Leadership Flashcards
Leadership
act of influencing others towards a goal
- often requires getting people to modify other attitudes or behaviors
leadership attribution error
- people have a tendency to over-attribute blame (credit) to the leaders when a group experiences failure/success
- people often discount other potential explanations for group’s shortcomings in favor of an explanation about leadership
managers
- direct, control, and plan the work of other and is responsible for results
- role of management: make organizational processes operate smoothly and function
leaders
- establish direction, motivate others, and promote team cohesion
- role of leadership: create a vision and environment that motivates and inspires people to make the vision a reality
leader vs. management
- role of management: make organizational processes operate smoothly and function
- role of leadership: create a vision and environment that motivates and inspires people to make the vision a reality
trait approach
- earliest studies of leadership sought to identify a set of traits that distinguished leaders form nonreaders
trait approach - individual differences
individual differences -> leader emergence
- general IQ
- EQ
- extraversion
- conscientiousness
- openness
- self esteem
trait approach limitations
- ignore the situation and context in which leadership occurs
- little evidence that these traits matter for leader effectiveness
- inconsistencies with traits across different leaders
Behavioral styles
- task oriented (initiating)
- people- oriented (consideration)
behavioral approach
- research shifted attention away from traits and towards studying behaviors
- what behavior made others perceive people as leaders
Task-Oriented (Initiating)
structure rile of subordinates, provide instructions, assign specific tasks
- works best when employees have external locus of control
People-Oriented (Consideration)
show concern and consideration for employee feelings and attitudes
- works best when employees have internal locus of control
Behavioral Approach Limitations
- also ignores situations in which leadership is happening
- demonstrating both behavioral styles has not been associated with leader effectiveness
- not all employees view or interpret leader behavior the same way
contemporary approach
- approaches to understand leadership become more nuanced and cognizant of situations and context
- contemporary approaches acknowledge there are no universal traits or behavior
- rather, effective leaders recognize and account for individual differences in their employees and adapt their techniques accordingly
Contemporary approach
- transformational
- leader-member exchange
- servant
- authentic
- all four have been demonstrated to be effective forms of leadership
transformational leadership
theory: Leader effectiveness is determined be leader’s charisma
- charisma determines how effectively leaders can motivate, inspire, and intellectually stimulate employees
Charisma
- Ability to attract and charm other people
- a magnetic-like quality that fuels feelings of admiration
base of charisma
- evidence suggests charisma comes from learned behaviors
- another base of charisma is power and there are many bases of power
- not genetic
examples of charisma
articulating a clear vision, setting challenging goals, encouraging others through adversity
Leader- Member Exchange LMX
Theory: leader effectiveness is not determined by leader’s qualities, but by the quality of the relationship between leader and follower
- high quality LMX is marked by trust between leaders and employee
how to establish high LMX
- high levels of interactional justice
- real time justice
- mentorship and opportunities for development
servant leadership
Theory: leader’s effectiveness is determined by how well a leader serves the need of others
- employees who feel like their leaders understand their personal needs and care about their well-being tend to be more committed
- associated with employees citizenship behaviors (+)
Authentic Leadership
Theory: effective leaders stay true to their own values
- Authentic leaders avoid trying to fit into societal expectations or imitate other leaders
- instead use their own life experiences and values to formulate leadership styles
- employees are more likely to trust leaders when they perceive authenticity
Unlocking Leadership Potential
- the best leaders constantly adapt and draw from different leadership styles
- a single approach to leadership will yield moderate performance results at best over the long run.
