisive, members are just as
concerned about the decision outcome as they are about the decision
process. The process requires attentive listening and sincere consideration
of follower input. When the stakes are high, followers expect
consideration of their input (Korsgarrd, Schweiger, & Sapienza,
1995).
A Test of Leadership Style and Open Decision-Making
Survey responses from the leader adaptability study were used to test
conflict prevention effectiveness based on leadership style and
openness in the decision process. Measures of openness include the
frequency of follower participation in the decision-making process, the
frequency of general membership meeting to promote commitment, and the
frequency of follower involvement in problem discovery and resolution.
Results of a two-way ANOVA test (Table 3) suggest that the interaction
of leadership style and openness significantly influence conflict
prevention effectiveness. Except for the selling style, effective
scores for high interactions exceed those of moderate and low
interactions. However, 60% of the respondents identified selling as
their leader's primary style and found selling behavior and any level
of openness effective conflict prevention management.
Mean scores for the main effects of openness on conflict prevention
effectiveness reflect the direction predicted by the theory: the high
group mean (3.06) exceeds the moderate group mean (3.05) and the low group
mean (2.41). Openness requires access to the decision process and
frequent exchange of information. A high degree of openness supports
trust, understanding, and participation. The high effectiveness mean
scores of the selling (3.06) and participating (2.84) styles suggest
that their communication and decision techniques are key elements of
conflict prevention leadership.
The overall effectiveness of the selling style may be linked to its use
of structure in communicating and decision-making. Conflict prevention
includes organizing meetings, preparing an agenda, and enforcing
procedures governing participant conduct (Paul, 1988). The selling
style provides structure and direction required to proactively manage
issues without arousing opposition.
Discussion
This research examined effective leadership styles and strategies to
influence followers and organizational outcomes in condominium and
homeowner associations. Approximately 80 respondents completed the LEAD
survey assessment of appropriate matches of style and readiness and
rated other measures of leader effectiveness. Statistical tests suggest
that follower readiness is a significant determinant of successful
leader behavior and other outcomes. Respondents reported high levels of
satisfaction for leadership styles that match or closely fit readiness.
In addition, any leadership style that included moderate or high
openness (access to the decision process) was viewed as an effective
conflict prevention technique. Openness supports an information exchange
to understand community issues, to discover member concerns, and to
formulate feasible solutions.
The findings provide guidance to effectively influence association
followers in one-to-one encounters in which the leader can discern
readiness and adapt an appropriate style. However, situational
moderators (such as association size, member lifestyle, and formal
meeting procedures) can neutralize, negate, or enhance leadership
effectiveness. Leaders can prevent moderating factors from diluting
their influence by using committees as leadership substitutes to
demonstrate concern, involvement, and openness. Competent leaders can
assign specific leadership tasks to various committees in order to
extend the limited resources of part-time volunteer directors. By
effectively using these management options, leaders can foster
communication and participation to support sound governance.
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