TBL 1: Leadership Flashcards
Define leadership
The use of influence to direct and coordinate a group of people
Leadership is not only a matter of personal characteristics but also the situation in which leadership occurs
Define personality
A person’s tendency to think, feel or behave a particular way
Which theory of personality is considered fundamental?
the Big 5 theory
What is the Big 5 theory?
People can be compared with each other according to 5 personality traits:
- Extraversion
- Agreeableness
- Conscientiousness
- Emotional stability
- Imagination/Intellect
What is Extraversion?
The need for external stimulation
People who are high in extraversion tend to be outgoing, active and high-spirited
People who are low in extraversion tend to be reserved and serious (but not necessarily shy)
What is Agreeableness?
Receptivity towards others’ perspectives
Those who are high in agreeableness tend to be compassionate, good-natured and avoid conflict
What is Conscientiousness?
Strength of purpose or the drive to goal attainment
Those who are high in conscientiousness tend to be diligent, organised and set high standards
Those who are low in conscientiousness tend to be easy going and less organised (but do not necessarily have low standards)
What is Emotional stability?
The intensity and frequency of negative emotions
Those who are high in emotional stability tend to be secure, hardy and generally relaxed under stressful conditions
What is Imagination/Intellect?
Openness to a range of experiences
Those who are low in imagination tend to be down-to-earth, practical and traditional
What is cognitive style?
The way which a person perceives, remembers or thinks about information
Cognitive style is separate from intelligence or cognitive ability
Describe a model of cognitive style
Adaption vs Innovation
When approaching a task, people who are adaptive prefer to do things better (i.e. more precise, reliable or disciplined).
People who are innovative prefer to do things differently (i.e. more radical or unique)
Describe Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Model
Four main styles of leadership
- all valid and might be used interchangeably depending on the situation and needs of a team
- Directing style
- Coaching style
- Supporting style
- Delegating style
Describe the Directing style (Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Model)
Decisive and give instructions as to how things should be done.
They expect people to follow orders, carry out tasks in accordance with their requirements and see things their way.
Positive aspects of this style:
- Helpful for new and inexperienced team members
- Provide information needed to perform their job to the standard required
- People know what they have to do, how they have to do it and what will happen if they don’t
- Measure of safety and security as people know where they stand.
Negative aspects of this style:
- People who are not allowed to use their initiative quickly become frustrated, bored or rebellious
- Morale and Motivation are likely to dip, often quite dramatically
- Risk of domineering and autocratic behaviour
Describe the Coaching style (Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Model)
Involving people in the decision-making process and is willing to take the time and trouble to help people solve problems.
Positive aspects of this style:
- Given many opportunities to talk things through
- Joint problem-solving approach
- Members appreciate the fact that their manager is willing to work alongside them.
Negative aspects of this style:
- The manager may step in and make decisions that the team members could easily make on their own
- May become too involved in discussions about people’s problems
- Risk of using talking as a substitute for action
Describe the Supporting style (Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Model)
Allows people to take responsibility but they know that the manager is there to give support when needed.
The manager is willing to listen and offer whole hearted support.
Positive aspects of this style:
- Team members are given challenging tasks and projects that stretch them;
- Team members feel encouraged and supported, and have the confidence to be open and honest.
Negative aspects of this style:
- The manager may have difficulty finding time for their own work
- Reluctance to give orders may mean that less experienced members of the team are not sure of their role and responsibilities.
Describe the Delegating style (Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Model)
Give people the freedom to develop their own ideas and take ownership of major tasks and projects.
They are willing to let go and trust team members to do a good job on their own.
Positive aspects of this style include:
- Team members develop quickly because they have to use their initiative
- Team members feel trusted and empowered
Negative aspects of this style:
- The manager may have a tendency to just walk away and let the team get on with it
- Unavailability may seem like abdication of responsibility;
- Even highly experienced team members may experience problems and may be reluctant to discuss them with the manager.
Describe Adair’s action-centred leadership model
Describes 3 interlocking needs of group life, which are to:
- achieve a common task
- maintain good relationships within the team
- meet the needs of individual team members.
Depicted as 3 interconnected circles that combine to ensure that a group or team is productive and effective
Effective leadership involves balancing the three circles appropriately for the context you operate in as a manager.
- May need to focus activities on achieving the needs related to one circle at the expense of the other circles depending on the situation
Describe Tannenbaum and Schmidt’s autocratic-democratic leadership model
Focuses on how decisions are made within a team.
It is a continuous scale with autocracy at one end and democracy at the other.
Different decision making styles can be used depending on:
- The experience level of the team
- The strength of relationships within the team
- The urgency of the decision that needs to be taken and its importance
Describe the different decision making styles in the Tannenbaum and Schmidt’s autocratic-democratic leadership model
- Tells: leader takes the decision alone, without any consultation
- Sells: leader takes the decision alone but sells the benefit to team members
- Tests: leader presents ideas for discussion and pretends to consult (already has chosen preferred option)
- Suggests: leader presents ideas and asks team to decide subject to certain limits and boundaries
- Consults: leader presents ideas for discussion and genuinely consults
- Joins: leader joins the team in decision-making process
- Delegates: leader lets the team decide with no constraints.
Describe the difference between transactional leadership and transformational leadership
Transactional leadership: Focuses on managing people so that they perform as required
Transformational leadership: aims to inspire and motivate people to perform to the best of their ability
Neither is necessarily better than the other - transactional leadership is important as it holds people to minimum standards of safety, even if a transformational leader might encourage people to exceed these standards.
Name a theory of group member interaction
Fundamental Interpersonal Relation Orientation (FIRO)
Describe the FIRO theory
This proposes that each person varies in terms of three interpersonal elements:
- Inclusion
- Control
- Affection
Some people prefer to express a lot of inclusion, control and/or affection, whereas others prefer not to express much of any or all of these.
The best working relationship will be the one where the need that the leader most expresses is the same as the need that the group members most want
Describe the Inclusion element of the FIRO theory
Inclusion concerns forming relationships and associating with others
Leaders with a strong need for inclusion emphasise fairness and team building.
Describe the Control element of the FIRO theory
Control concerns influencing and persuading others.
Leaders with a strong need for control emphasise firmness and directing
