Leadership Theory Exam Flashcards
Define leadership
a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal
Define “trait approach”
One of the first systematic attempts to study leadership that focused on how the innate traits or qualities of an individual influence their leadership
What are the four strengths of the trait approach?
- Intuitively appealing
- Credibility due to a century support of research
- Highlights leadership component in the leadership process
- Provides benchmarks for what to look for in a leader
What are the five criticisms of the trait approach?
- Fails to delimit a definitive list of leadership traits
- List of most important leadership traits is highly subjective
- Not useful for training and development
What are the three ways that we apply the trait approach?
- Provides direction as to which are good to have if one aspires to a leadership position
- Through various tests and questionnaires, individuals can determine whether they have the select leadership traits and can pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses
What are the five most major traits that researchers agree positively influence leadership?
- Intelligence
- Self-confidence
- Determination
- Integrity
- Sociability
What are the Big-Five?
- Neuroticism: the tendency to be depressed, anxious, insecure, vulnerable, and hostile
- Extraversion: the tendency to be sociable and assertive and have positive energy
- Openness: the tendency to be informed, creative, insightful, and curious
- Agreeableness: the tendency to be accepting, conforming, trusting, and nurturing
- Conscientiousness: the tendency to be thorough, organized, controlled, dependable, and decisive
Define behavioral approach
emphasizes behavior of a leader, focusing exclusively on what leaders do and how they act
What two behaviors is the behavioral approach composed of?
Tasks and relationship behaviors
What are the five components of Leadership Grid?
- Authority-Compliance
- Country-Club Management
- Impoverished Management
- Middle-of-the-road management
- Team management
Authority-Compliance
Efficiency in operations results from arranging conditions of work in such a way that human elements interfere to a minimum degree
Country-club management
Thoughtful attention to the needs of the people for satisfying relationships leads to a comfortable, friendly organization atmosphere and work tempo
Impoverished management
Exertion of minimum effort to get required work done as appropriate to sustain organization membership
Middle-of-the-road management
Adequate organization performance is possible through balancing the necessity to get work out while maintaining morale of people at a satisfactory level
Team management
Work accomplishment is from committed people. Interdependence through a common stake in organization purpose leads to relationships of trust and respect
What are three strengths of the behavioral approach?
- It is heuristic (meaning it provides us with a broad conceptual map that is worthwhile to use in our attempts to understand the complexities of leadership
- Validated by research
- Balances tasks and relationship
What are three criticisms of the behavioral approach?
- It mostly reflects the norms and values of US culture rather than all cultures
- It implies that the most effective leadership style is the high-task, high-relationship style
- Has failed to find a universal style of leadership that could be effective in almost every situation
How do you apply the behavioral approach?
- Self-reflect on how you’re doing as a leader
- Managers can adapt to the needs of others
- Many training programs are based on behavioral approach
Define “situational approach”
an approach in which leaders first diagnose the abilities and developmental levels of their subordinates and then adapt their leadership strategies to complement them
What two dimensions are the situational approach based on?
Directive (goal achievement) and supportive (social and emotional support)
List the leadership styles of the situational leadership model from lowest level to highest level
- Directing (Do)
- Coaching (Cats)
- Supporting (Speak)
- Delegating (Dog)
What are three strengths of the situational approach?
- Pratical
- Prescribes specific strategies
- Differential treatment
What are three criticisms of the situational approach?
- Biased
- Doesn’t account for differences in demographics
- Replication studies fail to support it
