Behavioral Competencies - Leadership Cluster Flashcards
How do you define leadership & navigation? (behavior competency)
Leadership & navigation is defined as the:
- knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics (KSAOs) needed to create a compelling vision and mission for HR that aligns with the strategic direction and culture of the organization,
- accomplish HR and organizational goals,
- lead and promote organizational change,
- navigate the organization, and
- manage the implementation and execution of HR initiatives
What are the sub-competencies of “leadership & navigation”?
Navigating the organization, vision, managing HR initiatives, and influence
(Sub-competency) Navigating the organization
Works within the parameters of the organization’s hierarchy, process, systems and policies
Understanding work roles, organizational relationships, political environment to develop and implement needed changes/resolve issues
Situational Leadership
Situational leadership is rooted in adaptability as the theory purport that there is no universally applicable way to lead. To remain effective, a leader’s style must adapt with the situation.
A leader should consider the circumstances and his/her followers when planning and making decisions. Depending on the circumstances and the maturity and ability of the team, a leader may lead by directing, engaging, collaborating, or delegating.
Transformational Leadership
Transformational leadership involves championing a shared vision with employees. It requires changing the attitudes and assumptions of the team while building commitment for the organization’s mission, objectives, and strategies. Leaders inspire awareness of and dedication to the group’s mission.
Followers are empowered by facts, resources, and support so that they can then approach work in a committed, concerned, and involved way.
What are the characteristics of a transformational leader?
- Charismatic: gains buy-in for the vision and mission, earns respect and trust, and instills pride
- Inspirational: communicates heightened performance expectations and encourages big-picture thinking
- Intellectually stimulating: promotes learning and development and advocates for the use of logic and rationality to solve problems
- Individualized consideration: coaches followers, treats each person individually, and gives personal attention
Participative Leadership
How can this be achieved?
Participative leadership allows all employees to be more informed and involved in the operations of the organization. This can be achieved by supporting them when they make mistakes, treating them with consideration and respect, inviting them to recommend innovative ideas and suggestions, and providing training and development opportunities to help them advance
Inclusive Leadership
Inclusive leadership is promoting an atmosphere of respect, in which all employees have equal ability to share and utilize the skills they bring to the organization. It requires a willingness to listen with understanding and an ability to communicate with diverse populations across differences.
Inclusive leadership involves being conscious of cultural values while bridging behavioral gaps and leveraging differences to increase performance.
What are some leadership traits that encourage inclusion?
Empowerment
Accountability
Courage
Humility
What are some things inclusive leaders will do?
- Support staff development
- Demonstrate confidence
- Hold employees accountable
- Set personal interests aside
- Act on convictions and principles
- Admit mistakes
- Learn from criticism
- Seek contributions from others
Leader-member exchange (LMX) theory or “Theory X/Y”
There are two ways for leaders to view employees, either through:
- THEORY X: employees are seen as lazy and only motivated by disciplinary action
- THEORY Y: employees are viewed as willing, hard workers who need to be shown the importance of their work to facilitate continued motivation
What are the phases a team member goes through in relationship with their manager according to the Leader-Member Exchange Theory (Herzberg)?
- Role-Taking: Role-taking occurs when team members first join the group. Managers use this time to assess new members’ skills and abilities.
- Role-Making: In this stage, managers generally expect that new team members will work hard, be loyal and prove trustworthy as they get used to their new role. The theory says that, during this stage, managers sort new team members (often subconsciously) into one of two groups - in group vs. outgroup.
- Routinization: Once team members have been classified, even subconsciously, as In-Group or Out-Group, that classification affects how their managers relate to them from then on, and it can become self-fulfilling.
Taylor’s scientific management
People could be motivated by their working conditions and noted that employers should provide adequate safety measures, lighting, and tools to do the work. Employees will change their behavior when they know they are being observed.
McClelland’s acquired needs theory
Motivation is primarily intrinsic and arose from a blend of three main needs
- Achievement: embracing challenges, being goal oriented, and taking calculated risks
- Affiliation: wanting to belong, yearning to be liked, and focusing on collaboration over competition
- Power: wanting to influence others, being competetive, and striving to attain a high status
Skinner’s operant conditioning
Motivation is based on extrinsic factors such as reward and punishment. Employers can influence behavior through positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement, which results in employees acting in certain ways to receive prizes or to avoid discipline
Servant leadership
These leaders possess a serve-first mindset, and they are focused on empowering and uplifting those who work for them. They are serving instead of commanding, showing humility instead of brandishing authority, and always looking to enhance the development of their staff members in ways that unlock potential, creativity and sense of purpose.
Transactional leadership
Transactional leadership is defined by control, organization, and short-term planning. Leaders who adopt this style rely on a system of rewards and punishment to motivate their followers.
What are a few key assumptions associated with transactional leadership?
- Rewards and punishments are motivating for followers
- Adhering to the instructions of the leader is the primary goal of followers
- Followers have to be monitored to ensure that performance standards are met
Contingency theory
The contingency theory of leadership supposes that a leader’s effectiveness is contingent on whether or not their leadership style suits a particular situation. According to this theory, an individual can be an effective leader in one circumstance and an ineffective leader in another one.
To maximize your likelihood of being a productive leader, this theory posits that you should be able to examine each situation and decide if your leadership style is going to be effective or not.
What are the different phases a people manager may go through as they work with a growing employee?
Directing, coaching, supporting, delegating
What is “directing”?
What types of individuals are best suited for this people management phase?
Directing involves limited flexibility for the employee and is characterized by defining, planning, teaching and monitoring.
Individuals in this learning stage have high commitment but minimal skills and need clear standards, goals, and timelines with regular feedback.
What is “coaching”?
What types of individuals are best suited for this people management phase?
Coaching involves supportive direction characterized by praise, encouragement, prioritizing, and feedback.
Individuals in this stage have some commitment and skills but still need recognition and feedback while they try to develop more effective ways to perform tasks.
What is “supporting”?
What types of individuals are best suited for this people management phase?
Supporting involves less specific direction and is characterized by listening, collaborating, and appreciating.
Individuals at this innovative stage are more confident, skilled, and self-reliant problem solves.
What is “delegating”?
What types of individuals are best suited for this people management phase?
Delegating involves lots of flexibility with little direction and is characterized by trusting, empower, acknowledging, and challenging.
Individuals at this final stage have high commitment and excellent skills. They are ready for trust, responsibility, authority, variety, and challenges.
What is “mentoring”?
A mentor is an experienced and trusted advisor whose only goal in the mentoring relationship is to support the professional and personal development of their mentee. The mentor is usually more senior and/or more experienced than the mentee and serves as an advisor, model, counselor, and guide to someone with less experience. The mentor is responsible for sharing knowledge and providing advice and counsel to the mentee.
Goal-setting theory
Dr. Edwin Locke concluded that employees are driven by explicit, measurable goals that are challenging but attainable.
- If employees take part in collaboratively setting the goals and objectives, they will be more vested in attaining them.
- Providing feedback to employees is critical to energizing employees and assisting them with handling specific situations that arose
- The goal should provide both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards that result in employee satisfaction
Expectancy theory
Victor Vroom’s expectancy theory assumes that rationality will drive employees toward the option that provides maximum pleasure and minimal pain.
Increased effort would eventually lead to better performance as long as employees have the necessary tools to get the job done.Employees will be motivated if they believe that favorable performance will return a desired reward.
What calculation/equation reflects the expectancy theory?
expectancy x instrumentality x valence = motivation
Expectancy - the belief that one’s best efforts will yield good performance
Instrumentality - the belief that the good performance will yield a particular result
Valence - the value of an outcome to a given employee
What are the three stages of the attribution theory?
Attribution theory deals with how the social perceiver uses information to arrive at causal explanations for events. It examines what information is gathered and how it is combined to form a causal judgment. (ie. Identify, effort, task difficulty, and luck are the most important factors for achieving success)
- Behavior observation
- Determining if the behavior is deliberate or consistent, and
- Concluding if the behavior is due to internal or external factors
Locus of causality vs. locus of stability
Locus of causality: identifies outcomes based upon internal controls such as ability and effort as well as external factors such as task difficulty and luck
Locus of stability: Identifies outcomes based upon fixed, stable factors such as ability and task difficulty as well as variable factors such as effort and luck
Self-determination theory
Leaders should give employees the opportunity to make decisions about their work (autonomy), sharpen their skills (competence), and connect with others in the organization whenever possible (relatedness). Doing so will increase their internal drive and promote psychological wellness.
Autonomy (Self-determination theory)
Autonomy focuses more on self-initiation and regulating one’s behavior toward task selection, organization, and completion
Competence (Self-determination theory)
Competence involves the mastery of skills required to complete the work and interact with the environment effectively
Relatedness (Self-determination theory)
Relatedness involves attachment to and a sense of belongingness within a group
Equity theory
The equity theory contains two primary components: inputs and outcomes. It is a team member’s perception of these two factors that can influence their motivation levels. The value of the outcome should ideally result from the importance placed on the input.
Inputs (Equity theory)
An input is a contribution one makes to receive a reward. Some examples of inputs can include time commitments, daily job responsibilities, loyalty to an organization, and enthusiasm for one’s work.
Outputs (Equity theory)
An outcome, or output, is the compensation that an individual receives as a direct result of the input they provided. Outcomes can include hard factors such as salary/pay raises, job security, and benefits OR less tangible outcomes like praise from coworkers, improved reputation, pride in one’s work.
Herzberg’s 2-factor theory
Herzberg concluded that an employee’s motivation is affected by both hygiene factors and motivators.
Hygiene factors (job dissatisfiers) are extrinsic and include salary, benefits, and work environment.
Motivators (job satisfiers) are intrinsic and include growth and recognition.
What is the relationship between job satisfaction and dissatisfaction?
Job satisfaction and dissatisfaction are independent of one another. For example, removing causes of dissatisfaction does not equate to job satisfaction. And in reverse, adding causes of job satisfaction doesn’t necessarily negate job dissatisfaction.
Employers need to eliminate the hygiene factor issues and increase the presence of motivators.
What are the job characteristics that can improve job performance and satisfaction?
- Task identity: when employees can see how their roles affect the entire organization so that they no longer feel like the operate in isolation
- Task significance: when employees can understand the larger impacts of their work on other people or society
- Skill variety: when employees can use many different skills in their work
- Autonomy: when employees receive their manager’s trust and have leeway in decision making
- Feedback: when employees receive commentary on their performance
Personal appeal
This influence/persuasion technique involves eliciting emotion to prompt behavior. It entails using strong language that conjures up specific imagery designed to lead the communication’s recipient into making a certain decision or taking a certain action
forming coalitions
This influence/persuasion technique is useful when a shared goal is identified. Like-minded people within an organization can come together to fight for or against a current cause. Their individual voices will carry more weight as a unified group, increasing the chance that they’ll achieve the desired outcome
rational persuasion
This influence/persuasion technique employs facts, figures, and logic as the basis for an argument or case. It appeals to someone on a rational, cognitive level and tries to garner consensus based on what’s factually correct
leading by example
This technique involves a leader modeling the attitudes, words, and behaviors that they would like to see exhibited by their followers.
Emotional intelligence
Describes an individual’s ability to be sensitive to the feelings of others (others), to manage one’s own emotions or impulses (self), and to use this knowledge to influence others (action)
What are the fundamentals attributes of emotional intelligence?
Self-awareness
Self-management
Social awareness
Social skills/relationship management (ie. empathy, compassion)
vision
the ability to concentrate on the most important aspects of self or business, such as what you want to achieve and what type of leader you aspire to be
self-motivation
driven by one’s own desires and ambitions (intrinsic/internal state)
self-discipline
ability to control one’s feelings and overcome one’s weaknesses; the ability to pursue what one thinks is right despite temptations to abandon it
risk-taking
A leader’s ability to enter into uncomfortable or uncertain situation. Calculated risks requires contingency planning before taking action and considering all the possible outcomes
growth mindset
A growth mindset is an attitude and belief that people have the ability to develop their talents, abilities, intelligence, and emotional intelligence (as opposed to a fixed mindset). It basically means that you believe success comes from the consistent effort of working through challenges. Leaders with a growth mindset tend to focus more on the process rather than just the outcome.
What are the sub competencies of ethical practice?
personal integrity
professional integrity
ethical agent
Personal integrity
Personal integrity comes from developing and sticking to an internal code of ethics that deems what is right and what is wrong. It is strengthened by choosing thoughts and actions that are based upon an individual’s moral principles and personal values.
What are character traits of those with high personal integrity?
Honesty, trustworthiness, kindness, courageousness, respect, and loyalty
Professional integrity
Professional integrity involves choosing actions that adhere to moral principles and codes of ethics (both internal and organizationally imposed) while at work. Professional integrity avoids corruption or any potential conflict of interest and develops professional credibility.
Ethical agent
An ethical agent makes moral judgement based on fundamental ethical principles that are rooted in their personal character, not based on a situation’s potential gains
What is transparency? What are the benefits of transparency in an organization?
Transparency is the free sharing of nonconfidential information.
It results in better-informed and more engaged employees. Transparency may be a tool for removing obstacles to diversity. Being transparent and openly communicating with staff during decision making processes can also build employee trust and be leveraged as a recruiting or retention tool. It’s always better for employees to hear information directly from the employer so that the firm can ensure accuracy and address any questions or concerns head on.
Authenticity
Conflicts of interest
A conflict of interest occurs when someone with a responsibility to act in the best interest of the company may also be in the position to derive personal benefit at the expense of the company
This occurs when both personal and professional interests cause a conflict and influence a person’s actions.
What are examples of conflicts of interest? And how should they be avoided.
Clear policies should be in place and all employees should be held to them.
- utilizing company resources for personal financial gain
- forming relationships or obligations that compromise objectivity when conducting duties
- disclosing company information to interfere with bidding, negotiating, or contracting
Ethical dilemma
An ethical dilemma occurs when you have an unfavorable situation that regardless of the final decision that’s made, the problem will not be resolved nor will it be well-accepted.
Anonymity
Anonymity is similar to confidentiality. It provides employees with the ability to partake in activities without their names being disclosed. (ie. anonymous surveys or anonymously reporting any complaints or ethics violations)
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is the act of keeping sensitive information private. In business, this could apply to data systems, employee information, and even certain business operations.
HR should internally disclose this sensitive data only to those who are authorized and based on the scenario at hand.
What is an instance when human resources cannot always promise complete confidentiality?
If an employee makes a harassment allegation, HR will move to investigate immediately. HR should inform the complainant and anyone involved in the investigation that the situation will be handled as discreetly as possible; however, the nature of an investigation dictates that information obtained during the process may be shared with those on a need to know basis, to include the accused
opt-in / opt-out policies
Protection of employee confidentiality
Standards for employee investigations
Code of conduct
A code of conduct is a set of behavioral rules rooted in moral standards, laws, and best practices that a company develops, adopts, and communicates to employees.
- It outlines expected behavior as well as defines what behavior won’t be tolerated.
- The document should also state what discipline actions employees could face if they violate the code.
Privacy principles
Privacy principles are guidelines businesses establish to protect customer and employee information. Privacy principles are essential to businesses and help to assure employees and customers that proper actions are in place to protect privacy. They provide transparency in clearly defining the measures the company will take to ensure that information is properly collected, handled, and stored.
