Chapter 19 - Performance

Question 1

Answer 1

The leadership grid is one of the most used tools to determine leadership style and presents five different personal leadership styles that depend on a person’s concern for people (plotted on the y-axis) versus their concern for production (plotted on the x-axis).

The first style is impoverished management (IM) where a leader has a low concern for people and a low concern for production (near the zero point on a graph).

The country club (CC) style shows that a leader has a high concern for people and yet still has a low concern for production.

The authoritarian (A) leadership style reflects a very low concern for people and a very high concern for production.

The team leader (TL) style has a very high concern for people and also a very high concern for production.

Finally, the middle of the road (MR) leadership style produces medium results with a medium concern for both people and production.

Question 2

four major theories of leadership

Answer 2

There are four major theories on leadership. Each theory defines a different way in which a person is perceived as a leader.

1. Trait theory. Originally called Great Man theory, the belief is that leadership is an inherited set of traits and not learned. A leader is born a leader and is not created by education or training.
2. Behavior theory. Leadership can be learned.
3. Contingency theory. Leadership is based on the situation and context.
4. Power and influence theory. Leadership can be based on position and title.

Question 3

leader emergence

Answer 3

the process of a person becoming a leader

Question 4

Bertram Raven’s five forms of power

Answer 4

Legitimate power is afforded by a person’s position or status within the organization (e.g. department director).

Reward power is based on the leader’s ability to give rewards to team members for outstanding work such as letters of recommendation, additional training or responsibilities, and additional compensation for working on the team.

Coercive power, considered the opposite of reward power, occurs when the team leader uses threats and punishments to get their way. For example, the team member may be threatened with termination.

Referent power (also known as charismatic power) is the ability of the team members to identify with leaders who have desirable resources or personal traits. This may come from the leader’s energy, endurance, empathy, toughness, humor, or charm.

Expert power refers to leaders who are experts in their field or have knowledge or skills that are in short supply. Team members tend to listen to those who demonstrate expertise.

Question 5

transactional leadership

Answer 5

A theory of leadership that assumes that the team members will accept and complete their responsibilities for no other reason than to receive rewards. Therefore, leaders need to design a task and reward system to ensure the team’s work progresses at a satisfactory pace.

Question 6

laissez-faire

Answer 6

1. a policy or attitude of letting things take their own course, without interfering
2. abstention by governments from interfering in the workings of the free market

Question 7

six patterns of leadership

Answer 7

Leadership can be defined as a continuum of six distinct styles.

On one side of the continuum is exploitive autocracy—the harshest form of leadership, as the leader wields absolute power and uses the team to serve their own personal interests.

This is followed by benevolent autocracy where the leader also wields absolute power but is generally kind and sincere in the use of the team for the good of the organization.

Subsequently, in a bureaucracy the leader relies primarily on rules and regulations but sometimes those rules and regulations become more important than the team’s purpose.

Next is consultative leadership where the leader remains open to input from members of the team but still retains full decision-making authority.

Situational leadership involves the leader who changes the approach based on the needs of the team and situation.

At the most lenient end of the continuum is participative leadership where plans and decisions are made by the team and the leader is there to provide advice and assistance.

Question 8

four types of parenting

Answer 8

The four types of parenting styles are:

1. Authoritarian parenting: These parents are strict and demand blind obedience from their children. The reason for rules is typically coupled with: “because I said so.” There is little, if anything, in the way of warmth, and they are not willing to discuss their rules and boundaries with their children.
2. Authoritative parenting: These parents are strict and have clear standards of behavior. But they are also loving, warm, and nurturing. Authoritative parents actively encourage their children to share their thoughts and feelings. They are willing to listen to their kids, up to a point, and they acknowledge the validity of a child’s feelings.
3. Permissive parenting: These parents offer a great deal of autonomy for their children and are warm, loving, and nurturing.
4. Neglectful parenting: These parents take the hands-off approach and don’t get involved in their children’s lives.

Question 9

Diana Baumrind two dimensions of parenting

Answer 9

Diana Baumrind, a German clinical and developmental psychologist, identified several distinctive parenting styles. Today, they’re known as the Baumrind parenting styles.

She categorized each style based on 2 dimensions: responsiveness and demandingness.

Responsiveness is the degree of parent’s acceptance and sensitivity to the children’s needs. Demandingness is the degree of control over their children’s behavior.

The 4 Baumrind’s parenting styles are:

1. Authoritative parenting. Authoritative parents have high responsiveness and high demandingness. They have strict guidelines yet are warm and loving.
2. Authoritarian parenting. Authoritarian parents have low responsiveness but high demandingness. They demand obedience and don’t allow children to make decisions.
3. Permissive parenting. Permissive parents have high responsiveness but low demandingness. They set low standards of behavior but are super supportive of their children’s needs.
4. Neglectful parenting. Neglectful parents (uninvolved parents) have low responsiveness and low demandingness. They believe in the hands-off approach and are less involved in their children’s development.

Question 10

leader-member relations

Answer 10

a measure of the acceptance of and confidence in the leader by the team members, as well as the loyalty and commitment they show toward the leader

Question 11

What are the three stages of transition according to William Bridges?

Answer 11

William Bridges (1933–2013) was an American author, speaker, and organizational consultant.

He says transition is the psychological process of adapting to change. Transition consists of three phases:

1. letting go of the past
2. the “neutral zone” where the past is gone but the new isn’t fully present
3. making the new beginning

Question 12

Lewy body dementias

Answer 12

Two similar and common subtypes of dementia—dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD). Both are characterized by changes in thinking, movement, behavior, and mood.

The exact cause is unknown, but involves widespread deposits of abnormal clumps of protein that form in neurons of the diseased brain. These abnormal clumps are called Lewy bodies.

Question 13

self-awareness

Answer 13

conscious knowledge of one’s own character, feelings, motives, and desires

Question 14

self-regulation

Answer 14

Self-regulation is the ability to monitor and manage your energy states, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in ways that are acceptable and produce positive results such as well-being, loving relationships, and learning.

Question 15

critical thinking

Answer 15

The analysis of facts to form a judgment.

Critical thinking is self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking.

Question 16

team charter

Answer 16

A document that explains the issues the team was initiated to address, describes the team’s goal or vision, and lists the initial members of the team and their respective departments.

Question 17

charter

Answer 17

(noun) a document issued by a government that gives rights to a person or group
(noun) a document which declares that a city, town, school, or corporation has been established
(noun) a document that describes the basic laws, principles, etc., of a group
(verb) to establish, enable, or convey by charter (e.g. The city was chartered in 1837.)
(verb) to hire, rent, or lease for usually exclusive and temporary use (e.g. charter a boat)
(adjective) of, relating to, or being a travel arrangement in which transportation (such as a bus or plane) is hired by and for one specific group of people (e.g. charter flight)

Question 18

charter school

Answer 18

a tax-supported school established by a charter between a granting body (such as a school board) and an outside group (as of teachers and parents) which operates the school without most local and state educational regulations so as to achieve set goals

Question 19

conflict management

Answer 19

Conflict management is the practice of being able to identify and handle conflicts sensibly, fairly, and efficiently. Since conflicts in a business are a natural part of the workplace, it is important that there are people who understand conflicts and know how to resolve them.

Question 20

team norms

Answer 20

The rules, both explicit and implied, that determine acceptable and unacceptable behavior for a group.

Question 21

timekeeper

Answer 21

A performance improvement team role responsible for notifying the team during meetings of time remaining on each agenda item in an effort to keep the team moving forward on its performance improvement project.

Question 22

consensus building

Answer 22

A decision-making method that seeks consent of all participants to resolve differences so an acceptable result can be found.

Question 23

consensus-oriented decision-making model (CODM)

Answer 23

A six-step progression that allows groups the flexibility to come to a consensus by approaching important topics with open discussion rather than presenting a preformulated proposal:

1. Discussion
2. Identify the emerging proposal
3. Identify unsatisfied concerns
4. Collaboratively modify the proposal
5. Assess the degree of support
6. Finalize the decision or circle back to the first steps

Question 24

selective perception

Answer 24

the tendency not to notice and more quickly forget stimuli that cause emotional discomfort and contradict our prior beliefs

Question 25

information overload

Answer 25

The difficulty in understanding an issue and effectively making decisions when one has too much information about that issue, and is generally associated with the excessive quantity of daily information.

Question 26

communication apprehension

Answer 26

The level of anxiety triggered by the real or anticipated act of communicating something. The fear of judgment from the audience and self-image is what fuels the anxiety.

Question 27

three levels of problems for communication

Answer 27

The technical problem: how accurately can the message be transmitted?
The semantic problem: how precisely is the meaning conveyed?
The effectiveness problem: how effectively does the received meaning affect behavior?

Question 28

five stages of communication

Answer 28

1. The source: The “source” is the sender of the message – in other words, you! And the “message” refers to the information and ideas that you want to deliver. You need to be clear about what message you want to communicate, why it’s important, and what is its main purpose?
2. Encoding: This stage involves putting your message into a format that you can send, and that the receiver will be able to easily understand or “decode.” Your success will depend on your ability to convey information clearly and simply, and to eliminate areas of confusion.

For example, be aware of any cultural mismatch between you and your recipient. Also, avoid making assumptions about the receiver’s existing knowledge of the subject. You might know the “ins and outs” of what you’re talking about, but he or she probably won’t. Lastly, steer clear of gaps in the information that require a “mental leap.”

A key part of being a successful encoder is knowing your audience. Failure to understand and respect who it includes will likely result in your message “falling flat,” and being misunderstood, dismissed or even ignored.

3. The channel: There are countless different channels that you can use to send your message.

Verbal communications channels include face-to-face meetings, telephone and videoconferencing. While written communications include letters, reports, emails, instant messaging (IM), and social media posts. You might also want to include videos, photos, illustrations, or charts and graphs in your message to emphasize your main points.

Different channels have different strengths and weaknesses. For example, it’s not particularly effective to give a long list of directions verbally, and you’ll be better off delivering sensitive feedback in person, rather than via email.

4. Decoding: Successfully decoding a message is as much a skill as encoding it is. To accurately decode a message, you need to take the time to read through it carefully, or to listen actively to it.

Confusion will most likely occur at this stage of the Communications Process, though that doesn’t mean it will always be the decoders fault. He might lack sufficient background knowledge to understand the message, or he might not understand the specific jargon or technical language that you are using. It’s therefore essential that you tackle issues like these at the encoding stage.

5. The receiver: No doubt, you’ll want your audience members to react in a certain way or take a specific action in response to your message. Remember, though, that each person is different, and will interpret it subjectively.

Every receiver who enters into the Communication Process brings with them their own ideas and feelings that influence their understanding of your message, and their response to it.

That means it’s your job, as the sender, to take these ideas and feelings into consideration when drawing up your message. To do this effectively, brush up on your emotional intelligence and empathy skills.

Question 29

What are the six questions for critically thinking about what people say?

Answer 29

1. Who said it?
   Someone you know? Someone in a position of authority or power? Does it matter who told you this?
2. What did they say?
   Did they give facts or opinions? Did they provide all the facts? Did they leave anything out?
3. Where did they say it?
   Was it in public or in private? Did other people have a chance to respond an provide an alternative account?
4. When did they say it?
   Was it before, during, or after an important event? Is timing important?
5. Why did they say it?
   Did they explain the reasoning behind their opinion? Were they trying to make someone look good or bad?
6. How did they say it?
   Were they happy or sad, angry or indifferent? Did they write it or say it? Could you understand what was said?

Question 30

heuristic

Answer 30

1. formal: using experience to learn and improve
2. involving or serving as an aid to learning, discovery, or problem-solving by experimental and especially trial-and-error methods
3. of or relating to exploratory problem-solving techniques that utilize self-educating techniques (such as the evaluation of feedback) to improve performance