Path Goal Leadership Theory

Introduction

Leadership theory is important for any discipline and industry, as it provides the framework by which understanding and perspective are obtained. Using these perspectives, theories of leadership serve as guideposts for individuals looking to be effective leaders in their respective workplace environments, fields, families or communities. In the field of criminal justice, leadership theory is essential because it helps the individual to hold himself accountable and helps to empower others to do so as well (Brooks & Grint, 2010). This paper will focus mainly on path-goal theory and functional leadership to show how leadership occurs and how setting goals can be an effective way to organize.
Path-Goal Theory
Path-goal theory focuses on organizing by way of identifying goals and the removal of obstacles in order to facilitate the accomplishment of those goals (Northouse, 2016). As the name of the theory implies it is about clearing the path for a team or an individual to achieve the objective. House (1996) developed and refined the theory based on the work of Evans (1970), who himself based his research on the work of Vroom’s (1964) expectancy theory. According to Vroom (1964), motivation is a result of individual perceptions of planned activities by leaders and what the outcomes of these activities are likely to be. If individuals buy into the activities they are more likely to stick to the path presented them by leaders. This idea is what informs the path-goal theory, which helps to explain how leaders can motivate workers.
One of the main ideas presented by House (1996) is that every worker is likely to have a unique pathway to his or her goals as well as to the goals of the organization. To help the individual identify the right path to those goals, the leader may have to adopt various styles of leadership—such as transformational leadership to inspire and communicate vision, or servant leadership to provide support and encouragement, or autocratic leadership for individuals who function best when told explicitly and clearly what they should do. The leader has to identify what approaches are going to work best for the individual and adopt those approaches. The leader also has to be able to ensure that the goals of the individual are in alignment with the goals of the organization (House, 1996). So in a criminal justice context, a leader would be tasked with making sure that whatever aims and objectives the individual has identified as worth pursuing actually line up with the aims and objectives of the field, the discipline, or the organization with which one is a part.
Implicit within the idea of path-goal theory is Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy of needs theory, which argues that every individual has levels of needs that must be met before self-actualization can be achieved. Maslow (1943) showed that emotional security is one of the basic needs of human motivation and until a person establishes some degree of esteem through interaction with others, that person’s development will be stunted. Thus, leaders who neglect to support their follower’s emotional and social development by using some form of social and emotional intelligence will be to blame if the follower’s socio-emotional development is blocked and the follower’s goals not achieved. The leader has to be able to fulfill the needs of the follower so that the follower will respond favorably and with pleasure to the path that the leader has pointed out. Leaders who do provide enough social and emotional support for the follower will be to claim some credit for the follower’s achievements.
However, behavior and cognition are all impacted by the three main agencies of peers, organizations and media (Bandura, 2018). Leaders would fall into the peer group, which means they are one main factor in the development of the follower. Yet, they could also fall into the organization group, as they are leaders within an organization, and thus they serve as the mouthpiece in most cases for the views and beliefs and expectations of the organization. Thus, they can doubly influence how a follower behaves. Still, there many other factors that can influence a follower, and the leader has to be aware of what these are. The individual may be influenced by media, culture, other people, and other groups or organizations into thinking that certain goals or behaviors are good and acceptable in the criminal justice field when in reality or according to the organization of the leader they are not acceptable at all. Thus, the leader has to be mindful of what these influences are and how they are impacting the follower.
The best example of the path-goal theory of leadership is the Christian example. As a leader, Christ demonstrated in no uncertain terms that the path towards the goal of heaven was narrow and straight and that people had to conduct themselves the right way in order to move along that path (Abramson, 2007). Christ appealed to followers by fulfilling their needs—giving them food to eat, healing their ailments, and teaching them how to be good people; all of these are characteristics that can be found in a transformational or servant leader, and both of those leadership styles align with the path-goal theory of leadership. Christ also showed how to remove obstacles out of the path of the goal, which He pointed out: through prayer and fasting one could get on the right path to achieve the right goal. This is an imperfect example, however, as Christ essentially laid out one path and one goal for all. As House (1996) explains in path-goal theory, every person may have different personal goals and these may or may not line up with organizational goals—and it is the leader’s duty to see if they do and to identify pathways to those goals and remove obstacles along the way.
House (1996) argued, though, that the leader has to be flexible and able to adopt different leadership styles when necessary. In some environments, one type of leadership style will be suited, while in another or when dealing with certain types of followers a separate style will be required. Thus, follower characteristics have to be considered so that the leader can maximize the potential of the follower. The theory has resonated well among leaders since its final articulation by House (1996) because it serves to remind leaders that they play a central part in the formation and development of followers and that the essence of leadership is to serve followers so that they can fulfill their individual potential and maximize their service to the organization.
Functional Leadership
The model of functional leadership facilitates understanding of how the path-goal theory of leadership can be applied. The functional leadership model essentially emphasizes that the leader is there to do one thing: to assist in the needs of the group and to do whatever is possible to have those needs met so that the group can function optimally, effectively and as one single unit working towards the identified goal. As Hirst and Mann (2004) show, “the functional leadership model proposes that effective leadership stimulates teamwork, which in turn enhances project performance” (p. 148). To accomplish the goals of the organization, the team must work together, and the functional leadership model shows how the leader can make that happen.
The leadership functions typically consist of 8 different tasks within this model, but these tasks can be expanded and described in more minute detail so that the specific objectives of the leader are more concrete and tangible (Morgeson, DeRue & Karam, 2010). The 8 basic functions of the leader are:
1. Define the task—i.e., identify the objective or goal of the team
2. Plan the work—i.e., identify the means by which the goal may be achieved and identify risks and threats that could arise, in which case contingency plans have to be available
3. Brief the group—i.e., give instructions to the team, get the members introduced, create a supportive working environment, and get the ball rolling
4. Control the process—i.e., maximize the potential of all members of the team by giving them what they need to succeed
5. Evaluate outcomes—i.e., use metrics to measure performance and to see how effectively goals are being met
6. Motivate the team—i.e., implement internal and external motivators to inspire the team members to strive towards their objectives
7. Organize the individuals—i.e., provide guidance, issue tasks, and put people in specific roles wherein their strengths will be utilized most effectively for the team and the organization
8. Set the standard—i.e., be the perfect example of how the individual team members should behave by communicating effectively, demonstrating support and consideration for others, and engaging in positive behavior that others will want to follow
These are the main functions that the leader using the functional leadership model will focus on. Yet, as Morgeson et al. (2010) indicate, these functions can be increased by getting even more detailed on what the leader must do. Morgeson et al. (2010) show that the leader must basically engage in two phases of leadership—first, the transition phase in which the leader is bringing the individual members together and guiding the team in its tasks; second, the action phase in which the team is set to its task and now faces myriad challenges along the way, to which the leader has to respond accordingly and definitively. Morgeson et al. (2010) describe this process in these steps (p. 10):
Transition Phase
1. Compose the team
2. Define the mission that the team must embrace
3. Establish the expectations and goals that the team will be accountable for
4. Structure and plan the activities that will provide the pathway to the goals and allow members to meet expectations
5. Train and develop the team
6. Make sense of the objectives and how the plan will empower the members to achieve the objectives
7. Give and receive feedback so that there is a constant two-way flow of communication between the leader and the followers
Action Phase
1. Monitor the team to ensure that the members are staying on path and on target to accomplish the stated goals
2. Manage team boundaries by keeping workers from deviating onto alternate paths that do not follow to the same goal, and also prevent others from intruding on the team and taking their attention away
3. Challenge the team to face obstacles with alacrity and to be innovative and constructive in how they approach issues
4. Perform team tasking by working with the members to understand their roles, their tasks, and how they can achieve their objectives
5. Solve problems by working with team members to identify the root causes of a problem, identify options and select the best option for the team
6. Provide resources to ensure that every member of the team has everything he needs to succeed; this includes managing any budgetary issues or human capital issues
7. Encourage team self-management, which means to fulfill the team’s individual needs so that it can reach the level of self-actualization that Maslow (1943) identifies in his theory of motivation
8. Support the social climate so that the team members are happy to communicate with one another, are supportive of one another, listen, give feedback and provide assistance when needed
By following this model of functional leadership, the leader can facilitate the aims of the team and the objective. The four basic functions within this model are planning, organizing, leading and controlling, but as Morgeson et al. (2010) show, these functions cover a wide range of other functions that can be understood in more minute detail.
The overall purpose of the functional leadership model is to facilitate the leader in his duty towards his followers. The model lines up well with the theory of path-goal leadership in that it contains all the characteristics and essential elements of the path-goal theory. The leader’s aim is to create a path for the workers that they can follow all the way to the accomplishment of their goal. The removal of obstacles and the satisfaction and motivation of the team members on an individual level is part of that process and requires the leader to be engaged at all times, available for consultation, and actively supportive throughout the process.
Conclusion
Leadership theory is an essential part of all industries, organizations, fields and disciplines and as such it has to be understood to see how it is most applicable. The path-goal theory of leadership is a framework that a leader can use to assist followers in achieving their goals as it allows the leader to identify the goal with the follower, show why it is important to achieve and provide directions on how it can be achieved. This takes the pressure of defining the path all by oneself away from the worker and allows the worker to focus on using his skills and tools to work towards accomplishing the objective according to the plan worked out by the leader and the follower. The functional model of leadership essentially provides the blue print for this process can best be implemented, by detailing the functions of the leader through the various phases of the leading process. These phases can best be described as transitional and active, and during these phases the leader is completely engaged in the process and never using a hands-off or distant approach, though he will challenge workers to overcome obstacles themselves.

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