Functional Leadership

Though functional leadership processes have received frequent dis¬cussion in team dynamics, little is known about the processes associated with leadership. There are two reasons for this; first, conceptually distinct processes associated with exchange, functional behavior, influence, and person perception have been used synonymously in defining leadership. This carelessness has made the term leadership indistinctive and has obscured the need to differentiate among such pro¬cesses. Second, adequate process-oriented measures of leadership have not been developed. Though early researchers focused on the relation between actual behavior and leadership ratings (Carter, 54), more recent investigations have been concerned almost exclusively with per¬ceptions of leadership behavior. According to Knickerbockers (25), they involve dynamic and active interpersonal pro¬cesses, which are functions of the needs existing in à given situation in context of à certain group. In team dynamics leadership is to some extent defined by the joint perceptions of followers - thus, leadership in¬volves the process of person perception. Under Adair 's functional model, leadership is seen as à behavior designed to balance the needs of people - as groups and as individuals, and the needs of the task in pursuit of the goals of the group. Functional model therefore goes to some extent, towards an appropriate style by suggesting that à lender 's aim is to achieve the task set for him, by paying sufficient attention to task needs, group needs and the needs of individuals within the group, not regarding his own particular character and personality. Depending on the circumstances, the leader may need to pay more or less attention to each of the three variables, but he must direct some attention to all of them. From the above definition of functional leadership it would seem that while intelligence, dominance, self-confidence energy and tàsk-relàted knowledge may be essential qualities of à

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