L1: Intro Flashcards
what is leadership?
the process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how to do it, and the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives
aka getting ppl to help you reach a goal
key elements
- influence process
- agreements about goals
- facilitation of efforts
- both current & future challenges
- both direct & indirect influence
why does leadership matter?
- to coordinate group movement
- for conflict resolution, deciding on punishment
- managing intergroup relations
aka making sure everyone walks in the same direction, behaves well witin and outside the group
how do you define leadership success?
- measured in various ways depending on the researcher’s perspective
- in terms of outcomes: objective & subjective: org performance (profits, productivity, market share, liking, trust etc)
- in terms of group processes: enhances teamwork, cooperation, decision making, conflict resolution
define direct leadership
leader clearly infuences folloer through direct interaction like meetings, emails, speeches, and personal engagement
define indirect leadership
leader influences ppl who dont interact w them directly, often at different levels of the org. influence passed down through managers, structure, programs, and culture
what are some examples of indirect leadership?
Cascading Effect: CEO → Middle managers → Lower managers → Employees.
Programs & Structure: Policies, recruitment, reward systems, etc.
Organizational Culture: Leaders shape shared values and beliefs.
define social hierarchy
an implicit or explicit rank order of individual or groups w respect to a valued social dimension (like money, skills/knowledge)
what is implicit vs explicit social hierarchies?
explicit: hierarchies that are delineated by rules & consensually agreed upon
implicit: subjectively understood & taken for granted
what are the functions of social hierarchy
- establishing order and facilitating coordination
- motivating indivduals
how do hierarchies develop
- explicitly through formal systems of social roles, or implicitly through organic dev in a group -> both of these called hierarchical differentiation
- ppl who rank higher in the hierarchy obtain more of a valued sociai dimension than ppl who rank lower
what is a formal hierarchy
- signs include job titles, reporting structures, org charts
- consists of small top management team, a layer of middle management, and many lower level employees
- assumption: ind at higher ranks possess a greater combination of skills, ability, and motivation (more control over resources aka power, and more deference from subordinates aka status)
- ppl move within that hierachy, but the hierarchy itself outlasts these changes
- hierarchies are stable cause changing the structure would be costly
what is an informal hierarchy?
- hierarchy develops organically & informally in groups (aka spontaneously and rapidly based on judgments of others’ competence)
- high agreements between group members about the group members rank order
- the basis for informal hierarchical differentiation varies widely
- as soon as a dimension/criterium is judged more important, the hierarchy changes
what is the basis for hierarchy?
- social status
- social power
define social status
the extent to which an individual or group is respected or admired by others
- rank ordering is based on amount of respect accorded by others
- primarily subjective but often high consensus
- respect is attributed based on judgments of expertise & competence and lies in the eye of the beholder
- if attribution of respect changes,so does the status hierarchy
define social power
assymetric control over valued resources in social relations
- ind may have power cause they possess / have access to a positively valued resource adn/or the capacity to distribute a neg valued resources (eg an undesirable taks)
- rank ordering based on access to resources
- power is more objective than status
whats the difference between social power & social status
status lies in eye of the beholder aka property of the co-actor/observer, power is objectively measured based on access to resoures aka property of the actor
how can social power lead to social status?
if respect is conferred on them for having assymetric control over valued resources
how can social status lead to social power?
- when ind who are respected are more likely to be entrusted w valued resources
- whatever resources a high status ind posesses often take on greater value through their simple associated w a highly respected individual
whats the difference between leadership emergence & leadership effectiveness
emergence: how does one become a leader? (personality, experience, circumstance, right time, right place, luck)
effectiveness: when is a leader effective (leaders ability to achieve desired outcomes and thus consequences for followers and other org stakeholders)
what are some decisions to make when studying leadership?
- objective vs subjective
- narrow vs broad focus
- different levels of analysis (ind vs team vs organisation)
- focus on leader vs follower
should leadership be seen as a specialized role or shared influence process?
one view: all groups have role specialization, and the leadership role has responsibilities and functions that cannot be shared too widely w/o jeopardizing the effectiveness of the group. other members are followers, even tho they might assist leader. u can be leader in one group but follower in another. being a leader is a specialized role! ppl w this view study leadership as a specific person role
other view: influence process that occurs naturally within a social system and is diffused among the members. various leadership functions may be carried out by different ppl. leadership may be exhibited both by formal & informal leaders. decisions coe from interactive process involving many ppl. ppl w this view study leadership as a social process.
what kind of influence counts as leadershi?
- some theorists: only influence that results in enthusiastic, ethical, and commited followers is leadership
- others: any kind of influence (even manipulation or coercion) is still leadersihp, cause otucomes vary based on the situation
bottom line: influence is influence, whether iss positive/negative/ethical/maniuplative - it still shapes peoples behaviour
what should the purpose of the influence attempt aka the intentions be for the influence to be considered leadership?
- ethical view: leadership only happens when the leaders goal benefits both the org and followers
- broader view: influence is leadership even if its selfish, manipulative, or harmful cause leadership outcoems can have unintended positive effects
what is rational vs emotional influence when it comes to leadership?
historically leadership was seen as rational - leaders reason w followers
newer theories: emotional influence just as important! great leaders inspire, motivate, stir emotions
whats the difference between leadership & management
Some say management and leadership are different:
Manager: Organizes, plans, controls.
Leader: Inspires, motivates, influences.
Real Talk: In the modern world, good managers MUST also lead. It’s not either/or.
what are the 5 indicators of leadership effectiveness?
- Performance Outcomes: Sales, profits, productivity, goal attainment.
- Follower Attitudes: Commitment, trust, respect, satisfaction.
- Quality of Group Processes: Teamwork, problem-solving, conflict resolution.
- Career Success: Promotions, elections, longevity.
- Immediate vs Delayed Outcomes: Quick wins may hurt long-term success.
Effective leadership is complex. No single indicator tells the full story.
what are the 4 research methods for studying leadership?
- Surveys: Questionnaires for leaders, subordinates, bosses.
- Behavior Observation: Diaries, critical incidents, interviews.
- Experiments: Lab & field studies of leadership behavior.
- New Methods: Social networks, biosensors, genetic studies, facial expression analysis.
what are the 5 main leadership theory approaches?
- trait
- behaviour
- power-influence
- situational
- values based
what ist he trait approach to leadership?
Leader’s personal attributes (personality, skills, values)
what is the behaviour appraoch to leadership?
What leaders actually do (task-oriented, relationship behaviors)
what is the values based appraoch to leadership?
Importance of leader’s values & ethical behavior
what is the situational appraoch to leadership?
How context affects leadership behavior & effectiveness
what is the power influence appraoch to leadership?
How leaders use power & influence tactics
what are the 4 levels at which leadership can be studied?
- Intra-Individual: What’s going on inside the leader (traits, skills, emotions).
- Dyadic: Relationship between leader and one follower.
- Group-Level: Leader’s influence on team processes.
- Organizational-Level: Influence on entire organization (strategy, structure, culture).
some modern theories use multi level analysis cause leadership doesnt happen in a vacuum
what are 3 ways to classify leadership theories?
- Leader vs Follower Focus: Who the theory centers on—leader or followers.
- Universal vs Contingency: Is leadership behavior always effective or situation-dependent?
- Descriptive vs Prescriptive: Explains what happens (descriptive) vs what SHOULD happen (prescriptive).
what does the behavioural appraoch of leadership posit?
- that leaders are made
- leadership is based on what ppl do - not who they are
- effective leadereship can be learned through observing
- task oriented & relations oriented approach
what is task oriented appraoch?
primarily concerned w accomplihsing the task in an efficient & reliable way
getting things done!
what is relations oriented approach?
primarily concerned w increasing mutual trust, cooperation, job satisfaction
what does task oriented leadership look like in practice?
- planning work activities: deciding what do, how to do it, who will do it, & when it will be done -> ensure efficient org of the work (unit), effective use of resources
- clarify roles & objectives: define job responsibilities, set performance goals, assign specific tasks -> guide & coordinate work activitiy, make sure ppl know what to do & how to do it
- monitoring operations & performance: gather info about operations, the progress at work, the performance of ind subordinates, the success of projects, the quality of products -> input for problem solving & planning
- solving operational problems: deal w disruptions -> provide confident direction when coping w problems
what does relations oriented leadership look like in practice?
- supporting: behaviours that show consideration, acceptance, concern for others ->helps to build relations
- develop subordinate skills: increase skills & improve job adjustment & career advancement of ppl
- provide praise & recognition for achievements & performance -> strengthsn desirable behaviour & task commitment
what does the congitency approach to leadership posit?
a leader has to adapt how they behave depending on situation!
what are the 2 early contingency theories?
- situational leadership theory
- path goal theory
what does path goal theory posit?
- early contingency theory
- focuses on how leaders can motivate their followers to achieve goals by providing the right kind of support & guidance
- helps their followers achieve their goals by clearing obstances & provinding necessary guidance & resources
- leadership is not position of power, but leaders are caoches & supporters of their employees
- leaders can adopt different style based on situation here: directive, supportive, participative, acihevement oriented
what is the directive leader style
gives clear instructions & expectations
what is supportive leader style
being friendly, approachable, showing concern for well being of followers
what is participative leader style
involves followers in decision making & seeks their input
what is achievement oriented leader style
sets challenging goals & encourages high performance
what does situational leadership theory posit?
- leaders should adapt their approach based on the needs and DEV level of their followers
- dev level is determined by followers competence & commitment
- 4 dev levels
- leaders behaviours vary on 2 dimensions: supporting & directing
- 4 categories of leader behaviours
what are the 4 development levels?
D1: low competence, high commitment
D2: some competence, low commitment
D3: high competence, variable commitment
D4: high competence & commitment
what are the 4 categories of leader behaviours in situational leadership theory?
S1 directing: do it like this
S2: coaching: i think this, what do u think?
S3: supporting: so whats ur idea
S4: delegating: ill see it next week!
