Week 9 - Leadership Flashcards
How is leadership defined?
A process of social influence through which an individual enlists and mobilises the aid of others in the attainment of a collective goal
Often an INTERGROUP process rather than an interpersonal one
What is the ‘Great Person Theory’ of leadership?
Leadership is a constellation of personality attributes that imbue individuals with charisma and leadership ability:
- Above average size
- Attractive
- Healthy
- Self-confident
- Sociable
- Intelligent and Talkative
Many of these attributes have remained constant throughout historical studies into leadership (intelligence, confidence, sociability)
Leadership styles: What is autocratic? democratic? leissez-faire?
Autocratic:
- Liked less
- aggressive/self-orientated group atmosphere
- productivity: high (leader present) and low (leader absent)
Democratic:
- Liked more
- friendly, group-centred group atmosphere
- relatively high productivity that is unaffected by leader’s presence
Laissez-Faire
- Liked less
- Friendly, play-orientated group atmosphere
- Low productivity (increased in the absence of a leader)
Leadership: How does charisma play a role
Charismatic leaders are very skilled communicators - can articulate a compelling vision to arouse strong emotion
Charisma is a PROCESS - an interaction between the qualities of the charismatic leader and the followers
Outline the two leader-group relation types: Transformational and transactional
Charisma is thought to arise through behaviour and relationship with their followers rathe than arising from the leader themselves:
- Transformational - leader provides vision or inspiration
- Transactional - leader becomes involved when problems arise
Rising to leadership: What is Fiedler’s contingency model?
The effectiveness of task-orientated versus socio-emotional leaders is contingent on their MATCH WITH THE SITUATION (DEGREE OF SITUATIONAL CONTROL:)
1. Quality of the leader-follower relations
2. Clarity of the task
3. Level of power and authority that is granted to the leader
When situational control is either very high or very low - having a task-orientated leader is most effective
When situational control is intermediate - having a socio-emotional leader is most effective
“Least Preferred Coworker Scale”
- HIGH LPC scores = relationship-orientated leader
- LOW LPC scores = task-orientated leader
What is some critique of the Contingency theory model?
Doesn’t account for leaders that don’t neatly fit into the categories of task-orientated or relationship-orientated leaders
Low test-retest reliability on the Least Preferred Co-worker test (a test that determines leadership style, when a person thinks of the co-worker they work the least well with, and rates them on a series of adjectives)
Leadership style can be TAUGHT
Is leadership stable and fixed - situations can cause people to change
How can leadership be considered a PROCESS
Leaders are GROUP MEMBERS TOO - they must be seen as loyal to the group and to act in the group’s interests
BUT leaders are also special - they must be innovative and instigate change
What is the social identity theory of leadership (Hogg - 2001)
Leadership has more of an IDENTITY FUNCTION - look to our leaders to express, clarify, focus, forge, and transform our identities
Stronger identification with in-group –> prototypical leader (fills classic traits associated with group membership) –> member becomes more influential –> may become the leader
Hains, Hogg, and Duck: Found that highly prototypical leaders are seen as most effective when group salience (thinking about identity) is high
Social Identity: What is a prototypical leader?
Prototypical leaders are more influential in salient groups
- embody group attitudes
- viewed as the source of conformity processes
- liked as group members
- behaves in group-serving ways
Outline Steffens et al. Identity leadership model
A good leader will act on the 4 elements of leadership to achieve the “shared sense of we and us”
1. Making us matter (identity impresarioship)
2. Crafting a sense of us (identity entrepreneurship)
3. Being one of us (identity prototypically)
4. Doing it for us (identity advancement)
Shcein studies: What are traditional ‘male’ and ‘female’ traits that are SHARED WITH ‘managers’ traits?
Male: direct, adventurous, persistent, vigorous, certain (60 traits total)
Female: understanding, helpful, neat, humanitarian (8 traits total)
What is role congruity theory?
Suggests that stereotypes can produce two negative outcomes
- Less favourable evaluation of the potential for women to take on leadership roles
- Less favourable evaluation of the actual behaviour of female leaders
What is the ‘Glass Ceiling’?
The unseen yet unbreakable barrier that keeps minorities and women from rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, regardless of qualifications and achievements
What is the ‘Glass Escalator’?
Phenomenon whereby men in stereotypically ‘female’ roles are promoted faster than women (eg. teacher –> principle)
