Leadership

Question 1

Describe the roles of leaders in a business setting.

Answer 1

• Takes responsibility for the success of the business
• A willingness to accept diversity of thought and approach
• The willingness to accept everyone as important and worthwhile people
• A willingness to make a commitment to the value of others
• A passion to prepare others for success irrespective of one’s own personal gain from the experience

Question 2

Can leadership be taught/learned?

Answer 2

There are suggestions that leadership is inherent. Can teach some parts of leadership but some people are just naturally good leaders.
Perhaps if the desire is there and the individual truly wants to make the changes to become a charismatic leader, then that can be taught

Question 3

List and describe three models of leadership.

Answer 3

Trait theory of leadership - leaders possess personality traits that enable them to lead. Studies indicate that those higher in intelligence, energetic and skilled in social participation are often successful leaders

Style theory of leadership - trait theory was not so helpful so emphasis fell on what leaders actually do. Study analysing three leadership styles; autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire found that those with the democratic leader were both happier and most productive.

Contingency theories of leadership - attention focused upon the situation or context in which leadership occurred. What kind of leadership behaviour will produce the most effective response from people in a given situation? Leadership behaviour contingent upon the context within which the leader was operating. Studies suggest task-focused or interperonsal-focused.

Question 4

Describe two types of leadership styles.

Answer 4

Transformational leadership - transforms followers’ needs, elevating them to higher levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy. Includes four components

• Idealistically influential by establishing high standards and goals
• Inspirationally motivating by providing followers with challenges, purpose and understanding of mutual objectives
• Intellectually stimulating
• Individually considerate by providing support, mentoring and coaching while accepting individual differences.

Transactional leadership – focus on supervision, organisation and performance. Promotes compliance by followers through both rewards and punishments. Concerned with status quo and day-to-day progress towards goals

Question 5

According to Leiberman et al. (1973), what are the four main aspects which determine leadership effectiveness?

Answer 5

Executive control - setting parameters, establishing rules and limits, managing time
Emotional stimulation - uncover and encourage expression of feelings, values and personal attitudes
Caring - concerned with wellbeing of members
Meaning attribution - helping members to develop their ability to understand themselves, each other and people outside the group, as well as what they may change in their lives

Question 6

Explain Sherwood’s Dance.

Answer 6

There are a set of unconscious transactions between a newly-designated leader and an existing group which directly impact on the effectiveness of the leader and of the group. The process of empowering leaders begin in the group.
There are 6 steps to the dance
- Declaration and acceptance - new leader joining the group, group testing the leader. Getting used to one another
- Demonstration and perception - leader needs to demonstrate that they have accepted the group’s identity
- Acknowledgment and acceptance - leader demonstrates compliance with past practice, meaning the group will perceive the leader’s validation of them as a group
- Evocation and acceptance - once empowered by the group, the leader has more options
- Discovery and acknowledgement - leader should introduce some change with a degree of success. Group members discover they can do things differently with this leader
- Innovation and satisfaction - the leader is now free to innovate

Question 7

What is impression formation? Describe Asch’s Impression Formation study.

Answer 7

Impression formation is the process by which individual pieces of information about another person are integrated to form a global impression of the individual

Asch’s study - study of interpersonal perception. The traits we believe a person to possess are the most important factors in establishing our overall impression.
We form an impression of the entire person. WE do not see a person as consisting of these individual traits, but we try to get at the root of the personality. The traits are perceived in relation to one another.
- Subjects were read a number of discrete characteristics, said to belong to a person. They were then given a checklist of pairs of traits, mostly opposites, from which they had to select one which was most in accordance with the view they had formed
- Characteristics:
Intelligent, skilful, industrious, warm, determined, practical, cautious
Intelligent, skilful, industrious, cold, determined, practical, cautious
- A change in one character-quality produced a widespread change in the entire impression
- The given characteristics do not all have the same weight for the subject
- Conclusion: individuals form dynamic impressions of others, based on more valanced or important character traits first, with supporting or peripheral traits given lesser weight