psychology of leadership Flashcards
overall definition of leadership
having social influence over a group of people
components of leadership
- process
- involves influencing others
- within the context of a group
- involves goal attainment
- goals are shared by leaders and followers
*this view of leadership suggests that it is not a trait or characteristic endowed at birth
leadership as a process
it is a two-way interaction, available to everyone, not restricted to one person with formal position power
trait vs process: trait
- emphasises attributes such as personality, motives, values and skills
- certain individuals have special innate characteristics that differentiate them from non-leaders
- suggests that leadership is inherent in a few select people and restricted to only those with those attributes
trait vs process: process
- implies that leadership is a phenomenon that is contextual
- leadership is a property or a set of properties possessed in varying degrees by different people
- suggests that anyone is capable of exercising leadership and can be learned through observing behaviours
assigned leadership
appointment of people to formal positions of authority, ie. vote/random assign to choose someone as the leader
emergent leadership
when a group member becomes a leader because of how other members respond to them, ie. treat them with respect, look up to them, others perceive the person to be the most influential member regardless of their title
types of power
- referent power
- expert power
- legitimate power
- reward power
- coercive power
what is power
power is the capacity or potential to influence, the ability to affect others’ beliefs, attitudes, and actions
ie. if you have power, you can be a leader
referent power
based on followers’ identification and liking for the leader
eg. a teacher who is adored by students has referent power
what types of power fall under ‘position power’
legitimate, reward, coercive
what types of power fall under ‘personal power’
referent, expert
expert power
based on followers’ perceptions of the leader’s competence
eg. a tour guide who is knowledgeable about a foreign country has expert power
legitimate power
associated with having status or formal job authority
eg. a judge who administers sentences in the courtroom
reward power
derived from having the capacity to provide rewards to others
eg. a supervisor who gives rewards to employees who work hard is using reward power
coercive power
derived from having the capacity to penalise or punish others
eg. a coach who sits players on the bench for being late to practice is using coercive power
what is position power?
power that comes from holding a particular office position or rank
what is personal power?
the capacity to influence that comes form being viewed as knowledgeable and likeable by followers
abusing position power leads to…
erode the ability of a leader to influence people, bc the do not like you, too domineering etc
managers vs leaders: managers
- more transactional
- focused on solving problems, stress calculations and rationality, plan, organise, and problem solve
- minimal emotional involvement
managers vs leaders: leaders
- more transformational (but not all leaders?)
- more emotionally involved, seek to shape ideas instead of reacting to ideas, stress commitment, view organisations with an integrative perspective, rooted in integrity, set a direction, align people, motivate and inspire
manager vs leader (Zaleznik, 1977)
manager: solve problems, minimal emotional involvement
leader: emotionally involved, seek to shape ideas instead of just reacting
manager vs leader (Mintzberg, 1998)
manager: lead using a cerebral face (more analytical and fact-based approach to leadership)
- stress calculations
- view org as components of a portfolio
- operates with words and numbers of rationality
leader: lead using an insightful face
- stress commitment
- view org with an integrative perspective
manager vs leader (Kotter, 1998)
manager: plan, organise, control and problem solve
leader: set a direction, align people, motive and inspire
manager vs leader (Rowe, 2001)
manager: believes that the decisions they make are influenced by the company and the industry it is in, they believe that they do not have the freedom to make any decision they wish to but is restrained to the company and industry they are in
leader: believes that the choices they make will affect their organisation and that this will then affect and shape the industry in which they operate in
quantitative approach
- testing theoretical propositions and generating explanation
- assumes that leadership can be measured as a phenomenon that is static (instead of dynamic and ever-changing), well-delineated and with universal dimensions
- lab experiements, field experiments, field studies, survey research
limitations of quantitative approach
qualitative approach
limitations of qualitative approach
benefits of qualitative approach
grounded theory
steps in grounded theory
the “Great Person” theory
focused on identifying the inherent characteristics and qualities of leaders who were considered to be great (1900s)
Stogdill (1948)
- traits interact with situational demands
- some traits are more important than others in certain situations
Mann (1959)
- less emphasis on situations
- suggests that personality traits could differentiate leaders from non-leaders
Stogdill (1974)
- 10 traits associated with leadership in a positive way
1. achievement
2. persistence
3. insight
4. initiative
5. self-confidence
6. responsibility
7. cooperativeness
8. tolerance
9. influence
10. sociability
Lord, DeVader & Alliger (1986)
personality traits can be used to distinguish leaders
- intelligence
- masculinity
- dominance
Kirkpatrick & Locke (1991)
6 traits that leaders and non-leaders differ on
1. drive
2. motivation
3. integrity
4. confidence
5. cognitive ability
6. task knowledge
today’s 5 major leadership traits
- intelligence
- self-confidence
- determination
- integrity
- sociability
intelligence
intellectual ability, including verbal, perceptual, and reasoning ability –> can persuade followers to listen to their view, and have confidence that what they say is what is best
both crystalised and fluid intelligence is important as a leader
*may be counterproductive if the leader’s intelligence is much higher than the followers one bc then there is communication breakdown or maybe ego clashes
crystalised intelligence
knowledge, facts
fluid intelligence
ability to solve unique problems, conceptual ideas
self-confidence
- positive perspective on their ability to make judgements and decisions
- assured of your skills
- able to express that confidence
- being cool, calm, and collected in a crisis situation
determination
have a desire to get the job done, be willing to be assertive, proactive and to persevere when the going gets tough
integrity
being trustworthy and honest, take responsibility, consistent between what you believe, think, and do (not flip flopity)
be true to what you stand for
sociability
inclination to seek out pleasant social relationships, empathetic, friendly, above avg interpersonal skills
emotional inteligence
- ability to perceive and express emotions (even the more nuanced emotions, not just happy, sad, angry)
- encompass both social and personal competence
5-factor personality model
openness
conscientiousness
extraversion
agreeableness
neuroticism
openness
be informed, creative, insightful and curious
conscientiousness
thorough, organised, dependable, decisive
extraversion
sociable, assertive and have positive energy
agreeableness
accepting, conforming, trusting, nurturing
neuroticism
emotional
criticisms of 5-factor model
- does not account for honesty
- some think 3 or 7 better, not 5
- only a taxonomy, not a theory of personality
- HEXACO
big 5 and leadership
strong relationship between leadership and personality traits (although this is only among a few leaders)
rank big 5 in leadership
- extraversion
- conscientiousness
- openness
- neuroticism (same rank as 3, but more negative)
- agreeableness
motivation to lead definition
individual differences that affect a person’s decision to assume leadership training, roles, and responsibilities
is what affects their intensity of effort at leading and persistence as a leader
3 components of MTL
- affective
- social-normative
- non-calculative
affective mtl
like to lead
social-normative mtl
have a sense of duty
non-calculative mtl
not calculative of the costs of leading relative to the benefits
vertical collectivism
individual is part of the greater whole, accepting of inequalities
horizontal collectivism
individual is part of the greater whole, equality is stressed
vertical individualism
autonomous individual, focus on hierarchy
horizontal individualism
autonomous individual, emphasis on equality
criticisms of trait
- endless lists
- does not take into account situation
- highly subjective
- not useful in training
- leaders are born, cannot be developed
3Cs of leaders
competencies, commitment, character
competencies
skills, knowledge, understanding (relationships), judgement (intuition)
- people, organisational, business, strategic (intellect)
what a person CAN do
commitment
hard work
- aspiration, engagement, sacrifice
what a person WANTs to do
character
values, traits and virtues
what a person WILL do
character dimensions (virtues)
- judgement
- justice
- integrity
- courage
- collaboration
- accountability
- humility
- humanity
- temperance
- transcendence
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judgement
quality decisions, caculated risk-taking
humanity
social responsibility, good employee relations
justice
fairness
courage
confidence in decision-making
collaboration
teamwork, diversity
accountability
ownership, commitment to decisions
humility
respect, trust
integrity
trust, honesty
temperance
quality decisions, reduced risk
transcendence
goal-oriented, big-picture thinking, future-oriented
skills approach
leader-centred perspective, skills and abilities can be developed
Katz
technical, human, conceptual
technical skills
knowledge, specialised ability, analytical ability, use of appropriate tools and techniques, hands-on
human skills
know how to work with people
conceptual skills
mental work of shaping meaning of organisational policies and issues, works with abstract and hypothetical notions, creating visions and strategies for the company
Mumford skills-based model
3 components:
- individual attributes, competencies, leader outcomes
affected by:
career experiences, environmental influences
competencies (Mumford skills model)
problem-solving, social judgement, knowledge
individual attributes
general and crystallised cognitive ability, motivation and personality
leadership outcomes
problem-solving, performance
career experiences
challenge, mentoring, training, hands-on experience with novelty
environmental influences
internal: skills of employees, outdated technology
external: economic, political issues, natural disasters
Englert et al. 3-factor model
future-oriented: have a vision
operational focus: technical skills
positive energy: charisma, human skills
crits of skills approach
very broad, weak in predictive value (doesnt explain how skills lead to effective leadership), also includes parts on traits (individual attributes)