Leadership Flashcards
Define Leadership
Leadership is the process whereby an individual influences group members in a way that inspires to achieve the same goal that he/she has identified as important
What did early explanations of leadership focus on?
They focused on the notion that leaders possess certain personality traits that set them apart from individuals
Give an example of an early psychologist’s view on leaders
Francis Galton (1892) believed that leaders were born, not made
What describes a great leader
Great leaders are described as being charismatic or having social/emotional intelligence
Name a Study which criticises the Personality approach
Stogdill (1974)
What did Stogdill (1974) do?
Stogdill (1974) compared the characteristics of leaders to non-leaders.
What did Stogdill (1974) find?
A few charactersitics were correlated with leadership, but the relationships were weak e.g. intelligence, confidence, dominance
However…
the idea and belief that some individuals are better leaders than others due to possessing traits that make them more effective leaders is still argued.
Name the specific personality dimensions that we should focus on
The Big Five
Name the Big Five
Extraversion Agreeableness Conscientiousness Emotional Stability Intellect
Name the Meta-Analysis investigating the Big 5
Judge et al. 2002
What did Judge et al. 2002 find
They found that the Big 5 have an overall correlation of 0.58 with leadership, with all traits as the best predictors of leadership
What is the 2nd Approach
Situational Approach
What does the Situational Approach argue
The Situational approach specifically argues that leadership is not found in the personality of an individual, but in the situation in which they find themselves in
What does the situational approach specifically states
The situational approach states that a leader is who best meets the requirements of the situation of the group’s current situation.
What did Sherif et al. state
Leader’s change when the situation changes. For example when groups move from peace to conflict or vice versa.
Name a study supporting the situational approach
Carter and Nixon (1949)
What did Nixon and Carter (1949) do?
They used children as participants, and put them into pairs to perform 3 different tasks - an intellectual, a clerical and a mechanical task.
What did Nixon and Carter (1949) find?
Those who took the lead on the first 2 tasks, rarely did the same in the mechanical task.
Evaluate Nixon and Carter’s (1949) findings
The former leader’s were displaced by someone with greater intellect, who was better equipped to lead the group successfully in changed circumstances.
Name a study that Evaluates the comaprison between the Personality and Situational approach
Simmonton (1980)
What did Simmonton (1980) do?
Simmonton (1980) analysed the data from 300 military battles, which were all accurately recorded on the general and their armies.
What did Simmonton (1980) find?
Although the situational factors (e.g the size of the army, the structure of command) all correlated with casualties inflicted on the enemy, the personal attribute of the leader as a result of previous experience were also associated with vistory
Name a Case study you can refer to, to evaluate the Situational and Personality approach
Nelson Mandela case
Name a classic study investigating Styles of Leadership
Lippitt and White (1943)
What did Lippitt and White (1943) do?
Studied the effects of different leadership styles on group atmosphere, morale and effectiveness.
Leaders (confederates) trained to adopt 3 different styles: Autocratic, Democratic and Laissez Faire
What did the results show for democratic leaders
Democratic leaders were liked significantly more than both the Autocratic and Laissez faire leaders. They created a friendly, group-centred, task-oriented atmosphere that was associated with high group productivity.
Unaffected by leadership presence or absence.
What did the results show for autocratic leaders
Autocratic leaders created an aggressive, dependent and self-oriented group atmosphere.
Associated with high productivity but only when the leader was present.
What did the results show for laissez-faire leaders
Laissez-faire leaders created a friendly group-centred, but play-oriented atmosphere.
Associated with low productivity which increased only when the leader was absent.
Name another theory of Leader behaviour
Bales (1950)
What did Bales (1950) do?
Observed the interaction styles in problem solving groups
What did Bales (1950) find from his observations?
Distinguished 2 types of groups:
> Task specialists: Task oriented, strongly involved in group’s activities, offer opinions and give directions
> Socio-emotional specialists: group-oriented, focused on the feelings of the other group members.
What did Bale’s (1950) argue?
Leaders are more likely to be task-oriented because leaders with this style should be best able to satisfy group’s goals
Name a study which looks into the importance of the quality of the leader’s relationship with their followers
The Ohio State Leadership Studies
Who carried out the The Ohio State Leadership Studies
Fleishman, 1973; Stogdill, 1974
What did Fleishman, 1973; Stogdill, 1974 distinguish in the studies?
Distinguished two aspects of leader behaviour:
> Initiating structure: Focus on achieving group goal
> Consideration: Focus on maintaining harmonious group relations
What did Fleishman, 1973; Stogdill, 1974 find?
The findings suggested that these were inter-dependent and equally important dimensions of leadership
What can you evaluate from Fleishman, 1973; Stogdill, 1974 study?
The best leaders is someone who can organise group activities but is still attentive to the group members’ feelings
Name a theory of leadership style
Fiedler’s Contingency Theory (1965)
What did Fiedler’s Contingency theory (1965) propose
Fielder, argued that the effectiveness of leadership style is contingent with the situation.
What did Fiedler (1965) say was the most important feature of the situation
The most important feature of the situation is the degree of control. Situational control is determined by 3 aspects:
- Quality of the leader-member relations
- Clarity of the structure of the task
- The authority of the leader
What can we conclude from Fiedler’s Contingency Theory (1965)
Leadership effectiveness is determined by leadership style and situational factors.
What approach did Hogg (1996) argue for
Hogg (1996) argued that the acceptance of leader’s and their effectiveness, should depend on how representative they are perceived to be by the group
What did the Social indentity approach suggest?
According to the SIA what is representative by the group is defined by the group prototype
What is the group prototype?
The group prototype is a neutral representation of the defining features of the group at a given point in time
So what does this mean the group leader is in the Prototypical approach?
The group leader is the person who is most prototypical: The person who embodies what it means to be a group member at that point in time
Name the 4 advantages of the Prototypical Approach
> Thinking about leadership in terms of prototypicality recognises that leaders emerge from within groups
Suggests Leadership is a social process
Its a dynamic perspective that can account for when and why leaders change, as well as how they emerge
Leaders not only lead their groups towards achieving group goals - they also lead their group against other groups
