Week 1 - Introduction

Question 1

What is leadership?

Answer 1

A process of social influence in which one person is able to enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task.

Question 2

What is the difference between power and leadership?

Answer 2

If you have power you can just force people to do things. Leadership on the other hand is about motivating and inspiring people to do things, rather than to control them, force them to do what you want them to do.

So power is more about control over resources, leadership is about social influence.

Question 3

What are the three early theories/approaches of leadership?

Answer 3

• Trait approach
• Behavioural approach
• Contingency approach

Question 4

What is the basic idea of contingency theory of leadership?

Answer 4

That the most effective leadership style (task or relationship oriented) depends on the situation (predictability and control):

• Unpredictable: When the situation is very unpredictable, then teams usually need very task oriented leadership. They need somebody who tells them what to do in this unpredictable setting.
• Predictable: When the situation is highly predictable and the team knows exactly what to do, you don’t need to be very supportive or person focussed.
• In between: Less task-oriented, more person-oriented leadership.

Question 5

What is situational leadership theory, and what theory is it part of?

Answer 5

It is part of the Contingency approach. The model is similar to the managerial grid, but posits that the type of leadership you need, depends on the maturity of the follower(s).

Question 6

Which 4 quadrants does situational leadership consist of?

Answer 6

Delegating (-supportive, -directive)
Supporting (+supportive, -directive)
Coaching (+supportive, +directive)
Directing (-supportive, +directive)

Question 7

What is the difference between normative decision theory and the contingency model?

Answer 7

In situation of low-control:

Contingency model: directive leader (to ensure group performance)
Normative model: participative leader (for long term use)

Question 8

What is attribution theory and why did it become relevant?

Answer 8

Attribution theory came into play when people started to become interested in how followers perceived (good) leaders. Because these views may be strongly biased, attribution theory tried to explain these evaluations.

According to Lord, attribution is based on 2 processes:

• Recognition p.= Observers hold prototypes of leaders. If leader behaviour matches the prototype -> seen as good leader. Judgement stays, no matter new evidence.
• Inferential p. = Observers are likely to infer the presence of good leadership from evidence of group success.

Question 9

Leaders perceive their followers in a certain way. These judgements are susceptible to fundamental attribution error. What is this?

Answer 9

Performance is more likely to be ascribed to internal, personal causes (like motivation or ability) than to external causes (like poor training or support). The fact that leaders are often held accountable for the poor performance of their subordinates (as a team effort) strengthens this tendency even further.

Question 10

Which 2 types of leadership are important?

Answer 10

Transformational and transactional.

Question 11

What is transactional leadership?

And which 3 categories belong to this type?

Answer 11

Relationship to followers based on mutually beneficial transactions.

• Laissez-faire
• Management by exception
• Contingent reward

Question 12

What is transformational leadership?

And which 4 categories belong to this type?

Answer 12

Influence followers to transcend personal interests and care for the collective achievement.

• Idealized influence
• Inspirational motivation
• Intellectual stimulation
• Individualized consideration

Question 13

The Chemers article concludes by providing a functional integration of what leaders must do to influence followers towards goal attainment. Which 3 aspects are mentioned?

Answer 13

1. Establish legitimacy: appear competent and trustworthy to followers (image management).
2. Guide and support: Coach followers in a way that allows them to contribute to group goal attainment while satisfying their own needs and goals.
3. Group mission: Leaders must use their skills and abilities and those of the group to accomplish the group mission.

Question 14

What is power?

Answer 14

Power is the relative control over other individuals or over valued resources in social relations.

Question 15

Which 5 power bases do French and Raven distinguish?

Answer 15

Legitimate
Reward
Coercive
Expert
Referent