Leadership Flashcards
What is the trait theory?
- Assumption that leadership is determined by personal traits that not everyone has
- “trait” = unchanging and stable personality attributes
- specific attributes predispose particular individuals becoming leaders
What are examples of different trait theory school of thoughts?
1 Sanskrit literatures: 10 types of leaders with examples from history and mythology
2 Aristocrats: leadership is a certain mentality characterised by subordination of individual goals to fundamental principles that guarantee stability and strength; performance and success are conditions
3 Monarchy: Divine right and elite membership
4 Meritocracy: Leadership through accomplishment; Alexander the great
5 Autocratic/Paternal: leader is head of family model “pater familias” makes all decisions
6 Maternal Leadership: Empathy and focus on emotional well-being
7 Confucianism: Ideas of correct living; student-leader relationship; leadership based on virtues of wisdom, integrity, benevolence, courage, and discipline
Describe the leadership model of Carlyle and Galton.
- talent, skills and physical traits of men of power
- leadership attributes from families of most powerful men in England
- conclusion that ability to lead is based on certain attributes, skills and talents which can be inherited
–> Leaders are born, not made
Describe the leadership model of Stodgill and Mann.
- based on series of qualitative research to challenge notion of “leaders are born”
- comprehensive list of personal characteristics that are typical for leaders
- leaders in certain situations are not necessarily leaders in others
- shift towards behavioural patters in leadership
Describe the leadership model of Lewin, Lipitt and White.
- Behavioural taxonomy to general leadership style
- influence of different leadership styles on performance
- authoritative leadership, democratic leadership and laissez-faire
Describe behavioural leadership.
- different behavioural patters rather than individual traits are seen to create leadership conditions
- different leadership styles lead to vastly different outcomes
- successful leadership is not dependant on personal traits
- leading = situation-appropriate complex behaviour patters
Describe Positive Reinforcement.
- B.F. Skinner
- behaviour modification through learning, developed the concept of positive reinforcement
- positive response follows a reaction to specific behaviour
- behaviour will likely be repeated in the future in anticipation of receiving this
- successful mgmt. style
- careful: with situations where employees are more specialised it can be seen as patronising
Describe situational approaches in Leadership.
What is criticised about it?
- leadership is not distinguished by a permanent set of personality characteristics but an event to specific situation
- Any individual can be perceived as leader, depending on the situation and their responsibilities. Individuals will respond to the leader as a result of situational demands and actions of the leader.
- Correlation between effective leadership and individual traits such as intelligence, attitude, extraversion, conscientiousness, openness and general self-efficacy. Situation will demand the expression of these traits = required for a leader
Critique:
- concentrates on few attributes: neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness and neglects cognitive skills:, motives, values, social competence, expertise, and problem solving
- do not consider behaviour patters
- do not differentiate between general attributes and attributes with situations
- do not take certain attributes and behaviour variations into account
Describe situation and contingency theories in leadership.
Which prominent leadership theories are reflecting these considerations?
- situations influence people, not the other way around
- situation theory: different situations require different attributes –> there is not single optimal leadership technique nor a set of personal attributes
- leadership behaviour depends on situation
Authoritative: best in coping with crisis
Democratic: coping with teams, consensus situations
Laissez-Faire: ideation, freedom and flexible orgas
1 Fiedler’s contingency model
2 Vroom-Yetton decision model
3 Path-goal theory of leadership effectiveness
4 Blake-Mouton managerial grid model
Describe Fiedler’s Contingency model.
Based on Situational and Contingency Theory
- interaction between leadership style and situational favourability
- two types of leaders:
1 those that tend to solve the task by developing a good relationship with the group (relationship-oriented)
2 those that focus on accomplishing the task (task-oriented)
- -> there is no ideal leader
- -> both are effective when it fits the situation
Describe the Vroom-Yetton decision model.
Based on Situational and Contingency Theory.
- taxonomy to describe leadership styles that are determined by situation
- leadership behaviour should be based on a normative decision model which defines what approach is the most suitable to the situation
> Leader should decide how to lead their subordinates based on specific situational circumstances
Describe the path-goal theory of leadership effectiveness.
Based on Situational and Contingency Theory
- by House based on Vroom-Yetton
- Leaders should influence their subordinates in such a way that they develop skills and abilities that complement the resolution of the situation and possible compensate for existing deficiencies in managing it
Four types of appropriate behaviour: 1 Achievement orientation 2 Directive leader behaviour 3 Participate leader behaviour 4 Supportive leader behaviour
! ! ! Sees leadership behavior as process that calls for different strategies dep situation
> leaders have to be able to use all four flexibly
contingency and transactional model that focuses on interaction between leader and employees
Describe the Blake-Mouton managerial grid model.
Based on Situational and Contingency Theory
- Five different leadership styles that are based on factors of employee orientation and task orientation
- leader should be in 9.9 (high/high)
- extensive training problem was created to train people how to get there
- difficult to put into practice due to the length of time required to support employees and pressure to produce
Describe the theory of functional leadership behaviour.
- assumption: managers are expected to behave in a way that facilitates orga efficiency
- success of the orga depends on the effectiveness and cohesion of the group
> leadership is an individual that strengthens the group cohesion and goal orientation and is separated from orga leadership (role clarity and insecurity reduction)
> leader is responsible to do whatever its group needs
two primary behaviours of managers:
1 testing existing structures
2 creating supportive structures that facilitate task fulfilment
Describe the integrated psychological theory.
- Scouller (2011)
- Combines strengths of older theories (attribute, leadership style, situational, function) together
- expands these by adding: Ongoing personal development of the leaders
1 attribute theory - leader is born - are not useful for development of leaders
2 one ideal leadership style cannot be applied to all situations
3 most situational, contingency and functional theories assume that leaders are able to change their behaviour according to circumstances –> difficult in practice due to unconscious beliefs, fears, habits, etc.
> no older theories focus on trust, leadership presence, inspiring others, gaining trust, etc.
Three levels of leadership:
1 public ls
2 private ls
3 personal ls
Public/private = types of behaviour: four dimensions of leadership 1 a shared motivating group purpose 2 measures of progress and results 3 collective unity or team sprit 4 individual selection and motivation
Personal
- internal sate of an invidious can be developed to have a stronger leadership role, presence, know-how and aptitude
1 technical know-how and ability
2 developing correct attitude towards others
(foundation for authentic leadership)
> inner self-control is key towards trusting relationships
What is transactional leadership?
What is transformational leadership?
Transactional:
- relationship between a group and its leader in relation to achieving objectives
- assigning tasks and rewards achievement for performance
- sanctions for non-performance
- focused on instruments of power =employees follow to reach objective
- MBO
Transformational:
- based on transactional with additional dimension
- admiration, trust, and respect shown towards the leader
- leaders are role models:
1 convey connection
2 challenge employees to think critically
3 coach them
4 encourage good performance
5 strive to align employee goals + orga goals
Why is Leadership an emotionally charged process?
- leadership climate has significant impact on employees
1 mood of the individual employees are influenced by leaders and their attitude (“emotional infection”
2 affective tone of the group influences the mood of employees
3 group dynamic process resulting from mutual tasks, efforts and goals all influence feelings
> positive mood improves performance of the group
Leaders must create situations that lead to emotional reactions (feedback, assigning tasks, distributing resources)
Emotional reaction must be understood and handled correctly for the climate (emotional intelligence
Describe the Neo-Emergent Theory.
- Oxford School of Leadership
- leadership mainly takes place through transmission or orga of information about leaders and their behaviour
- not really based on actual actions of leaders
e. g. American elections:
- based on political motivation
- highly edited press releases
- public is steered towards special emotional reactions
Why are roles important for Leadership?
What are characteristics of roles?
- leadership cannot be understood by simply analysing attributes and actions of leaders
- leadership should be considered an event created in the interaction between individuals assuming the roles of leader and follower
- roles can be defined as the actual and tangible forms which the self takes - every role is a fusion of private and collective elements. Every role has a private and a collective side
1 Roles are specific
2 Roles are formed by the individual
3 Roles are the result of individual skill and the expectation of the group
What are groups?
What is important as a result for managers?
- defined as communicative networks and conventionally some form of leadership
- common objective that connects and unifies members
- each member in group has an allocated task
- interaction patterns within a group evolve over time to clarify who does what when
- role can thus be considered a socially defined pattern that is expected of a group member
Important:
> roles in a group are independent of role-bearer, because what is expected of the role-bearer does not change, regardless of whom has undertaken the role
> difference between personal behaviour and role behaviour
What functional roles exist?
1 Initiator: Suggests new direction, solution, procedure
2 Information seeker: questions new ideas, checks for validity and accuracy
3 Information giver: consults on expert opinions, facts, etc.
4 Opinion seeker: tries to find relevant values and beliefs to solve team task, focused on opinion instead of facts
5 Opinion giver: contributes values and beliefs
6 Evaluator: develops concepts, rate proposals for practicability, logic, etc.
7 Doer: does what the team assigned them
8 Internal rules and regulations practitioner: takes care of group necessities, follows procedure, etc.
9 Secretary: takes minutes, writes reports
What are socio-emotional roles?
1 Encourager:
- gives others positive feedback
- praises, rewards, supports
2 Peacemaker:
- acts as diplomat and is responsible for consensus
- tries to reach agreement
3 Compromise maker:
- tries to defuse conflicts through compromises and avoidance
4 Tension appeaser:
- can spontaneously break the ice, facilitates friendly atmosphere
- can help others relax and diffuse tension
5 Confronter:
- proactive in preventing the team from conflicts
- opposes excessive coziness that impacts on performance
What are destructive roles?
1 Chatter: takes long to say something
2 Pedant: always includes unimportant details
3 Inspiration producer: normally says the first good idea
4 Definer: fights tooth and nail about concepts
5 Fence sitter: does not want to and will not commit
6 Defeatist: constantly voices an uneasy feeling without constructive sugg.
7 Procrastinator: postpones everything till later when more facts are available
8 Troublemaker: chats so loudly that overall process is disturbed
9 Personalizer: takes everything personally and is offended
10 Manipulator: want to influence people with praise and flattery
11: dominator expects to get her way in everything
What is important for managers about role types?
- functional, socio-emotional, destructive roles
- each individual can take on different roles or even several roles at a time
- depending on situation the contribution of all roles types should be acknowledged
- recognising different roles is a very big challenge for managers
- leaders are subject to different expectation as they correspond with different role types
> Focus Leadership: offset and unite the differences of the group members in their different roles and ensure no-one is frozen
role type and situational context go together
responding appropriately to different role patters and their demands, maintaining fairness between roles and respecting strengths and limitations
Describe the relationship between organisational structures and status structures.
Orga structures:
- rights and requirements are defined
- positions are associated with normative expectations that dictate preferred behaviour and attributes of role-bearer
Social structure:
- due to remuneration and influence differences
- co-existing with orga structure
- subject to different expectations
What different expectations in corporate contexts can be formulated?
1 must expectations: normally formulated as laws
2 should expectations: usually based on social norms within reference group
3 could expectations: extend beyond the actual requirements of the role
- expectations vary based on individuals social position
- expectations of specific roles are not uniformly defined throughout society
- role expectations and role patterns come with its formal orga structure
What are norms?
- behaviour regulating components of human society
- norms satisfy human needs and are created in social processes
- acceptable behaviour of members in group
> critical to understand norms as violations could result in actions ranging from written warning to dismissal of employee
> new colleagues are often compelled to the norms of the workplace which can prevent them from bringing in external know-how
What are the options regarding social norms for human beings?
1 compliance:
- enables the individual to improve her confidence in her own judgment and actions, enhances the cooperations and efficiency of the group, and gives rise to feelings of security and social identity
- motivation of individual to follow norm usually corresponds to acceptance in the group
2 violation:
- if norms are violated it is considered to be in crisis of legitimacy
What are sanctions?
- deviations from expected behavioural norms
- enforce adherence to behavioural strandads
- can be positive or negative
- punishing deviant behaviour or
- rewarding conforming behaviour (fulfilment of could expectations)
- negative sanctions are widespread from signals of disapproval to mockery, exclusion, etc.
- punishment has a paradoxical effect = more deviant behaviour
What is role pressure?
What are possibilities to deal with it?
- expectations on role-bearer may result in role pressure
- role-bearer has to behave in a way that does not correspond with her personality, that she inwardly rejects or where the role expectations are too repressive
Possibilities to deal with it:
- manager can view this task as unimportant role requirement and ignore t he enforcement of dismissal
- manager can screen her actions from social visibility
- manager can delegate her role obligations to the HR department
- manager can show solidarity and possibly exert pressure on powers to reverse action
- manager can break off the role relationship
What is a role conflict?
What types are there?
- if role experienced by a person conflicts with their self-perception, a person-role conflict arises
- person must take on different roles but behaviour is only based on the expectations of a single role
- role conflict cannot be avoided
Types:
Inter-sender conflict:
- manager is expected to be physically present at their workplace by her subordinates but is also expected by clients to make frequent visits to external sites
Intra-sender conflict:
- employer does not permit overtime but still requires that all tasks be finished according to strict deadlines
> decisions about which expectations to fulfil depends on:
- sanctions
- legitimacy
- balance
Describe sanction balance.
Sanction balance is basically the evaluation of whether violating a norm will lead to a serious punishment or not
- roles expectations and identity is defined by learning and negotiation of roles
- perception, experience and observation over time
- observing other managers and finding accordance with own identity
- the greater the sanction balance the better the willingness to work in that role
extrinsic consequences: stimulated by playing the role
intrinsic consequences: arising from the role itself
Describe role price.
- when considering a new role or considering changes to an existing role, managers must consider how much to invest in such a role
setting a role price depends on:
- factors of motivation: interest sufficient to generate high performance
- sanctions: high achievements are honoured?
- relationship: prestige gain?
Describe the theory of role balance.
What’s determining role balance?
- explain aspects of the decision to take on a role, either voluntarily or forced
Probability of taking on a role determined by:
- balance of social pressure to take on the role
- ability to perform the role
- discrepancy between benefits and costs
- ambiguity
- potential for conflict
- degree of identification
- previously held roles
Describe role identification.
- role balances determines to what extent an individual commits to the role
- individual loses himself in the role transferring this to others –> very positive
- not identifying with the role and under-performing
- role distance = extent to which an individual maintains a degree of removal between their self and their roles
What are the most important qualities employees want in a boss?
1 truthfulness and authenticity 2 competence in dealing with conflicts 3 enthusiasm 4 Ability to work under pressure 5 Assertiveness 6 Empathy 7 Expertise
Describe the leadership quality Truthfulness and Authenticity.
- constantly evaluated by employees and influences role balances
- authenticity: originality and uniqueness and the singularity of an individual
- being your true self
- self-contiousness, self-distance, self-awareness, self-assessment and self-reflection
Pre-requisits of authenticity are:
- connection with one’s body (embodiment) as foundation for personal identity
- emotionality (affected and touched by experience)
- ability to make decisions and express one’s own will, evaluations, etc.
- stable personality (unique, singular, distinct)
- actions the allow the individual to experience himself
Truthfulness = associated with honesty, dependability, and managing info with integrity Credibility = characteristic attributed to the leader when employees experience truthfulness
What is trust and why is it important?
- means giving up control and is a condition occurring when somewhere between knowledge and ignorance
- risk-laden decision - risk of being disappointed, losing trust or bearing negative consequences
- violation of trust is very difficult to recover from
Describe the leadership quality Handling Conflicts.
What is a conflict?
- conflict sustainment, escalation or resolution happens through behaviour, communication patterns, and various interpretations, assessments and explanations
- managers take all this into account exposing the conflict mechanism and proactively deal with the factors leading to escalation to maintain harmony
Conflict:
- common area of conflict
- different intended actions
- presence of negative feelings
- mutual attempts to influence or interfere with interpretations, explanations, evaluations of the other party
- conflicts differ from problems due to the negative emotional state associated with them, strong impulse to act and are irrational
How can a conflict be detected?
behaviour can be observed before conflict arises:
- increasingly unfriendly
- sarcastic comments
- avoid someone
- block important info
- sabotage decisions
- react with verbal aggression
Typical Signal in situations of conflict:
- aggression and hostility: verbal attacks, intentional mistakes, angry looks
- disintrest: turing out “work-to-rule” behaviour
- rejection and resistance: constant verbal and non-verbal contra
- unreasonableness and stubbornness: riding and bossy behaviour and unwillingness to change
- escape: avoiding interaction and elusive behaviour
- hyper-conformity: over-adapted behaviour and “fake” friendliness
How can conflicts be handled best?
- Employees expect managers to recognise signals and develop coping strategies suited to the conflict
- proactive conflict management
- working capacity of group is seriously jeopardised by emotionality of conflict
- managers with employees are expected to provide a realistic assessment of the situation and the team and create a win-win situation
What are conflicts in groups?
Which typical conflict can occur?
- person does not agree with opinion or behaviour of the whole group
- pressure is placed on group
- people in hierarchy can feel their positions being challenged
- being able to constructively deal with objections
- if person in group does not speak out, this can cause an intra-personal conflict where an individual place the opinion of the collective above their own opinion
Typical conflict:
- relationship conflict: intrapersonal problem
- factual conflict: different notions about how to gain customers
- value conflict: different attitudes to work
- power conflict
- distribution conflict: who gets which advantages
> best way to deal with conflicts is not necessarily to prevent them but deal with them accordingly
opposition is a form of conflict that is hidden and silent until it flares up
resistance must be recognised and questioned before it rises up and causes real conflicts
What are conflict resolution patters according to Matzat?
- process that enables formal rational analysis by contrasting the unpleasant state with desirable state
- opposing parties look for all conceivable ways of reaching the desirable state and when possible solutions are chosen together
- final step is review, goal monitoring, and revision are implemented
What are phases in the conflict resolution procedure?
1 Perception of the unconformable state
Q: what is happening
A: using verbs and suitable nouns to describe current state NOT measure
2 Short-term goal that is comfortable. desirable state
Q: What should be happening?
A: describe goal NOT measure
3 Time planning
Q: how much time is available for each phase?
A: determine percentages of time on each phase
4 Cause analysis
Q: Why is it like this
A: list reasons for the state described
5 Tasks (eliminate the cause OR brainstorm measures) Q: What do I have to do? What does my counterpart need to do? A: list conceivable measures not possible measures
6 Goal
Q: What for? Not why
A: describe the highest common goal the these measures could lead to
7 Conditions
Q: What do I need? What do I have? Gap
A: what needs to happen, what has happened, etc.
8 Limitations
Q: what I am not allowed to do?
A: are measures acceptable?
9 Feasibility check
A: check planned measures
10 alternatives
Q: alternatives conceivable
A: how big is the advantage
11 Decision
A: best solution and least bad solution
12 Feasibility planning
Q: Who should do what, when, where, how, how long, until when?
13 Execution
Q: are you ready
A: act
14 Review
15 Goal check
16 cause analysis
Q: why did I achieve the result?
A: explain why you have achieved it
17 Revision
Q: what will I continue to do?
A: describe what needs to continue
18 Documentation and presentation of approach
Describe the leadership quality Enthusiasm.
- refers to elation or rapture for something, increased pleasure for certain topics or actions, extreme commitment to a cause or intense interest in a field
- personal competence (life satisfaction does not depend on others, status symbols or materialistic incentives)
- sense of self:
- reading one’s own emotions
- recognising relationship between emotions and what one might think, do, say
- being aware of strengths and weaknesses
- self-control and motivation not to lose sight of goal
> enthusiasm of manager leads to reciprocated effect in employees (better organisation, optimisation and development of personal competences)
What are special behavioural patters of enthusiastic leaders?
1 they are cooperative 2 they pass on info 3 they are communicative 4 they have self control 5 they are able to manage themselves 6 they set good examples 7 they have the ability to listen 8 they are good judges of character 9 they give employees room to develop 10 they identify with mission of the orga 11 the are capable of making decisions 12 they provide purpose (vision) to allow future development
What are typical pressures on managers?
What is the implication for managers?
1 Pressure from work tasks
- intense concentration to understand and analyse incomplete info
- decision pressure
- responsibility pressure
- highly fragmented tasks
- unforeseen work interruptions
2 Pressure from work roles
- sandwiched between roles
- conflict and difficult transitions between prof and non-prof roles
- conflict of values
- time pressure
- high workload
- lack of info
- lack of feedback
3 Pressure from working hours
- long working hours
- working in the evening or weekends
- few breaks
- limited time for vacation
> managers are expected to juggle these interest
managers cannot expect to receive social/emotional credit
managers have to deal with self isolation
managers are expected to lend sympathetic ear to all their concerns all the time
very important factor is psychological resilience and emotional stability
What is expected of managers by employees?
> managers are expected to juggle these interest
managers cannot expect to receive social/emotional credit
managers have to deal with self isolation
managers are expected to lend sympathetic ear to all their concerns all the time
very important factor is psychological resilience and emotional stability
Describe the leadership quality Assertiveness.
- employees expect managers to take clear stance and enforce certain decisions (even if they are not personally in agreement)
- assertiveness from a leader creates safety and is associated with strength
- leads to winner-loser situation
- expectation of managers is to be assertive and artful in their expression
> assertiveness needs to be enacted alongside problem solving, negotiation and demonstration of empathy
Describe the leadership quality Empathy.
What types are there?
- ability to see a situation or problem or an action from the position of the other parties concerned
- understanding and reflection of different perspectives
- not the same as compassion
- compassion: manager talks to employee and becomes equally frustrated by his concerns and overwhelmed by the sheer hopelessness
- empathy = manager reflects on the situation with employee and considers what options are available
Cognitive empathy:
- remains emotionally distant, yet is aware of the significant impact of their responses on the patient
- role of manager
- congruence: frankness and honesty
- empathy: ability to feel what client feels
- respect: acceptance and positive attitude
Emotional empathy:
- same as compassion
Describe expertise as a management competence.
- proficiency in the manager’s own field
- constant willingness to learn
- managerial expertise = social intelligence and competence
Managerial expertise:
1 analytical thinking
2 structured thinking
3 logistical thinking
4 contextual thinking
5 creative thinking
6 establishing and cultivating contact with employees
7 conducting talks
8 enforcing decisions
9 enduring and solving conflict situations
10 meeting the responsibility to react to discrimination behaviour towards employees
Describe the interaction between different managerial functions and leadership styles.
1 Authoritarian:
- View of Employees: Machine/subject
- Power of the manager: through hierarchy
- Decisions: like command from top
- Type of control: totalitarian
- Motivation: through fear
2 Bureaucratic:
- View of Employees: anonymous factor
- Power of the manager: based on orga
- Decisions: written instruction
- Type of control: reports and inspection
- Motivation: as system integrity
3 Patriachic:
- View of Employees: child/subordinate
- Power of the manager: father figure
- Decisions: instructive explanation
- Type of control: based on feelings
- Motivation: through dependence
4 Cooperative / participatory:
- View of Employees: employee on equal terms
- Power of the manager: though personality
- Decisions: through persuasion
- Type of control: through the manager
- Motivation: through positive feedback
5 Laissez-faire:
- View of Employees: individual
- Power of the manager: as an equal
- Decisions: through voting
- Type of control: self-regulating
- Motivation: as freedom
Describe the authoritarian leadership behaviour.
1 Authoritarian:
- View of Employees: Machine/subject
- Power of the manager: through hierarchy
- Decisions: like command from top
- Type of control: totalitarian
- Motivation: through fear
Describe the bureaucratic leadership behaviour.
2 Bureaucratic:
- View of Employees: anonymous factor
- Power of the manager: based on orga
- Decisions: written instruction
- Type of control: reports and inspection
- Motivation: as system integrity
Describe the patriarchic leadership behaviour.
3 Patriachic:
- View of Employees: child/subordinate
- Power of the manager: father figure
- Decisions: instructive explanation
- Type of control: based on feelings
- Motivation: through dependence
Describe the cooperative / participatory leadership behaviour.
4 Cooperative / participatory:
- View of Employees: employee on equal terms
- Power of the manager: though personality
- Decisions: through persuasion
- Type of control: through the manager
- Motivation: through positive feedback
Describe the laissez-faire leadership behaviour.
5 Laissez-faire:
- View of Employees: individual
- Power of the manager: as an equal
- Decisions: through voting
- Type of control: self-regulating
- Motivation: as freedom
Describe the self-concept of a manager.
- before dealing with other people and even taking responsibility for them, one should look critically at oneself.
- characteristics, abilities, typical behaviour of oneself
- sense of self-worthiness
- self-concept can be learned / unlearned
- accumulation of pictures of one’s self in context of different situations
- knowledge of why and how one makes decisions, who is influenced and how one feels about making decisions
> positive self-concept = open for new experiences, integrates awareness into behaviour, and attains a congruence between self-concept and experiences, leading to stability of self and satisfaction
