Words: 1462
Informal Leader- an organizational member with no formal authority to influence others who nevertheless is able to exert considerable influence because of special skills or talents. Formal Leader- a member of an organization who is given authority by the organization to influence other organizational members to achieve organizational goals. 2. Leader Trait. Recognize the 8 personal traits that have been found to have the strongest relationship to effective leadership. 1 . Intelligence- helps a leader solve complex problems 2.
Task-relevant knowledge- ensures that a leader knows what has to be done, how it should be done, and what resources are required for a group and organization to achieve its goals. 3. Dominance- an individual’s need to exert influence and control over others, helps a leader channel followers’ efforts and abilities toward achieving group and organizational goals. 4. Self- Confidence- helps a leader influence followers and motivates followers to persevere in the face of obstacles or difficulties 5.
Energy/activity levels- a high energy level helps a leader deal with the many demands or activities encountered day to day. 6. Tolerance for stress, promotes a leader’s ability to deal with the uncertainty or ambiguity inherent in any complex decision- making situation. 7. Integrity and honesty- an indicator that a leader will behave ethically at all times and is worthy of followers’ trust and confidence 8. Emotional Maturity- a sign that a leader is not overly self-centered, can control his or her feelings, and can accept criticism. . Leader Behavior Approach. – Rather than looking at personal traits of leaders, researchers began to focus on what leaders actually do- on the specific behaviors performed by effective leaders. A. Ohio State research that has been replicated in other countries: – pioneered leader behavior approach, one of the main ways in which leaders influence followers is through their personal, day-to-day decisions ND behaviors. – Studies found most leader behaviors involved either consideration or initiating structure. Results replicated in many other studies. 1 . Consideration. Define and recognize examples of the behavior. – Consideration: behavior indicating that a leader trusts, respects, and values good relationships with his or her followers. – Examples: leader being available and friendly, treating group members as his or her equals, explaining why he or she has made certain decisions and what the outcomes are likely to be to followers. 2. Initiating Structure. Define and recognize examples of the behavior.
Initiating Structure: behaviors that a leader engages in to make sure that work gets done and subordinates perform their jobs acceptably – Examples: planning ahead, setting goals, deciding which team members should perforce which tasks 4. Fiddlers Contingency Theory of Leadership (leadership effectiveness model). – Contingency Theory of Leadership: the theory that leader effectiveness is determined by both the personal characteristics of leaders and by the situation in which leaders find themselves A. Define 2 Leadership Styles.
Style can’t be changed or taught so you need to assign adders to situations where they will be effective or change the situation to fit the leader – Leadership-oriented- want to be liked by and get along well with their subordinates. First priority is to develop good working relationships with their followers, second to make sure the job is done (task accomplishment) – Task-oriented – want their subordinates to perform at a high level and accomplish all their assigned tasks to the best of their abilities.
First priority- push subordinates to make sure that the job gets done. Second- having good relationships with subordinates. B. Situational Characteristics: – Fiddler proposed that situations vary in their formability for leading, that is, the extent to which the situation allows the leader to easily guide and channel subordinate behavior in the direction of high performance and goal attainment. When a situation is favorable for leading it is easier for a leader to exert influence over subordinates that when it is unfavorable. . Leader-member relations. – Leader-member relations: the relationships between a leader and his or her followers. When leader-member relations are good, followers appreciate, trust, and eel a certain degree of loyalty toward their leader, and the situation is favorable for leading. (Vice versa) 2. Task Structure. Determines degree group’s assignments are rigid and specific. Hi structure gives members little choice of what to do and how to do it (group members know goals and how to achieve them). Task Structure: the extent to which the work to be performed by a group is clearly defined. – The higher the level of task structure (people know goals and how to achieve them) the more favorable is the leadership situation. 3. Position Power. Degree of formal authority. Power to reward and punish. – Position Power: the amount of formal authority a leader has. – If a leader has the power to reward and punish subordinates then position power is high. (more favorable) 5. Contemporary Perspectives on Leadership. A.
Path-goal Theory. Know guidelines for theory as well as the 4 types of behavior to motivate. – Path-goal theory: a theory that describes how leaders can motivate their followers to achieve group and organizational goals and the kinds of behaviors leaders can engage in to motivate leaders. – Guidelines: Based on expectancy theory. 1 . Determine what outcomes subordinates are trying to obtain in the workplace 2. Reward subordinates for performing at high levels or achieving their work goals by giving them desired outcomes. 3.
Make sure the subordinates believe they can obtain their work goals and perform at high levels. – Four types of behavior to motivate subs: 1. Directive Behavior. Best with difficult and complex tasks. – (similar to initiating structure) lets subordinates know what tasks need to be performed and how they should be performed. 2. Supportive Behavior. Use when subordinates are stressed. (similar to consideration) lets subordinates know their leader cares about their well-being and is looking out for them. 3. Participative Behavior.
See when important for subordinates to accept a decision. – enables subordinates to be involved in making decisions that affect them. 4. Achievement-oriented Behavior (pushes subs to do their best). – includes setting difficult goals for followers, expecting high performance, and expressing confidence in their capabilities. B. Broom and Yet Model. Focuses on ways leaders make decisions and determining whether or not braininess should participate in decision-making. Know the advantages and disadvantages of participation in decision-making. Broom and Yet Model: a model that describes the different ways in which leaders can make decisions and guides leaders in determining the extent to which subordinates should participate in decision making – Advantages: enhance a leaders effectiveness, ensure subordinates will accept a decision that affects them or requires their support, makes subordinates more willing to share with the leader important information that the leader lacks so better decisions are add, over time- participation also helps foster subordinates skills and capabilities and the result is higher performance and job satisfaction. Disadvantages: takes longer for decisions to be made, both leader and subordinates have to spend their valuable time deciding what to do so they have less time to spend on performing their other tasks, subordinates may disagree among themselves about the appropriate course of action or even being to question the way of others- including the leader, are performing their jobs- this conflict can lower performance. – Four different decision making styles: . Autocratic: leader makes the decision without input from subordinates. 2.
Consultative: subordinates have some input, but leader makes the decision 3. Group: group makes decision, leader is just another group member 4. Delegated: leader makes subordinates solely responsible for making the 6. Leadership Substitutes. Define and recognize examples. Functional or Dysfunctional? – leadership substitutes: something that acts in place of a formal leader and makes leadership unnecessary – Characteristics of the subordinate, the work, the group, and the organization, all have the potential o act as substitutes for leadership. Can be functional- intrinsic motivation- free up some of a leader’s time for other activities. 7. Leadership Neutralizes. Define and recognize examples. Functional or Dysfunctional? Leadership neutralizes: something that prevents a leader from having any influence and negates a leader’s efforts – Characteristics of the subordinate, the work, the group, and the organization, all have the potential to act as leadership neutralizes. – Can be dysfunctional- lack intrinsic motivation- reduce a leader’s ability to influence subordinates. 8. New Topics in Leadership Research A.
Explain Bass’s Transformational and Charismatic Leadership Theory. How does it impact motivation, performance and job satisfaction? – transformational leadership: leadership that inspires followers to trust the leader, perform behaviors that contribute to the achievement of organizational goals, and perform at high levels – charismatic leadership: a self-confident, enthusiastic leader able to win followers’ respect and support for his or her vision of how good things could be – Positively impacts motivation, performance, and job satisfaction. B. Transactional Leadership.