Week 1: Leadership Trends Flashcards
Name the six main leadership trends and their respective eras.
- Trait theories - up to late 40s
- Behavioural theories - late 40s-60s
- Contingency theories - late 60s-80s
- Transformational theories - around 1990
- Ethical, servant theories - around 2000
- Value and Meaning theories - around 2015
Link the leadership trend to its main concern:
- Traits
- Style
- Contingency
- Transformational
- Ethical, Servant
- Value, Meanings
A. Vision, Charisma: where do we want to go? B. Who is the leader? C. The moral side D. It all depends on the situation E. What does the leader do? F. How do we pursue our purpose?
- B
- E
- D
- A
- C
- F
Trait theories suggest leaders are _____ with _______ characteristics that set them apart from non-leaders.
They consider how ______, _____ and/or ______ traits differentiate leaders from non-leaders.
born, dispositional
social, physical, intellectual
In terms of the Big 5 framework, _______, ________ and _______ were found to predict leader emergence.
_______ people are more likely to assert themselves in group situations.
extroversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience
extroverted
Conscientiousness is the degree to which
people do their work well, thorough and according to the set rules and guidelines
What physical traits are associated with (but not causal to) leadership?
Weight/Fitness, Height, Gender: these are evolutionarily seen as more dominant, healthy and intelligent
The most important aspect of trait theories is to understand that traits do not predict leader ________, they just are associated to leader _________.
effectiveness, emergence
What leadership trend argues that leaders are not born, but made?
Style theories, popular in the late 60s-80s
Style theories suggest that behaviour is ________ and can be _______. Therefore, leader are not _____, but they are _____.
directly observable, changed
born, formed
How does understanding leadership behaviour affect organisations?
understanding leadership behaviour allows organisations to design leadership talent management systems, in which they hire, develop and promote those skills that are necessary for leadership success.
There are two overarching theories in style leadership - which are they?
Ohio State research
University of Michigan research
In the Ohio State study, ________ and __________ are two separate dimensions on which leaders can score high or low.
Leaders high on _______ engage in many different task-related behaviours, such as _____ or ______.
Leaders high on _______ engage in behaviour that shows supportiveness and concern towards their employees, such as ______ or ______.
initiating structure, consideration
initiating structure, assigning deadlines or monitoring performance levels
consideration, speaking up for their interests or caring for their personal live
In the Ohio State study, consideration concerns how _____ and _____ a leader is towards his followers.
Initiating structure refers to how much a leader emphasises _____ and _______.
friendly and supportive
work goals and accomplishing tasks
In the Ohio State study, 1000 leadership behaviour dimensions were ultimately narrowed down to two (initiating structure and consideration), resulting in 4 leadership styles. What are they?
- low consideration, low initiating structure
- low consideration, high initiating structure
- high consideration, low initiating structure
- high consideration, high initiating structure
- delegating: an employee can be left on their own
- telling: employees have only moderate ability and need direction
- participating: followers have high ability but lack confidence, so they need support and encouragement
- selling: the idea of a task has to be ‘sold’ to the employee
The University of Michigan study tries to identify leadership behaviour related to effective _________.
They identified four categories of such behaviour:
- ____ - all behaviours that motivate employees to accomplish tasks
- ____ - all behaviours that facilitate the work, like clarifying roles or allocating resources
- _____ - behaviours that show concern for subordinates
- _____ - behaviours that help smooth things such as conflicts
______ and ______ are job-centred approaches and can be compared to the ______ dimension in the Ohio State Study.
______ and _____ are employee-centred approaches and can be compared to the ________ dimension in the Ohio State Study.
group performance
- goal emphasis
- work facilitation
- leader support
- interaction facilitation
goal emphasis, work facilitation; initiating structure
leader support, interaction support; consideration
In contrast to the Ohio State study, in the UoM study you can be …
high on only one dimension, in the ohio state research you can score high on two dimensions.
What is the problem with with either one of the style theories (Ohio and Michigan)?
the way in which leader effectiveness is defined; is it simply about meeting organisational goals or about satisfying employees as well?
The most effective leadership style in style theories depends on what criteria you use to judge effectiveness.
Consideration is especially important for ______ and _______.
Initiating structure is especially important for ____/____, especially when the task is _____ and _____.
follower satisfaction, motivation
group/organisational performance; ill-defined and vague
Which leadership trend suggests that leadership effectiveness depends on situational factors?
Contingency theories argue that in situation A, leadership style X would be needed and in situation B, leadership style Y would be most suitable.
What are the three variables (moderators) that influence the relationship between leader behaviour and performance outcomes?
- Leader characteristics (traits, experience, skills)
- Follower characteristics (capabilities, motivation)
- Characteristics of the situation (task, structure, environment)
When were contingency approaches most prominent and name 3 Contingency theories.
Late 60s-80s
Situational leadership, path-goal theory, contingency model
What three theories build on the two dimensions of the Ohio State study?
Path-goal, contingency model, situational leadership
Which theory builds on Vrooms Expectancy theory?
House and Dressler’s path-goal theory
According to the expectancy theory, what you need for organisational motivation is a combination of three variables: ______ x _______ x _____.
______ refers to the belief that effort will lead to good performance.
______ refers to the belief that good performance will lead to a reward.
_____ refers to the degree to which employees value that reward.
So, in essence, you need an ____-____ relationship, a ____-_____ relationship and _____to trigger motivation in employees.
expectancy
instrumentality
valence
effort-reward relationship
performance-reward relationship
reward value
Path-Goal theory builds on the expectancy theory in what way?
While in Expectancy theory motivation is triggered by creating relationships between the belief that a certain effort will lead to good performance, the belief that that good performance will lead to a specific reward and the belief that this reward is in some way meaningful to the employee.
Path-Goal theory argues that a leader clarifies this path and helps an employee walk that way to attain these goals.
In House and Dressler’s path-goal theory, a leaders style is flexible and leader has to engage in a certain leadership style depending on the environment and employees needs in order to help them achieve a goal.
What are the four leadership styles identified by the path-goal theory?
- Directive: focuses on getting the work done
- supportive: focusses on the well-being of the employee
- participative: consults with the employees in decision-making
- achievement-oriented: sets challenging goals and expects excellence
In the path-goal theory, what are the two moderating factors of the relationship between leader behaviour and outcomes?
- situational/environmental factors - outside an employees control like task structure, formal authority systems (policies) or work group (norms)
- follower/subordinate factors - internal to employee, like locus of control, experience and perceived ability to do something
In the path-goal theory, what are the two potential outcomes of a selected leadership behaviour (moderated by environmental and subordinate factors)?
performance outcomes
satisfaction outcomes
- In the path-goal theory, directive leadership is said to be strongly related to follower satisfaction when tasks are ____ and ____, as it helps employees cope with that.
- achievement-oriented behaviour works best when the staff suffers from _____ and ____ and/or when followers have a ______.
- supportive leadership behaviour is effective in situations in which tasks are ____ or in which a team is ____, _____ or otherwise _____.
- Participative leadership is effective in situations where followers are making ______ or ______ and the leader can take steps to help them improve. It is also more effective when followers have an _____ locus of control.
- vague and ambiguous
- lack of challenge and boredom, high belief in themselves
- structured, new, inexperienced or otherwise lacking confidence
- poor decisions or improper procedure, internal
In what three ways is house and dresslers path-goal theory flawed?
- difficult to test
- mixed support, as researchers think its great but practitioners see it as too complex to apply
- limited scope, since leadership effectiveness is not only determined by the ability to increase followers motivation
Why is the path-goal theory popular despite its criticism?
it highlights the importance of contingency/situational factors in leadership effectiveness and trains leaders in behaviours but also assessing a situation
in contrast to the path-goal theory, a leaders style cannot be ______ and is _____ in fielders contingency model.
therefore, for effective leadership one has to either ______ or ______ for a certain situation.
changed, inflexible
craft the situation to fit the leader or choose the right leader
How does Fiedlers contingency model build on the Ohio state studies?
Fiedler argues hat a key factor in leadership success is the individuals basic leadership style. One can either be relationship-oriented (consideration) or task-oriented (initiating structure).
In Fiedlers contingency model, what model can one use to determine whether someone is a task-oriented or relationship-oriented leader?
The Least-Prefered-Coworker Scale (LPC) determines the FIXED leadership style that determines a leaders use in certain situations.
- In the LPC Scale, you have to _______ about your least preferred coworker.
- Depending on the scores you give on a scale from 1-8, you, not your co-workers _____ is either _____ or _____.
- A low LPC Score stems from evaluating your coworker in a _____ way. It indicates that your first motivation is _____- orientation and you are therefore very effective when it comes to ______. You are quick to _____ groups in order to ______.
- A high LPC Score stems from evaluating your coworker positively and indicates that your first motivation is ______- orientation. Your focus is on ____, and only once those are established can you focus on ____. You are also great at _____ and _____.
- indicate your thoughts
- motivational hierarchy, task- or relationship-oriented
- negative; task-oriented, finishing tasks; organise, get tasks and projects done
- positive; relationship-oriented; personal connections, tasks, avoiding and managing conflict
Why is it not wise to only rely on the LPC scale to identify the right leadership style and how was the problem solved?
The LPC Scale did not predict leader effectiveness reliably. It did work once you take three situational factors (situational favourability) into account:
- Leader-member relations - degree of trust, respect and confidence
- Task structure - degree of task clarity
- Position power - hiring/firing/reward abilities of leader
Fiedlers Situational Favourability theory suggests that the more control a leader has over a situation, the more _____ the situation and the ____ the situational favourability.
control, favourable, higher
You are leading a team who trusts you, but your tasks are undefined and you do not really outrank them. What kind of leader would be most effective, according to Fiedlers Contingency Model of Leader-Situation Matches?
This suggests moderate situational favourability. In the fourth and fifth octant of the model, relationship-orientation is the most effective leadership style.
You are leading a team who does not respect you very much and they have unclear tasks, but you clearly outrank them. According to Fiedlers Contingency Model of Leader-Situation Matches, what kind of leader is the most effective?
In the first, second, seventh and eighth octant of the model, task-motivated leaders are most effective.
This requires either very high or very low situational favourability.
Fiedlers Contingency theory argues that leadership effectiveness is contingent upon the ______ of a leader and the ______.
There is considerable evidence ______ this theory. However, it is criticised because the contingency variables are _____ and _______.
motivation hierarchy, situational favourability
in support of; complex, hard to determine
When were transformational theories most prominent and name two examples?
Around 1990
Charismatic leadership theories, transformational leadership theories
Transformational theories suggest that a leaders _____, _____ and _____ are the source of its effectiveness.
vision, charisma and inspiration
According to House’s charismatic leadership theory, followers see a leader as heroic or extraordinary when they observe certain behaviours. A leader needs to
Charismatic leadership works best when there is ____ and _____ in the environment, when the leader is at the ______ level of the organisation and when followers have _____ self-esteem and self-worth and seek some kind of ______.
- have an attractive vision
- be willing to take personal risks to achieve that vision
- be sensitive to followers’ needs
- exhibit extraordinary behaviour, be willing to go against the stream
stress and uncertainty; upper; low; ideology
Charismatic leaders are likely to be _____, _____ and _____. That suggests you can be born one, but you can also train those skills by using your passion and enthusiasm as a ____ to induce it in others.
extroverted, self-confident, achievement-oriented
catalyst
Charismatic leaders influence their following in a four-step process. Explain the steps.
- Leader articulates an attractive vision
- Leader communicates high performance expectations and confidence in a followers ability (yes, we can)
- Leader conveys a new set of value by setting an example
- leader engages in emotion-inducing and often unconventional behaviour to demonstrate convictions about the vision
According to House’s charismatic leadership theory, a leaders vision should be ____, _____, ____, and given with _____ and _____ to be perceived as charismatic.
inspirational, value-centered, realisable; superior imagery and articulation
Leaders like Martin Luther King or Hitler belong to extremes of what leadership theory?
Charismatic Leadership
Charismatic leadership does not automatically mean that you always act in the best interest of the company. Name one way to misuse this skill.
Corruption
The key difference between transformational and charismatic leadership is that while in ______ the leader’s charm and attraction create inspiration and devotion among the followers towards the leader, in _______, change in individuals and social systems are created through a collective vision.
Charismatic leadership, transformational leadership
Transformational leaders inspire followers to _____ their own _____ for the good of the company.
transcend, self-interest
What are 5 benefits of transformational leadership?
high performance, organisational citizenship, creativity, job satisfaction and motivation
In transformational leadership, leaders show four primary behaviours (from least to most active):
______ refers to giving personal attention, treating employees individually, coaching, advising
______ refers to encouraging intellect, rationality and problem-solving
______ refers to communicating high expectations, clarifying important issues, using symbols to focus efforts
______ refers to providing a vision and sense of mission, instilling pride and gaining respect and trust
Leaders are most effective when they regularly ________.
Individualised consideration
Intellectual stimulation
Inspirational motivation
Idealised influence
use each of the four behaviours
Name one example of a transformational leader.
Richard Branson, Virgin Group - puts employees first instead of clients
Transformational leadership works bu encouraging followers to be more innovative and creative by providing ______. This leans on what contingency theory?
ambitious goals
Path-Goal theory
Transformational leadership is often criticised because the concept is ______ as well as poorly _____ and _____.
not well-defined
operationizable, measurable
Leadership implication for managers:
- _____ and _____ can help you identify people leadership qualities.
- For management positions, hire candidates who exhibit ______ leadership qualities and who have demonstrated _____ and ____ before.
- Seek to develop _____ with followers because as organisations have become less stable and predictable, strong _____ are replacing bureaucratic rules.
- The leader should work to offer ____, ____ and _____ and to nurture high quality exchanges with all followers.
- Tests and interviews
- transformational, vision, charisma
- trusting relationships, bonds of trust
- new roles, challenges and responsibilities
What are the four leadership styles based on the two dimensions (initiating structure, consideration) of the Ohio State study?
High initiating structure, low consideration: telling
High initiating structure, high consideration: selling
Low initiating structure, high consideration: participating
Low initiating structure, low consideration: delegating
Hersey and Blanchard base their situational leadership theory on what Style theory?
Ohio State
Hersey and Blanchard argue in their situational leadership theory that there are two contingency factors to determine when a certain leadership style will be most effective:
1) _______
2) _______
- willingness
2. ability
In situational leadership, one should adapt
- Telling leadership when followers are _____, but _____.
- Selling leadership when followers are _____ and _____.
- Participating leadership when followers are ______, but _____.
- Delegating leadership when followers are _____ and _____.
- willing, but unable
- unwilling and unable
- unwilling, but able
- willing and able
Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership theory is recognised for its _____, but criticised due to its ______.
logicality, limited empirical support
When has meaning based leadership gained popularity?
In recent years, around 2015
Meaning-Based leadership is about ____ and _____ people for the pursuit of the organisational _______.
mobilising, motivating, purpose
In Meaning based leadership ______ is the most fundamental objective and captures the end goal and existence of a company.
purpose
Van Knippenberg (2019) defines Meaning based leadership as …
a leaders advocacy of an understanding go organisational purpose and why this purpose is meaningful in an appeal to motivate members to contribute to the pursuit of that purpose
According to Van Knippenberg (2019), Meaning based leadership will have a stronger effect on shared purpose and purpose pursuit when
- a leader conveys a ______ - this can vary throughout departments
- a leader engages in ______ - this can be done by giving autonomy and responsibilities
- a leader is a ______ of the company and its values
- a leader engages in _______ - the higher, the easier it will be for a leader to convey that purpose
- a there is a _____ between the employees and organisational values
- group-specific understanding of the purpose
- empowering leadership
- prototype
- higher-level MBL
- member values match
In situational leadership, when you want to develop your follower, you need to show the behaviour of what quadrant?
the behaviour of ones readiness level above their current level
Exam question:
Renee is a manager that follows Hersey and Blanchard Situational Leadership theory. She is very keen on developing her team, and has assessed that her team is currently on the third readiness level (able, but unwilling).
Which leadership behaviour should Renee show?
a. selling
b. participating
c. delegating
d. telling
delegating
