

INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL
Leadership: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills 10th Edition by
Andrew J. DuBrin
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1.TheNatureandImportanceofLeadership.
2.Traits,Motives,andCharacteristicsofLeaders.
3.CharismaticandTransformationalLeadership.
4.LeadershipBehaviors,Attitudes,andStyles.
5.ContingencyandSituationalLeadership.
6.LeadershipEthicsandSocialResponsibility.
7.Power,Politics,andLeadership.
8.InfluenceTacticsofLeaders.
9.DevelopingTeamwork.
10.MotivationandCoachingSkills.
11.Creativity,Innovation,andLeadership.
12.CommunicationandConflictResolutionSkills.
13.StrategicLeadershipandKnowledgeManagement.
14.InternationalandCulturallyDiverseAspectsofLeadership.
15.Leadership,Development,andSuccession.
Purpose and Perspective of the Chapter
The purpose of this chapter is to give readers a detailed description of the meaning of leadership. Although most readers have somewhat studied leadership, they can benefit from a refresher and an update. Another important purpose of the chapter is to explain the various leadership (not management) roles and the various rewards and frustrations contained in those roles.
Chapter Objectives
The following objectives are addressed in this chapter:
01.01 Explain the meaning of leadership and how it differs from management.
01.02 Characterize how leadership influences organizational performance.
01.03 Pinpoint several important leadership roles.
01.04 Identify the major satisfactions and frustrations associated with the leadership role.
01.05 Describe a framework for understanding leadership.
01.06 Cite how leadership skills are developed.
01.07 Pinpoint several traits, behaviors, and attitudes of a successful follower.
Complete List of Chapter Activities and Assessments
The following table organizes activities and assessments by objective, so that you can see how all this content relates to objectives and make decisions about which content you would like to emphasize in your class based on your objectives. For additional guidance, refer to the Teaching Online Guide.
Self-Assessment Quiz 1-1: Readiness for the Leadership Role
Skill-Building Exercise 1-1: My Leadership Role Analysis
Skill-Building Exercise 1-2: Appreciating the Satisfactions of Being a Leader
Skill-Building Exercise 1-3: My Leadership Portfolio
Self-Assessment Quiz 1-2: The Leadership Experience Audit
[return to top]
Key Terms
Emergent leader: A group member who significantly influences another group member even though not having been assigned formal authority.
Leadership: The ability to inspire confidence and support among the people who are needed to achieve organizational goals.
Substitutes for leadership: Factors in the work environment that provide guidance and incentives to perform, making the leader’s role almost superfluous.
Tolerating ambiguity: Being able to accept and profit from vague, uncertain, or inconsistent information or situations.
[return to top]
What's New in This Chapter
The following elements are improvements in or additions to this chapter from the previous edition:
• How small business owners set leadership tone for their enterprises.
• Circumstances that limit the impact of leaders on their organization’s performance.
• New leadership role: inclusion facilitator.
• The importance of tolerating ambiguity for leaders.
[return to top]
Chapter Outline
The introductory chapter has several important purposes. Readers are given a detailed description of the meaning of leadership. Although most readers have somewhat studied leadership, most can benefit from a refresher and an update. Another important purpose of the chapter is to explain the various leadership (not management) roles and the various rewards and frustrations contained in those roles. This chapter also presents a framework and model for understanding leadership and explains how leadership skills are developed. A section about the development followership is also included.
[return to top]
Chapter Outline and Lecture Notes
I. THE MEANING OF LEADERSHIP
To be a leader, one has to make a difference and facilitate positive changes. Leaders inspire and stimulate others to achieve worthwhile goals. A useful definition of leadership is the ability to inspire confidence and support among the people who are needed to achieve organizational goals. Leadership is needed at all levels in the organization. Emergent leaders are group members who significantly influence other group members even though they have not been assigned formal authority.
A Leadership as Shared Responsibility and Collaboration
The leadership role within a team is seldom the responsibility of one person. Rather, several individuals within the team may serve as leaders, both by formal assignment and informally. Leadership may shift depending on whose expertise is the most relevant at the moment. Participants in a study who experienced shared leadership showed good performance on the simulated decision-making tasks and also high job satisfaction. A key force driving collaborative leadership is the hyperconnected organizational world fostered by email and social media, along with globalization.
B. Leadership as a Relationship
Leadership is a relationship between the leader and the people being lead. According to a theoretical analysis, leadership is not a trait or behavior of an individual, but a phenomenon generated in the interactions among people in a given setting. The given setting refers to the context of a on the relationship, such as one characterized by high power and authority.
The internet, with its emphasis on interacting with people electronically, has changed slightly how leaders build relationships. As pointed out by Steve Jobs, among others, technology should not block people from face-to-face interactions.
C. Leadership Versus Management
Leadership is but one of the four major functions of management (planning, organizing, controlling, and leading). Leadership deals with change, inspiration, motivation, and influence. In contrast, management deals more with maintaining equilibrium and the status quo. An interview-based study found that leaders and managers have a different focus on the same set of activities. For example, managers delegate to increase efficiency, whereas leaders delegate for empowerment.
Despite these distinctions, organizational leaders must still be good managers, and effective managers must also carry out leadership activities. Mintzberg emphasizes that the difference between leadership and management should not be overdrawn.
II. THE IMPACT OF LEADERSHIP ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE
An important justification for studying leadership is that leaders affect organizational performance. Many faltering business firms bring in a new top leader to spearhead a turnaround.
A. Research and Opinion: Leadership Does Make a Difference
Anecdotal evidence about the importance of leadership exists. Substantial evidence supports the contention that leadership affects organizational performance. A scholarly review of the evidence indicates that leaders are commonly credited with the ability to profoundly affect, even control, significant organizational outcomes.
A study at the Center on Leadership & Ethics at Duke University concluded that executive leadership actions can affect performance, but only if the leader is perceived to be responsible and inspirational. Such behaviors included engaging employees in the company’s vision and inspiring them to elevate their goals.
An overview of research on managerial succession over a 20-year period found a consistent relationship between who is in charge and how well an organization performed by a variety of indicators. A leader might be responsible for somewhere between 15 and 45 percent of a firm’s performance.
A study of sales representatives found that the combined influence of interacting with a company leader and meeting with an internal beneficiary attained more sales and higher revenue than three other groups.
B. Research and Opinion: Formal Leadership Does Not Make a Difference
According to the antileadership argument, leadership has a smaller impact on organizational outcomes than do situational forces.
One viewpoint is that many organizations contain substitutes for leadership, factors in the work environment that provide guidance and incentives to perform, making the leader’s role almost superfluous. These substitutes for the leader and the leadership function include closely knit teams of highly trained individuals, intrinsic satisfaction, and professional norms. Another argument for leadership irrelevance is that in the modern organization, effective leadership means widespread collaboration in obtaining ideas, rather than the heroic leader doing all the innovating.
A broader argument about the limited impact of leadership is that leaders often face circumstances that strongly limit their ability to influence organizational performance. Among them are a high failure rate of new ventures, bureaucratic norms regulating the organization, and many people who do not do what the leader want or expects.
Hackman and Wageman suggest that instead of asking if leaders make a difference, we should be asking under what conditions they make a difference. For example, in crisis mode, a strong leader usually makes a difference.
III LEADERSHIP ROLES
Understanding leadership roles helps explain leadership. A role is an expected set of activities or behaviors stemming from the job. The eleven leadership roles covered here are:
1. Figurehead (engaging ceremonial activities).
2. Spokesperson (keeping key groups informed about the activities of the organization or organizational unit).
3 Negotiator (making deals with others for needed resources).
4. Coach and motivator (recognizing achievement, providing feedback, and giving suggestions for performance improvement).
5 Team builder (building an effective team).
6 Team player (being a good team member oneself).
7. Inclusion facilitator (deliberately assuming that all group members and other employees feel included and welcome within the organization).
8. Technical problem solver (advising others on solving problems and being an individual contributor).
9. Entrepreneur (suggesting innovative ideas and furthering the business).
10. Strategic developer (setting a direction for the organization, helping the firm deal with the external environment, and policy setting).
11. Executor (making things happen, often translating plans into action).
A common thread in the leadership roles of a manager is that the managerial leader in some ways inspires or influences others. One analysis concluded that the most basic role for corporate leaders is to release the human spirit that makes initiative, creativity, and entrepreneurship possible. An important implication of these roles is that managers at all levels can and should exert leadership.
A. Tolerance for Ambiguity
As the world of work has become more uncertain and rapidly changing, the ability to tolerate ambiguity as well as to thrive from it has gained in importance as a trait and behavior for leaders. Tolerating ambiguity means being able to accept and profit from vague, uncertain, or inconsistent information or situations. It has been said, “Chief executives cannot afford to bury their heads in the sand when norms of uncertainty hit, because these storms will never cease.” Tolerating ambiguity has crept its way into a job qualification for some leadership and management positions.
IV. THE SATISFACTIONS AND FRUSTRATIONS OF BEING A LEADER
Being a leader offers many joys but also some frustrations. Because most readers of this book aspire toward leadership positions or currently occupy such a position, this information allows for meaningful class discussion.
A. Satisfactions of Leaders
The specific satisfactions of leaders are somewhat a function of the leadership position. Nevertheless, here is a list of satisfactions that may be present in varying degrees in many leadership situations:
1. A feeling of power and prestige.
2 A chance to help others grow and develop.
3 High income.
4. Respect and status.
5. Good opportunities for advancement.
6 A feeling of being in on things.
7. An opportunity to control money and other resources.
B. Dissatisfactions and Frustrations of Leaders
Despite the glory of being a leader, occupying a leadership or management role has many built-in potential frustrations:
1. Too much uncompensated overtime.
2. Too many headaches.
3. Facing a perform-or-perish mentality.
4 Not enough authority to carry out responsibility.
5 Loneliness (being a leader limits the number of people in whom one can confide).
6. Too many problems involving people.
7 Too much organizational politics.
8 The pursuit of conflicting goals (the central theme of these dilemmas is attempting to grant others the authority to act independently, yet still get them aligned).
9. Being perceived as unethical, especially if you are a corporate executive.
10. Job fatigue and burnout as a result of the preceding nine problems.
V. A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP
The framework presented here focuses on the major sets of variables that can influence leadership effectiveness. It indicates that the leadership process is a function of the leader, the group members, and other situational variables. The model presented in Figure 1–2 extends the situational perspective. It states that leadership effectiveness can best be understood by examining its key variables: leader characteristics and traits, leader behavior and style, group member characteristics, and the internal and external environment.
At the top of the framework, leadership effectiveness refers to attaining desirable outcomes such as productivity, quality, and satisfaction in a given situation. Whether or not the leader is effective depends on the three sets of variables (leader characteristics behavior and style; group member characteristics and behavior; and, context [internal and external environment]). The text chapters relate to these three sets of variables.
Two implications of the model are that (a) context influences leadership at any given moment, and (b) leadership is a process with intrapersonal and interpersonal mechanisms (or modes of transmissions).
VI. SKILL DEVELOPMENT IN LEADERSHIP
Leadership skills are in high demand, including in the screening of job candidates. Developing leadership skills is more complex than developing a structured skill, yet these skills can be developed by following a general learning model:
1. Conceptual knowledge and behavioral guidelines.
2. Conceptual information demonstrated by examples and brief descriptions of leaders in action
3 Experiential exercises. Cases, role plays, and self-assessment quizzes are included here.
4. Feedback on skill utilization, or performance, from others. Implementing some of the skills outside the classroom will provide opportunities for feedback.
5 Practice in natural settings. A given skill has to be practiced many times in natural settings before it becomes integrated comfortably into a leader’s mode of operation.
VII. FOLLOWERSHIP: BEING AN EFFECTIVE GROUP MEMBERS
To be an effective leader, one needs good followers (or group members). Leaders are also followers, and followers also exhibit leadership. In some high-risk occupations. such as an airplane crew member, followership skills are so important that formal training in this behavior is required.
A. Types of Followers
Followers differ substantially in talent and motivation.
1. Isolates are completely detached and support the status quo.
2. Bystanders are free-riders who are frequently detached.
3. Participants show enough engagement to invest some of their own time and money to make a difference, such as learning a new technology that could help the group.
4. Activists are considerably engaged and eager to demonstrate their support or opposition.
5. Diehards are super-engaged, and willing to go down for their cause or oust a leader they believe is headed in the wrong direction.
B. Essential Qualities of Effective Followers
Certain effective group member characteristics facilitate followership: (1) selfmanagement or thinking for oneself, and working well without close supervision; (2) commitment to something beyond oneself; (3) building competence and focusing direct effort for maximum impact; and (4) the courage to think independently and fight for what one believes is right.
Another way of framing the qualities of effective followers is that they display the personal characteristics and qualities of effective leaders.
C. Collaboration between Leaders and Followers
A key role for followers is to collaborate with leaders in achieving organization goals. Bennis says that the postbureaucratic organization requires a new kind of alliance between leaders and the led. The new leader and the led are close allies. Great leaders are made by great groups. “In reality, one cannot claim to be a leader or a follower at all times and in all circumstances.”
Comments on Experiential Exercises
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 1-1: Readiness for the Leadership Role
The first self-examination exercise in the text has considerable face validity. The student reflects on a series of attitudes and behaviors that are a part of the leadership role. As will most of the questionnaires in this text, the specific statements and questions are helpful in understanding what leaders do. An intended byproduct of this exercise is that people may have to develop a more positive attitude toward key aspects of a leader’s job if they are to become effective leaders.
Like most of the instruments in the text, the Readiness for the Leadership Role quiz is intended for self-reflection and possibly for research. Such quizzes should not be interpreted as a validated psychological instrument.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 1-1: My Leadership Role analysis
This exercise relates closely to Self-Assessment Quiz 1-1. Although the present exercise might be considered self-assessment, it involves skill development because the student urges to acquire knowledge and skills that will allow for development in at least several roles.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 1-2: Appreciating the Satisfactions of Being a Leader
Given that most people taking a course in leadership are or aspire to be leaders, it will most likely be insightful to learn from selected leaders what they like about their roles. The insightful student will most likely compare the leaders’ responses to the satisfactions of leaders described in the textbook.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 1-3: My Leadership Portfolio
Here and in each chapter, the student is asked to make a journal entry of a leadership experience that relates to a major theme of the chapter. We suspect that students who take a course in leadership with the intent of developing their leadership skills will find this activity valuable. Journal writing has a long history as a method of capitalizing on personal experiences. A key feature of this journal is that it documents leadership accomplishments and attempts.
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 1-2: The Leadership Experience Audit
The audit of leadership experiences is designed to help students realize that they most likely already have some leadership experience tucked under their belt. A subtle feature of the audit is that it might sensitize students to look for opportunities to exert leadership. [return to top]
Comments on Discussion Questions and Activities
1. Why bother studying leadership when fields such as data science and physician assistant pay such high starting salaries?
One reason for studying leadership is that it is a supplement to the high-paying fields just listed: every field has leaders. Another reason for studying leadership is that in the long run, people earn much more as organizational leaders than as professionals or technical
specialists. Furthermore, every professional position such as data scientist or physician assistant involves some leadership responsibility.
2. Give an example of how you have exerted leadership on or off the job in a situation in which you did not have a formal leadership position. Explain why you describe your activity as leadership.
Relevant examples here center on taking the initiative to accomplish something important, and involving others in the activity. Examples include starting an employee network group, recycling campaign, or study group, or organizing a field trip. Both the initiative aspect and the influencing of others indicate the exercise of leadership.
3. What would a boss of yours have to do to demonstrate that they are an effective leader and an effective manager?
To demonstrate effectiveness as a leader and manager, the boss should engage in such activities as inspiring group members, creating a useful vision, bringing about constructive change, and maintaining a well-organized department. In addition, many people believe that their leader is effective when that person helps them with a personal problem such as getting time off to deal with a major personal problem.
4 Identify a business or sports leader who you think is highly effective and explain why you think so.
Leaders are usually classified as effective on the basis of the results they achieve. Students will therefore probably choose leaders with highly visible accomplishments. Effective sports leaders would include Lou Sabin of the University of Alabama football team and Pat Summit, the late Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coach. Many students will nominate Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com because of his key position in launching ecommerce, rocketing into outer space, and being the world’s richest person.
5. Many people who were voted “the most likely to succeed” in their high school yearbooks became leaders later on in their career. How can you explain this finding?
Many basic leadership traits and behaviors are formed early in life and persist throughout adulthood. Among these characteristics are self-confidence, extroversion, enthusiasm, drive, and a willingness to assume responsibility.
6. Why might the experience in managing entry-level workers, such as in a fast-food restaurant, be valuable leadership experience?
Most fast-food restaurants are staffed primarily by entry-level workers, and managing these people provides valuable leadership experience. Quite often the manager has to inspire and persuade these workers to devote their best efforts to the job even though the job is not directly related to their future career, and they are working at close to minimum wage. Most fast-food restaurants have culturally diverse employees, providing another opportunity for the prospective leader to develop good interpersonal skills. Of note, several fast-food chains require that their leaders work as restaurant supervisors at the start of their career.
7. If so much useful information is available about leadership, why do we still find so many managers who cannot gain the respect of their subordinates?
One reason why many managers do not get the respect of subordinates despite the abundance of information about leadership is that those managers do not study the information and apply it to themselves. An analogy is that many people read about the dangers of an unhealthy diet but persist in eating unhealthy food. Another problem is
that many instances of poor management can be attributed to personality factors, and reading about good management is only a start in changing a negative personality factor. For example, a manager who is hostile and sarcastic will need to work hard on overcoming this trait after reading about its negative impact on interaction with subordinates.
8. In 2021, a skyscraper-sized container boat was wedged in the Suez Canal, and 10 percent of the world’s freight was on hold. Explain whether you think leadership at the shipping company was facing ambiguity in terms of resolving the problem of the stuck vessel.
Leadership at the shipping company was facing considerable ambiguity. No surefire solution was available to free the container ship, and the amount of legal liability for being unable to deliver the cargo was unknown. The future of the shipping company was also at stake. Several solutions were tried, and finally international salvage teams and high tides freed the vessel.
9. Which one or two of the eleven leadership roles described in this chapter do you think requires the highest level of skill?
The strategy developer and executor roles are particularly demanding. It requires superior cognitive skills, including intuition and imagination, to create an effective strategy and vision. The executor role requires considerable influence and motivating skills because people have to be aligned and influenced to put a strategy into practice.
10. In what way might being an effective follower help prepare a person for becoming an effective leader?
Having the qualities of an effective follower helps a person become a competent, contributing individual. Such qualities are essential for being an effective leader. For example, a leader must practice self-management and commitment, be competent and focused, and display courage.
[return to top]
Plausible Responses to Case Questions
Leadership Case Problem A: Hailey Wants to Make a Difference
This case is chosen for Chapter 1 because it illustrates the reality of the type of leadership challenges a middle manager might face. (Yet we recognize that some students will complain that the case is “hum-drum.”)
1. Advise Hailey on where she should get started in making a difference as a leader in the drum manufacturing department.
There is some evidence from the comments of the staff members that the department could use a revitalization in morale and reassurance about its future. If this is true, Hailey might craft a vision of where she is headed. She might also present some industry data about the stable need for desktop printers into the future.
2. To what extent do you think it is advisable for Hailey to interview workers in the department to get some input as to what she should do as a leader?
Asking “What should I do as your leader?” might project a weak image of Hailey. Yet, asking the staff what they think are major problems that need fixing might project the image of a results-oriented leader. Hailey has done an admirable job in this regard.
Associated Role Play
Here is an opportunity for students to engage in a realistic leadership challenge. The answer to case question 1 should provide some ideas for the script of what Hailey will say to the group. Based on the possible skepticism she might encounter, Hailey might ask a couple of questions to lower resistance to her pitch; for example, “How do you feel about our future as a department right now?”
Leadership Case Problem B: Business Owner Carlos Attempts to Deal with Uncertainty
This case was purposely chosen for Chapter 1 because it illustrates how a successful leader can encounter ambiguity and uncertainty.
1. What ambiguity is Carlos facing as a leader?
Carlos is facing considerable ambiguity about the future of the business that he has worked so hard to establish, and his future as a leader. He takes great pride in having been instrumental in creating a successful business enterprise, Sabros. One ambiguity Carlos is facing is whether to seek to expand his small restaurant chain. Doing so would make him less of a coach and player at the same time. Another ambiguity he faces is whether to accept a buyout offer. If he accepts the corporate offer, he might have less control over his restaurant. Yet, if Sabros should fail in the future and Carlos did not sell his restaurants, he will have made a poor decision.
2. What steps should Carlos take to resolve his dilemma?
Carlos has to shift into the analytical aspects of being a leader. He needs to weigh carefully the pros and cons of two big decisions, perhaps in consultation with Samantha and his family. One big decision is whether or not to expand his restaurant chain, and the other is whether to sell Sabros. Carlos, being analytical, will consider the emotional aspects of being a proud leader of this group of restaurants. He might feel less like a leader and more like a corporate manager if he sells Sabros to the restaurant chain. Expanding his restaurant might create a similar problem.
3. What recommendations can you offer Carlos with respect to accepting the offer to purchase the restaurant chain?
If Carlos is optimistic about the future of Sabros, he should not sell his group of restaurants to the larger chain. Often, when a smaller enterprise is sold to a larger enterprise, the name of the smaller enterprise is abandoned and is rebranded as a part of the larger enterprise. It could also be inferred from the case that Sabros is a part of Carlos’ identity, and he could lose this valuable part of his self-image if he sells that chain.
Associated Role Play
An important feature of this role play is that it provides practice in problem resolution in general, and also in dealing with ambiguity. Listening skill is valuable for a leader, making it important for Carlos to listen carefully to Samantha’s advice. Samantha has an opportunity to display creative problem solving.
[return to top]
Additional Activities and Assignments
Read this blogpost and then answer the following questions to identify who you are as a leader. http://community.cengage.com/GECResource2/info/b/management/archive/2017/08/14/as k-these-questions-to-identify-who-you-are-as-a-leader
<question type="essay">
1. What are the two things that you must do as a leader to understand your role?
ANS: Answers may vary.
REJ: Refer to the section “The Meaning of Leadership” within the chapter “The Nature and Importance of Leadership” for more information and guidance.
<metadata>
Difficulty: Moderate
LO: Pinpoint several important leadership roles
Learning Objective Narrative: To assess a student’s understanding of what a leader needs to do to understand their role.
A-head: Leadership Roles
Bloom's: Understand </metadata>
[return to top]
Appendix
Generic Rubrics
Providing students with rubrics helps them understand expectations and components of assignments. Rubrics help students become more aware of their learning process and progress, and they improve students’ work through timely and detailed feedback.
Customize these rubrics as you wish. The writing rubric indicates 40 points, and the discussion rubric indicates 30 points.
Standard Writing Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Content
Organization and Clarity
The assignment clearly and comprehensively addresses all questions in the assignment.
15 points
The assignment presents ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are logically related and consistent.
10 points
Research
Research
Grammar and Spelling
The assignment is based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature, including peerreviewed journals and other scholarly work.
5 points
The assignment follows the required citation guidelines.
5 points
The assignment has two or fewer grammatical and spelling errors.
5 points
The assignment partially addresses some or all questions in the assignment.
8 points
The assignment presents ideas in a mostly clear manner and with a mostly strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are mostly logically related and consistent.
7 points
The assignment is based upon adequate academic literature but does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
3 points
The assignment follows some of the required citation guidelines.
3 points
The assignment has three to five grammatical and spelling errors.
3 points
The assignment does not address the questions in the assignment.
0 points
The assignment does not present ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an introduction, content, and conclusion, but coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are not logically related and consistent.
0 points
The assignment is not based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature and does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
0 points
The assignment does not follow the required citation guidelines.
0 points
The assignment is incomplete or unintelligible.
0 points
Standard Discussion Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Participation
Contribution Quality
Submits or participates in discussion by the posted deadlines. Follows all assignment instructions for initial post and responses.
5 points
Comments stay on task. Comments add value to discussion topic. Comments motivate other students to respond.
20 points
Etiquette
Maintains appropriate language. Offers criticism in a constructive manner. Provides both positive and negative feedback.
5 points
Does not participate or submit discussion by the posted deadlines. Does not follow instructions for initial post and responses.
3 points
Comments may not stay on task. Comments may not add value to discussion topic. Comments may not motivate other students to respond.
10 points
Does not always maintain appropriate language. Offers criticism in an offensive manner. Provides only negative feedback.
3 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Purpose and Perspective of the Chapter
The purpose of this chapter is to present a comprehensive description of the personal qualities of leaders. Such a presentation does not imply that trait theory is more valid or important than other explanations of leadership. Nevertheless, having “the right stuff” contributes to leadership effectiveness in many situations.
Chapter Objectives
The following objectives are addressed in this chapter:
02.01 Identify general and task-related traits that contribute to leadership effectiveness.
02.02 Describe how emotional intelligence contributes to leadership effectiveness.
02.03 Identify key motives that contribute to leadership effectiveness.
02.04 Describe cognitive factors associated with leadership effectiveness.
02.05 Analyze the heredity versus environment issue in relation to leadership effectiveness.
02.06 Enumerate the strengths and weaknesses of the trait approach to leadership.
Complete List of Chapter Activities and Assessments
For additional guidance, refer to the Teaching Online Guide.
Self-Assessment Quiz 2-1: Self-Evaluation of My Humility
Self-Assessment Quiz 2-2: Behaviors and Attitudes of a Trustworthy Leader
Skill-Building Exercise 2-1: The Proactive New Leader
Self-Assessment Quiz 2-3: How Big Is My Thinking?
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 2-2: My Best Leadership Attributes
Skill-Building Exercise 2-4: Analyzing the Traits, Motives, and Characteristics of a WellKnown Leader
Skill-Building Exercise 2-3: My Leadership Portfolio
Key Terms
Achievement motivation: Finding joy in accomplishment for its own sake. As a cultural value, the degree to which individuals are (and should be) assertive, confrontational, and aggressive in their relationships with one another.
Assertiveness: Forthrightness in expressing demands, opinions, feelings, and attitudes.
Authenticity: Being genuine and honest about your personality, values, and beliefs, as well as having integrity.
Cognitive factors: Problem solving and intellectual skills collectively.
Core self-evaluations: A broad personality trait that captures bottom-line self-assessment, composed of self-esteem, locus of control, generalized self-efficacy, and emotional stability.
Drive: A propensity to put forth high energy into achieving goals and persistence in applying that energy.
Emotional intelligence: The ability to do such things as understand one’s feelings, have empathy for others, and regulate one’s emotions to enhance one’s quality of life.
Farsightedness: The ability to understand the long-range implications of actions and policies.
Flexibility: The ability to adjust to different situations.
Insight: A depth of understanding that requires considerable intuition and common sense.
Mindfulness: A state of nonjudgmental attentiveness to and awareness of moment-to-moment experiences.
Practical intelligence: The ability to solve everyday problems by using experience-based knowledge to adapt to and shape the environment.
Proactive personality: A relatively stable tendency to effect environmental change.
Trust: A person’s confidence in another individual’s intentions and motives and in the sincerity of that individual’s word.
[return to top]
What's New in This Chapter
The following elements are additions in this chapter from the previous edition:
• More information about humility as a key leadership trait, including the importance of a growth mindset.
• Reciprocal nature of the leader trusting group members.
• Impact of authentic leadership on a leader’s well-being.
• Potential advantages of a leader being introverted.
• Organizational impact of an optimistic leader.
• Importance of likeability factor for leaders.
• How emotional intelligence contributed to leadership effectiveness during the pandemic.
• The motivation to lead as an important leadership motive.
• How leaders use artificial intelligence (AI).
• Self-assessment quiz about humility
• Skill-building exercise about a proactive new leader.
[return to top]
Chapter Outline
The purpose of this chapter is to present a comprehensive description of the personal qualities of leaders. Such a presentation does not imply that the trait theory is more valid or important than other explanations of leadership. Nevertheless, having “the right stuff” contributes to leadership effectiveness in many situations.
[return to top]
Chapter Outline and Lecture Notes
The belief that certain personal characteristics and skills contribute to leadership effectiveness in many situations is the trait-based perspective on leadership. Traits tend to help us understand leadership behavior and effectiveness when integrated in meaningful ways. Old as well as new research concludes convincingly that effective leaders are made of the right stuff.
I. PERSONALITY TRAITS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERS
Possessing certain characteristics contributes to leadership effectiveness in many situations as long as the leader’s style fits the situation reasonably well.
A General Personality Traits
A general personality trait in the context used here is a trait that would be observable within or outside the context of work. The same general traits are related to success and satisfaction in both work and personal life.
1 Self-Confidence. In almost every leadership setting, it is important for the leader to be realistically self-confident. In addition to being a trait, self-confidence refers to a behavior and an interpersonal skill that a person exhibits in a number of situations. Self-confidence is akin to being cool under pressure. Selfconfidence was among the first leadership traits researchers identified, and currently receives considerable attention as a major contributor to leadership effectiveness.
2. Humility. Being humble at the right times also contributes to leadership effectiveness. From a broad perspective, humility is defined as (a) selfawareness, (b) appreciating the strengths and contributions of others, and (c) openness to ideas and feedback regarding one’s performance. Part of humility is admitting that you don’t know everything, and admitting your mistakes to team members and outsiders.
A major characteristic of a humble leader is an eagerness to learn. Intellectual humility is understanding the limits of one’s own knowledge, and therefore being eager to learn or acquire new knowledge. A person’s fundamental view of intelligence can hinder that person’s eagerness to learn, or their intellectual humility. People with a growth mindset view intelligence as malleable. A person
with a growth mindset is therefore eager to learn and has a humble view of personal intelligence.
Research suggests that leader humility is beneficial for group members, teams, and organizations. Yet, when the leader pushes humility to the point of lacking decisiveness and backing away from exercising authority, humility becomes a liability.
3. Core Self-Evaluations. Core self-evaluations is a broad personality trait that captures bottom-line self-assessment, composed of self-esteem, locus of control, generalized self-efficacy, and emotional stability. All four traits are positively related to each other.
4. Trustworthiness. Being trustworthy and/or honest contributes to leadership effectiveness. An effective leader is supposed to walk the talk. Trust is a person’s confidence in another individual’s intentions and motives, and in the sincerity of that individual’s word. Trust is closely related to transparency. Two examples of trust builders are (a) make your behavior consistent with your intentions and (b) maintain a high level of integrity.
A meta-analysis of 106 studies involving 27,103 individuals found that trust of a leader was highly associated with a variety of work attitudes of group members, such as satisfaction. The relationship between trust and job performance was positive but low. An online experiment found that integrity facilitated the leader being trusted, which in turn was associated with higher performance.
Trust has a trickle-down effect. A three-part study found that when supervisors perceive their managers to be trustworthy, subordinates are more likely to perceive their supervisor as trustworthy. Perceiving the supervisor as trustworthy, in turn, enhanced job performance.
5. Authenticity. Embedded in the trait of being trustworthy is authenticity being genuine and honest about your personality, values, and beliefs, as well as having integrity. To become an authentic leader, and to demonstrate authenticity, be yourself rather than attempt to be a replica of someone else. Studies conducted at a police organization and a U.S. Army training camp showed that leaders rated as being more authentic had subordinates rated as more effective performers.
Authentic leadership is beneficial to group members, and appears to also provide benefits to the leader’s well-being. A study with 44 executive leaders revealed that authentic leadership reduces leaders’ stress and increases their work engagement.
6. Extraversion. Being extraverted contributes to leadership effectiveness, and extraverts are more likely to want to assume a leadership role and participate in group activities. A meta-analysis of 73 studies involving 11,705 subjects found that extraversion was the most consistent personality factor related to leadership effectiveness and leadership emergence. Introverts can also be effective in leadership roles. Introverted CEOs are more likely to have qualities such as restraint, humility, and composure when interacting with stakeholders. An important contribution introverted leaders make is watching the situation unfold.
Extraversion might be almost innate, but most people can move toward extraversion by consciously attempting to be friendlier, smiling, and asking questions.
7. Assertiveness. Letting others know where you stand contributes to leadership effectiveness, and also to being or appearing extraverted. Assertiveness refers to being forthright in expressing demands, opinions, feelings, and attitudes. Being assertive helps leaders perform tasks such as confronting group members, demanding higher performance, and making legitimate demands on higher management.
8. Enthusiasm, Optimism, and Warmth. Group members respond positively to enthusiasm, partly because enthusiasm may be perceived as a reward for constructive behavior. Enthusiasm also helps build good relationships with team members. Enthusiasm often takes the form of optimism, which helps keep the group in an upbeat mood and hopeful about attaining difficult goals. Being a warm person and projecting that warmth is part of enthusiasm and contributes to leadership effectiveness in several ways, including establishing rapport and giving emotional support.
A multiyear research project in a six-setting health system showed that the trait of optimism facilitates leading with optimism. Optimistic leadership was accomplished by positive psychology culture training interventions, department by department. As a result of the positive approach to leading, staff members became more optimistic, showed higher work engagement and less burnout. Patient experience improved, as did financial results for the hospitals.
9 Sense of Humor. The effective use of humor is considered an important part of a leader’s role. Humor adds to the approachability and people orientation of the leader. Humor helps dissolve tension and defuse conflict. Self-effacing humor is the choice of comedians and organizational members alike. A study in three different lines of business indicated that humor induced positive emotion in subordinates, enabling them to build quality relationships with the leader. Organizational citizenship behavior also increased.
One of the research-based rules of humor is that higher-status people joke at a higher rate than those of lesser status and tend to be more successful at eliciting laughter from others.
10. The Likeability Factor. Three traits that that contribute heavily to being liked are humility, extraversion, and a sense of humor. An extensive study found that subordinates tend to rate leaders based on their personal liking of the leader rather than the leader’s actual behavior. Leaders who are liked are more likely to be recognized as authentic, ethical, and transformational.
B Task-Related Personality Traits
Certain personality traits of effective leaders are closely associated with task accomplishment.
1. Proactive Personality. Leadership is often perceived to mean about the same thing as taking the initiative. According to its original research-based definition, a person with a proactive personality has a relatively stable tendency to effect environmental change. An effective leader often has a proactive personality and therefore exhibits proactive behavior. A study found that proactive, high-level
managers (as perceived by their managers) establish more challenging goals for their business units, which in turn are associated with higher sales performance.
2. Mindfulness. Mindfulness is a state of nonjudgmental attentiveness to and awareness of moment-to-moment experiences. The mindful leader has traits and engages in behaviors that have long been associated with successful leadership. An effective leader is supposed to look at the big picture, yet remain aware that key details contribute to the big picture.
The mindful leader is usually calm and has clarity and focus. Being aware of one’s feelings, as well as those of group members, results in compassion. The mindful leader also listens carefully and is open to new ideas and multiple perspectives. Being nonjudgmental is part of mindfulness, but behavior that is illegal, unsavory, or nonproductive needs to be judged.
3. Passion for the Work and the People. A dominant characteristic of effective leaders is their passion for their work and to some extent for the people who help them accomplish the work. Passion for the work is especially evident in entrepreneurial leaders and small-business owners who are preoccupied with growing their business. Being passionate about the nature of the business can be a major success factor in its survival. One way for an entrepreneur to inject passion into a business is to tell a creation of the enterprise story that inspires people to understand how the company’s product or cause will make the world a better place.
4 Emotional Intelligence. How well a person manages personal emotions and those of others influences leadership effectiveness. Emotional intelligence refers to qualities such as understanding one’s feelings, empathy for others, and the regulation of emotions to enhance living. Four key factors are included in emotional intelligence: (1) self-awareness helps you understand your impact on others; (2) self-management is the ability to control one’s emotions and act with honesty and integrity in a consistent and adaptable manner; (3) social awareness includes having empathy for others and having intuition about organizational problems; (4) relationship management includes the interpersonal skills of communicating clearly and convincingly, disarming conflicts, and building strong personal bonds.
Emotional intelligence also has relevance for people who are beginning their leadership careers. A study of organizational behavior students found that the ability to understand emotions was the most consistently related to leadership emergence. Participants with the best skills in understanding emotions were more likely to be perceived as having leadership qualities. If leaders lack good emotional intelligence, they may not achieve their full potential despite their cognitive intelligence. A study suggested that the leader’s mood and associated behaviors greatly influence bottom line performance, partly because moods are contagious. During the pandemic, emotionally intelligent leadership was useful in helping workers deal with their emotional disturbance and feel more secure.
Several syntheses of research studies suggest that emotional intelligence is only one of various factors (including other personality traits, cognitive ability, and functional skills) that influence what leaders accomplish.
5
Flexibility and Adaptability. A leader must be flexible and adaptable enough to cope with change, especially because a leader is one who facilitates change. Flexibility, or adjusting to situations, has long been recognized as an important leadership characteristic. Without the underlying trait of flexibility, a person might be an effective leader in only one or two situations.
6. Courage. Leaders need the courage to take risks and to take the initiative. Courage in the present context refers to behaviors such as prudent risk taking, facing responsibility, and a willingness to put one’s reputation on the line. John Maxwell says that courage, or doing what you are afraid to do, is present in every great leader in business, government, or religious institution. Courageous leadership has also been defined as gutsy.
II. LEADERSHIP MOTIVES
Leaders can be differentiated from nonleaders and ineffective leaders in terms of their motives and needs. The motives described here are task-related.
A. The Motivation to Lead
The foundation motive for occupying a leadership position is the motivation to lead, a desire to attain leadership roles and expend effort to meet the requirements of a leadership role. Three types of motivation to lead have been identified. Affective identity is enjoying leadership roles and seeing oneself as a leader. Social normative is viewing leadership as a responsibility and duty. Non-calculative is having a positive view of leadership responsibility despite potential costs and few benefits. Most people who seek out a leadership position are motivated by these three components.
B. The Power Motive
Effective leaders have a strong need to control resources. They vigorously exert power, think about how to alter the behavior of others, and care about status.
1 Personalized Power Motive. Leaders with a personalized power motive seek power mostly to further their own interests, and they enjoy dominating others. Leaders with a personalized power motive do not worry about everybody liking them.
2. Socialized Power Motive. Leaders with a socialized power motive use power primarily to achieve organizational goals or a vision. These leaders are less defensive than those with a personalized power motive, and they are more willing to accept expert advice.
Note that the distinction between doing good for others and doing good for oneself is often made on the basis of very subjective criteria. A leader who does good for thousands often gains in power and stature.
C The Drive and Achievement Motive
Leaders are known for the strong effort they invest in achieving work goals. Drive refers to a propensity to put high energy into achieving goals. Achievement motivation refers to finding joy in accomplishment for its own sake.
D Tenacity and Resilience
Leaders are better than nonleaders at overcoming obstacles. Tenacity multiplies in importance for organizational leaders because it can take so long to implement a
new program. Resilience is part of tenacity because the tenacious person will bounce back from setback through continuous effort.
III. COGNITIVE FACTORS AND LEADERSHIP
Mental ability along with personality is important for leadership success. Problemsolving and intellectual skills are referred to collectively as cognitive factors.
A Cognitive (or Analytical) Intelligence
Strong problem-solving ability is a fundamental characteristic for effective leaders in all fields. Research spanning over100 years has demonstrated that leaders received higher scores than most people on mental ability tests. The relationship is likely to be higher when the leader plays an active role in decision making and is not overly stressed.
A recent demand on the cognitive intelligence of leaders is to be able to figure out how to make appropriate use of artificial intelligence (AI), the ability of a computer program or machine to think and learn in a manner that emulates human intelligence. The leader will often have to apply the results of AI in such activities as recruiting and selecting employees, decision making in general, and in developing business strategy.
Cognitive intelligence is all the more useful for leadership when it is supplemented by practical intelligence, the ability to solve everyday problems by using experience-based knowledge to adapt to and shape the environment. Research evidence suggests that specific problem-solving skills such as wisdom are more closely related to leader performance than is general intelligence.
B. Knowledge of the Business or Group Task
An effective leader has to be technically or professionally competent in some discipline, particularly when leading a group of specialists. The importance of knowledge of the business is strongly recognized as an attribute of executive leadership. Knowledge of the business is critically important for strategy formulation.
C. Creativity
Many effective leaders are creative in the sense that they arrive at imaginative and original solutions to complex problems. Creative ability lies on a continuum, with one end being represented by business leaders who think of innovative products and services. At the other end of the continuum are leaders who rely on standard solutions to problems.
D. Insight into People and Situations
Another important cognitive trait of effective leaders is insight, a depth of understanding that requires considerable intuition and common sense. A manager with keen insight is able to make good choices in selecting people for key assignments. Insight also facilitates the leader’s adapting the leadership style to the situation. You can gauge your insight by charting the accuracy of your hunches and predictions about people and situations.
E. Farsightedness and Conceptual Thinking
To develop visions and incorporate strategy, a leader needs farsightedness, the ability to understand the long-range implications of actions and policies. Many of today’s business leaders are accused of having a shortsighted emphasis on quick
profits. Conceptual thinking refers to the ability to see the overall perspective and makes farsightedness possible. A conceptual thinker is also a systems thinker. Former CEO Nooyi of PepsiCo thinks that strategic acuity is the single most important skill for a CEO.
IV. THE INFLUENCE OF HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT ON LEADERSHIP
The traits, motives, and characteristics required for leadership effectiveness are a combination of heredity and environment. Personality traits and mental ability are based on certain inherited predispositions and aptitudes, which, however, require the right opportunity to develop. For example, a person may inherit high mental ability but needs the right experiences to learn to develop innovative solutions to problems facing the group. Leadership appears to be a combination of nature and nurture.
Advances in neuroscience provide additional evidence that leadership most likely has a biological component. An effective leader needs to be adaptive, such as knowing when to focus on details versus the big picture, and adaptivity requires an integrated brain that has strong connections across its regions. These connections are mostly genetic, although they can be enhanced through mental activities such as creativity training.
V THE STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE TRAIT APPROACH
The evidence is convincing that leaders possess personal characteristics different from those of nonleaders. A knowledge of the traits associated with leadership effectiveness helps in the selection of leaders. Awareness of these characteristics can also point a person toward the right developmental experiences, such as learning to become more assertive. The current emphasis on emotional intelligence, which is really a group of traits and behaviors, reinforces the importance of the trait approach. The trait approach is limited because it does not specify which traits are absolutely needed in which leadership situations, and the degree to which each trait is needed. For example, when does ambition cross the line and become greed and gluttony?
Certain traits increase the probability of a person’s becoming an effective leader, but the situation often influences which traits will be the most important.
VI. GUIDELINES FOR ACTION AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT
Considering that emotional intelligence is so important for leadership success, many organizations sponsor emotional intelligence training for managers. A realistic starting point in improving emotional intelligence on your own is to work with one of its five components at a time, such as empathy. You would first obtain feedback about your empathy, and then work diligently on any deficiency. After the attempted improvements in empathy, solicit more feedback.
A constructive application of trait theory is to think through which cluster of traits is most likely to lead to positive outcomes in the situation at hand. Finding the right cluster of traits to emphasize in a given situation is usually more useful than emphasizing one trait.
Leadership traits usually lie on a continuum from high to low, therefore making it possible to strengthen a given trait such as proactivity.
[return to top]
Comments on Experiential Exercises
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz
2-1: Self-Evaluation of My Humility
Many students might find it paradoxical to evaluate their own humility, feeling that a humble person might be hesitant to self-describe as having a high score on a positive leadership trait. All 25 statements provide specific behaviors and attitudes related to humility, which alone makes the self-quiz worthwhile. A possible question for class discussion is whether someone who receives a very low score on this quiz is narcissistic.
Leadership
Self-Assessment
Quiz 2-2: Behaviors and Attitudes of Trustworthy Leader
Behavioral specifics of being trustworthy are particularly important because of the renewed emphasis on trustworthiness for leaders in recent years. A self-questionnaire about trustworthiness is likely to suffer from distortion and denial because most people consider themselves to be honest and trustworthy.
Leadership Skill-Building
Exercise 2-1: The Proactive New Leader
A potential value of this exercise is that it gives the role player an opportunity to experience what it feels like to be proactive. The effective role player will need to drum up a worthwhile initiative in the distribution center that is both realistic and worthwhile. Perhaps the new leader can talk about a program of hiring veterans, or doing an ergonomics audit of the distribution center jobs and equipment. The role player will have to be convincing, because the vice president of supply chain and logistics is anticipating a get-acquainted session to see if the new manager is experiencing problems.
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 2-3: My Tendencies Toward Being a
Proactive Personality
This quiz gives the student an opportunity to think about one of the most important aspects of providing leadership to others being proactive. Without being proactive, it is difficult to provide direction to others. The statements in the quiz help provide insight into the idea that small, everyday actions are part of proactivity, such as statement 8: “I look around for good opportunities that would help me in my career or personal life.”
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 2-4: How Big Is My Thinking?
Thinking about one’s tendencies toward thinking big can pay off if the person aspires toward a leadership position. There might be a tendency toward thinking small early in one’s career, so taking this quiz early in a career could develop conceptual thinking.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 2-2: My Best Leadership Attributes
Here is an opportunity for students to reflect on their strengths as a leader or potential leader. One reason that this exercise is potentially valuable is that building on strengths is well recognized as an effective approach to personal development,
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 2-3: My Leadership Portfolio
Reflecting on traits is valuable because it can point to specific areas for development. For example, many people need to search to find an aspect of their field about which they might be passionate.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 2-4:
Analyzing the Traits, Motives, and Characteristics of a Well-Known Leader
This exercise provides an opportunity to carefully observe the traits, motives, and characteristics of a leader and at the same time think through what these attributes mean in practice. A good example is what it takes for a leader to appear to have good cognitive skills. What kind of profound statement does that person have to make to appear intelligent? The CEO of MasterCard made a statement a few years ago that seemed quite intelligent, to the effect that the biggest potential market for his company was not present customers but the approximately 90 percent of the world that is still using cash.
[return to top]
Comments on Discussion Questions and Activities
1. In the current era, how feasible would be it be for a leader to practically avoid emails or other digital communication in a CEO role?
A CEO who practically avoided emails or other digital communication would be a source of frustration to both direct reports and others who wanted to communicate with that person. The CEO would be demanding a radical shift in communication style for people throughout the organization. Another problem is that the CEO would miss out on considerable vital input, because many workers would not bother with making phone calls to the CEO.
2. Identify two strong traits, motives, and characteristics of the current president of the United States. Also identify two attributes that appear to be weak. Explain your reasoning for both answers.
A challenge for many students will be to avoid a personal like or dislike for the president to cloud their judgment. An accurate answer to this question would be specific about the attribute as well as the supporting evidence. For example, “President _______ shows excellent conceptual thinking with his plan to cultivate more allies around the world.” (Statement is hypothetical, not tied to a specific president.)
3. Suppose a college student graduates with a major for which the student lack enthusiasm. What might this person do to become a passionate leader?
The bold approach would be for this person to make an early career switch into a field the person cared about, such as a management major shifting to social work. A less bold approach would be to search for an activity in the person’s own field that is intrinsically exciting. For example, some people are passionate about preparing PowerPoint slides even though they are neutral or negative toward other aspects of a job. The person could focus on these slides as a source of passion in the work.
4 What have you observed personally to be helpful about a leader displaying sense of humor?
We assume that responses to this question will be quite varied. A frequent response, however, is that by the leader displaying a sense of humor, tension decreased during a difficult situation. For example, a group of customer service representatives might be concerned about a large number of negative Facebook and Twitter posts about the level of customer service. The manager/leader might open the group discussion about the problem by saying, “I guess we are not as loved as we thought.”
5. What would lead you to conclude that a leader was inauthentic (phony)?
A leadership behavior that frequently prompts a perception of phoniness is when the leader brags to upper management about the group being outstanding. Yet, the same leader often demeans the group effort in daily interactions with the group. Also, a leader who is charming toward superiors but arrogant toward subordinates is usually perceived as inauthentic. Another indicator of phoniness is when the leader rarely ever criticizes a group member, yet gives that person a very negative performance evaluation.
6 Under what circumstances do you think it is acceptable for a leader to lose emotional control, such as ranting, swearing, or crying?
Ranting has few fans, but many people think it is acceptable for a leader to swear in order to be convincing. Some leaders swear among groups that appear to swear frequently but do not swear in the presence of a group that swears much less frequently. (It might be true that swearing is more frequent in situations without customer contact, such as manufacturing.) A leader crying is likely to be perceived as acceptable mostly under extreme circumstances such as a group member suddenly dying.
7. Which personality and cognitive traits seem to be lacking in the endless stream of people who ruin their careers because of one or two social media posts?
Because many people who make self-destructive social media posts hold responsible positions, we can assume they have an above-average degree of cognitive intelligence. These negative posts most likely reflect poor insight into people and situations, and limited emotional intelligence. Many negative posts are rages, making it very likely that the person is deficient in the emotional control component of emotional intelligence. Extremely negative social media posts also reflect low practical intelligence.
8 Provide an example of a leader you have observed who appears to have good cognitive intelligence yet is lacking in practical intelligence.
It probably won’t be easy for students to find a good example because most people who find their way into a leadership position have at least an average degree of practical intelligence. A possible example might be a highly intelligent inventor/entrepreneur who starts a company to manufacture and market a brilliant idea. However, this person has limited practical intelligence, leading them to insult and turn away potential investors.
9. Which do you think is the most outstanding leadership trait, motive, or characteristic of the person teaching this class? Explain your answer.
The humblest instructors among us might feel a little embarrassment if informed of these answers. The important point is that the student supports the answer with some reasonable evidence. For example, a student might note that the professor/instructor is highly enthusiastic. The student should then give several examples of the manner in which the instructor expressed enthusiasm, such as raving about the results of a group project.
10 If leadership ability is partially inherited, to what extent is it sill worthwhile for a person without any family members who have held leadership positions to pursue a career as a high-level business leader?
The aspects of leadership that are mostly hereditary relate to personality and cognitive factors that facilitate a person becoming a leader, such as having high energy and being intelligent. If no family members have become leaders, it could be because they lacked the opportunity or did not capitalize on the opportunity. A person should therefore not be dissuaded from pursuing leadership positions just because no family members were leaders.
11 Many people who disagree with the trait approach to leadership nevertheless still conduct interviews when hiring a person for a leadership position. Why is conducting such interviews inconsistent with their attitude toward the trait approach?
Conducting interviews is inconsistent with an anti-trait approach because a major purpose of the interview is to assess personal characteristics that would be related to job effectiveness. Another purpose of the interview is to assess interpersonal skills, which are closely related to traits. If the interview were simply used to discuss the terms of employment and to assess experience, then the interview would not be inconsistent with a trait approach.
[return to top]
Plausible Responses to Case Questions
Leadership Case Problem A: Suzanne Expects Results
An important message this case sends is that emotions influence business results, and an effective leader must deal appropriately with these emotions.
1. How would you rate Suzanne’s level of emotional intelligence?
Suzanne is displaying a low level of emotional intelligence. She is certainly correct that a business enterprise must attain its revenue objectives, but unless she deals effectively with Hank’s emotional upset, the desired business results will not be forthcoming.
2. How might Suzanne have displayed more emotional intelligence in her meeting with Hank?
Suzanne did not display enough empathy (part of social awareness) for Hank’s problems. Two specific statements reflecting low empathy were, “Be aware personal problem have no place in business” and “Millions of men have prostate cancer.”
3. Identify a couple of specific aspects of emotional intelligence in which Suzanne might improve.
As in response to Question 2, Suzanne could improve her ability to empathize with a direct report. It appears that Suzanne could also use improvement in relationship management. Two of Suzanne’s statements would most likely annoy most people who are not feeling well emotionally: “Why so glum, chum?” and “Did you just lose $10,000 in a casino?”
4. How much emotional intelligence is Hank displaying?
A key aspect of emotional intelligence is the ability to manage one’s own emotions constructively. Hank is not able to deal with his negative affectivity well enough to prevent his personal problems from interfering with his job performance. Hank is facing serious problems in his personal life, but a person with superior emotional intelligence could address these problems while at the same time maintaining high job performance.
Associated Role Play
A key goal of this role play is to provide practice in dealing with the emotion-related problems of a direct report. A challenge here is that the leader and the subordinate have different expectations for the meeting. The students who play the role of Hank might enjoy the opportunity to express exaggerated emotions.
Leadership Case Problem B: A True Warrior Jumps into the Electric Car
Race and Then Storytelling
The story about Padmasree Warrior is helpful in examining the attributes of a prominent leader and at the same time might be inspirational and uplifting for many students. Warrior switches industries at two late stages in her career, and has grand visions for her startup companies.
1. To what extent do you think Warrior was taking on too big a risk by trying to be competitive in the electric car business?
Current media information will indicate whether Warrior succeeded in her venture with NIO. Yet, the risks are enormous for the company. The major automotive manufacturers, along with Tesla, have already made considerable progress in manufacturing and marketing electric-powered automobiles. Furthermore, it is unusual for a startup automobile manufacturer to succeed.
2. To what extent do you think that Warrior was taking on too big a risk by trying to be competitive in the social platform business?
The reputational risk was definitely high for Warrior, but it does not appear she invested money in the startup, thereby minimizing her financial risks. The field is flooded with all types of social media platforms, yet the focus on storytelling might be a niche with a chance for success.
3. Which personality-related leadership traits does Warrior appear to demonstrate?
Warrior’s self-confidence is very high; otherwise, she would not have changed industries twice at a late stage in her career. She appears to have considerable passion and enthusiasm about her new ventures. Her risk-taking is high, and she also encourages young people to take risks.
4. Which cognitive skills does Warrior possess that are particularly relevant in her role as CEO of NIO and then Fable?
Warrior has demonstrated superior technology skills in becoming one of Silicon Valley’s best- known technology executives. To have achieved this status, she must have superior cognitive intelligence. Warrior also displays exceptional conceptual skills as she describes a culture that will outlast changes in technology.
5. What is your evaluation of Warrior’s belief that passion about electric cars and technology is more important than experience in hiring people to work at the company?
For some positions, it could be true that passion about electric cars and technology chops are more important than experience as employment criteria. Recognize, also, that very few available candidates have experience in the electric car business. Yet it could be argued that a person with marketing experience in the electric car business would be an asset for NextEv.
Associated Role Play
This role play provides students with the highly enjoyable task of participating in a simulated job interview. A challenge in demonstrating superior technology skills is that almost all students know how to operate smartphones and computers, so choosing what to talk about to give a person an edge is challenging. Perhaps talking about experience in coding or having built a drone would help. It should be fun watching the candidate demonstrate passion for electric cars. Perhaps thinking about how a favorite product is marketed will help demonstrate passion for marketing a consumer product.
Additional Activities and Assignments
Read this blogpost and then answer the following questions on traits that define great leaders http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/myth-vs-reality-four-behaviors-definesuccessful-leaders/
<question type="essay">
1. Name one of the four behaviors that define great leaders and explain why it makes an impact on what a leader can effectively deliver.
ANS: Answers may vary.
REJ: Refer to the chapter “Traits, Motives, and Characteristics of Leaders” for more information.
<metadata>
Difficulty: Moderate
LO: Identify key motives that contribute to leadership effectiveness
Learning Objective Narrative: To increase a student’s understanding of key leadership motivators.
A-head: Leadership Motives
Bloom's: Understand
</metadata>
<question type="essay">
2. What leadership trait do you want to enhance in a current role or focus on in a future role?
ANS: Answers may vary.
REJ: Refer to the chapter “The Nature and Importance of Leadership” for more information.
<metadata>
Difficulty: Moderate
LO: Identify key motives that contribute to leadership effectiveness
Learning Objective Narrative: To increase a student’s understanding of key leadership motivators.
A-head: Insight into People and Situations
Bloom's: Understand
</metadata>
[return to top]
Appendix
Generic Rubrics
Providing students with rubrics helps them understand expectations and components of assignments. Rubrics help students become more aware of their learning process and progress, and they improve students’ work through timely and detailed feedback.
Customize these rubrics as you wish. The writing rubric indicates 40 points, and the discussion rubric indicates 30 points.
Standard Writing Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Content
Organization and Clarity
The assignment clearly and comprehensively addresses all questions in the assignment.
15 points
The assignment presents ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are logically related and consistent.
10 points
Research
Research
Grammar and Spelling
The assignment is based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature, including peerreviewed journals and other scholarly work.
5 points
The assignment follows the required citation guidelines.
5 points
The assignment has two or fewer grammatical and spelling errors.
5 points
The assignment partially addresses some or all questions in the assignment.
8 points
The assignment presents ideas in a mostly clear manner and with a mostly strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are mostly logically related and consistent.
7 points
The assignment is based upon adequate academic literature but does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
3 points
The assignment follows some of the required citation guidelines.
3 points
The assignment has three to five grammatical and spelling errors.
3 points
The assignment does not address the questions in the assignment.
0 points
The assignment does not present ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an introduction, content, and conclusion, but coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are not logically related and consistent.
0 points
The assignment is not based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature and does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
0 points
The assignment does not follow the required citation guidelines.
0 points
The assignment is incomplete or unintelligible.
0 points
Standard Discussion Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Participation
Contribution Quality
Submits or participates in discussion by the posted deadlines. Follows all assignment instructions for initial post and responses.
5 points
Comments stay on task. Comments add value to discussion topic. Comments motivate other students to respond.
20 points
Etiquette
Maintains appropriate language. Offers criticism in a constructive manner. Provides both positive and negative feedback.
5 points
Does not participate or submit discussion by the posted deadlines. Does not follow instructions for initial post and responses.
3 points
Comments may not stay on task. Comments may not add value to discussion topic. Comments may not motivate other students to respond.
10 points
Does not always maintain appropriate language. Offers criticism in an offensive manner. Provides only negative feedback.
3 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Purpose and Perspective of the Chapter
The purpose of this chapter is to help the reader understand the nature of charismatic and transformational leadership. Although the two forms of leadership overlap, they are treated separately here because the study of charismatic leadership focuses so heavily on personal traits. Studying charismatic and transformational leadership represents an important thrust in understanding the leader’s role.
Chapter Objectives
The following objectives are addressed in this chapter:
03.01 Enumerate the meanings of charisma and three types of charismatic leaders.
03.02 Describe many of the traits and behaviors of charismatic leaders.
03.03 Break down the visionary component of charismatic leadership.
03.04 Describe the communication style of charismatic leaders.
03.05 Assemble an action plan for developing your charisma.
03.06 Cite the nature of transformational leadership.
03.07 Identify several of the impacts of charismatic and transformational leadership on performance and behavior.
03.08 Articulate the concerns about charismatic leadership from the scientific and moral standpoint.
Complete List of Chapter Activities and Assessments
For additional guidance, refer to the Teaching Online Guide.
Self-Assessment Quiz 3-1: A Checklist of Behaviors and Attitudes Reflecting Charisma
Self-Assessment Quiz 3-2: The Narcissism Attitudes and Behavior Checklist
Skill-Building Exercise 3-1: Formulating a Vision
Skill-Building Exercise 3-2: Charismatic Leadership by Storytelling
Skill-Building Exercise 3-5: Developing an Inspirational Message
Skill-Building Exercise 3-3: Identifying the Characteristics
03.05
03.06
03.07 19, 20 22, 23 25
[return to top]
Key Terms
Charism: A special quality of leaders whose purposes, powers, and extraordinary determination differentiate them from others.
Leadership by storytelling: The technique of inspiring and instructing group members by telling fascinating stories.
Narcissism: A relatively stable personality trait characterized by a sense of personal superiority, a desire for power, and a sense of self-importance.
Personal brand: Your basket of strengths that makes you unique.
Leadership polarity: The idea that leaders are often either revered or vastly unpopular.
Personalized charismatic: A charismatic leader who exercises few restraints on the use of power in order to best serve then leader’s own interests.
Socialized charismatic: A charismatic leader who restrains the use of power in order to benefit others.
Transformational leader: A leader who brings about positive, major changes in an organization.
Vision: The ability to imagine different and better conditions and ways to achieve them.
[return to top]
What's New in This Chapter
The following elements are changes in this chapter from the previous edition:
• How charismatic leaders elicit emotional reactions from group members.
• The potential disadvantage of hubris for a charismatic leader.
• New research about how visibility can have a negative impact on a narcissistic leader.
• Research about eye-directed gazing for charismatic leaders.
• Projecting e-charisma
• Importance of in-person interactions for transformational leaders.
• Potential downside of a narcissistic CEO.
Chapter Outline
The purpose of this chapter is to help the reader understand the nature of charismatic and transformational leadership. Although the two forms of leadership overlap, they are treated separately here because the study of charismatic leadership focuses so heavily on personal traits. Studying charismatic and transformational leadership represents an important thrust in understanding the leader’s role.
[return to top]
Chapter Outline and Lecture Notes
The study of charismatic and transformational leadership, an extension of the trait theory, has become an important way of understanding leadership. Charisma facilitates leaders carrying out their roles.
I. THE MEANINGS OF CHARISMA
Charisma is a special quality of leaders whose purposes, powers, and extraordinary determination differentiate them from others. The various definitions of charisma have a unifying theme. Charisma is a positive and compelling quality in a person that creates a desire in many others to be led by that person.
The attributes of charisma are important because they lead to behavioral outcomes such as commitment to the leader, self-sacrifice, and high performance. A study with law enforcement workers and business students showed that network members influence our attributions of charisma.
A. Charisma: A Relationship Between the Leader and Group Members, and Other Stakeholders
A key dimension of charismatic leadership is that, like all leadership, it involves a relationship between the leader and those being led. Charismatic leaders work deliberately at cultivating their relationship with group members through impression management. These leaders recognize that the perceptions of constituents determine whether they function as charismatics. Charismatic leaders are skillful actors in presenting a charismatic face to the world. The influence of charismatic and transformational leaders extends beyond the immediate work group and reporting relationships. A charismatic leader becomes the symbol of the organization.
B. The Effects of Charisma
Much of the impact of charisma is based on the positive affect (emotion) the charismatic leader triggers among group members. A study first with college students, then with firefighters, is illustrative. Firefighters under the command of an officer perceived to be charismatic were happier than those under the command of a noncharismatic officer. It was also found that happier leaders spread their positive mood to group members. Another major impact of a charismatic leader in a seniorlevel position is that the charismatic leader leaves a personal stamp on the organization.
Charismatic leaders have been categorized into different types, with the three most relevant in organizations, as follows: (1) socialized charismatic—uses power to benefit others; (2) personalized charismatic uses power to serve own interests; and (3) the celebrity charismatic likes to be in the spotlight and might overlap with the other two types. In the socialized relationship, the followers have a clear sense of who they are and a clear set of values. The charismatic relationship gives group members an opportunity to express their important values within the framework of belonging to the group.
III. CHARACTERISTICS OF CHARISMATIC LEADERS
Charismatic leaders have unique characteristics, and many of these characteristics also apply to a transformational leader one who brings about positive, major changes in an organization. In addition to the characteristics described in Chapter 2, charismatic leaders have other attributes: (1) they are visionary; (2) they have masterful communication skills; (3) they have the ability to inspire trust; (4) they are able to make group members feel capable; (5) they have energy and an action orientation; (6) they have emotional expressiveness and warmth; (7) they romanticize risk; (8) they use unconventional strategies; (9) they have a self-promoting personality; (10) they challenge, prod, and poke; and (11) they are dramatic and unique. The last tactic is an amalgam of many others.
An experiment suggested that people who think fast tend to be perceived as charismatic. A characteristic of many charismatic leaders that can backfire is hubris, a tendency to hold an overly confident view of one’s capabilities and abuse power for one’s own, selfish goals.
IV. THE NARCSSISM COMPONENT OF CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP
Narcissism has a strong link to charisma. Narcissism is a relatively stable personality trait characterized by a sense of personal superiority, a desire for power, and a sense of self-importance. Part of being charismatic is having a self-promoting personality. Narcissistic CEOs tend to make riskier decisions, often to attain dramatic results which enhance their image. At their narcissistic leaders who are charismatic are effective in their roles. Leaders who combine narcissism with a touch of humility have positive effects on subordinates.
A fascinating twist on research about narcissistic leaders is that they tend to be perceived as less effective when they are more visible to their subordinates. The more opportunities people have to observe the narcissistic leaders, the more they will experience these leaders’ toxic behaviors, such as exploiting people.
V. THE VISION COMPONENT OF CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP
Vision is the ability to imagine different and better conditions and the ways to achieve them. Creating a vision is one of the major tasks of top management. Effective leaders have clear visions, and vision is an important part of strategy implementation and bringing about change. Charismatic leaders inspire others with their vision, because a vision uplifts and attracts others. The charismatic leader also helps implement the vision. A good example of a vision is that of the Kellogg Company: “To enrich and delight the world through foods and brands that matter.”
To create a vision, it is helpful to obtain information from many sources, including (1) personal intuition, (2) the work of futurists, (3) group discussions of what it takes to delight people, (4) other vision statements, (5) the hopes and dreams of constituents,
and (6) the larger organization’s vision. Visions can be inspiring, but a wide range of employees must be involved in implementing the vision.
A critic of vision statements said that it is often difficult to tell the difference between a vision and a hallucination. The vision of SpaceX to make humanity a multiplanet species might fit here. A vision that is extremely grandiose might invite cynicism from employees.
VI. THE COMMUNICATION STYLE OF CHARISMATIC LEADERS
Charismatic and transformational leaders communicate their visions, goals, and directives in a colorful, imaginative, and expressive manner. They also communicate openly and encourage feedback.
A Leadership by Inspiration
An important factor in inspiring others is the ability to craft and articulate a highly emotional message. Two such rhetorical techniques follow:
1. Using Metaphors and Analogies. A well-chosen analogy or metaphor appeals to the intellect, imagination, and values.
2 Gearing Language to Different Audiences. Metaphors and analogies are inspiring, but to be effective, leaders must also choose the level of language to suit the audience. An executive’s ability to speak on a colloquial level helps create appeal.
B. Eye-Directed Gazing
A study using eye-tracking technology found that subjects’ impression of their own charisma was positively related to the frequency and duration of gaze directed at their followers’ eyes. Another finding was that longer and more frequent eyedirected gazing resulted in leaders appearing more charismatic. The researchers concluded that leaders gazing toward the eyes of their audience is linked to their level of charisma.
C. Leadership by Storytelling
Leadership by storytelling is the technique of inspiring and instructing group members by telling fascinating stories. The technique is a major contributor to building a strong company culture. Storytelling as a leadership tool has been elevated to such a level that some companies hire corporate storytelling consultants to help their executives develop the art. A touch of humility can add to the effectiveness of a story.
D. Extensive Use of Social Networking
To help facilitate interpersonal communication, charismatic leaders make extensive use of social networks—both through face-to-face interactions and social media websites.
1. Face-to-Face Networks. A charismatic leader is likely to invest time in such activities as having lunch with group members and visiting them at their office or cubicles. In recognition of the importance of internal networks for building relationships and accomplishing goals, some large firms establish formal networking groups (such as the GE Women’s Network).
2. Social Networking Sites. A charismatic use of social networking sites is to post messages designed to inspire, motivate, and make group members feel good about themselves and the organization.
VII. THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHARISMA
By developing some of the traits, characteristics, and behaviors of charismatic people, a person can increase charisma. Suggestions for developing charisma include the following: (1) create visions for others and connect the visions to their dreams; (2) be enthusiastic, optimistic, and energetic; (3) be sensibly persistent; (4) remember people’s names; (5) develop synchrony with others (which helps make connections); (6) develop a personal brand, including making an impressive appearance; (7) be candid; and (8) make adjustments to project e-charisma.
VIII.TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP
The focus of transformational leadership is on the leader’s accomplishments rather than on the leader’s personal characteristics and relationships with group members. The transformational leader helps bring about major, positive changes. In contrast, the transactional leader focuses on more routine transactions, with an emphasis on rewarding group members for meeting standards. Hubert Joly of Best Buy is presented as an example of a transformational leader.
A. How Transformations Take Place
To accomplish a lofty purposes, the transformational leader attempts to overhaul the organizational culture or subculture. Seven ways in which the leader brings about such transformations are: (1) raising people’s awareness; (2) helping people look beyond self-interest; (3) helping people search for self-fulfillment; (4) helping people understand the need for change; (5) investing managers with a sense of urgency; (6) committing to greatness; (7) adopting a long-range perspective and at the same time observing organizational issues from a broad rather than a narrow perspective; (8) building trust; (9) facilitating proactive behavior; (10) interacting in person to help bring about necessary changes; (11) communicating narratives about the future; and (12) concentrating resources on the areas that need change the most.
B. Attributes of Transformational Leaders
Eight qualities are particularly helpful in bringing about transformations: (1) charisma, including agreeableness and extroversion; (2) high emotional intelligence; (3) positive core self-evaluations; (4) vision creation; (5) encouraging the personal development of staff; (6) supportive leadership; (7) practicing empowerment; and (8) innovative thinking. Not every leader classified as transformational will have the eight characteristics just described. Leaders and subordinates do not even see each other every day, and may be geographically dispersed.
C. The Impact of Transformational and Charismatic Leadership on Performance and Behavior
The general picture of the impact of transformational leadership is that at its best it can arouse followers to a higher level of thinking. Transformational leaders appeal to the ideals and values of their constituents. Several empirical studies have been conducted on the effects of charismatic and transformational leadership in work settings.
A meta-analysis revealed that among transformational leadership, transactional leader, and laissez-faire leadership, the transformational type showed the highest
overall relationship with six criteria, including group or organization performance. Unlike previous studies, transactional and transformational leadership were shown to be related.
IX. CONCERNS ABOUT CHARISMATIC AND TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP
The topic of charisma and transformational leadership has been challenged from two major standpoints: the validity of the concept and the misdeeds of charismatic leaders.
A Challenges to the Validity of Charismatic Leadership
Most leadership researchers doubt that charisma can be accurately defined and measured. Also, charismatic leaders are not liked by everyone. According to the concept of leadership polarity, leaders are often either revered or vastly unpopular. People rarely feel neutral about them. Also, charisma may not be required for leadership effectiveness. Bennis and Nanus hypothesize that people who are outstanding leaders are perceived as charismatic by their constituents as a result of their success.
B. The Dark Side of Charismatic Leadership
Some people are concerned that charisma can be exercised for evil purposes. When charismatic leaders are highly narcissistic, organizational performance may suffer. A moderate amount of narcissism may be helpful for a leader. Research indicates that organizations led by narcissistic CEOs experience considerable downsides, including high risk taking and overpaying for acquisitions. Narcissistic CEOs are more likely to be involved in protracted lawsuits and less willing to listen to advice from legal experts.
Another concern about charismatic leaders is that because only the leader’s views matter, subordinates might not be proactive. Also, subordinates may comply without passion. Some charismatic leaders are unethical and lead their organizations toward illegal and immoral ends. People are willing to follow the charismatic leader down a quasilegal path because of the leader’s referent power. (Bernie Madoff was somewhat charismatic.) Another potential problem with charismatic leaders is that some of them are narcissists who never admit mistakes.
Emphasizing both charismatic and transformational leadership directs attention away from other important aspects of leader-follower relationships. Another problem is that the idea of transformational leadership suggests that power should be vested in the hands of a few heroic leaders, and neglects the personal contribution of follower dissent. Boards of directors currently seek CEOs who do not overemphasize charisma and celebrity at the expense of running the business, thereby minimizing the dark side of charisma.
X. GUIDELINES FOR ACTION AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT
To create charismatic appeal, make everyone you meet feel quite important, use a firm fist bump and good eye contact, and give sincere compliments. Thank people frequently, smile frequently, maintain a childlike fascination with your world, and be more animated than others. Think big, spin beautiful, sweeping visions, and inspire trust and confidence.
[return to top]
Comments on Experiential Exercises
Leadership Self-Assessment
Quiz 3-1: A Checklist of Behaviors and Attitudes Reflecting Charisma
The statements in the Charisma Checklist support much of the information in the text about charisma, and also have considerable face validity. Students who scan a group of charisma symptoms might be encouraged to develop a few of these traits and characteristics, assuming they want to become more charismatic.
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 3-2: The Narcissism Attitudes and Behavior Checklist
The 15 attitudes and behaviors mentioned in this checklist provide insight into narcissism, with a particular emphasis on the workplace. The comparison between self-ratings and the ratings of a close observer might be illuminating.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 3-1: Formulating a Vision
Our experience is that students take readily to vision formulation. As one student said after completing this exercise, “I do visions.” The visions that students construct in 30 minutes sound remarkably like those it takes some organizations six months to formulate. If the completed visions are presented to the rest of the class, feedback can be invited.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 3-2: Charismatic Leadership by Storytelling
This exercise requires both analytical and imaginative thinking. An example that fits here is Domino Pizza’s emphasis on customer service. Supposedly, pizza dough was flown by airplane to a Domino store to cover a shortage and maintain good service. Quite often, these heroic stories focus on customer service, but they could also deal with scenarios such as repairing a breakdown in a production line or helping an employee’s family in need.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 3-3: Identifying the Characteristics of a Charismatic Leader on YouTube
Because some aspects of charisma are in the eyes of the beholder, opinions will differ about who is charismatic. To derive first-hand data to carry out this video search, it is best for the student to search for leaders the student perceives to be charismatic. A source of leads could be leaders featured in the textbook. Another approach to the search is to use a YouTube search such as “charismatic leader.”
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 3-4: My Leadership Portfolio
Keeping track of a few charismatic behaviors can be helpful in developing charisma. Hints as to what type of behavior is likely to be perceived as charismatic can be obtained from the chapter sections on characteristics of charismatic leaders, developing charisma, and guidelines for action and skill
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 3-5: Inspirational Messages on a Social Networking Site
Students might be able to find quite a few inspiring messages on social networking sites, but it will take some digging. Leadership consultants and personal coaches often
post what they think are inspiring messages. The potential link to perceptions of the message sender being charismatic might provide some additional insights into what it takes for a person to be perceived as charismatic.
[return to top]
Comments on Discussion Questions and Activities
1 Identify a business, government, education, or sports leader whom you perceive to be charismatic. Explain the basis for your judgment.
The particular leader singled out as charismatic is not as important as how the choice is justified, such as pointing to the leader’s colorful communication style. Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks, other business interests, and the business TV show, Shark Tank, often comes to students’ minds when they are asked to identify a charismatic business leader. The continuing visibility and outspokenness of Cuban has strengthened perceptions of him as charismatic.
2. Imagine that you reported directly to an executive who had been named as the most powerful person in business. How might this designation affect your relationship with that person?
Many people would be intimidated by reporting to a boss with such an accolade, and therefore be highly compliant with the person’s demands. At the same time, it would be likely to perceive the successful boss as being charismatic and transformational. For people who are not impressed by power and status, the relationship with the boss would not be affected.
3 Identify a business, government, education, or sports leader whom you perceive to have very little charisma. What factors appear to compensate for his or her limited charisma?
Judgments about a leader having limited charisma are often made on the basis of that person’s bland personality, such as smiling infrequently or speaking softly. Some leaders who lack a sparkling personality are nevertheless strategic thinkers who inspire others based on their ability to develop excellent goals and action plans to move the organization forward.
4. How might being charismatic contribute to the effectiveness of the manager of entrylevel workers such as those employed as cashiers of fast-good preparers?
Charisma can contribute enormously to the success of a manager of entry-level workers in several ways. The charismatic first-level manager would often raise the satisfaction and productivity of group members in such ways as being perceived as warm and friendly, helping the group understand the meaningfulness of their work, and providing warmth and emotional support.
5. Describe how a person might write email messages or social media posts to give an impression of being charismatic.
To appear more charismatic, the person might follow the suggestions for persuasive communication presented in Chapter 12. Any constructive way of appearing dramatic and unique, such as colorful phrases, will help an email message of social media post appear to have been sent by a charismatic person. Emoticons and emojis, such as a “smiley,” are so widely used they might not contribute to a charismatic image. Choosing an interesting font and background color or picture for an email will sometimes enhance charisma, but the written message is more important. Although changing the font may
not be possible on many social media posts, most allow for adding a photo or design twist.
6. Explain why the presence of a charismatic leader tends to enhance the job satisfaction of group members.
A contributor to job satisfaction is the interpersonal relationship with the supervisor. When the relationship is positive, job satisfaction is likely to increase. A charismatic leader typically has good relationships with group members, and the group members enjoy the interaction they have with the charismatic leader. As a result, their job satisfaction is likely to increase because a component of satisfaction the supervisory relationship is positive. Furthermore, many charismatic leaders are perceived as winners, and most people like to associate with winners.
7 To what extent do you think dressing expensively and fashionably really contributes to the charisma of a leader within an organization?
Opinions will vary here, but stylish dress usually does contribute to a leader being perceived as charismatic. A current example is Sheryl Sandberg, a major executive at Facebook. Even though she has spent her career in Silicon Valley, where leaders tend to dress down, Sandberg insists on being fashionable and impeccably dressed, including when she wears jeans to the office. Sandberg is also brilliant and charming, which adds to her charisma, yet her sense of style adds to the total package.
8. Assume a manager is appointed as head of a company in big financial trouble, with morale very low. What do you recommend that the manager do on day one to declare that they will be a transformational leader?
The manager might explain personal awareness of the problem, and that the manager’s major goals are to restore the division to financial health and improve morale. The manager might also explain a willingness to accept suggestions from any employee about how to achieve these two major goals.
9. Do you think a true transformational leader should ever lay off thousands of workers to help make a company profitable?
If we consider turnaround managers to be transformational leaders, then a true transformational leader can lay off thousands of workers to help make a company profitable. A turnaround manager is a specialist in taking drastic steps to reduce expenses in order to help a troubled company survive. Yet, if we regard a true transformational leader as one who moves an organization to high ground and boosts morale, a true transformational leader would find a way to boost profitability other than laying off thousands of workers. Finding new business opportunities for the company would be a positive transformational act.
10 What opportunities might a first-level supervisor or team leader have to be a transformational leader?
A first-level supervisor or team leader will sometimes have the opportunity to improve greatly the performance of an underperforming and/or demoralized organizational unit. A supervisor or team leader is often assigned to such a unit as a developmental experience.
[return to top]
Plausible Responses to Case Questions
Leadership Case Problem A: Baxter, the Self-Adoring Charismatic
This case illustrates how a narcissistic person is likely to go about his leadership responsibilities.
1. What hints do you get from this case that Baxter is charismatic?
Several hints of charisma are provided in the case, including positive thinking, smiling, displaying personal pride, hype, bravado, hand shaking, pep talk, and warm personality.
2. What hints do you get from this case that Baxter is narcissistic?
The charismatic traits and behavior just listed are often part of narcissism. More specific hints of narcissism include his office decorations, his taking credit for too much of the success of the team and the organization, his bragging, his self-congratulations, and his poor listening.
3. What suggestions can you offer Baxter so he can make more effective use of his charisma?
Baxter needs to focus more of his charisma on other people, such as smiles and handshakes, and be less self-absorbed. Listening more carefully to team members would be a good start.
Associated Role Play
This role play offers an opportunity to deal with a narcissistic leader. Baxter sees yet another opportunity to talk about himself. The sales representative has a major problem to discuss with Baxter. As a result, she needs his careful attention. A skillful person playing the role of the sales representative might first let Baxter talk about himself, then attempt to get his attention to focus on her problem.
Leadership Case Problem B: Athletic Club Director Derek Tries a Turnaround
This case illustrates a situation calling for transformational leadership that most students can readily visualize. At the same time, the case illustrates the how difficult it is to be a transformational leader after a crisis hits the enterprise.
1. In what way is Derek attempting to be a transformational leader?
Derek is attempting to be a turnaround leader in a direct way by figuring out how to help the athletic club first survive, then prosper. He has even proposed a path to revitalize Southside Athletic Club.
2. What do you think of Derek’s leadership approach to transforming Southside Athletic Club into a successful business?
Derek appears to be taking a positive, constructive approach. In addition to involving the club director of marketing and membership, he is generating strategy of his own.
3. What suggestions can you offer Derek and Kaitlin to increase club membership?
Derek and Kaitlin have taken what perhaps will be the most effective steps for increasing membership—relying on networking and word of mouth. The wellness center concept might help attract new members. Kaitlin mentioned advertising on social media. If the
money could be found, perhaps advertising could also be placed in print media, television, and radio.
Associated Role Play
This role play helps students act out what transformational leadership means in operational terms. Derek will have to be persuasive and convincing to get the other role players to be willing to go beyond their job descriptions to enroll new members. A challenge for a couple of the role players will be to resist Derek’s suggestions but not antagonize him.
[return to top]
Additional Activities and Assignments
LO: Describe many of the traits and behaviors of charismatic leaders
Learning Objective Narrative: To increase a student’s understanding of leadership styles
A-head: Three Types of Charismatic Leaders
Bloom's: Remember </metadata>
<question type="essay">
1. Describe the laissez-faire leadership style and when it might be appropriate to use it.
ANS: Answers may vary.
REJ: Refer to the chapter “Charismatic and Transformational Leadership” for more information.
<metadata>
Difficulty: Moderate
LO: Identify Explain the nature of transformational leadership
Learning Objective Narrative: To increase a student’s understanding of key leadership motivators
A-head: The Communication Style of Charismatic Leaders
Bloom's: Understand </metadata>
[return to top]
Appendix
Generic Rubrics
Providing students with rubrics helps them understand expectations and components of assignments. Rubrics help students become more aware of their learning process and progress, and they improve students’ work through timely and detailed feedback.
Customize these rubrics as you wish. The writing rubric indicates 40 points, and the discussion rubric indicates 30 points.
Standard Writing Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Content
Organization and Clarity
The assignment clearly and comprehensively addresses all questions in the assignment.
15 points
The assignment presents ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are logically related and consistent.
10 points
Research
Research
Grammar and Spelling
The assignment is based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature, including peerreviewed journals and other scholarly work.
5 points
The assignment follows the required citation guidelines.
5 points
The assignment has two or fewer grammatical and spelling errors.
5 points
The assignment partially addresses some or all questions in the assignment.
8 points
The assignment presents ideas in a mostly clear manner and with a mostly strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are mostly logically related and consistent.
7 points
The assignment is based upon adequate academic literature but does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
3 points
The assignment follows some of the required citation guidelines.
3 points
The assignment has three to five grammatical and spelling errors.
3 points
The assignment does not address the questions in the assignment.
0 points
The assignment does not present ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an introduction, content, and conclusion, but coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are not logically related and consistent.
0 points
The assignment is not based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature and does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
0 points
The assignment does not follow the required citation guidelines.
0 points
The assignment is incomplete or unintelligible.
0 points
Standard Discussion Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Participation
Contribution Quality
Submits or participates in discussion by the posted deadlines. Follows all assignment instructions for initial post and responses.
5 points
Comments stay on task. Comments add value to discussion topic. Comments motivate other students to respond.
20 points
Etiquette
Maintains appropriate language. Offers criticism in a constructive manner. Provides both positive and negative feedback.
5 points
Does not participate or submit discussion by the posted deadlines. Does not follow instructions for initial post and responses.
3 points
Comments may not stay on task. Comments may not add value to discussion topic. Comments may not motivate other students to respond.
10 points
Does not always maintain appropriate language. Offers criticism in an offensive manner. Provides only negative feedback.
3 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Purpose and Perspective of the Chapter
The purpose of this chapter is to provide the reader with an understanding of basic leadership behavior and attitudes, as well as styles, (including servant leadership). Some of the information goes back to classic studies conducted in the 1950s and 1960s, and some is recent. Several other topics are featured: how leaders use 360-degree feedback to fine-tune their behaviors, entrepreneurial leadership styles, and gender differences in leadership.
Chapter Objectives
The following objectives are addressed in this chapter:
04.01 Characterize the key leadership dimensions of initiating structure and consideration.
04.02 Articulate at least five task-oriented leadership behaviors and attitudes.
04.03 Describe at least five relationship-oriented attitudes and behaviors.
04.04 Compare the participative and autocratic leadership styles.
04.05 Characterize the servant leadership style.
04.06 Present the case for the entrepreneurial style of leadership and for gender differences in leadership style.
04.07 Identify how leaders use 360-degree feedback to improve their performance.
04.08 Pinpoint how to choose the most appropriate leadership style.
Complete List of Chapter Activities and Assessments
For additional guidance, refer to the Teaching Online Guide.
04.03 5,6,7,8,9 11 (Learning Objective 3 also) 12,13,14,15 (Learning Objective 2 also.)
Self-Assessment Quiz 4-1: Task-Oriented Attitudes and Behavior Skill-Building Exercise 4-6: Contrasting Leadership Styles
Skill-Building Exercise 4-2: Clarifying Your Interpersonal Work Values
Self-Assessment Quiz 4-2: The Servant Leadership Quiz
Skill-Building Exercise 4-4: Applying RelationshipOriented and TaskOriented Attitudes and Behaviors
Skill-Building Exercise 4-3:
Thinking and Behavior
Skill-Building Exercise 4-5: Entrepreneurial Leadership
Skill-Building Exercise 4-1: Feedback Skills
[return to top]
Key Terms
360-degree feedback: A formal evaluation of superiors based on input from people who work for and with them, sometimes including customers and suppliers.
Autocratic leader: A person in charge who retains most of the authority.
Consensus leader: The person in charge who encourages group discussion about an issue and then makes a decision that reflects general agreement and that group members will support.
Consideration: The degree to which the leader creates an environment of emotional support, warmth, friendliness, and trust.
Consultative leader: A person in charge who confers with group members before making a decision, but who retains the final authority to make decisions.
Democratic leader: A person in charge who confers final authority on the group.
Effective leader: One who helps group members attain productivity, including high quality and customer satisfaction, as well as job satisfaction.
Entrepreneurial CEO: A leader involved in developing and managing a portfolio of new ventures.
Initiating structure: Organizing and defining relationships in the group by activities such as assigning specific tasks, specifying procedures to be followed, scheduling work, and clarifying expectations of team members.
Leadership style: The relatively consistent pattern of behavior that characterizes a leader.
Management openness: A set of leadership behaviors particularly relevant to subordinates’ motivation to voice their opinion.
Participative leader: A person in charge who shares decision-making with group members.
Pygmalion effect: The situation that occurs when a managerial leader believes that a group member will succeed and communicates this belief without realizing it.
Servant leader: One who serves constituents by working on their behalf to help them achieve their goals, not the leader’s own goals.
Tough question: One that makes a person or group stop and think about why they are doing or not doing something.
[return to top]
What's New in This Chapter
The following elements are improvements and additions in this chapter from the previous edition:
• More about importance of leadership adaptability.
• Asking questions as a signal of trust by leader.
• Patience as a relationship-oriented leadership behavior.
• More information about servant leadership.
• The entrepreneurial CEO
• The entrepreneurial mindset
• How oxytocin contributes to trusting behavior for leaders
• New research about gender differences in leadership
• Servant leadership quiz
• Exercise: applying task-oriented and relationship-oriented behaviors
[return to top]
Chapter Outline
The purpose of this chapter is to provide the reader with an understanding of basic leadership behavior and attitudes, as well as styles, (including servant leadership). Some of the information goes back to classic studies conducted in the 1950s and 1960s, and some is recent. Several other topics are featured: how leaders use 360-degree feedback to fine-tune their behaviors, entrepreneurial leadership styles, and gender differences in leadership.
[return to top]
Chapter Outline and Lecture Notes
This chapter includes pioneering information about leadership behaviors and attitudes that served as the basis for studies of leadership styles and contingency theories of leadership. A sampling of these styles is presented, along with current information about behaviors, attitudes, and styles. An effective leader is one who helps group members attain productivity, including
high quality and customer satisfaction, as well as job satisfaction. Leadership effectiveness is typically measured by both objective data and subjective data in terms of judgments by others.
I. THE CLASSIC DIMENSIONS OF CONSIDERATION AND INITIATING STRUCTURE
The Ohio State studies developed questionnaires about leaders that included selfassessments and assessments by subordinates. This research became the foundation for most of the future research about leadership behavior, attitudes, and styles. Two dimensions (as identified by factor analysis) accounted for 85 percent of the variance in descriptions of leadership behavior. Consideration is the degree to which the leader creates an environment of emotional support, warmth, friendliness, and trust. Leaders who score high on the consideration factor typically are friendly, trustful, earn respect, and have a warm relationship. Connecting with people is part of consideration.
Initiating structure is the degree to which the leader organizes and defines relationships in the group by activities such as assigning specific tasks, specifying procedures to be followed, scheduling work, and clarifying expectations with team members.
An important output of the research on initiating structure and consideration was to categorize leaders with respect to how much emphasis they place on the two dimensions. As implied by Figure 4–1, the two dimensions are not mutually exclusive.
A study of the validity of consideration and initiating structure indicates that these classic dimensions do indeed contribute to an understanding of leadership because they are related to leadership outcomes such as satisfaction and performance. More recent research has found that when employees do not receive the amount of consideration they think they need, unfavorable attitudes are forthcoming. The study also found that excess levels of consideration were associated with favorable attitudes, but excess levels of initiating structure were associated with unfavorable attitudes.
II. TASK-RELATED ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR
Task-related means that the behavior, attitude, or skill focuses more on the task to be performed than on the interpersonal aspects of leadership.
1. Adaptability to the situation. Effective leaders adapt to the situation by choosing a tactic based on the unique circumstances at hand (the contingency approach).
2. Direction setting. The leader must set the direction of change. Direction setting is part of creating a vision and is a component of strategy. The strategy describes a feasible way of achieving the vision.
3. High performance standards. Effective leaders consistently hold group members to high standards of performance. Setting such standards increases productivity, partly because of the Pygmalion effect (living up to the expectations of superiors).
4 Concentrating on the strengths of group members. Making good use of the strengths of group members rather than concentrating effort on patching up areas for improvement is an effective tactic. The effective leader helps people improve, yet still capitalizes on strengths.
5. Risk taking and execution of plans. To bring about constructive change, the leader must take risks and be willing to implement risky decisions. “Without risk, there is no reward.” Execution is a key part of a leader’s job.
6. Hands-on guidance and feedback. The leader who provides hands-on guidance helps the group accomplish important tasks, and at the same time group members
learn important skills. Too much guidance, however, can lead to poor delegation and micromanagement. The leader can rarely influence the actions of group members without appropriate performance feedback.
7. Ability to ask tough questions. Leaders often can be effective by asking tough questions rather than providing answers. A tough question is one that makes a person or group stop and think about why they are doing or not doing something.
8. Organizing for collaboration. This behavior is on the borderline between a task orientation and a relationship orientation. The task focus is that information sharing takes place, whereas the relationship focus is that group members must work collaboratively with each other. One task approach to enhance collaboration is to select technologies that will improve or speed up existing workflows.
III. RELATIONSHIP-ORIENTED ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS
Leadership involves influencing people, so it follows that many effective leadership attitudes, behaviors, and practices deal with interpersonal relationships.
1. Aligning people. Many people have to be aligned (a state of pulling together) to create significant change toward a higher purpose. Alignment enables people to have a clear sense of direction because they are pursuing a vision. Alignment of people also incorporates getting the group to work together smoothly.
2. Openness to worker opinion. Management openness is a set of leader behavior behaviors particularly relevant to subordinates’ motivation to voice their opinions. Being open to worker opinions is part of the consideration dimension, and is also central to participative leadership. Town hall and one-on-one meetings can work effectively for listening to worker opinions, but so can all forms of digital communication.
3. Creating inspiration and visibility. Inspiring others is an essential leadership practice. An example of an inspiring practice is building enthusiasm about projects and assignments. Being visible and available facilitates inspiration.
4. Satisfying higher-level needs. Motivation and inspiration energize people by satisfying needs for achievement, a sense of belonging, recognition, self-esteem, and a feeling of control over one’s life.
5. Giving emotional support and encouragement. Supportive behavior toward team members usually increases leadership effectiveness. A supportive leader gives frequent encouragement and praise, and also displays caring and kindness, even about nonwork-related matters such as the health of a worker’s ill family member. An indirect but effective way of giving emotional support to group members is to create conditions that foster happiness.
6. Displaying patience. A leader needs to retain composure in the face of frustration or adversity and keep others calm. When direct reports show strain they need support, not a display of irritation from the leader. To build patience, recognize that that when a challenge is coming, you need to be mindful about staying calm. Also, the leader who expresses gratitude will be more patient with group members.
7 Promoting principles and values. A major part of a top leader’s role is to help promote values and principles that contribute to the welfare of individuals and the organization. Covey advises that an organization’s mission statement must be aimed at good causes. What constitutes the right values depends on the leader’s
core beliefs. Another value that often helps the enterprise is a strong focus on the welfare of employees.
8. Reducing task ambiguity. Tolerating ambiguity is important for leaders, but some people need help in dealing with uncertainty. Relationship-oriented leadership can reduce task ambiguity for subordinates. Ambiguity creates stress for many workers, so reducing ambiguity reduces stress. The research behind this conclusion involved measuring worker cortisol levels, as found in hair samples. (Maybe an opportunity for classroom jokes about the experiment?)
IV. LEADERSHIP STYLES
A leader’s combination of attitudes and behaviors leads to a certain regularity and predictability in dealing with group members. Leadership style is the relatively consistent pattern of behavior that characterizes a leader. Most classifications of leadership style are based on the dimensions of initiating structure and consideration.
Personality traits influence which style, as well as behaviors, will be natural for a given individual. A study concluded that (1) honesty-humility was positively related to ethical leadership, (2) extraversion is positively related to charismatic leadership, (3) agreeableness is positively related to supportive leadership, and (4) conscientiousness is positively related to task-oriented leadership.
A. Participative Leadership
Sharing decision-making with group members, and working with them side-by-side, has become the generally accepted leadership approach. Participative leaders share decision-making with group members. The style encompasses three subtypes: (1) consultative leaders confer with group members before making a decision, but retain the final authority; (2) consensus leaders strive for consensus; and (3) democratic leaders confer final authority on the group. The participative style is based on management openness: The leader accepts suggestions from group members for managing the operation. The same style encompasses the teamwork approach.
The participative style is well suited to managing competent people who want to get involved in making decisions and giving feedback to management. However, the style often results in extensive, time-consuming team meetings and committee work. Another problem is that some managers still believe that sharing decision-making with group members reduces their power.
If democratic leadership goes one step further, it results in extreme macromanagement, referred to as the laissez-faire leadership style.
B. Autocratic Leadership
In contrast to participative leaders, autocratic leaders retain most of the authority. Autocratic leaders are considered task-oriented because they place heavy emphasis on getting tasks accomplished. Jeff Bezos, the founder and executive chair of Amazon, makes many product and technology decisions autocratically. Employee attitudes toward acceptance of authority can also influence how well employees adapt to authoritarian leadership.
C. The Servant Leadership Style
A style of leadership anchored in the desire to help others has surged in popularity. A servant leader serves constituents by working on their behalf to help them
achieve their goals, not the leader’s own goals. A study with CEOs found, not surprisingly, that narcissism is negatively related to servant leadership. A servant leader is a moral leader. Key aspects of servant leadership include the following:
1. Place service before self-interest.
2. Listen first to express confidence in others.
3. Inspire trust by being trustworthy.
4. Recognize own limitations.
5. Be bold with respect to values, morality, and doing the right things.
6. Focus on what is feasible to accomplish.
7 Lend a hand.
8. Provide emotional healing (sensitivity to the personal concerns of group members)
9. Act as a role model for other organizational members to emphasize service.
A study conducted in a restaurant chain found that a serving culture was positively related to the performance of the restaurant as well as to individual job performance.
10. Focus on employee growth that leads to need satisfaction.
A study conducted in the software and hardware technology industries found that CEO servant leadership tendencies were significantly related to firm performance as measured by return on assets. It was also noted that company founders were more likely to be servant leaders.
D. Entrepreneurial Leadership
Many entrepreneurs use a similar leadership style that stems from their key personality characteristics and circumstances. A general picture emerges of a taskoriented and charismatic leader. Although entrepreneurial leadership is usually associated with business ownership, the same type of leadership can be displayed by a hired CEO. An entrepreneurial CEO is a leader involved in developing and managing a portfolio of new ventures.
Even if it is not a true leadership style, at least there are some traits and behaviors characteristic of entrepreneurs. Evidence is accumulating that many entrepreneurs share a recognizable personality pattern, suggested by the following:
1. Strong achievement drive and sensible risk taking.
2. High degree of enthusiasm and passion.
3. Typical pattern of being proactive.
4 Tendency to act quickly when opportunity arises.
5. Visionary perspective combined with tenacity.
6. Dislike of hierarchy and bureaucracy.
7 Preference for dealing with external customers.
8. Eye on the future.
The entrepreneurial personality carried to extreme can lead to addictive behavior, including substance abuse.
E. Gender Differences in Leadership Style
Several researchers and observers argue that women have certain acquired traits and behaviors that suit them for relations-oriented leadership. Consequently, female leaders frequently exhibit a cooperative, empowering style that includes the nurturing of team members. The other facet of this stereotype is that men are inclined toward a command-and-control, militaristic leadership style.
1. The Argument for Male-Female Differences in Leadership Style
Based on self-reports, Rosener found that men tended toward a command-andcontrol style. In contrast, women tended toward a transformational style, relying heavily on interpersonal skills. Laboratory and field research found that women tend to release more oxytocin than men. As a result, women are more likely to display empathy, cooperation, and trust (and practice more participative leadership) than men. Recent laboratory studies provide modest evidence about the contribution of oxytocin to trusting behavior.
Gender differences in communication are also reflected in leadership style. Women are more likely than men to use spoken communication for building relationships and giving emotional support. Women might therefore feel more natural in using a relationship-oriented style.
Two studies suggest that female corporate leaders are perceived to be just as competent as their male counterparts. In addition, women leaders are often perceived to be more competent than men, but the percentage differences are small.
2. Placing Gender Differences in Leadership Style in Perspective
More important than searching for differences is to capitalize on both male and female leadership tendencies. To compete in the global marketplace, companies need a diverse leadership team including men and women. Not recognizing that both male and female styles are needed can lead to confusion for women managers. Even if gender differences in leadership style do exist, scientific evidence indicates that they do not have a meaningful impact on leadership effectiveness.
F. 360-Degree Feedback for Fine-Tuning a Leadership Approach
Many leaders solicit systematic feedback to improve their leadership behavior and attitudes. 360-degree feedback is a formal evaluation of superiors based on input from people who work for and with them, sometimes including customers and suppliers. 360-degree feedback is more frequently used for leadership and management development than for performance evaluation. When used for development, 360-degree feedback should emphasize qualitative comments rather than strictly quantitative ratings. Professional counseling can sometimes help a person benefit from critical feedback and place it in perspective.
A potential problem with 360-degree feedback is its anonymity. As a result, nasty comments can be made without much thought, much like a posting on a website.
G. Selecting the Best Leadership Style
A study of 3,000 executives revealed that leaders who get the best results do not rely on one style. Instead, they use several different styles in one week, such as being autocratic in some situations and democratic in others. The cultural setting must also be considered, such as using a strong task orientation in a task-oriented culture. The organizational culture also influences which leadership style will be effective, such as a collaborative culture calling for a consensus style of leadership. Stogdill made a statement about selecting a leadership style that still holds today: “The most effective leaders appear to exhibit a degree of versatility and flexibility that enable them to adapt their behavior to the changing and contradictory demands made on them.”
V. GUIDELINES FOR ACTION AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT
The servant leadership style is now preferred in many private- and public-sector organizations, making the following suggestions relevant.
1. Emphasize ethical behavior.
2. Listen carefully to get to know the concerns, requirements, and problems of group members.
3. Acknowledge your limitations and seek the contributions of others.
4. Focus on the development of group members.
5. Emphasize sometimes the introverted side of your personality.
6. Ask the group how you can help them within the limits of your authority and budget.
7. Show care and concern for all stakeholders.
8. Spend a few minutes every working day thinking about how you can add value to the group’s efforts.
9. Recognize that each position contributes to the overall functioning of the organization.
[return to top]
Comments on Experiential Exercises
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 4-1: Feedback Skills
An important feature of this exercise is that it provides an opportunity to practice giving feedback about performance rather than feedback about personal characteristics. A possible positive byproduct of this exercise is that the feedback results might encourage participants to perform better.
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 4-1: Task-Oriented Attitudes and Behaviors
An interesting twist to this scale is that it does not assume that a low task orientation is equivalent to a high relationship orientation. The scale treats task orientation as an independent dimension of leadership behavior.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 4-2: Clarifying Your Interpersonal Work
Values
The importance of this instrument centers around its focus on values. Many observers of leadership heavily emphasize the contribution of values to leader effectiveness.
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 4-2: The Servant Leadership Quiz
The servant leadership quiz is valuable because leaders in a wide variety of organizations espouse to be servant leaders. As with all the quizzes in this book, a key purpose of taking the quiz is to reflect on the operational meaning of the construct being measured, such as Number 12, “I encourage group members to use their talents.”
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 4-3: Applying Relationship-Oriented and Task-Oriented Attitudes and Behaviors
An extreme environment is chosen for this skill-building exercise it dramatizes the importance of choosing the right leadership attitudes and behaviors to accomplish difficult work. This exercise is also helpful in translating into practice several of the leadership attitudes and behaviors. The clarity of what the workers are attempting to accomplish (dig a hole) will make it easier for the role players to understand what they should be doing.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 4-4: The Servant Leader
The servant leader role player can jump right in here and discuss how this person will help the group attain its objectives. Considering that the challenge is a stretch, but realistic, the group members might have many questions. Observers might want to pay careful attention to how well the servant leader listens to the concerns and questions of the group members.
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 4-3: Entrepreneurial Thinking and Behavior
Publicity about entrepreneurship is quite heavy even if new businesses are not being created as frequently as in the past. Large numbers of members of the workforce give serious thought to entrepreneurship. As a result of these factors, many students will enjoy looking at their entrepreneurial tendencies. It could prove fruitful to discuss why certain statements are included in this questionnaire, such as Number 16, “I enjoy purchasing lunch from a street vendor when the opportunity arises.”
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 4-5: Entrepreneurial Leadership
The key feature of this exercise is that it gets the role players involved in a high-impact business activity selling others on the merits of their business. Our informal research has shown that at least one-third of business students aspire to entrepreneurship or self-employment at some point in their careers, thus increasing the relevance of this exercise.
A suggestion for this exercise is to caution the role players (or “skill builders”) to project passion and enthusiasm into the exercise.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 4-6: Contrasting Leadership Styles
Field testing indicates that this role-play is effective in illustrating basic leadership styles. Many students who understand these styles intellectually have difficulty translating them into behavior. Feedback by class members not participating in the role-play is quite beneficial.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 4-7: My Leadership Portfolio
This leadership portfolio exercise is yet another opportunity for the present or aspiring leader to examine a key part of their leadership functioning this time, task-oriented behavior. As with the other portfolio exercises presented in the book, the encouragement of self-reflection can enhance leadership effectiveness.
[return to top]
Comments on Discussion Questions and Activities
1. What is your opinion of the appropriateness of the executive chair of Stich Fix still spending time assembling boxes of clothing choices for clients?
There is a lot to be said for a company founder still devoting some time to the core activity of the business. The head of the organization assembling boxes highlights the purpose of the organization and adds to her credibility. We emphasize again that knowledge of the business is a key cognitive skill for leaders. Recognize, however, that leadership authorities who emphasize strategy and visions for leaders might disagree with the opinion expressed here.
2. Give an example of high-consideration behavior that a supervisor showed on your behalf. What was your reaction to this behavior?
Examples of high-consideration behavior include giving a worker time off to deal with a personal problem, or giving the worker encouragement. Most people react very positively to high-consideration behavior on the part of the supervisor.
3 Why is direction setting still an important leadership behavior in an era of empowerment and shared leadership?
Empowered teams still need direction regarding which activities they should be pursuing. They might then be empowered to figure out how to achieve these goals. Few teams or individual employees are empowered to pursue whatever direction they think is appropriate. Similarly, when leadership is shared, the group members will usually need some parameters, including what might be feasible for the company.
4. How long should a patient leader wait for a poor performer to attain performance standards?
The organizational culture could have some influence on how long below-standard performance will be tolerated. The cause of poor performance must also be taken into consideration. For example, a poor performer might be given more time to learn a new technical skill in comparison to the time taken for decreasing tardiness and absenteeism. The opinion expressed here is that a patient leader should wait up to three months for the poor performer to show substantial improvement. After that comes disciplinary action.
5. How might both-task oriented and relationship-oriented leadership styles contribute to the bottom line of a company being profitable?
Bottom-line results are based on organizational performance, which is based on individual performance. Individual performance is based on both task accomplishment and being treated well. An example of task-oriented leadership behavior related to profits is setting high performance standards. An example of relationship-oriented behaviors related to profits is aligning people.
6. Why do so many CEOs say they want entrepreneurial style leaders in their company even though the company is essentially a large bureaucracy?
Entrepreneurial-style leaders fit into a bureaucracy and are in demand by CEOs for two primary reasons. First, they may be effective in thinking of new ventures for the company or major product overhauls that could expand the market for the product. Second, the entrepreneurial spirit of being proactive in terms of searching for improvements will usually benefit an organization.
7. Why would being a highly narcissistic, charismatic person interfere with being an effective servant leader?
The highly narcissistic, charismatic person by definition is most interested in pursuing personal glory, including getting recognition for the group’s accomplishments. Such strong focus on the self-conflicts with the aim of the servant leader to work on behalf of the others.
8. Why would it be helpful to have a mentor or a coach who is a hands-on leader?
A major reason for having a mentor or coach is to learn new skills, and a hands-on leader is quite adept at giving specific directions on task performance. As a result, the hands-on leader can be an excellent coach or mentor for the person eager to learn how to perform a complicated task.
9. Why is shared or participative leadership likely to be effective with well-educated, intelligent team members?
Well-educated, intelligent team members have a preference for being consulted extensively about key decisions. One reason is that they enjoy putting their education and intelligence to work. Another part of the explanation is that many intelligent, welleducated people have studied team leadership in school and have worked on teams for many school projects.
10. Several people have commented that this chapter deals with the “nuts and bolts” of leadership. What makes them say that?
The comment about nuts and bolts is insightful. The day-by-day process of being a leader involves behaviors, attitudes, and styles. Most of what a leader does is contained within these concepts. Even creating visions is really contained in direction setting. Also, exhibiting the appropriate leadership style is one of the basics of being a leader.
[return to top]
Plausible Responses to Case Questions
Leadership Case Problem A: Lola Asks Tough Questions
This case illustrates that although asking tough questions can be an effective leadership technique, it can also be perceived as uncomfortable, and even rude.
1. How effective does Lola appear to be in her approach to asking tough questions as a leadership technique?
We will not know for sure how effective Lola is in her approach to asking tough questions until changes in performance are noted. Yet, a couple of her questions appear to be provocative and helpful. Asking Marvin about competitive pressures is a good strategic
question. Lola asking the group how she can help them become super successful is another positive application of asking tough questions,
2. What suggestions can you offer Lola to make her questioning techniques more effective?
In her approach to asking tough questions, Lola has to guard against being too blunt and confrontational, and even accusatory. An example is the harshness of asking Quinn, “How have you justified your pay this month?”
3. Which style of leadership does Lola appear to demonstrate when she asks her team, “What should I be doing to help make our division the best pet-food division in the industry?”
By asking how she can upgrade the effectiveness of her group, Lola is exercising the servant leadership style. Her question implies that she wants her group to succeed.
Associated Role Play
Many students will enjoy this role play because much of the script is already presented, giving them good material to work with. The bigger picture is that the role play provides an opportunity to deal with being confronted by a boss by being positive, rather than defensive and retaliatory.
Leadership Case Problem B: The Worrisome 360-Degree Survey
A key theme of this case is that a leader who is obtaining good business results might still have developmental needs as revealed by a 360-degree survey.
1. Should Kelsey begin the process of demoting Rasheed from his management position?
Hold on Kelsey, give Rasheed an opportunity to work on his developmental needs before demoting him. Rasheed is still managing a productive group.
2. What should Rasheed do to improve his performance as a leader and manager based on the 360-degree survey?
The 360-degree results suggest that Rasheed needs to improve the interpersonal aspects of leadership. One of the feedback narrative statements was instructive: “Rasheed is doing what he can to move the group forward. Yet he could be a little stronger on the human touch.”
3. How seriously should Kelsey take the results of the 360-degree survey?
The findings appear to be consistent in both the numerical comments and the narrative comments, so they should be taken seriously. Kelsey should still supplement the results with her own as Rasheed’s boss.
4. How seriously should Rasheed take the results of the 360-degree survey?
Rasheed should probably take the survey results quite seriously if he wants to develop into a strong leader, and perhaps even survive in his present position.
Associated Role Play
The role play about Rasheed and Kelsey provides practice in dealing with a major challenge for a leader or manager—holding a discussion with a direct report about a difference of opinion with respect to the direct report’s performance and behavior. The topic is personal and emotional, giving the role players an opportunity to project enthusiasm into the scenario. Observers might look for signs of high and low emotional intelligence in the role players.
Additional Activities and Assignments
Read this blogpost and then answer the following questions about your management style. http://community.cengage.com/GECResource2/info/b/management/archive/2016/10/16/wh at-is-your-management-style
<question type="essay">
1. Name and define two leadership styles.
ANS: Answers may vary.
REJ: Refer to the chapter “Leadership Behaviors, Attitudes, and Styles” for more information.
<metadata>
Difficulty: Moderate
LO: Explain the key leadership dimensions of initiating structure and consideration.
Learning Objective Narrative: To increase a student’s understanding of leadership styles and operating methods
A-head: The Classic Dimensions of Consideration and Initiating Structure
Bloom's: Remember </metadata>
<question type="essay">
2. What style do you think works best in a manufacturing environment and why?
ANS: Answers may vary.
REJ: Refer to the chapter “Leadership Behaviors, Attitudes, and Styles” for more information.
<metadata>
Difficulty: Moderate
LO: Determine how to choose the most appropriate leadership style
Learning Objective Narrative: To increase a student’s understanding of key leadership motivators
A-head: Selecting the Best Leadership Style
Bloom's: Understand
</metadata>
[return to top]
Appendix
Generic Rubrics
Providing students with rubrics helps them understand expectations and components of assignments. Rubrics help students become more aware of their learning process and progress, and they improve students’ work through timely and detailed feedback.
Customize these rubrics as you wish. The writing rubric indicates 40 points, and the discussion rubric indicates 30 points.
Standard Writing Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Content
Organization and Clarity
The assignment clearly and comprehensively addresses all questions in the assignment.
15 points
The assignment presents ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are logically related and consistent.
10 points
Research
Research
Grammar and Spelling
The assignment is based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature, including peerreviewed journals and other scholarly work.
5 points
The assignment follows the required citation guidelines.
5 points
The assignment has two or fewer grammatical and spelling errors.
5 points
Standard Discussion Rubric
The assignment partially addresses some or all questions in the assignment.
8 points
The assignment presents ideas in a mostly clear manner and with a mostly strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are mostly logically related and consistent.
7 points
The assignment is based upon adequate academic literature but does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
3 points
The assignment follows some of the required citation guidelines.
3 points
The assignment has three to five grammatical and spelling errors.
3 points
The assignment does not address the questions in the assignment.
0 points
The assignment does not present ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an introduction, content, and conclusion, but coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are not logically related and consistent.
0 points
The assignment is not based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature and does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
0 points
The assignment does not follow the required citation guidelines.
0 points
The assignment is incomplete or unintelligible.
0 points
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Participation
Submits or participates in discussion by the posted deadlines. Follows all assignment instructions for initial post and responses. Does not participate or submit discussion by the posted deadlines. Does not follow instructions for initial post and responses.
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
5 points 3 points
Contribution Quality Comments stay on task. Comments add value to discussion topic. Comments motivate other students to respond.
20 points
Etiquette
Maintains appropriate language. Offers criticism in a constructive manner. Provides both positive and negative feedback.
5 points
Comments may not stay on task. Comments may not add value to discussion topic. Comments may not motivate other students to respond.
10 points
Does not always maintain appropriate language. Offers criticism in an offensive manner. Provides only negative feedback.
3 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Purpose and Perspective of the Chapter
The purpose of this chapter is to provide the reader with an accurate understanding of contingency theories of leadership. Several traditional contingency theories no longer receive any attention in the scientific or practitioner literature, and therefore have been excluded from this chapter. Retained are Fiedler’s theory and path-goal theory, along with the contingency aspects of leader-member exchange (LMX). We expand the coverage of crisis leadership theory because of its increasing relevance, including the need for crisis leadership during the pandemic.
Chapter Objectives
The following objectives are addressed in this chapter:
05.01 Describe how the situation influences the choice of leadership objectives.
05.02 Present an overview of Fiedler’s contingency theory of leadership effectiveness.
05.03 Characterize the path-goal theory of leadership effectiveness.
05.04 Describe how the leader-member exchange (LMX) model is a contingency theory.
05.05 Articulate the basics of leadership during a crisis.
05.06 Enumerate how evidence-based leadership can contribute to contingency and situational leadership.
Complete List of Chapter Activities and Assessments
For additional guidance, refer to the Teaching Online Guide.
Self-Assessment Quiz 5-1: Measuring Your Situational Perspective
Skill-Building Exercise 5-4: My Leadership Portfolio
7,8,9,10,11, 12, 13 14, 15, 16, 17 18,19, 20
Skill-Building Exercise 5-1: Applying Supportive Leadership
Self-Assessment Quiz 5-2: Quality of Leader-Member Relations
Skill-Building Exercise 5-2: Leader-Member Exchange with In-Group and OutGroup Members
[return to top]
Key Terms
Contingency approach to leadership: The contention that leaders are most effective when they make their behavior contingent upon situational forces, including group member characteristics.
Crisis leadership: The process of leading group members through a sudden and largely unanticipated, intensely negative, and emotionally draining circumstance.
Evidence-based leadership or management: The approach whereby managers translate principles based on best evidence into organizational practices.
Path-goal theory: An explanation of leadership effectiveness that specifies what the leader must do to achieve high productivity and morale in a given situation.
[return to top]
What's New in This Chapter
The following elements are improvements in this chapter from the previous edition:
• Substantial expansion of crisis leadership including the pandemic
• Table 5-1: Crisis leadership attributes and behaviors with a relationship emphasis
• Table 5-2: Crisis leadership attributes and behaviors with a task emphasis
• Importance of providing psychological safety during a crisis
• Expansion of discussion on evidence-based leadership
• Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 5-1: Applying Supportive Leadership
[return to top]
Chapter Outline
After studying this chapter, the reader should have an accurate understanding of contingency theories of leadership. Several traditional contingency theories no longer receive attention in the scientific or practitioner literature and therefore have been excluded for this chapter. Retained are Fiedler’s theory, and path-goal theory, along with the contingency aspects of leader-member exchange (LMX). We expand the coverage of crisis leadership theory because of its increasing relevance, including the need for crisis leadership during the pandemic.
[return to top]
Chapter Outline and Lecture Notes
Contingency theories specify the factors that determine which style of leadership will achieve the best results in a given situation. The two best-known contingency theories are described in this chapter, along with leadership during a crisis. The leader-member exchange is included as a contingency theory. We also mention evidence-based leadership and management as contributing to the contingency approach.
I SITUATIONAL INFLUENCES ON EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR
The essence of the contingency approach to leadership is that leaders are most effective when they make their behavior contingent upon situational forces, including group member characteristics. Both the internal and external environments have a significant impact on leader effectiveness.
A useful perspective on implementing contingency theory is that the managers must be flexible enough to avoid clinging to ideas that no longer work. Being stubborn about what will work in a given situation, and clinging to old ideas can result in ineffective leadership. The organizational culture is a major situational variable the leader needs to take into account in choosing which approach to leadership will lead to favorable outcomes.
Vroom and Jago have identified three conclusions about the role of situations in leadership, and these findings support the model presented in Figure 1-2, Chapter 1. Another conclusion is added here.
1 Organizational effectiveness is affected by situational factors not under leader control.
2. Situations shape how leaders behave.
3. Situations influence the consequences of leader behavior.
4. The type of organization influences which leadership approach is best.
II. FIEDLER’S CONTINGENCY THEORY OF LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS
Fiedler’s theory states that the best style of leadership is determined by the situation in which the leader works.
A. Measuring Leadership Style: The Least Preferred Co-Worker (LPC) Scale
A manager’s leadership style is classified as relationship-motivated or task-motivated. One’s style is considered relatively fixed. The least preferred co-worker (LPC) scale measures the degree to which a leader describes favorably or unfavorably the least preferred co-worker. One who describes the least preferred co-worker in favorable terms is relationship-motivated. In contrast, a person who describes the least preferred co-worker unfavorably tends to be task-motivated.
B Measuring the Leadership Situation
Leadership situations are divided into high control, moderate control, and low control. A high-control situation is the most favorable. The amount of control is determined by rating the situation on three dimensions:
1. Leader-member relations measure how well the group and the leader get along.
2 Task structure measures how clearly the procedures, goals, and evaluation of the job are defined.
Position power measures the leader’s authority to hire, fire, discipline, and grant salary increases to group members.
Leader-member relations contribute as much to the favorability of the leadership situation as do task structure and position power combined.
C. Overall Findings
Leadership effectiveness depends on matching leaders to situations in which they can exercise appropriate control. Task-motivated leaders perform the best in situations of high control and low control. Relationship-motivated leaders perform the best in situations of low control. Figure 5–1 summarizes these findings.
D. Making the Situation More Favorable for the Leader
A practical implication of the contingency theory is that leaders should modify situations to match their leadership style best, thereby enhancing their chances of being effective. To increase control over the situation, the leader can do one or more of the following: (a) improve leader-member relations, (b) increase task structure, and (c) exercise more position power.
E Evaluation of Fiedler’s Contingency Theory
Fiedler’s theory has prompted extensive research. The model has also alerted leaders to the importance of sizing up the situation to gain control. Yet the contingency theory is too complicated to have much impact on most leaders. A major problem centers on matching the situation to the leader.
III THE PATH-GOAL THEORY OF LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS
The path-goal theory of leadership effectiveness specifies what the leader must do to achieve high productivity and morale in a given situation. A leader attempts to clarify the path to a goal for a group member so that the latter receives personal payoffs. At the same time, job satisfaction and performance increase. Path-goal theory is based on expectancy theory. The major proposition of path-goal theory is that the manager should choose a leadership style that takes into account group member characteristics and task demands. Furthermore, initiating structure will be effective in situations with a low degree of subordinate task structure, but ineffective in highly structured task situations.
In his reformulated version of path-goal theory, House offers this meta-proposition: For leaders to be effective, they should engage in behaviors that complement subordinates’ environment and abilities. They should engage in these behaviors in a manner that compensates for deficiencies and enhances subordinate satisfaction as well as individual and work-unit performance.
A. Matching the Leadership Style to the Situation
The leader should choose among four leadership styles to achieve optimum results in a given situation. Two key sets of contingency factors are the type of subordinates and the type of work they perform. Key subordinate characteristics include their locus of control and perception of their ability with respect to the assigned task. Environmental contingency factors are (1) the group members’ tasks, (2) the authority system within the organization, and (3) the work group. The following describes the four styles and their appropriate circumstances.
1 Directive style. The directive leader emphasizes formal activities such as planning, organizing, and controlling. The directive style improves morale when the task is unclear.
2. Supportive style. The supportive leader displays concern for the well-being of group members and creates an emotionally supportive climate. The leader also emphasizes developing mutually satisfying relationships among group members. The supportive leader enhances morale when group members work on dissatisfying, stressful, or frustrating tasks.
3. Participative style. The participative leader uses group input when making decisions. This type of leader is best suited for improving the morale of wellmotivated employees who perform nonrepetitive tasks.
4 Achievement-oriented style. The achievement-oriented leader sets challenging goals, pushes for work improvement, and sets high expectations for group members. This style works well with achievement-oriented team members and with those working on ambiguous and nonrepetitive tasks.
B. Steps Leaders Can Take to Improve Performance and Satisfaction
The path-goal theory offers many specific suggestions to leaders. Four representative suggestions are:
1. Recognize or activate group members’ needs over which the leader has control.
2 Increase the personal payoffs to team members for attaining work goals.
3. Help group members clarify their expectations of how effort will lead to good performance, and how performance will lead to reward.
4. Reduce frustrating barriers to reaching goals.
Leaders can benefit from following the specific suggestions of path-goal theory. Unfortunately, path-goal theory has so many nuances and complexities that it has attracted little interest from managers.
IV. LEADER-MEMBER EXCHANGE (LMX) AND CONTINGENCY THEORY
Leaders who adapt their style to different individuals within the group, or have different quality relationships with individual members, are essentially practicing contingency leadership. Here we present several conclusions from LMX research that suggests a contingency approach to leadership.
1. Leaders tend to give members of their in-group more favorable performance ratings than they give to out-group members, even when their objective performance is the same.
2. Leaders do not always develop entirely different relationships with each group member, but may respond the same way to a few members of the group.
3. In larger groups, there tend to be more differences with respect to leader-member exchanges.
4. A manager is more likely to act as a servant leader toward subordinates with whom the leader has high-quality exchanges.
5. Leaders are more likely to empower group members with whom they have a highquality exchange (or good relationship) because they are more likely to trust those members.
6. Moderate degrees of LMX differentiation yield the highest level of team performance. Moderate differentiation improves coordination, which enhances performance.
7. LMX differentiation leads to more positive commitment and citizenship behavior when LMX quality is lower rather than higher. (Apparently, when a worker does not have a good relationship with the boss, they will have better work attitudes when the leader treats most people differently.)
8. The quality of leader-member exchanges affects involuntary turnover within the group. A study in China showed that workers with a low-quality relationship with the leader were more likely to quit.
9. A meta-analysis of 4,114 workgroups showed that the leader who has different quality relationships with various group members faces a trade-off. The leader can attain stronger motivation and output from favored members. Yet, collective harmony and solidarity within the group will suffer because some co-workers are more favored by the leader.
V. LEADERSHIP DURING A CRISIS
Leading during a crisis can be regarded as contingency leadership because the situation demands that the leader emphasize certain behaviors, attitudes, and traits. Crisis leadership is the process of leading group members through a sudden, largely unanticipated, intensely negative, and emotionally draining circumstance. Leadership is the key to effective crisis management. The attributes and behavior for effective crisis management are divided here into those emphasizing relationships versus those emphasizing tasks.
A. Crisis Leadership Attributes and Behaviors with a Relationship Emphasis
1. Communicate widely about the problem. A report concluded that perhaps the most essential element of crisis leadership is clear and trustworthy communication.
2. Display optimism. Pessimists abound in every crisis, so optimism by the leader can help energize group members to overcome the bad times.
3. Build relationships. A study during the pandemic based on 454 male and 366 female leaders found that employee engagement during the crisis was stronger when leaders used their interpersonal skills to build relationships.
4. Display sadness and compassion. Leaders should be able to express sadness about a crisis. Compassion is important because it shows that the leader cares about the plight of employees caught up in the negative consequences of the crisis. Compassionate leadership also involves taking some form of public action, even if the action that is intended to relieve the pain of constituents is modest.
5. Stay calm and provide stable performance. Remaining calm and steady under crisis conditions contributes to effectiveness because it helps team members cope with the situation.
6. Recognize accomplishments. When an organization faces turbulence, employees are in particular need of recognition for what they accomplish to help stabilize the organization.
7. Promote psychological safety. Managers should promote psychological safety, so that workers can openly discuss ideas, questions, and concerns without fear of repercussions or retaliation.
8. Design time and space for team bonding. During the COVID-19 crisis, a study was conducted of how professionals were reacting to the workplace disruption. Ten percent of the participants reported important benefits when their managers created opportunities for them to connect and bond with their coworkers. Examples were virtual coffee breaks and happy hours.
9. Stick with constructive core values. Leaders who keep their company or division focused on core values are likely to endure difficult times.
10. Embrace stakeholder capitalism. During a crisis, stakeholders need reassurance that the companies will work with them to restore normalcy. Stakeholder capitalism means that the company’s obligation to shareholders should not come at the expense of other stakeholders, including employees, customers, and society in general.
B. Crisis Leadership Attributes and Behaviors with a Task Emphasis
1. Be decisive. The leader should take decisive action to remedy a situation. Being decisive in response to a crisis also includes communicating widely the plans for resolving the problems created by the crisis. Being decisive during a crisis can sometimes upset executive team members who prefer a more collaborative style.
2. Practice leadership accountability. The same approach can be described as taking personal ownership for the leadership role. The leader who practices accountability should also hold other leaders of the organization accountable for crisis-related problems
3. Think strategically (see the big picture). Workers may be so mired in the crisis that they see no way out. The effective crisis leader helps the group understand that conditions will soon change for the better.
4. Strive for a unified effort. An organization cannot work its way through a crisis without the cooperation of people throughout the firm
5. Divide major problems in to smaller chunks. Working piecemeal on problems may feel less overwhelming. When an obstacle is framed as very large, complex, and challenging, workers might feel overwhelmed and then freeze.
6 Avoid a circle-the-wagons mentality. To strongly defend yourself against your critics or deny wrongdoing is a mistake. The same denial approach is referred to as maintaining a bunker mentality or stonewalling the problem.
7. Delegate authority where appropriate. After direction has been established, it is recommended that the leader delegate authority appropriately to accomplish key tasks.
8 Reestablish the usual work routine. An effective way of helping people deal with a workplace crisis is to influence them to return to their regular work. However, workers should first express their feelings about the crisis.
9. Prevent the crisis with planning: the ideal form of crisis leadership. A key part of planning for a physical disaster, for example, is to anticipate where you would go, how you would get in touch with employees, and where you might set up a temporary workplace.
10. Be a transformational leader. During times of large and enduring crisis, transformational leadership may be the intervention of choice. A leadership coach said that when leaders face a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environment, the transformational leadership style is best. One way in which a transformational leader helps people work through a crisis is to have established a climate of trust long before the crisis struck.
VI. EVIDENCE-BASED LEADERSHIP FOR THE CONTINGENCY AND SITUATIONAL APPROACH
A leading-edge way to practice contingency leadership would be to look for researchbased evidence about the best way to deal with a given situation. Evidence-based leadership or management takes place when managers translate principles based on evidence into organizational practice. The Center for Evidence-Based Management recommends that four sources of evidence should be considered when making a decision: (a)empirical studies in academic journals, (b) organizational data, facts, and figures, (c) the experience and judgment of practitioners, and (d) the values and concerns of stakeholders.
Many of the principles and suggestions presented throughout the textbook would help a manager practice evidence-based leadership. An example of using evidence-based leadership stemming from the experience of managers is to regularly express thanks for a job well done.
VII. GUIDELINES FOR ACTION AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT
A major contingency factor for a team or group leader is the talent and motivation of each individual being led. When forming unique relationships with group members, it is important to minimize the potential unintended negative consequences of this type of leadership, such as having favorites or “pets.” A subtle way of practicing contingency leadership is to adapt to times that may have changed in terms of the demands of your leadership position.
[return to top]
Comments on Experiential Exercises
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 5-1: Measuring Your Situational Perspective
This exercise gives present and prospective leaders a rare opportunity to reflect on the extent of their situational or contingency perspective. The number of people who adapt their tactics to meet the demands of a given situation may be lower than most people think.
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 5-2: Quality of Leader-Member Relations
This measure of assessing the quality of leader-member relations helps illustrate that relatively straightforward attitudes and behaviors determine how well the leader gets along with group members. At the same time, the quiz provides clues as to how to develop a good relationship
with subordinates. For example, as indicated in item 9, having exceptional technical and professional skills can help build good relationships with subordinates.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 5-1: Applying Supportive Leadership
Here is an opportunity to practice supportive leadership in a situation that most students will be able to visualize. Applying supportive leadership is an example of situational leadership. The leader should look for ways to recognize the frustrations the tax accountants are facing, as well as making supportive statements. Observers might look to see if the leader listens carefully to the accountants’ concerns. The tax accountant role players have an opportunity to be dramatic.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 5-2: Leader-Member Exchange with
In-Group and Out-Group
Members.
It is possible to read hundreds of research articles about leader-member exchange without visualizing what it means in practice. This role play gives the student an opportunity to simulate what high-quality and low-quality exchanges mean in practice.
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 5-3: Checklist for Crisis Leadership
This checklist is helpful in identifying some of the behaviors and attitudes directly related to effective or ineffective crisis leadership. Maybe a few volunteers can provide evidence for statement number 3, “I almost never choke under pressure.”
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 5-3: Crisis Leadership
An opportunity to think through how a leader should handle a current crisis might provide valuable case history experience. Workplace crises continue to emerge, and the era of information technology appears to accelerate crises. For example, many companies have to deal with an enraged public about how their personal data were stolen from company computer records. Embarrassing postings by executives on social media sites can also create a crisis that requires managing.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 5-4: My Leadership Portfolio
A potential contribution of this entry into the leadership portfolio is that students are given the opportunity to analyze how they might handle a leadership situation they observe. It can be challenging to figure out how the situation might have been dealt with differently. [return to top]
Comments on Discussion Questions and Activities
1 What relevance might contingency leadership have for dealing with generational differences in the workplace?
Contingency leadership would be relevant to the extent that the leader could identify age-related factors that were making a difference in the situation. It is possible, for example, that more effort would be required to make sure procedures are followed with younger workers. Rather than assuming that stereotypes about age-related values are true in this particular situation, the leader should investigate by informal conversations and observations. A recurring example is that many among the oldest members of the workforce are skilled in technology.
2. If a manager uses a slightly different leadership style with men and women, should the manager worry about being charged with sex discrimination?
Perhaps the manager who consistently uses a different leadership style with men and women should reflect on whether the manager is acting on dated stereotypes about gender roles in the workplace. Yet the issue here is not sex discrimination, which usually involves adverse treatment of one sex in comparison to another, such as paying a man more for the same position than a woman.
3. Identify a personality trait you think would help a manager function as a contingency leader. Also, identify a trait you think would detract from a manager’s ability to function as a contingency leader.
Being adaptable and flexible not only helps a manager function as a contingency leader; it makes this feasible. In contrast, being rigid and inflexible would make it very difficult to practice contingency leadership because the manager would have considerable difficulty in adapting to circumstances.
4. How might a leader modify the clothing worn to different work situations to help practice contingency leadership?
The contingency leader would probably size up the situation to decide on which type of clothing would best establish rapport. In recent years, most politicians take off their jacket and roll up the sleeves when dealing with a group in a less formal situation. An even stronger modification of clothing might be for the leader to wear sporty clothing to an information technology situation, rather than making a quick fix in more formal clothing such as a suit and tie.
5. How would a manager know which variables in a given situation should influence which approach to leadership the leader should take?
Knowledge of management and organizational behavior, combined with intuition, are helpful in figuring out which are the relevant variables. For example, knowledge of individual differences is always a good starting point. In many situations, factors such as motivation and the problem-solving ability of group members are key situational variables. The leader/manager should also investigate if the organizational culture is a relevant variable.
6. Which of the four path-goal styles do you think would be the best for managing a group of software engineers? Justify your answer.
Most professional software engineers would respond well to an achievement-oriented leadership style because they are achievement oriented. The leader would set challenging goals, push for improvement, and set high expectations. A secondary style would be participative because the software engineers would undoubtedly have a variety of suggestions to add to decisions affecting the group.
7. As the pandemic lifted, many workers remained fearful of returning to the workplace. Which aspects of aspects of crisis leadership might managers have used to get most of these workers back into the workplace?
Dealing with the problem of people who resisted returning to the workplace proved to be challenging for leaders and managers. A starting point might be to display optimism about having a physical workplace where people could connect with each other more readily. Displaying sadness and compassion about the pandemic would show emotional support. Designing time and space for team bonding might help prompt people to return to a team in one physical location.
8. Why are both a task emphasis and a relationship emphasis often necessary to get a group through a crisis, such as a hurricane having destroyed a company facility?
During a crisis, group members need decisive guidance about what can be done to lead the unit out of the crisis—clearly a task emphasis. At the same time, group members need emotional support, compassion, and empathy clearly a relation emphasis.
9. Ask two experienced managers you know whether they have ever heard of or practiced contingency leadership. What conclusion about contingency leadership do you draw from your answer?
Even if a manager is not familiar with the term contingency leadership, the manager probably understands how adapting a leadership approach to meet the demands of the situation is important. For example, the manager might say, “When facing a surge in workload, I put a lot of pressure on the group to work faster and harder.” Several students will probably conclude that contingency leadership exists and is important.
10. In what way do effective teachers practice contingency leadership?
Effective teachers practice contingency leadership in ways such as (a) varying the difficulty level of lectures and reading to meet student needs, (b) using learning methods to fit the learning styles of students, (c) fine-tuning the amount of support and guidance a given student needs, and (d) varying the candor of criticism depending on how well a given student can accept criticism.
[return to top]
Plausible Responses to Case Questions
Leadership Case Problem A: Financial Services Manager Kevin Faces a Dilemma
This case presents an explicit example of how a leader might have to deal with differences in the ability to tolerate ambiguity among direct reports. To complicate matters, these differences create ambiguity for the leader.
1. In what way is Kevin dealing with the problem of differences in the ability to manage ambiguity?
The three wealth managers with whom Kevin held a conversation, Heather, Carlyle, and Cali, showed differences in their ability to deal with ambiguity. Carlyle admits to his problem when he says, “Please, I need a little structure.”
2. What recommendations do you have to make Kevin a stronger contingency leader?
Kevin shows that he has insight into his need to refine his contingency approach with his statement, “Some wealth managers need more structure than others.” Yet Kevin also has to recognize that wealth managers should be able to create some structure for themselves.
3. To what extent should Kevin be concerned about adapting his approach to making report assignments to the individual differences among his wealth managers?
As just mentioned, wealth managers should be able to cope with some ambiguity. Kevin might adapt his approach at first, and then encourage Heather and Carlyle to create some structure for themselves.
Associated Role Play
This role play might trigger memories of students who demand that their professor give them specific dates for turning in reports. The person who plays the role of Kevin can either submit to the needs for structure evidenced by Heather and Carlyle, or he can attempt to get them to create more structure for themselves. Perhaps the role players of Heather and Carlyle will see that they learn to do better at tolerating ambiguity.
Leadership Case Problem B: Emma Varies the Quality of Her Relationships
This case illustrates how different quality relationships can result in group members having different perceptions of the leader, and how these varying perceptions could result in negative feedback about the leader.
1. In what way does this case illustrate the LMX model of leadership?
As indicated from the feedback provided by Justin, Emma shows considerable variation in her relationships with subordinates. At best, Emma is perceived to be kind and caring, and at worst callous, indifferent.
2. To what extent do you think the feedback presented by the direct reports could help Emma hone her leadership style?
The feedback that Jerald has gathered appears to be authentic. At a minimum, Emma should stop and think about how she relates to various members of the group and look for possible areas of improvement. She might particularly think about being perceived as ignoring a couple of the group members.
3. If Emma does not want to be perceived as playing favorites, what should she do differently in her leadership approach?
A good starting point would be for Emma to lavish less praise on one direct report during meetings. She might make a deliberate effort to praise other group members also.
Associated Role Play
Although this role play might be played out in an exaggerated fashion, it does demonstrate how a leader might have different quality relationships with direct reports. [return to top]
Additional Activities and Assignments
Read this blogpost and then answer the following questions about ways managers can increase collaboration.
http://community.cengage.com/GECResource2/info/b/management/archive/2017/06/05/thr ee-ways-managers-can-increase-collaboration
<question type="essay">
1. What are the three key steps in the methodology intended to increase collaboration, and why are they each important?
ANS: Answers may vary.
REJ: Refer to the chapter “Contingency and Situational Leadership” for more information.
<metadata>
Difficulty: Moderate
LO: Describe how the situation influences the choice of leadership objectives
Learning Objective Narrative: To increase a student’s understanding of effective leadership methods.
A-head: Leader–Member Exchange and Contingency Theory
Bloom's: Remember </metadata>
[return to top]
Appendix
Generic Rubrics
Providing students with rubrics helps them understand expectations and components of assignments. Rubrics help students become more aware of their learning process and progress, and they improve students’ work through timely and detailed feedback.
Customize these rubrics as you wish. The writing rubric indicates 40 points, and the discussion rubric indicates 30 points.
Standard Writing Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Content
Organization and Clarity
The assignment clearly and comprehensively addresses all questions in the assignment.
15 points
The assignment presents ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are logically related and consistent.
10 points
Research
Research
Grammar and Spelling
The assignment is based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature, including peerreviewed journals and other scholarly work.
5 points
The assignment follows the required citation guidelines.
5 points
The assignment has two or fewer grammatical and spelling errors.
5 points
The assignment partially addresses some or all questions in the assignment.
8 points
The assignment presents ideas in a mostly clear manner and with a mostly strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are mostly logically related and consistent.
7 points
The assignment is based upon adequate academic literature but does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
3 points
The assignment follows some of the required citation guidelines.
3 points
The assignment has three to five grammatical and spelling errors.
3 points
The assignment does not address the questions in the assignment.
0 points
The assignment does not present ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an introduction, content, and conclusion, but coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are not logically related and consistent.
0 points
The assignment is not based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature and does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
0 points
The assignment does not follow the required citation guidelines.
0 points
The assignment is incomplete or unintelligible.
0 points
Standard Discussion Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Participation
Contribution Quality
Submits or participates in discussion by the posted deadlines. Follows all assignment instructions for initial post and responses.
5 points
Comments stay on task. Comments add value to discussion topic. Comments motivate other students to respond.
20 points
Etiquette
Maintains appropriate language. Offers criticism in a constructive manner. Provides both positive and negative feedback.
5 points
Does not participate or submit discussion by the posted deadlines. Does not follow instructions for initial post and responses.
3 points
Comments may not stay on task. Comments may not add value to discussion topic. Comments may not motivate other students to respond.
10 points
Does not always maintain appropriate language. Offers criticism in an offensive manner. Provides only negative feedback.
3 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Purpose and Perspective of the Chapter
The purpose of this chapter is to examine important issues about leadership ethics and social responsibility. The focus is on leaders rather than on a general treatment of business ethics. The chapter includes a summary of the principles of ethical and moral leadership. Skill building is also incorporated into this chapter.
Chapter Objectives
The following objectives are addressed in this chapter:
06.01 Pinpoint key principles of ethical and moral leadership.
06 02 Apply a guide to ethical decision-making.
06 03 Describe what leaders can do to foster an ethical and socially responsible organization.
06.04 Identify the link between business ethics and organizational performance.
Complete List of Chapter Activities and Assessments
For additional guidance, refer to the Teaching Online Guide.
06.01
06 02
06.03 4,5,6,7,8 9 12,13,14,15,16, 18, 19, 20
Self-Assessment Quiz 6-1: The Leadership Ethics Quiz
Skill-Building Exercise 6-5: My Leadership Portfolio
Self-Assessment Quiz 6-2: The Social Responsibility Initiative Checklist
Skill-Building Exercise 6-1: Should Dinosaur Power” Be Placed on the Market?”
Skill-Building Exercise 6-2: Conducting an Environmental Audit
Skill-Building Exercise 6-3: Collecting Examples of Socially Responsible Behavior
Skill-Building Exercise 6-4: Company Stand on Social Issues
[return to top]
Key Terms
Abusive supervision: A dysfunctional leadership behavior that adversely affects its targets and the organization as a whole.
financial obligations to owners and stockholders, and also beyond those prescribed by law or contract.
Entitlement: In relation to unethical behavior by executives; the idea that some CEOs lose their sense of reality and feel entitled to whatever they can get away with or steal.
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG): A set of standards investors use to evaluate investments involving the environment, people, and governance of the organization.
Ethical mind: A point of view that helps the individual aspire to good work that matters to their colleagues, companies, and society in general.
Ethics: The study of moral obligations, or separating right from wrong.
Integrity: Loyalty to rational principles, thereby practicing what one preaches, regardless of emotional or social pressure.
Moral leadership: A situation in which the leader takes a moral stance on an issue and convinces others to do the same.
Morals: An individual’s determination of what is right or wrong influenced by personal values.
Social entrepreneurship: The use of market-based methods to solve social problems.
Triple bottom line: The idea that organizations should prepare three different and separate bottom lines: the corporate bottom line; people in terms of well-being; and the planet, referring to environmental responsibility.
Virtuous circle: The idea that corporate social performance and corporate financial performance feed and reinforce each other.
Whistleblower: An employee who discloses organizational wrongdoing to parties who can take action.
[return to top]
What's New in This Chapter
The following elements are improvements and additions in this chapter from the previous edition:
• Moral leadership.
• Providing healthy leadership.
• Link between character and virtue.
• Bounded ethicality
• Recognizing the triple bottom line of profit, people, and planet.
• Environmental, social, and governance (ESG).
• Thinking strategically about environmental sustainability
• Importance of leaders thinking critically about sustainability initiatives.
• New section about the pros and cons of a CEO taking a stand on social issues
• Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz: The Social Responsibility Initiative Checklist
• Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 6-4: Company Stand on Social Issues.
[return to top]
Chapter Outline
The purpose of this chapter is to examine important issues about leadership ethics and social responsibility. The focus is on leaders rather than on a general treatment of business ethics The chapter includes a summary of the principles of ethical and moral leadership. Skill building is also incorporated into this chapter.
[return to top]
Chapter Outline and Lecture Notes
In this chapter, ethics and social responsibility are examined from a variety of perspectives, including how leaders develop an ethical and socially responsible culture.
I. PRINCIPLES OF ETHICAL AND MORAL LEADERSHIP
Ethics is the study of moral obligations, or separating right from wrong. Also, ethics are the accepted guidelines of behavior for groups or institutions. Morals are an individual’s determination of what is right or wrong and is influenced by their values. A moral leader will practice good ethics. Edwin H. Locke argues that ethics is at the center of leadership because the goal of a rational leader is to merge the interests of all parties so that everyone benefits and the organization prospers.
A. Five Ethical Leadership Behaviors
1 Be honest and trustworthy and have integrity in dealing with others Trustworthiness contributes to leadership effectiveness. Despite the importance of leaders who are trustworthy, evidence from the Global Business Ethics Survey of 2020 suggests that business firms have many ethical problems. Integrity refers to loyalty to rational principles practicing what one preaches, regardless of emotional or social pressure. (A criminal can claim integrity by consistently engaging in criminal behavior.)
2. Pay attention to all stakeholders. Maximizing shareholder wealth is not a sufficient role for a leader. Another behavior of authentic leaders is to perceive their role as having an ethical responsibility to all of their shareholders.
3. Build community. The leader helps people achieve a common goal and searches for goals compatible to all. When many people work toward the same constructive goal, they build community.
4. Respect the individual. Respecting individuals is a principle of ethical and moral leadership that incorporates other aspects of morality. For example, if you tell the truth, you respect others well enough to be honest. Keeping promises also shows respect.
5. Provide healthy leadership Social support by the leader is known to have a positive effect on the physical health and well-being of subordinates. The concept of healthy leadership encompasses many different ideas, yet the relationship-oriented behaviors described in Chapter 4 all contribute to healthy leadership.
B Factors Contributing to Ethical Differences
Several reasons for differences in ethics and morality among leaders are listed next.
1. Leader moral identity. A moral identity involves a self-perception organized around a set of moral traits such as honesty, caring, and compassion.
2. Greed, gluttony, and avarice. Many people seek to maximize personal returns, even at the expense of others. Exceptionally high executive compensation could be interpreted as signs of greed and avarice.
3. Rationalization and implied permission. People sometimes choose the wrong path based on rationalization, leading them to focus on the intention of the action, not the action itself. A related factor is implied permission “Nobody is telling me to stop, so it must be okay.”
4. Moral development level. A key factor behind ethical differences is the leader’s level of moral development: preconventional (intention of receiving rewards and avoiding punishment); conventional (conforms to societal norms); and postconventional (internalized set of principles that may go beyond laws of a society).
5. Sense of entitlement. Many business leaders have developed a sense of entitlement. Some CEOs lose their sense of reality and feel entitled to whatever they can get away with or steal.
6. Situational influences. Another factor contributing to morality differences among leaders is the situation, particularly the organizational culture.
7. Character of the person. A person’s character contributes heavily to ethical differences.
8. Motivated blindness. Seeing what we want to see and missing contradictory information contributes to unethical leadership.
9. Bounded ethicality. Cognitive limitations play a role in unethical behavior. Bounded ethicality refers to systematic cognitive barriers that prevent us from being as ethical as we would like to be. One barrier is the goal of maximizing value for oneself, which limits one from maximum ethical behavior just like motivated blindness.
C The Ethical Mind for Leaders
Howard Gardner believes that for a leader to stay ethical, the leader must develop an ethical mind, or a point of view that helps the individual aspire to good work that matters to their colleagues, companies, and society in general. A starting point is the belief that retaining an ethical compass is essential to organizational health. Earlylife influences are helpful. Two well-known leaders with an ethical mind would be Hubert Joly of Best Buy and Julie Sweet of Accenture, based on their reputations to date.
II. GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATING THE ETHICS OF A DECISION
The Center for Business Ethics at Bentley College has developed six questions to evaluate the ethics of a specific decision:
1. Is it right?
2. Is it fair?
4 Would you be comfortable if the details of your decision or actions were made public in the media or through email?
5. What would you tell your child, sibling, or young relative to do?
6 How does it smell?
Ethical issues that require a run through the guidelines are usually subtle rather than blatant or an issue that falls into the gray zone.
III. A SAMPLING OF UNETHICAL LEADERSHIP BEHAVIORS
Table 6–1 presents a sample of the type of unethical, immoral, and often illegal behavior engaged in by business leaders whose acts have been publicly reported. It is possible than an appeal may have changed the final outcome of a ruling against an executive. A quick internet search will bring the table entries up to date.
IV. LEADERSHIP, SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, AND CREATING AN ETHICAL ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
Good deeds are important for leaders. Corporate social responsibility is the process by which managers within an organization think about and discuss relationships with stakeholders and how they will work toward attaining the common good. Social responsibility involves a firm’s impact on society.
Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, wrote, “To prosper over time, every company must not only deliver financial performance, but also show it makes a contribution to society.” Yet, the words of Milton Friedman expressed over 50 years ago are noteworthy: “There is one and only one social responsibility of business to use its resources and engage in activities to increase its profits.” Here we look at a few socially responsible actions.
A. Providing for Strategic Leadership of Ethics and Social Responsibility
Senior managers can become ethics leaders. If high ethics receive top priority, workers are more likely to behave ethically. Strategic leadership of ethics and social responsibility includes leading by example.
B. Triple Bottom Line: Profit, People, and Planet
A comprehensive perspective about corporate social responsibility is for an organization to focus on the triple bottom line. The idea is that organizations should prepare three different and separate bottom lines: the corporate bottom line; people, in terms of their well-being; and the planet, referring to environmental responsibility. Many businesses of all sizes make a conscious effort to focus on the triple bottom line, including Amazon.com.
Paying attention to the triple bottom line enables an organization to emphasize environmental, social, or governance (ESG) issues. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria are a set of standards investors use to evaluate investments.
C. Creating a Pleasant Workplace
A social responsibility initiative that directly affects the well-being of people is the creation of a comfortable, pleasant, and intellectually stimulating work environment. The Fortune designation of “Best Company to Work For” fits directly here, as measured by the Great Place to Work Institute. The focus is on employee
satisfaction, yet the firms that fall into the “the 100 best companies to work for” are also typically profitable. Many of the companies on the list are included annually.
D. Helping to Build a Sustainable Environment
Socially responsible leaders influence others to preserve the external environment through a variety of actions that go beyond mandatory environmental controls. Helping build a sustainable environment can involve hundreds of different actions such as making packaging smaller, using more LED lighting, and using solar panels and wind turbines. Another way for a leader to help the environment is to be directly in the recycling business. Several firms now employ a chief sustainability officer.
For a company to be sustainably managed, it is important for the CEO to think strategically about sustainability. The endorsement of wind turbines is an example of the need for leaders to think critically about sustainability initiatives. Although wind turbines show promise of reducing fossil fuel consumption, they create problems of their own such as noise pollution, decreased property values, and destruction of birds and insects.
E. Engaging in Social Entrepreneurship
A social responsibility initiative gaining momentum is social entrepreneurship, the use of market-based methods to solve social problems. A research-based model of social entrepreneurship emphasizes that compassion encourages social entrepreneurship. Compassion in the model is viewed as a prosocial (helping others) motivation that connects the individual with a suffering community and triggers sensitivity to the pain and needs of others
F. Engaging in Philanthropy
A standard organizational leadership approach to social responsibility is to donate money to charity and various causes. Many corporate leaders demand a good return on investment for their donated money, such as obtaining evidence that literacy rates improved when money was donated to a reading program. Follow-up data might be sought, such as seeing how many children were taught to read, or by what percentage new cases of AIDS declined.
G. Working with Suppliers to Improve Working Conditions
An excellent opportunity for practicing social responsibility is for company leaders to work with suppliers to improve physical and mental working conditions. The justification for helping the supplier to improve working conditions is that the supplier’s employees are often in dire need of a paying job. In other words, if you help the supplier, the employees who need a paying job will be retained.
H. Establishing Written Codes of Ethical Conduct
Written codes of conduct are widely used as guidelines for ethical and socially responsible behavior. Regardless of the industry, most codes deal with quite similar issues, such as conflicts of interest and vendor relationships.
I Developing Formal Mechanisms for Dealing with Ethical Problems
Many large employers have ethics programs of various types. An ethics committee to establish policy and conduct audits is typical. Company ethics teams often
establish an ethics hotline that enables workers who have questions about ethical behavior or want to report an ethics violation to speak with a company official.
J. Accepting Whistleblowers
A whistleblower is an employee who discloses organizational wrongdoing to parties who can take action. Whistleblowers are often ostracized and humiliated by the companies they hope to improve. Whistleblowers often go directly to a federal government bureau to report what they consider to be fraud and poor ethics by their employer. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act includes protections for whistleblowers. More than half the time, the pleas of whistleblowers are ignored.
Closely related to encouraging whistleblowers is leadership making it safe for people to speak up about even minor ethical violations. Many workers feel it is futile to speak up, and there is also the concern that speaking up will trigger anger or retribution.
K. Providing Training in Ethics and Social Responsibility
Ethics training programs reinforce the idea that ethically and socially responsible behavior is both morally right and good for business. Much of the content of this chapter reflects the type of information communicated in such programs. Training programs in ethics and social responsibility are most likely to be effective when the organizational culture encourages ethical behavior. The Ethics Awareness Training at Lockheed Martin is frequently cited as a positive model of an ethics training program. The training includes CEO involvement, and observing several videos based on real cases from the Ethics office. The ethics program does not shy away from discussing difficult issues such as sexual harassment and opioid use in the workplace.
L.
Minimizing Abusive Supervision throughout the Organization
Abusive supervision is “a dysfunctional leadership behavior that adversely affects its targets and the organization as a whole.” This type of supervision can take the form of hostile behaviors such as angry tantrums, public criticisms, and inappropriately assigned blame. Minimizing abusive supervision would include a variety of top-level leadership actions such as frequent communication about the topic and coaching managers known to be abusive. It must be recognized that what constitutes abuse partially depends on employee perceptions.
M. Taking a Stand on Social Issues
Taking a stand on social issues is favored by some stakeholders and frowned upon by others, often depending on their political beliefs. An example of taking a stand on social issues is that after the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead, Walmart and Dicks’ Sporting Goods raised the minimum age for gun purchases in their stores to 21.
Harry Golub, the former CEO of American Express, argues that it is wrong for executives to take a stand on public policy questions. A key reason is that CEO announcements on purely political issues may alienate many employees and customers.
A meta-analysis of 101 samples published over a 15-year period involving 29,620 study participants found that ethical leadership was positively related to job attitudes, job performance, and overall evaluation of the leadership. It was also found that ethical leadership was slightly related to task performance, good organizational citizenship behavior, and a reduction in counterproductive work behavior.
An ethical environment can enhance worker motivation. Good ethics also attracts highquality employees. A study conducted in 17 countries suggests that when workers perceive their employer to have high corporate responsibility, they tend to be more emotionally committed to the company. Another key payoff from high corporate social responsibility is the ability to attract high-quality employees. Being ethical also helps avoid the costs of paying huge fines for being unethical.
The relationship between social responsibility and profits can work in two directions. More profitable firms can better afford to invest in social responsibility initiatives, and these initiatives can in turn lead to more profits. The virtuous circle means that corporate social performance and corporate financial performance feed and reinforce each other.
In short, a leader who is successful at establishing a climate of high ethics and social responsibility can earn and save the company considerable money.
VI. GUIDELINES FOR ACTION AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT
A solid foundation for developing a leadership career is to establish a personal ethical code. A code of professional ethics helps a leader deal with such issues as accepting bribes, backstabbing, and sexual harassment.
Being ethical is an effective interpersonal skill. If you develop close relationships with people, you are more likely to be ethical in your dealings with them. The stronger the relationship between people, the more likely they will behave ethically toward each other. It is essential to build close relationships with work associates.
As a leader, it is important to be on the alert that poor performance by a subordinate does not prompt you to supervise abusively. You must exercise self-control to deal with poor performance professionally.
[return to top]
Comments on Experiential Exercises
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 6-1:
The Leadership Ethics Quiz
A positive aspect about this scale is that it provides clues as to what actually constitutes unethical behavior for leaders. An activity of potential merit would be to compare these scores with the organizational politics questionnaire (Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 7-3) in the next chapter. People who score very high as a political player should tend to have high scores on the ethics quiz (a high score reflecting low ethics).
Leadership
6-2: The Social Responsibility Initiative Checklist
An insight that might be gathered from taking this quiz is that social responsibility should be conducted at an optimum level. All 15 social responsibility initiatives have merit, but if the organization is not profitable, employees, suppliers, and faithful customers could be negatively affected. A potentially fruitful topic for class discussion are the implications of a company carrying out all 15 initiatives.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 6-1: Should “Dinosaur Power” Be Placed on the Market?”
The ethical dilemma presented here surfaces frequently with respect to beverage products. The fact that many students consume or have consumed a product similar to Dinosaur Power should add an emotional element to the scenario about ethics presented in this skill-building exercise.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 6-2: Conducting an Environmental Audit
This exercise provides a concrete task for students related to a topic of widespread interest. Although the task might be self-explanatory, students might ponder how the exercise relates to leadership. One link is that the audit will provide data the leader can use to spearhead sustainability.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 6-3: Collecting Examples of Socially Responsible Behavior
This skill-building focuses on social responsibility, but also includes ethical behavior. The exercise is helpful in understanding how perceptions of social responsibility vary. Among these perceived acts of social responsibility are giving to a Girl Scout drive, producing high-mileage vehicles, and providing healthy food in a company cafeteria.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 6-4: Company Stand of Social Issues
As an increasing number of large firms take stands on social issues, including encouraging wokeness, this exercise increases in relevance. A present or future leader should therefore be aware of how much working adults are in favor of companies taking a stand on social issues.
Leadership
Skill-Building Exercise 6-5: My Leadership Portfolio
Ethical temptations abound on the job and in personal life, thereby making this exercise relatively easy to execute. Being easy should not be confused with not being important. Suppose, for example, a cashier gives a person far too much change after a cash transaction, such as giving back $20 instead of $10. Accepting the overpayment when aware of the mistake may not constitute a crime, but it is certainly unethical. Each decision when facing an ethical dilemma contributes to a person’s overall ethical behavior and thinking.
[return to top]
Comments on Discussion Questions and Activities
1. If many unethical people in business and government become highly successful, why should you worry about being ethical?
One reason for being ethical is to attain good moral character, or a sense of what behavior is right or wrong. It might be true that a person can make a fortune being an illegal drug distributor, but in the process, the person is destroying the lives of many people. Another reason is that being ethical is more likely to facilitate career success than would behaving unethically.
2. The majority of business executives accused of unethical behavior have studied ethics either as a subject in a business course or as an entire course. So, what do you think went wrong?
For many business executives, information about ethics remains cognitive knowledge, without being internalized (learned emotionally). When temptations to become rich or to make the firm look good to shareholders present themselves, the emotion of greed preempts cognitive knowledge about ethics.
3. Suppose you had inside information that your employer was thinking about declaring bankruptcy, and you found out that a family member was about to purchase $20,000 in the stock of your employer. To what extent would it be unethical for you to dissuade the family member from making the investment?
The ethical purist can respond immediately that any use of inside information such as that described is a form of insider trading, and therefore unethical and illegal. At the same time, the person is dealing with two wrongs at the same time. Informing the family member is a form of insider trading, yet standing by while a family member suffers preventable harm might also be regarded as unethical. As a result, the person faces a true ethical dilemma. A possible hedge is for the person to discourage the family member from investing at this time because of general market uncertainty.
4. What responsibility should major online retailers take to combat “porch pirates”--people who steal packages left at other’s homes?
The major retailers probably do not want to publicize this growing form of theft; however, they probably should take some responsibility. Among the initiatives already taken are offering lockers where packages can be picked up, as well as in-store pickups. Security devices in the form of smartphone apps have emerged to help individuals deal with the problem of delivered merchandise being stolen. A stronger initiative would be for websites to post warnings about the potential of porch pirates.
5. Should leaders of companies that produce fattening foods that can lead to cardiac problems and obesity be targeted for being socially irresponsible?
Most students will probably say that the individual has a choice about eating fatty foods, so providers of high-cholesterol food are not being socially irresponsible. However, an emerging trend is to target producers and servers of high-cholesterol food as being socially irresponsible. A major lawsuit was initiated against McDonalds in 2002, accusing the company of urging children to become obese. (Apparently, This lawsuit was ultimately rejected.) Ben & Jerry’s has been called socially irresponsible because of the high fat content of its ice cream. This is a strange twist, because many management writers have cited Ben & Jerry’s as a model of a socially responsible company.
6. How fair do you think it is to deny an executive a CEO position the executive had been promised because of a romantic relationship with a subordinate?
The answer to this question reflects directly on the student’s values and attitudes. Some people think that a CEO should be a model of virtuous behavior, and therefore should be denied the CEO position because of the romantic relationship. The manager many not
have broken a law, but many companies have policies prohibiting or discouraging getting involved romantically with a direct report. Other people might believe that a romantic relationship with a subordinate is acceptable behavior with a high probability of taking place.
7. As a present or future organizational leader, what can you do to be an ethical role model for others?
A starting point would be for the person to behave ethically in as many ways as possible, and equally to avoid unethical behavior. Examples of avoiding unethical behavior include not hiring a close friend or relative for a key position, engaging in no behavior that could be interpreted as sexual harassment, and not misusing company resources, such as taking a questionable business trip.
8. Provide an example of a company you consider to be highly ethical and socially responsible. What is the basis for your answer?
One criterion a student might use in judging the ethics and social responsibility of a firm is whether or not it has been accused or convicted of unethical behavior. Another criterion might be whether the product or service appears to be highly beneficial to society—with no known negative side effects. How about Legos because of the joy and skill-building it brings to millions of children and adults?
9. Suppose a company founder and CEO feels strongly about a social issue, such as believing that defunding the police hurts Black people in low-income neighborhoods the most, or that police should be defunded. Where do you stand on whether that leader should express that opinion to company employees?
The topic of company leadership taking a stand on social issues is somewhat controversial, with students therefore having different opinions. In the 2021-2022 era, more companies were taking a stand on social issues, including mask mandates for COVID-19.
10. In this chapter, we have discussed ethical problems mostly in business. For the sake of fairness and balance, identify a few ethical problems you have observed among lawyers, physicians, politicians, or sports figures.
Answering this question helps the reader recognize that low ethics seem to be part of human nature and cut across occupations. Many lawyers are disbarred because of such activities as falsifying evidence or having sex with clients. Many physicians lose their license because of performing unneeded surgery or other procedures, or writing prescriptions for people who plan to sell the prescription. Many politicians are accused of accepting bribes from contractors. Many sports figures use illegal performanceenhancing drugs or intentionally injure opponents.
[return to top]
Plausible Responses to Case Questions
Leadership Case Problem A: Salary Advance Ponders Its Future
This case illustrates that a business model that appears unethical to an outsider may still be providing a highly needed service to society.
1. What is your evaluation of the ethics of Salary Advance United making payday loans?
The evaluation of the ethics of Salary Advance might be divided into three issues. The first is whether payday loans are ethical. Because these loans provide a valuable service to society, Salary Advance might be considered ethical. The second issue is the fee charged for the service, which is so high that it might be considered an unethical practice. The third issue is more subtle. Payday loans, similar to heavy credit-card debt, become a self-feeding cycle. Because the person has the payroll loan debit, the person is short on cash, and as a result has to take out yet another payday loan. Creating a dependence on payday loans might be considered unethical.
2. What do you think of the ethics of the two alternatives mentioned to avoid state regulations: locating offshore or on a Native American reservation?
Locating offshore or on a Native American reservation to circumvent usury laws would fail most ethical tests, including “How does it smell?”
3. What do you recommend to Max to make the model of Salary Advance ethical enough to avoid being attacked by politicians?
Several initiatives can be taken to enhance the ethics of payday loans. One would be to offer credit counseling to customers, perhaps as part of the loan application. Another initiative would be to charge the minimum interest possible to still make a decent profit for the payday lender. Also, rules could be established for how many consecutive months a consumer would be eligible for a payday loan.
Associated Role Play
This role play focuses on what so many students do so well and enjoy doing: finding alternative solutions to a problem of merit. The activity called for here is so natural it may not seem like role playing. It would be informative for the various groups engaged in this role play to share their suggestions about the future of Salary Advance United. The instructions to the role play are deliberately a little vague, to avoid pointing the students in a given direction. For example, some students may focus on making payday loans more ethical, whereas other students might focus on the company diversifying its services in a bold new direction.
Leadership Case Problem B: Nehemiah Industries Screens Workers with a Criminal Past to Offer Them a Second Chance
This case illustrates how a company can focus on socially responsibility by hiring and training disadvantaged people, yet at the same time deal with the challenges created by employing formerly incarcerated workers.
1. What does the story about Nehemiah Manufacturing have to do with social responsibility?
An important part of social responsibility is providing opportunity for a wide range of people. Nehemiah was founded with the purpose of providing employment opportunity for people in a poor neighborhood with limited opportunity. Company leadership soon realized that a major part of their workforce would be individuals with a prison record.
2. How should Nehemiah leadership deal with complaints that job applicants who were not formerly incarcerated are not given equal opportunity to be hired?
It is true that a few job seekers who were not previously incarcerated could say they were discriminated against because of their clean record. Company leadership could counter these charges with two arguments. First, Nehemiah does not have a formal policy of hiring only previously incarcerated job candidates. Second, when previously incarcerated job candidates are hired, they are part of a group that has been disadvantaged. The second argument is important because part of equal employment opportunity is to provide opportunities to groups that have been discriminated against in the past.
3. What recommendations might you give to CEO Dan Meyer about how many chances to give workers who are not conducting themselves responsibly?
Answers to this question might be worthy of class discussion. How many chances to give workers who are not conducting themselves responsibly could be contingent on the nature of the offense? Criminal behavior such as a home invasion might warrant lesser chances than coming to work inebriated one day. For a rule of thumb, how about two chances for a serious criminal offense, and four chances for simply poor job-related behavior?
Associated Role Play
This role play provides an opportunity for the student who plays the Nehemiah president to discuss a sensitive topic with the job applicant. The student’s answer to case question 1 might furnish the person a couple of ideas for responding to the rejected job candidate. The candidate role player will have an opportunity to practice both assertion and listening skills.
[return to top]
Additional Activities and Assignments
Read this blogpost and then answer following the questions about what leaders can learn from NASA.
http://community.cengage.com/GECResource2/info/b/management/archive/2017/03/22/wh at-can-leaders-learn-from-nasa
<question type="essay">
1. Why should a leader use subgoals as a way to achieve better outcomes?
ANS: Answers may vary
REJ: Refer to the chapter “Leadership Ethics and Social Responsibility” for more information.
<metadata>
Difficulty: Moderate
LO: Specific key principles of ethical and moral leadership.
Learning Objective Narrative: To increase a student’s understanding of ethical and social aspects of being a leader.
A-head: Four Ethical Leadership Behaviors
Bloom's: Remember </metadata>
[return to top]
Appendix
Generic Rubrics
Providing students with rubrics helps them understand expectations and components of assignments. Rubrics help students become more aware of their learning process and progress, and they improve students’ work through timely and detailed feedback.
Customize these rubrics as you wish. The writing rubric indicates 40 points, and the discussion rubric indicates 30 points.
Standard Writing Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Content
Organization and Clarity
The assignment clearly and comprehensively addresses all questions in the assignment.
15 points
The assignment presents ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are logically related and consistent.
10 points
Research
Research
Grammar and Spelling
The assignment is based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature, including peerreviewed journals and other scholarly work.
5 points
The assignment follows the required citation guidelines.
5 points
The assignment has two or fewer grammatical and spelling errors.
5 points
The assignment partially addresses some or all questions in the assignment.
8 points
The assignment presents ideas in a mostly clear manner and with a mostly strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are mostly logically related and consistent.
7 points
The assignment is based upon adequate academic literature but does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
3 points
The assignment follows some of the required citation guidelines.
3 points
The assignment has three to five grammatical and spelling errors.
3 points
The assignment does not address the questions in the assignment.
0 points
The assignment does not present ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an introduction, content, and conclusion, but coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are not logically related and consistent.
0 points
The assignment is not based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature and does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
0 points
The assignment does not follow the required citation guidelines.
0 points
The assignment is incomplete or unintelligible.
0 points
Standard Discussion Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Participation
Contribution Quality
Submits or participates in discussion by the posted deadlines. Follows all assignment instructions for initial post and responses.
5 points
Comments stay on task. Comments add value to discussion topic. Comments motivate other students to respond.
20 points
Etiquette
Maintains appropriate language. Offers criticism in a constructive manner. Provides both positive and negative feedback.
5 points
Does not participate or submit discussion by the posted deadlines. Does not follow instructions for initial post and responses.
3 points
Comments may not stay on task. Comments may not add value to discussion topic. Comments may not motivate other students to respond.
10 points
Does not always maintain appropriate language. Offers criticism in an offensive manner. Provides only negative feedback.
3 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Purpose and Perspective of the Chapter
The purpose of this chapter is to provide readers with new insights into power and politics so that they can make better use of power and politics and thus lead others effectively. Chapter 8 is a continuation of this topic, but with a description of various influence tactics.
Chapter Objectives
The following objectives are addressed in this chapter:
07.01 Describe the various types of power.
07.02 Articulate tactics used for becoming an empowering leader.
07.03 Describe how to use delegation to support empowerment.
07.04 Pinpoint factors contributing to organizational politics.
07.05 Enumerate both ethical and unethical political behaviors.
07.06 Characterize how a leader can control dysfunctional politics.
Complete List of Chapter Activities and Assessments
For additional guidance, refer to the Teaching Online Guide.
07.05 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 11,12, 13, 14, 15, 16 17 19, 20 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27
Self-Assessment Quiz 7-1: Empowering Attitudes and Beliefs
Skill-Building Exercise 7-1: Conducting an Empowerment Session
Self-Assessment Quiz 7-2: The Positive Organizational Politics Questionnaire
[return to top]
Key Terms
Coercive power: The power to punish for noncompliance; power based on fear.
Delegation: The assignment of formal authority and responsibility for accomplishing a specific task to another person.
Dependence perspective: The point of view that a person accrues power by being dependent on that person for things they value.
Empowerment: Passing decision-making authority and responsibility from managers to group members.
Leader political support: Political acts and influence behaviors performed by leaders to provide followers with valuable resources to advance individual, group, or organizational objectives.
Legitimate power: The lawful right to make a decision and expect compliance.
Moral identity: The extent to which an individual holds morality as part of their self-concept
Organizational politics: Informal approaches to gaining power through means other than merit or luck.
Personal power: Power derived from the person rather than from the organization.
Political skill: An interpersonal style that manifests itself in being socially astute and engaging in behaviors that lead to feelings of confidence, trust, and sincerity.
Positive psychological capital: An individual’s positive psychological state of development, characterized by four psychological resources: self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience.
Power: The potential or ability to influence decisions and control resources.
Prestige power: The power stemming from one’s status and reputation.
Reward power: The authority reward employees for compliance.
Self-leadership: The idea that all organizational members are capable of leading themselves, at least to some extent.
Strategic contingency theory: An explanation of sources of power suggesting that units best able to cope with the firm’s critical problems and uncertainties acquire relatively large amounts of power.
Territorial games: Also referred to as turf wars; political tactics that involve protecting and hoarding resources that give one power, such as information, relationships, and decisionmaking authority.
[return to top]
What's New in This Chapter
The following elements are improvements in this chapter from the previous edition:
• The skill-building aspect to delegation
• How political correctness has become almost a social movement
• Adapting to boss’s communication style
• Getting noticed by senior leadership
• Stealing credit for the ideas of others as negative political tactic
[return to top]
Chapter Outline
The purpose of this chapter is to provide readers with new insights into power and politics so that they can make better use of power and politics and thus lead others effectively. Chapter 8 is a continuation of this topic, but with a description of various influence tactics.
[return to top]
Chapter Outline and Lecture Notes
To function effectively, leaders must use power effectively, including applying political tactics to acquire and retain power.
I. SOURCES AND TYPES OF POWER
To exercise influence, a leader must have power, the potential or ability to influence decisions and control resources.
A Position Power
A standard method of classifying power is based on whether the power stems from the organization or the individual.
1 Legitimate Power. Power granted by the organization is referred to as legitimate power. This power increases as one moves up the organization ladder.
2. Reward Power. The authority to give employees rewards for compliance is referred to as reward power.
3 Coercive Power. The power to punish for noncompliance is referred to as coercive power. It is based on fear.
B. Personal Power
Three sources of power stem from characteristics or behaviors of the power actor: expert power, referent power, and prestige power. All are classified as personal power because they are derived from the person rather than the organization. Prestige power is the power stemming from one’s status and reputation.
C. Power Stemming from Ownership
The strength of ownership power depends on how closely the owner is linked to shareholders and board members. A leader’s ownership power is also associated with how much money the leader has invested in the firm. The CEOs of hightechnology firms are typically company founders. The New Golden Rule applies: The person who holds the gold, rules.
D. Power Stemming from Dependencies
According to the dependence perspective, a person accrues power by others being dependent on that person for things they value. Dependence can be positional or personal. Richard M. Emerson noted that power resides implicitly in the other’s dependence. Should leaders lose some of their power to control resources, their power declines.
E. Power Derived from Capitalizing on Opportunity
Power can be derived from being at the right place at the right time and taking appropriate action. You also need to have the right resources to capitalize on the opportunity. Go where the action is to capitalize on opportunity power.
F. Power Stemming from Managing Critical Problems
The strategic contingency theory of power suggests that those units best able to cope with the firm’s critical problems and uncertainties acquire relatively large amounts of power.
G. Power Stemming from Being Close to Power
The closer a person is to power, the greater the power the person exerts. Likewise, the higher a unit reports in a firm’s hierarchy, the more power it possesses.
H. Power and Self-Serving Behavior
An obvious problem about leadership power is that it can be directed more toward self-serving behavior than the good of others including the organization and all stakeholders. A set of studies helps explain the degree of self-interest. Moral identify is the extent to which an individual holds morality as part of his or her selfconcept. Individuals with a weak moral identify were found more likely to act in selfinterest under trait power, or feelings of power.
Historian Robert A. Caro tells us that the person who uses accumulated power to create and implement a useful vision qualifies as an excellent leader. The concept of who is an excellent leader could be based on a person’s values.
II TACTICS FOR BECOMING AN EMPOWERING LEADER
Power and influence increase when the leader shares power with others. As team members receive more power, they can accomplish more. Because the manager shares credit for their accomplishments, the manager becomes more powerful. To empower others is to be perceived as an influential person. In a competitive environment increasingly dependent on knowledge, the most successful organizations will be those that effectively use the talents of all players on the team.
A. The Nature of Empowerment
Empowerment refers to passing decision-making responsibility from managers to group members. One study identified four components of empowerment. Meaning is the value of a work goal evaluated in relation to a person’s ideals or standards. A person doing meaningful work is likely to feel empowered. Competence, or selfefficacy, is an individual’s belief in the capability to perform a particular task well. Self-determination is an individual’s feeling of having a choice in initiating and regulating actions. Choosing a method to solve a problem leads to a high level of self-determination. Impact is the degree to which the worker can influence strategic, administrative, or operating outcomes on the job. A fifth dimension is internal commitment toward work goals.
B. Empowering Practices
The practices that foster empowerment supplement standard approaches to participative management such as conferring with group members before reaching a decision. Specific empowering practices are described below.
1 Foster Initiative and Responsibility. Encourage team members to take the initiative and give them broader responsibility. Mintzberg reminds us that many professional workers already have considerable initiative and responsibility.
2. Link Work Activities to the Goals Organizational Goals. Empowerment works better when the empowered activities are aligned with the strategic goals of the organization.
3 Provide Ample Information. Give employees ample information about everything that affects their work. Especially important is for workers to fully understand the impact of their actions on the company’s costs and profits.
4. Allow Group Members to Choose Methods. Explain to the individual or group what needs to be done and let the people involved choose the method. Also explain why the task needs to be done.
5. Encourage Self-Leadership. Encourage team members to practice selfleadership because it is the heart of empowerment. The basic idea of selfleadership is that all organizational members are capable of leading themselves at least to some extent. When employees lead themselves, they feel empowered.
6. Continue to Lead. Although the leader empowers group members, the leader should still provide guidance, emotional support, and recognition.
7. Take Into Account Cultural Differences. Cross-cultural factors influence empowerment, such as a study of a single firm with operations in the United States, Mexico, Poland, and India. Among Indian workers, empowerment lowered job satisfaction.
8. Establish Limits to Empowerment. To prevent dysfunction, workers need a clear perception of the boundaries to empowerment.
9. Practice an Optimal Amount of Empowerment. The leader should use a contingency perspective by sizing up the situation and asking to what extent group members should be empowered. A study found that a certain amount of empowering leadership enhances self-efficacy and performance. Beyond this optimal amount, empowerment becomes a burden that increases worker tension and lowers performance.
C Effective Delegation and Empowerment
A major contributor to empowerment is delegation, the assignment to another person of formal authority and responsibility for accomplishing a specific task. Delegation is narrower than empowerment because it relates to a specific task. Delegation can be motivational because it offers group members the opportunity to develop their skills and demonstrate their competence. When delegation is poor, conflict often erupts between the individual who thought to be responsible for the task and the delegator. One type of poor delegation is delegating a task that should be the leader’s responsibility. The biggest overdelegation risk for leaders is leaving the vision formulation of the company to others. A recommended way of making delegation effective is to specify how much accountability the person has for the delegated assignment. Make the recipient of delegation an issue owner.
Organizational politics refers to informal approaches to gaining power through means other than merit or luck. Views of organizational politics are becoming increasingly positive, such as the concept of leader political support that points to the contribution of political behavior. Leader political support refers to “political acts and influence behaviors performed by leaders to provide followers with valuable resources to advance individual, group, or organizational objectives.” Contributing factors to politics are as follows:
A. Pyramid-Shaped Organization Structure
The pyramid-shaped organization structure fosters a power chase because a pyramid concentrates power at the top and leads to competition for limited resources. Yet employees at lower levels have legal rights, and an entry-level worker with a valuable skill, such as a data scientist, has considerable power.
B. Subjective Standards of Performance
Subjective standards of performance foster political behavior. People often resort to organizational politics because they do not believe that the organization has an objective and fair way of judging their performance and suitability for promotion.
C Environmental Uncertainty and Turbulence
Environmental uncertainty and turbulence fosters politics because when people operate in an unstable and unpredictable environment, they tend to behave politically. It is difficult to specify what people should be doing in an uncertain situation.
D Emotional Insecurity
Emotional insecurity can lead to political behavior as people attempt to ingratiate themselves with superiors because they lack confidence in their talent and skills.
E. Machiavellian Tendencies
Machiavellian tendencies represent a fundamental reason why people engage in politics. People who are Machiavellian have a propensity to behave politically. Machiavelli has been described as charming, wicked, and disturbing.
F. Encouraging Admiration from Subordinates
Encouraging admiration form subordinates often takes place because the manager sends out subtle signals that they want praise, such as smiling after receiving a compliment. Also, admirers are more likely to receive good assignments and high performance standards.
IV. POLITICAL TACTICS AND STRATEGIES
A survey of managers in the U. K. revealed that 90 percent of them believed that skill in organizational politics is required to improve one’s prospects for a successful career. To make effective use of organizational politics, leaders must be aware of specific political tactics and strategies. Here we offer a representative group of political tactics and strategies categorized as ethical versus unethical. Many of the influence tactics to be described in Chapter 8 can also be considered political.
A Ethical Political Tactics and Strategies
Ethical political methods are placed into three related groups: those aimed directly at gaining power, those aimed at building relationships with superiors and
coworkers, and those aimed at avoiding political blunders. All of these tactics help the leader gain or retain power, and they help the leader succeed in and manage a stressful work environment. Political skill is an interpersonal style that manifests itself in being socially astute and engaging in behaviors that leader to feelings of confidence, trust, and sincerity.
1. Strategies and Tactics Aimed at Gaining Power. As Tom Peters notes, the slow and steady (and subtle) amassing of power is the surest road to success. The following nine techniques help a person gain power directly: (a) develop power contacts, (b) have a compelling vision, (c) control vital information, (d) do what the political environment demands, (e) remember that everyone expects to be paid back, (f) be politically correct, (g) be the first to accept reasonable changes, (h) inquire about improving your performance, and (i) develop positive psychological capital. The term refers to an individual’s positive psychological state of development, characterized by four psychological resources: self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience.
A study conducted with police leaders and sergeants indicated that leaders’ psychological capital was positively related to team member job performance. The link to power in this study is that strong job performance by subordinates accrues power to the leader.
2. Strategies and Tactics Aimed at Building Relationships. Much of organizational politics involves building positive relationships with network members who can be helpful now or later. Several representative strategies and tactics follow: (a) display loyalty; (b) adapt to your boss’s communication style, (c) manage your impression; (d) ask satisfied customers to contact your boss; (e) be courteous, pleasant, and positive; (f) ask advice show your trust in the other person’s judgment; (g) send thank-you notes to large numbers of people; (h) flatter others sensibly, and (i) reach out to your boss’s boss.
A study in a retail setting shoed the employees who scored higher on a test of political skill tended to overcome a challenging aspect of leader-member exchanges. Subordinates with good political skill were able to develop better relationships with superiors who were of a different race.
3. Strategies Aimed at Avoiding Political Blunders. A strategy for retaining power is to refrain from making power-eroding blunders. Some of these key blunders are (a) criticizing the boss in a public forum, (b) bypassing the boss, (c) declining an offer from top management, (d) putting your foot in your mouth, (e) not conforming to the company dress code, (f) being revengeful and hostile during an exit interview, and (g) indiscreet behavior in private life.
A useful skill of organizational politics is to be able to recover from blunders considering that such missteps can lead to embarrassment or even career retardation. Appease the offended person and also apologize.
B. Unethical Political Tactics and Strategies
Any political tactic might be considered unethical if it is carried to extremes. These approaches, however, are unequivocally unethical: (a) backstabbing, (b) embrace or demolish (take no prisoners), (c) set a person up for failure, (d) playing territorial games, (e) creating then resolving a false catastrophe, (f) abusing power, and (g) stealing credit for ideas.
Carried to excess, organizational politics can hurt an organization and its members. A meta-analysis showed that employee perception of political behavior and lead to such unfavorable outcomes as more strain, lower task performance, and less organizational citizenship behavior.
A comprehensive strategy to control politics is for leaders to be aware of its causes and techniques. Open communication can also help minimize politicking. Avoiding favoritism and cronyism is a major way of reducing politics. Setting good examples at the top may reduce the frequency and intensity of politics. Goal congruence between the individual and the organization helps. Politics can sometimes be constrained by threatening to discuss questionable information in a public forum. Hiring people with integrity helps reduce dysfunctional politics.
VI. GUIDELINES FOR ACTION AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT
Developing political skill leads to career success and personal satisfaction. A metaanalysis of 120 studies shows the following outcomes if political skill: career success, self-efficacy, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, work productivity, organizational citizenship behavior, and personal reputation.
Finding ways to increase your power is a vital life skill because power helps you control your environment, which leads to less stress and better physical and mental health.
In terms of building a network of contacts, it is usually better to have a smaller network of useful, high-quality contacts. Anthropologist Dunbar says that the average human can maintain only 150 close social connections.
[return to top]
Comments on Experiential Exercises
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 7-1: Empowering Attitudes and Beliefs
This brief quiz offers the advantage of focusing the students’ attention on the importance of attitudes and behaviors tied to empowerment. The behaviors are also associated with good supervision and management in general. Several of the times provide a good operational definition of empowerment, such as No. 10: Good results come about when workers are encouraged to search for solutions without supervision.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 7-1: Conducting an Empowerment Session
A potential contribution of these role-plays is that they illustrate the importance of leadership input in the empowerment process. In both scenarios the leader will have to discuss mutual expectations. In both scenarios, the workers are most likely skilled and would therefore be willing to make suggestions as part of being empowered.
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 7-2: The Positive Organizational Politics Questionnaire
An advantage of this questionnaire is that it focuses on the use of positive political tactics. The quiz also gives students the opportunity to reflect on the link between using political tactics and
acquiring power. The skill-development portion of the quiz suggests that being overly political can backfire.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 7-2: Paying Back Favors from Network Members
Reciprocity is so highly recommended in networking that this skill-building exercise is potentially quite useful. Thinking of sensible ways to return favors to people in a network is important if a person is to maintain a high-quality network.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 7-3: Asking Advice Role Play
The scenario in this exercise is purposely vague, and requires that the role player come up with a topic for asking advice that appears legitimate. Here is a possible example, “We are going to repaint the office. Which color paint do you think would the best for stimulating creativity?” The advice-giver will have an opportunity to be a good team player, as well as a knowledgeable coworker.
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 7-3: The Blunder Quiz
Making blunders and have a quick negative impact on a person’s career, yet the topic is underexplored in the professional literature. The Blunder Quiz therefore provides the student with an opportunity to reflect on this important topic. It is worth noting that a few of these blunders can result in a severe reprimand, such as Number 10 about placing political campaign banners in the office.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 7-4: Controlling Office Politics
Although the subject is dealing with the control of impression management techniques, this exercise is also useful for practicing conflict-resolution skills. A subtle advantage of this exercise is that it reinforces the importance of controlling excessive politics.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 7-5: Identifying the Most Annoying Political Behavior Tactics
Although this chapter emphasizes the constructive use of political tactics, it is also helpful to recognize when these tactics can annoy and irritate others. Respondents to the questions are likely to reveal annoying tactics such as fawning over a boss.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 7-6: My Leadership Portfolio
A useful message sent by this exercise is that it is important to look for the potential political advantage in many situations. A constructive mental set is, “What political advantage can I possibly squeeze from this situation through using an ethical and constructive political tactic?”
[return to top]
Comments on Discussion Questions and Activities
1. How might a person in a technology company (such as a distributor of cybercurrency) have significant power even if they do not hold an executive title?
The opportunities for having considerable, nonexecutive power are limited yet do exist. A highly successful cybercurrency specialist in a technology company might have considerable power because the specialist’s efforts would be tied to substantial revenue for the company. A portfolio manager who made highly successful investments for the company might become valuable again, based on a contribution to company revenues.
Another way of being powerful without being an executive is to be a major stakeholder in the company, perhaps based on wealth from outside sources.
2. Many business leaders today give up having a private office and instead work at a desk or cubicle in the middle of the work area to be among other employees. What effect do you think this work area placement has on their power?
For workers who value leaders who do not emphasize rank and status symbols, the leader who works out in the open would gain more personal power. In contrast, for workers who think that a leader should use status symbols and stay distanced from other workers, such a leader would have less power; they would be perceived as not standing out from the group.
3. Contrary to popular opinion, CEOs of major U.S. companies come from a wide variety of private universities and state universities, not just a handful of well-publicized MBA programs. What does this fact tell you about sources of power and organizational politics?
The general picture here is that power can stem from a variety of sources, including expertise and reputation. You can eventually hold an executive position by acquiring power in a number of ways and not relying so heavily on the prestige of your business program or the contacts you make among classmates. A healthy perspective is that the acquisition of power in business has become more democratic and less linked to elitism.
4. What can you do this week to enhance your power?
An approach that might work for many students is to make one useful contact, such as befriending an influential person in a professional group or a fellow student with aboveaverage potential. Studying to enhance expert power is another accessible method.
5. In this age of so many people working remotely much of the time, how important is it to still wear clothing and accessories designed to give a person a “power look”?
The power look still has some positive effect even if the opportunity to look powerful in front of others is more limited. Luxurious clothing and accessories might be reserved for in-person meetings and videoconferences. Yet for some videoconferences, the power look would make a person appear to be ostentatious. This would be particularly true if only peers were attending the conference.
6. Many business leaders state that “We practice empowerment because we don’t expect our employees to leave their brains at the door.” What are these leaders talking about?
The phrase “not leaving their brains at the door” refers to the idea that the leaders want workers to continue using their best brainpower while on the job. The link to empowerment is that workers need to engage in heavy thinking to carry out being empowered because they have to solve many problems and make decisions on their own.
7 Many people ask the question, “Isn’t office politics just for incompetents?” What is your answer to this question?
Many competent and talented people must use organizational politics to gain the resources, and make the contacts they need to accomplish their mission. Good job performance alone is often not sufficient to acquire enough power to achieve laudable ends, such as getting a large enough budget to launch a meritorious project.
8. How might emotional intelligence be related to committing political blunders?
Emotional intelligence is closely linked to both committing and avoiding political blunders. A person with high emotional intelligence shows good sensitivity and will intuitively size up the most likely consequences of his or her actions. A person with high emotional intelligence might think, “I am so angry with Wendy, our CEO, I would like to tweet out what a fool she is. But the negative fallout would be enormous, so I will keep my tweets to myself.”
9. A regular occurrence in business firms, and some government agencies, is for an employee to be fired because of a Facebook or Twitter post criticizing the employer or a specific manager. Why do you think so many people commit this career-threatening error?
All ideas are welcome here to explain why this ridiculous blunder occurs probably every day. One explanation is that many people are not sensitive enough to understand the impact of political blunders on their career. A more specific explanation is that social media have a compelling impact on people to the extent that they find it an irresistible temptation use a social media platform as a forum for their negative thoughts. Perhaps in years past, people would walk into a bar and complain about the company or the boss to a stranger. Now Facebook and Twitter are the favorite medium for launching these complaints.
10. Ask an experienced worker to give you an example of the successful application of organizational politics. Which tactic was used, and what was the outcome?
The information gathered in response to this question should be illuminating. A modal answer is likely to be the use of ethical politics to form alliances with a powerful person, and then cashing in on that contact in the future. For example, a middle manager may have found a summer internship for an executive’s daughter. Later, when the middle manager needs authorization for a pilot project on a new service, the manager has a highly placed ally.
[return to top]
Plausible Responses to Case Questions
Leadership Case Problem A: The Lands’ End Fashionista Fades from Glory
This case illustrates how an executive can quickly lose power, including being edged out of the organization, if the executive makes unpopular moves or political mistakes.
1. To what extent did Frederica Marchionni bring the right expertise to her position as CEO of Lands’ End?
The board hired Marchionni in part because of her knowledge of high fashion, so from this standpoint Marchionni brought the right expertise. In contrast, most customers and store managers believed that the radical shift away from more traditional clothing was the wrong direction for Lands’ End.
2 Identify at least one mistake in organizational politics made by Marchionni.
A key political mistake was not having enough physical presence at company headquarters, even though she was hired with the agreement that she could spend the majority of her time in the New York fashion district. Another mistake was the political
blunder of featuring in the catalog an interview with a strongly liberal feminist, Gloria Steinem.
3. Based on your knowledge of Lands’ End merchandise, how well do you think Marchionni’s vision was a good fit for the company?
Perhaps Marchionni’s vision of a Lands’ End with high-style merchandise was necessary to revitalize the retailer. Yet a shift to high-style fashion would obscure the identity of Land’s End and therefore the company might lose its competitive edge.
4. What career advice can you give Marchionni about her frequent job changes?
Marchionni has had a minimum of five different positions, as noted in this case, and appears to have also held other positions based on her LinkedIn profile. Several of these positions were short-term. Job hopping is more acceptable today than in the past, yet multiple position changes can give the impression that a person is not loyal. It would be best for Marchionni to stay with Global Fashion Agenda for at least four years.
Associated Role Play
Here is an opportunity for the two role players to get involved in a high-stakes situation, dealing with an emotional topic. It will take some creativity for the person playing Marchionni to defend her frequent job changes. A typical argument is that “I have made a major contribution in all of my roles. That is why I am in such demand.”
Leadership Case Problem B: Team Leader Tanya Wants to Be Truthful
A key point this case illustrates is that although candor and constructive feedback might be welcome in an organization, being critical in an insensitive way might make a person look foolish.
1. In what way might Tanya be committing political blunders?
A major political blunder Tanya committed was an implied criticism of the CEO’s judgment in calling attention to company flops of the past. She also made a Facebook post implying that her company sells the same product under its own brand and as a house brand. Questioning the citizenship of the food-packaging scientist was another insensitive act.
2. If Tanya is committing political blunders, to what extent might they hinder her chances of becoming a vice president of marketing?
Committing too many political blunders could very well prevent Tanya from becoming a vice president of marketing. A marketing vice president is usually expected to be a person with high tact and diplomacy, especially because they interact with stakeholders outside the company as well as with insiders.
3. How should Tanya’s boss deal with her with respect to the political blunders she has committed?
A good starting point would be a candid, but not hostile, discussion with Tanya about her low sensitivity and poor self-control. The boss might caution that a continuation of these blunders could result in a demotion or possible termination. A positive approach might be to recommend that Tanya spend a few sessions with an executive coach to deal with her tendencies toward committing political blunders.
Associated Role Play
Gus and Tanya have different opinions about whether Tanya has a problem with respect to committing political blunders, therefore setting the stage for a lively role play. Gus might use a few of the coaching techniques described in Chapter 10, with providing specific feedback as a good starting point.
[return to top]
Additional Activities and Assignments
Read this blogpost and then answer the following questions about leading across borders. http://community.cengage.com/GECResource2/info/b/management/archive/2015/09/29/lea ding-across-borders
<question type="essay">
1. What are some of the implications of power shifting to new and emerging markets?
ANS: Answers may vary
REJ: Refer to the chapter “Power, Politics, and Leadership” for more information.
<metadata>
Difficulty: Moderate
LO: Recognize the various types of power.
Learning Objective Narrative: To increase a student’s understanding of how political power drives a country’s ability to drive economic power.
A-head: Sources and Types of Power
Bloom's: Remember </metadata>
[return to top]
Appendix
Generic Rubrics
Providing students with rubrics helps them understand expectations and components of assignments. Rubrics help students become more aware of their learning process and progress, and they improve students’ work through timely and detailed feedback.
Customize these rubrics as you wish. The writing rubric indicates 40 points, and the discussion rubric indicates 30 points.
Standard Writing Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Content
Organization and Clarity
The assignment clearly and comprehensively addresses all questions in the assignment.
15 points
The assignment presents ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are logically related and consistent.
10 points
Research
Research
Grammar and Spelling
The assignment is based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature, including peerreviewed journals and other scholarly work.
5 points
The assignment follows the required citation guidelines.
5 points
The assignment has two or fewer grammatical and spelling errors.
5 points
The assignment partially addresses some or all questions in the assignment.
8 points
The assignment presents ideas in a mostly clear manner and with a mostly strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are mostly logically related and consistent.
7 points
The assignment is based upon adequate academic literature but does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
3 points
The assignment follows some of the required citation guidelines.
3 points
The assignment has three to five grammatical and spelling errors.
3 points
The assignment does not address the questions in the assignment.
0 points
The assignment does not present ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an introduction, content, and conclusion, but coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are not logically related and consistent.
0 points
The assignment is not based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature and does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
0 points
The assignment does not follow the required citation guidelines.
0 points
The assignment is incomplete or unintelligible.
0 points
Standard Discussion Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Participation
Contribution Quality
Submits or participates in discussion by the posted deadlines. Follows all assignment instructions for initial post and responses.
5 points
Comments stay on task. Comments add value to discussion topic. Comments motivate other students to respond.
20 points
Etiquette
Maintains appropriate language. Offers criticism in a constructive manner. Provides both positive and negative feedback.
5 points
Does not participate or submit discussion by the posted deadlines. Does not follow instructions for initial post and responses.
3 points
Comments may not stay on task. Comments may not add value to discussion topic. Comments may not motivate other students to respond.
10 points
Does not always maintain appropriate language. Offers criticism in an offensive manner. Provides only negative feedback.
3 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Purpose and Perspective of the Chapter
The purpose of this chapter is to familiarize the reader with a wide range of influence tactics that may be needed to persuade others. A secondary purpose is to sensitize the reader to the difference among ethical, ethically neutral, and unethical influence tactics.
Chapter Objectives
The following objectives are addressed in this chapter:
08.01 Characterize the relationship between power and influence.
08.02 Identify a set of honest and ethical influence tactics.
08.03 Identify a set of influence tactics relatively neutral with respect to ethics and honesty.
08.04 Pinpoint a set of dishonest and unethical influence tactics.
08.05 Articulate how leaders use influence to bring about organizational change.
08.06 Enumerate how influence tactics should be sequenced.
08.07 Clarify how implicit leadership theories are related to a leader’s ability to influence group members
Complete List of Chapter Activities and Assessments
For additional guidance refer to the Teaching Online Guide.
08.01 08.02 08.03 4,5,6, 7 9,10,11,12, 13, 14, 15 16, 17
Self-Assessment Quiz 8-1: Survey of Influence Tactics
Skill-Building Exercise 8-1: Making an Inspirational Appeal
Skill-Building Exercise 8-2: Influence Tactics
Skill-Building Exercise 8-4: Applying Influence Tactics
Skill-Building Exercise 8-5: My Leadership Portfolio
Self-Assessment Quiz 8-2: The Leader Ingratiating Checklist
Skill-Building Exercise 8-3: Identifying Influence Tactics
[return to top]
Key Terms
Apprising: Influence tactic in which influence agent explains how carrying out a request or supporting a proposal will benefit the target personally, including advancing the target’s career.
Coalition: A specific arrangement of parties working together to combine their power.
Commitment: The most successful outcome of a leader’s influence tactic: The person makes a full effort.
Compliance: Partial success of an influence attempt by a leader: The person makes a modest effort
Co-opt: To win over opponents by making them part of your team or giving them a stake in the system.
Debasement: Demeaning or insulting oneself to control the behavior of another person.
Hands-on leader: A leader who gets directly involved in the details and process of operations.
Implicit leadership theories: Personal assumptions about the traits and abilities that characterize an ideal organizational leader.
Influence: The ability to affect the behavior of others in a particular direction.
Leading by example: Influencing others by acting as a positive role model.
Machiavellians: People in the workplace who ruthlessly manipulate others.
Personal magnetism: A captivating, inspiring personality with charm and charismatic-like qualities.
Power: The potential or ability to influence decisions and control resources.
Resistance: The state that occurs when an influence attempt by a leader is unsuccessful. The target is opposed to carrying out the request and finds ways to either not comply or do a poor job.
Upward appeal: A means of influence in which the leader enlists a person with more formal authority to do the influencing.
[return to top]
What's New in This Chapter
The following elements are additions and improvements in this chapter from the previous edition:
• New research about the effectiveness of leading by example
• Establishing connections for exerting influence
• Giving useful feedback for exerting influence
• Possible pitfalls of upward ingratiation
[return to top]
Chapter Outline
The purpose of this chapter is to familiarize the reader with a wide range of influence tactics that may be needed to persuade others. A secondary purpose is to sensitize the reader to the difference among ethical, ethically neutral, and unethical influence tactics.
[return to top]
Chapter Outline and Lecture Notes
Influencing group members to achieve a worthwhile goal is a leader’s quintessential responsibility. To become an effective leader, a person must be aware of the specific tactics leaders use to influence others. Although this chapter focuses on influence tactics, other aspects of leadership, such as projecting charisma and coaching, are also influence processes. Influence is the ability to affect the behavior of others in a particular direction. Power is the potential or capacity to influence. (Power can also be regarded as the ability to influence others.) Influence tactics have grown in importance because so often a leader or corporate professional has to influence others without having formal authority over them.
I A MODEL OF POWER AND INFLUENCE
The model shown in Figure 8–1 illustrates that the end results of a leader’s influence outcomes are a function of the influence tactics used. The influence tactics are in turn moderated, or affected by, the leader’s traits and behaviors and the situation.
The three possible outcomes are commitment, compliance, and resistance. Commitment represents the highest degree of success. The target of the influence attempt is enthusiastic about carrying out the request and makes a full effort. Compliance means that the influence attempt is partially successful. The target person is apathetic (not overjoyed) and makes only a modest effort to carry out the request. Resistance is an unsuccessful influence attempt. The target person is opposed to carrying out the request and finds ways to either not comply or do a poor job.
Traits, including personality and intelligence, impact the effectiveness of influence tactics. For example, a warm, intelligent leader might be an effective influencer. The leader’s behaviors affect influence tactics in a variety of ways. Also, the situation, such as the organizational culture, can help decide which influence tactic will be effective. For example, in a high-technology environment, rational persuasion and expertise may be more effective than emotional appeal.
II DESCRIPTION AND EXPLANATION OF INFLUENCE TACTICS
Influence tactics are classified here as those that are essentially ethical and honest, ethically neutral, or are essentially manipulative and devious. Several tactics, however, could be placed into more than one category.
Used with tact, diplomacy, and good intent, the tactics described in this section can facilitate getting others to join you in accomplishing a worthwhile objective. These tactics vary in complexity and the time required for their development.
1. Leading by Example, Respect, and Trust. A simple but effective way of influencing group members is leading by example, or leading by acting as a positive role model. Being respected facilitates leading by example. Leading by example is often interpreted to mean that the leader works long and hard, and expects others to do the same. A major way in which a leader obtains respect is by being trusted. A study conducted in retail stores in Israel found that leading by example improves productivity and service quality. This was true even after taking into account the potential influence of charismatic leadership.
2. Using Rational Persuasion. To implement this tactic, the leader uses logical arguments and factual evidence to convince another person that a proposal or request is workable and likely to result in goal attainment. Rational persuasion is likely to be the most effective with people who are intelligent and rational. A subtle factor is that credible people are perceived as having higher power. Leaders who emphasize the rational decision-making model favor rational persuasion.
3. Establishing Connections. An emerging leadership coach claims that much of cultivating influence and gaining support is about how you engage and communicate with work associates. Engaging and communicating with people is a way of forming connections with them.
4. Telling True Stories. Storytelling has become accepted as an effective method for most leaders when attempting to influence workers. A major concern about the widespread use of PowerPoint presentations in organizations is that many presenters rely so heavily on facts, figures, fancy graphics, and clip art that they neglect the art of storytelling.
5. Explaining Benefits to the Target. Apprising means that the influence agent explains how carrying out a request or supporting a proposal will benefit the target personally, including advancing the target’s career. (Apprising is likely to be the most effective with ambitious targets.)
6. Making a Personal Appeal. Using this approach, the agent asks the target to implement a request or support a proposal out of friendship. Or the nature of the favor might be unspecified, as in “Would you like to do something important for me?”
7. Developing a Reputation as a Subject Matter Expert. Becoming a subject matter expert (SME) on a topic of importance to the organization is an effective strategy for gaining influence. Being a SME is a subset of rational persuasion. In recent years, General Electric Co. has emphasized the importance of industry expertise for business unit managers, suggesting that being a SME facilitates leadership success.
8. Exchanging Favors and Bargaining. Offering to exchange favors if another person will help you achieve a work goal is another standard influence tactic. Give the other person as much time as feasible to accomplish the task, and also give a menu of options for different levels of assistance.
9
Legitimating a Request. A legitimate request falls into one’s scope of authority and fits organizational policy. Making legitimate requests is an effective influence tactic because most workers are willing to comply with regulations.
10. Making an Inspirational Appeal, Being Charming, and Emotional Display. To inspire others, a leader must obviously make inspirational appeals. Such an appeal is reinforced by an emotional display. The influence agent will be more effective when displaying personal magnetism, a captivating, inspiring personality with charm and charismatic-like qualities. For an emotional appeal to be effective, the influence agent must understand the values, motives, and goals of the influence target.
A useful component of inspirational appeal is for leaders to provide meaning to the work, showing that it has significance to the entire organization or the outside world. The leader might have to explain why the work matters. Another approach to inspiring workers is to create a vision that surpasses the wants and needs of most employees.
11. Consultation with Others. Consultation with others before making a decision is both a leadership style and an influence technique. The influence target becomes more motivated to follow the agent’s request because the target is involved in the decision-making process.
12. Forming Coalitions. A coalition is a specific arrangement of parties working together to combine their power. Coalition formation works as an influence tactic because “there is power in numbers.” The more people you get on your side, the better. The more powerful the leader is, the less the need for coalition formation. Having a powerful network facilitates forming a coalition.
13. Being a Team Player. Influencing others by being a good team player is an important strategy for getting work accomplished. A leader might be a team player by doing such things as pitching in during peak workloads. Being a team player is a more effective influence tactic in an organizational culture that emphasizes collaboration than one in which being tough-minded and decisive is more in vogue.
14. Practicing Hands-on Leadership. A hands-on leader is one who gets directly involved in the details and processes of operations. The hands-on approach influences subordinates to follow the beliefs, procedures, and processes of the leader. Hands-on leadership is usually expected at levels below the executive suite, yet many high-level executives are also hands-on leaders.
15. Giving Useful Feedback. Feedback might be considered a general-purpose technique. Giving high-quality feedback prompts the recipient to be influenced by the leader’s suggestions.
B. Essentially Neutral Influence Tactics
If the tactics in this section are implemented with good intent, they tend to be positive, but if implemented with the intent of duping another person they tend to be negative.
1. Ingratiation. When ingratiation takes the form of well-deserved flattery or compliments, it is a positive tactic. In contrast, getting somebody to like you can be considered a mildly manipulative influence tactic—particularly if you do not
like the other person. Ingratiation includes such basic human relations techniques as asking for something in a polite way.
Upward ingratiation by the leader can have potential negative consequences with respect to support from the leader’s direct reports. A study in South Korea found that upward ingratiation may reduce the willingness of group members to contribute to the organization through effective performance. The problem is that the leader who ingratiates upward may diminish the quality of relationships with subordinates.
2. Joking and Kidding. Good-natured kidding by the leader is especially effective when a straightforward statement might be interpreted as harsh criticism.
3. Upward Appeal. In upward appeal the leader exerts influence on a team member by getting a person with more formal authority to carry out the influence act. Upward appeal does contain an element of manipulation and heavy-handedness.
4. Co-opting Antagonists. Co-opting is also used to resolve conflict. To co-opt is to win over opponents by making them part of your team or giving them a stake in the system. For example, invite an antagonist to be part of your advisory team.
C. Essentially Dishonest and Unethical Tactics
The tactics described in this section are less than forthright and ethical, yet they vary in intensity with respect to dishonesty. The first two tactics would be considered unethical and devious by most people; the second two might be within the bounds of acceptable ethics.
1. Deliberate Machiavellianism. Machiavellians are people in the workplace who ruthlessly manipulate others. They regularly practice deception, bluff, and other manipulative tactics. A modern example of deliberate Machiavellianism is the example of forcing managerial and professional employees into working many extra hours of uncompensated overtime.
2. Gentle Manipulation of People and Situations. By making untrue statements or faking certain behaviors, gentle manipulators get another person to comply. A widely used manipulative approach is to tap into social norms in order to gain consensus. This technique can move people to model their behavior after others. Tapping into social norms can be combined with peer pressure to influence a group member.
3. Undue Pressure. When rewards become bribes for compliance, and threats of punishment become severe, the target person is subjected to undue pressure or coercion.
4 Debasement. A subtle manipulative tactic is debasement, demeaning or insulting oneself to control the behavior of another person.
It is important to recognize that the most severe unethical influence tactics can bring about human suffering. Particularly harmful is when the influence tactic involves bullying, intimidation, and cruelty.
According to a meta-analysis, the type of influence tactics described in this chapter are apparently effective in attaining positive task and relationships outcomes. Positive relationships were found between outcomes and rational
persuasion, inspirational appeal, explaining benefits, collaboration, ingratiation, and consultation. Rational persuasion was the most effective influence tactic under a variety of conditions. A negative relationship was found between pressure and outcomes.
III. LEADERSHIP INFLUENCE FOR ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
Top-level leaders direct many of their influence attempts to bringing about change through the entire organization, often by attempting to overhaul the organization culture. Before plunging ahead with attempts at massive cultural change, the leader needs to study the existing culture and understand why it contributed to the prosperity and growth of the organization. Tactics for bringing about change yet assuring that a healthy culture is maintained include the following:
1. Serve as a role model for the desired attitudes and behaviors.
2. Explain why the transformation is personally important.
3. Impose a new approach through executive edict.
4 Establish a reward system that reinforces the culture, such as giving huge suggestion awards to promote an innovative culture.
5. Foster understanding and conviction by helping people throughout the organization understand why the change is necessary. Developing a change story might help.
6. Hold people accountable for the changes in behavior that support the cultural shift.
7 Select candidates for positions at all levels whose values mesh with the values of the desired culture.
8. Sponsor new training and development programs that support the desired cultural values.
A leader who exhibited all of these behaviors would qualify as a transformational leader because of all the positive changes.
IV. SEQUENCING OF INFLUENCE TACTICS
An important consideration in using influence tactics is the sequence in which they should be applied. In general, begin with the most positive, or least abrasive, tactic. Use stronger tactics only as needed. A sensible approach is to begin with low-cost, low-risk tactics. If the outcome is important enough, the influence agent can then shift to higher cost and higher risk influence tactics.
The direction of influence tactics is also important. In general, the more position power an individual exerts over another, the less the need for being cautious in exerting influence tactics.
V. IMPLICIT LEADERSHIP THEORIES AND LEADERSHIP INFLUENCE
People are more likely to be influenced by leaders who match their expectation of what a leader should be. Implicit leadership theories are personal assumptions about the traits and abilities that characterize an ideal organizational leader. The assumptions are stored in memory and activated when group members interact with a leader.
Prototypes are positive characterizations of a leader, whereas antiprototypes are traits and behaviors people do not want to see in a leader. Prototypes include sensitivity, intelligence, dedication, charisma, strength, attractiveness, and creativity. Antiprototypes include tyranny and masculinity.
A study found that workers desire (a) dominant traits more in high-level than in low-level leaders, and (b) interpersonal traits more in low-level than in high-level leaders. A potential problem with leadership prototypes is that superiors and subordinates might rate leaders favorably who fit these prototypes even if the leader’s performance is not so strong.
VI. GUIDELINES FOR ACTION AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT
To become an effective leader, learning to use influence tactics comfortably is essential. Even if you use influence tactics naturally, without giving them much thought, there is still more to learn.
In order for many of the influence tactics to work well, such as being a hands-on leader or joking and kidding, the regular physical presence of a leader is valuable. Some leaders today attempt to conduct much of their work digitally, or might live far from company headquarters. The lowly-visible leader not only loses influence, but might be dismissed.
[return to top]
Comments on Experiential Exercises
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 8-1: Survey of Influence Tactics
Here is an opportunity for students to think through how frequently they use certain influence tactics. An intended byproduct of completing this questionnaire is to remind the reader of the existence of certain influence tactics that might be added to their repertoire. In this way, skill development is possible.
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 8-2: The Leader Ingratiating Checklist
This listing of ingratiating behaviors can also be classified as political tactics. As such, the instrument might be regarded as fifteen suggestions for forming a positive relationship with work associates. Many people at various stages of their career can benefit from heightened awareness of the importance of pleasing the boss, subordinates, and co-workers.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 8-1: Making an Inspirational Appeal
The scenarios chosen for this skill-building exercise are chosen because they lend themselves readily to having an emotional component to the appeal. The three scenarios deal with work that is meaningful as defined by most people. For example, most students would perceive building a high-tech cane for blind people to be highly meaningful work. A successful role player will inject considerable emotion into whichever scenario is chosen.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 8-2: Influence Tactics
Role playing a situation in which a group of executives assemble about the launch of a major plan is a natural setting for the use of influence tactics. Group members who are skeptical about the soundness of the voluntary retirement program have a good opportunity to use influence tactics because they are colleagues rather than subordinates of the CFO.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 8-3: Identifying Influence Tactics
The task required by this skill-building exercise should be inherently interesting for many students—the opportunity to identify the rather harsh influence tactics a colleague is using. Here are two possible answers for analyzing Gina’s tactics: (1) “I want to work with all of you to develop strategies and tactics so vital that the top-management team will decide to keep our
group intact, and not join the outsourcing movement.” [Rational persuasion] (2) “As HR professionals, you know that we are in trouble. As hard as we all work and as much good as we do, our jobs are in peril.” [Undue pressure]
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 8-4: Applying Influence Tactics
Applying a leadership skill in field situations can be valuable experience. At a minimum, such practice illustrates the point that a combination of study and practice is important for leadership skill development.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 8-5: My Leadership Portfolio
Executing influence tactics is at the heart of exercising leadership, making it quite valuable for the student to record an instance of exercising influence. Also, if the student of leadership has not attempted to exert influence recently, this exercise might serve as a reminder to do so.
[return to top]
Comments on Discussion Questions and Activities
1 Which influence tactic described in this chapter do you think would work the best when a leader attempts to influence you? Why?
A reasonable level of self-awareness is necessary to provide an accurate answer to this question. Because most people believe that they are rational decision-makers and intelligent, a modal answer to this question is likely to be “rational persuasion.”
2 Which influence tactic described in this chapter do you think would work best for you when influencing another person? Why?
A student’s choice of influence tactic will frequently be a function of past experience with the tactic and their personality and skills. For example, knowledgeable and expert people are likely to choose the technique of being a subject matter expert.
3 Which of the influence tactics described in this chapter do you think are the most important for a person during a first leadership assignment? Explain your reasoning.
A person in a first leadership assignment should emphasize influence tactics that are ethical and not too heavy-handed. Leading by example, respect, and trust is a solid starting point. Rational persuasion can be quite effective, particularly if combined with the new leader being a subject matter expert. Being a team player would be effective because it is expected of a new leader. Ingratiation would probably be effective because early in their careers leaders are expected to be likeable.
4. With so many workers habituated to using mobile devices for so much of their work, should company management develop apps for influencing subordinates?
If the apps were used as a source of facts about a given situation, they might be helpful in using rational persuasion as an influence tactic. Most other influence tactics, however, are better done in person because both verbal and nonverbal communication are useful in implementing the tactics. A good example is using an inspirational appeal and emotional display. Another example is that hands-on leadership does not lend itself well to a smartphone application.
5. Assume that, as their leader, you want to influence minimum-wage workers in an orderfulfillment center to work faster. Which one or two influence tactics are likely to be effective?
Rational persuasion might be used by informing the workers that if order-fulfillment center productivity increased, all workers would receive a weekly or monthly cash bonus. Gentle manipulation could possibly work if used with some compassion, such as “I want us all to keep this center open, and for us to keep our jobs. But to keep open, we all have to work a little faster.”
6. How should an ambitious person draw the line between being effective at ingratiation and being obnoxious?
The ambitious person should be mindful of feedback when attempting to use ingratiation effectively. Observing the facial expressions of the target can be instructive. For example, if giving lavish praise results in an annoyed expression by more than one person, the ambitious person might tone down the praise the next time around. Asking a couple of network members for feedback on the effectiveness of using a particular influence tactic might prove useful. For example, the network member might be asked, “Should I tell people I want to get to like me that they appear to have an IQ in the genius range?”
7. Why is developing a reputation as a subject matter expert important for a leader if leadership deals so heavily with interpersonal skills?
Although leadership deals heavily with interpersonal skills, a leader’s technical or business knowledge is still a major approach to influencing people. For example, when CEOs are interviewed on shows such as Bloomberg Business News, they often talk in depth about their products or services. A positive example is Reed Hastings, the founder and CEO of Netflix, who spoke in great technical detail about his services during a radio interview.
8 How might a business owner use the technique of tapping social norms to influence employees to lead a healthier lifestyle?
The business owner might provide evidence of how many large companies have established wellness centers to help their workers stay healthy or become healthier. At the same time, the owner might point out that many smaller business firms are sending employees to wellness centers shared by several companies. The owner might also point out to employees that many of their co-workers are already leading a healthier lifestyle.
9. For over 100 years IBM has been a leading technology company. Yet, in the last few decades, it has lost its dominance as a technology leader. What cultural change can you suggest to help company leadership at IBM restore some of its past glory?
The answer to this question is much more complex than might appear on the surface. When top technology companies are mentioned in the press, IBM is rarely included in the list. Yet IBM is a leading force in the application of artificial intelligence to improving health and the functioning of cities. IBM leaders have worked for years at making the company less bureaucratic, and perhaps more progress is needed. Maybe hiring a few executives who appear to be “cool” would help IBM become more of a high-technology leader.
10. Get the opinion of an experienced leader as to the most effective influence tactics. Share your findings with class members.
One approach to gather information for this question is to present the leader with a list of the tactics described in this chapter. Another approach is to be less structured, which will probably result in the mention of various emotional tactics.
Plausible Responses to Case Questions
Leadership Case Problem A: General Manager Troy Wants to Inspire
1. What is your evaluation of the effectiveness of Troy’s inspirational message?
Troy is hitting hard at the theme that building Galaxy RVs is highly meaningful work. Many factory workers already think their work has an impact, but reinforcing and enlarging the message might be influential.
2. What other influence tactics might Troy use to ramp up production at his Galaxy RV plant?
Financial incentives are not usually classified as influence tactics, so we focus on other tactics in response to this question. Exchanging favors and bargaining might work in the form of adding another two vacation days for the year if certain stretch production targets are met. Telling a couple of true stories of how a Galaxy RV brought happiness to a deserving family might add to the inspirational appeal of Troy’s message.
Associated Role Play
Here is a chance for the role player of Troy to be dramatic and convincing. At the same time, here is an opportunity for the role players of the management team to be reflective about Troy’s message and perhaps sow skepticism about how production of the Galaxy RVs can be ramped up even more.
Leadership Case Problem B: Katerina Demands Results
This case illustrates how difficult it can be for a leader to influence people to perform well on an extraordinarily difficult task. Simply demanding better results may not be an effective influence tactic.
1. Which influence tactics does Katerina appear to be using, and how effective do they appear to be?
Katerina is using emotional display as she attempts to fire up the store managers to perform better. At the same time, she is applying undue pressure. The responses of the store managers suggest that her influence techniques are not going to be effective.
2. What other approach might Katerina take to getting her store managers to enhance sales?
Katerina has a very tough task because it is becoming more difficult to sell luxury goods. Because the task is so difficult for the store managers, Katerina might need to lead by example and be a subject matter expert in the form of giving the managers careful guidance as to how sales could be increased.
3. To what extent do you think that Katerina is too abrasive in her role as regional manager?
Katerina may think that she is providing forceful leadership, but she is most likely perceived as abrasive. Her statement to Garth is illustrative: “I told you at the outset. No moaning, no groaning, no excuses. Your goal is a three-percent sales increase and it’s not negotiable.”
Associated Role Play
Here is an opportunity for the role players of Katerina to attempt to be a positive yet influential leader. Katerina should communicate compassion and understanding while
still seeking sales increases. Observers might reflect on whether Katerina is both credible and effective.
[return to top]
Additional Activities and Assignments
Read this blogpost and then answer the following questions about persuasive techniques. http://community.cengage.com/GECResource2/info/b/management/archive/2017/06/20/pe rsuasive-techniques
<question type="essay">
1. How does the use of visuals or graphics in a presentation help to effectively communicate a message?
ANS: Answers may vary
REJ: Refer to the chapter “Influence Tactics of Leaders” for more information.
<metadata>
Difficulty: Moderate
LO: Identify a set of honest and ethical influence tactics.
Learning Objective Narrative: To increase a student’s understanding of ways a leader can positively influence outcomes
A-head: A Model of Power and Influence
Bloom's: Remember
</metadata>
[return to top]
Appendix
Generic Rubrics
Providing students with rubrics helps them understand expectations and components of assignments. Rubrics help students become more aware of their learning process and progress, and they improve students’ work through timely and detailed feedback.
Customize these rubrics as you wish. The writing rubric indicates 40 points, and the discussion rubric indicates 30 points.
Standard Writing Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Content
Organization and Clarity
The assignment clearly and comprehensively addresses all questions in the assignment.
15 points
The assignment presents ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are logically related and consistent.
10 points
Research
Research
Grammar and Spelling
The assignment is based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature, including peerreviewed journals and other scholarly work.
5 points
The assignment follows the required citation guidelines.
5 points
The assignment has two or fewer grammatical and spelling errors.
5 points
The assignment partially addresses some or all questions in the assignment.
8 points
The assignment presents ideas in a mostly clear manner and with a mostly strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are mostly logically related and consistent.
7 points
The assignment is based upon adequate academic literature but does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
3 points
The assignment follows some of the required citation guidelines.
3 points
The assignment has three to five grammatical and spelling errors.
3 points
The assignment does not address the questions in the assignment.
0 points
The assignment does not present ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an introduction, content, and conclusion, but coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are not logically related and consistent.
0 points
The assignment is not based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature and does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
0 points
The assignment does not follow the required citation guidelines.
0 points
The assignment is incomplete or unintelligible.
0 points
Standard Discussion Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Participation
Contribution Quality
Submits or participates in discussion by the posted deadlines. Follows all assignment instructions for initial post and responses.
5 points
Comments stay on task. Comments add value to discussion topic. Comments motivate other students to respond.
20 points
Etiquette
Maintains appropriate language. Offers criticism in a constructive manner. Provides both positive and negative feedback.
5 points
Does not participate or submit discussion by the posted deadlines. Does not follow instructions for initial post and responses.
3 points
Comments may not stay on task. Comments may not add value to discussion topic. Comments may not motivate other students to respond.
10 points
Does not always maintain appropriate language. Offers criticism in an offensive manner. Provides only negative feedback.
3 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Purpose and Perspective of the Chapter
The purpose of this chapter is to provide the reader with specific information about how to develop teamwork as a leader. Such information is vital in an era that glorifies the importance of teamwork.
Chapter Objectives
The following objectives are addressed in this chapter:
09.01 Characterize the leader’s role in a team-based organization.
09.02 Describe leader actions that foster teamwork.
09.03 Pinpoint the potential contribution of outdoor training to the development of team leadership.
09.04 Articulate how the leader–member exchange model contributes to an understanding of leadership.
Complete List of Chapter Activities and Assessments
For additional guidance, refer to the Teaching Online Guide.
09.03 09.04 6, 7 9-21 24, 25 26-31
[return to top]
Key Terms
Skill-Building Exercise 9-4: My Leadership Portfolio
Skill-Building Exercise 9-1: Shelters for the Homeless
Self-Assessment Quiz 9-1: Team Player Attitudes
Skill-Building Exercise 9-2: The Team Leader Candidates
Skill-Building Exercise 9-3: The Good Samaritans
Skill-Building Exercise 9-5: The Trust Fall
Cooperation theory: A belief in cooperation and collaboration rather than competitiveness as a strategy for building teamwork.
E-leadership: A form of leadership practiced in a context where work is mediated by information technology.
Leader–member exchange (LMX) model: An explanation of leadership proposing that leaders develop unique working relationships with group members.
Micromanagement: The close monitoring of most aspects of group member activities by the manager or leader.
Open-book management: An approach to management in which every employee is trained, empowered, and motivated to understand and pursue the company’s business goals.
Team: A workgroup that must rely on collaboration if each member is to experience optimum success and achievement.
Teamwork: Work done with an understanding and commitment to group goals on the part of all team members.
[return to top]
What’s New in This Chapter
The following elements are improvements and changes in this chapter from the previous edition:
• Expanded coverage of virtual teams
• Slack as a frequent communication channel for teams
• More about problems associated with open-office spaces
• Problems of excessive collaboration in teams
• Wilderness adventure expeditions as offsite training
• Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 9-3: The Good Samaritan
[return to top]
Chapter Outline
The purpose of this chapter is to provide the reader with specific information about how to develop teamwork as a leader. Such information is vital in an era that glorifies the importance of teamwork.
[return to top]
Chapter Outline and Lecture Notes
Developing teamwork is such an important leadership role that team building is said to differentiate successful from unsuccessful leaders. Furthermore, leaders with a reputation as teamwork builders are often in demand. A team is a workgroup that must rely on collaboration if each member is to experience optimum success and achievement. Teamwork is an understanding and commitment to group goals on the part of all team members. All teams are groups, but not all groups are teams. A team accomplishes many collective work products, whereas group members sometimes work slightly more independently
I. THE LEADER’S ROLE IN THE TEAM-BASED ORGANIZATION
Instead of the leader’s job disappearing, leaders learn to lead in new ways. New leaders need to understand team processes. Leaders are often facilitators who lead two or
three teams. Teams need effective leadership to stay on course, especially when they are forming. Some key roles of a leader in a team-based organization include:
• Building trust and inspiring teamwork.
• Coaching toward higher levels of performance
• Facilitating and supporting the team’s decisions.
• Expanding the team’s capabilities.
• Creating a team identity
• Anticipating and influencing change.
• Inspiring the team toward higher levels of performance.
• Enabling and empowering group members to accomplish their work.
• Encouraging team members to eliminate low-value work.
A role for executive-level leaders requiring separate mention is that of leading a number of teams within the organization, referred to as intergroup leadership. To carry out the role of successfully building teamwork among various teams, a starting point is for the leader to talk about the identity of the team composed of sub-teams.
When the leader is not a member of the team, the leader is classified as an external leader. A study showed that, under ordinary work conditions, when the leaders were too actively involved in coaching the team and sense making, satisfaction with leadership declined. When the team faced disruptive conditions such as a heavy workload, coaching and sense making by the leader increased satisfaction with leadership.
An important role for a leader in a team-based organization is often to lead a group of people who do not report directly to that leader.
II LEADER ACTIONS THAT FOSTER TEAMWORK
Fostering teamwork is a major factor for the success of teams. Inspirational leaders, as well as less charismatic ones, can encourage teamwork through certain actions and attitudes. The actions can be divided into those leaders can take using their own resources (informal techniques) and those actions that generally require organization structure or policy (formal techniques).
A Actions Leaders Can Take Using Their Own Resources
1. Defining the Team’s Mission. A starting point in developing teamwork is to specify the team’s mission. The mission should contain a specific goal, purpose, and philosophical tone. An example: “To plan and implement new manufacturing approaches to enhance our performance image and bolster our competitive edge.” To help implement the mission, it is helpful for the leader to define the team tasks, or to work with the group in defining these tasks. Team members can then identify the subtask for which each member has responsibility.
2. Establishing a Climate of Trust. Without team members trusting each other, and trusting the leader, working together cooperatively is unlikely. A starting point in establishing a climate of trust is for the leader to be credible and engage in the many other trustworthy behaviors describe in Chapter 2. Open communication about problems is a big help.
3. Developing a Norm of Teamwork Based on Cooperation Theory. A major strategy for teamwork development is to promote the attitude among group members that working together is an expected standard of conduct. Political infighting can be decreased through encouraging teamwork. The terms “working together” and “winning team” are effective.
A norm of teamwork is based on cooperation theory, a belief in cooperation and collaboration rather than competitiveness. Individuals who are accustomed to competing with one another for recognition, salary increases, and resources must now collaborate. Encouraging team members to treat one another as if they were customers can foster cooperative behavior and politeness.
Research with U.S. Intelligence units reported by Adam Grant found that the single strongest predictor of group effectiveness was the amount of help the analysts gave each other. In the highest-performing teams, analysts invested extensive time and energy in coaching, teaching, and consulting with colleagues.
A robust approach to establishing a norm of teamwork is to encourage prosocial motivation among team members.
4. Developing Group Emotional Intelligence. The leader’s role in developing a norm of teamwork can also be framed as the leader helping the group develop emotional intelligence. The leader creates norms that establish mutual trust among members. A group identity and group efficacy (feelings of competence) also helps build emotional intelligence. Bringing emotions to the surface in both group- and one-on-one meetings is also helpful.
5 Emphasizing Pride in Being Outstanding. A standard way of building team spirit, if not teamwork, is to help the group realize why it should be proud of its accomplishments. Most groups are particularly good at some task.
6
Serving as a Model of Teamwork Including Power Sharing and Collective Leadership. A powerful method of fostering teamwork is for the leader to be a positive model of team play. One way of exemplifying teamwork is for the leader to reveal important information about ideas and attitudes relevant to the group’s work. Frequent interaction with the team also helps. Sharing power improves teamwork because a good team player avoids hogging power and making all the decisions. Exerting power gives team members a feeling of being a major contributor to the team effort.
Sharing power with team members, or empowering them, appears to be particularly effective in terms of the long-term development of the team. Power sharing is also referred to as collective leadership.
7. Using a Consensus Leadership Style. Consensus decision-making enhances teamwork. Contributing input to important decisions helps foster the feeling among team members that they are valuable. The consensus leadership style reflects a belief in shared governance and partnership instead of patriarchal caretaking. Generation X managers-and Generation Y-managers - are likely to practice consensus leadership because they are good at collaboration and consensus building. Striving for consensus does not mean that all conflict is submerged to make people agree, with some disagreement over issues being healthy.
8. Establishing Urgency, Demanding Performance Standards, and Providing Direction. Team members need to believe that the team has urgent, constructive purposes. The more urgent and relevant the rationale for the team’s purpose, the more likely it is that the team will achieve its potential. To help establish urgency, it is helpful for the leader to challenge the group regularly. Studies suggest that urgent, demanding tasks also contribute to the effectiveness of teams composed of top talent.
Demanding tasks also facilitate good performance because reasonably high demands act as healthy stressors that boost performance
9. Encouraging Competition with Another Group. One of the best-known methods of encouraging teamwork is to rally the group against a real or imagined threat from the outside. The leader should encourage rivalry, not intense competition that might lead to unethical business practices.
10 Engaging in Ample Interaction with the Team and Providing Positive Feedback and Recognition. A helpful tactic for building teamwork is to build positive relationships with team members, and relationships are built on conversations. An effective way of interacting with team members is to hold question-andanswer sessions, thereby demonstrating participative leadership at the same time.
A motivational form of interacting with the team is to provide positive feedback about recent activities. Giving team members regular updates on personal performance as well as company performance helps workers feel valued.
11. Minimizing Micromanagement. A strategic perspective on encouraging teamwork is for the leader to minimize micromanagement, the close monitoring of most aspects of group members’ activities. Avoiding micromanagement facilitates empowerment. A micromanager is also referred to as a control freak because the leader wants to maintain total control. The
contingency leader recognizes the fine line between avoiding micromanagement and not providing the guidance and accountability that team members may need to function well as a unit.
12. Practicing E-Leadership for Virtual Teams. E-leadership is a form of leadership practiced in a context where work is mediated by information technology. The focus of leadership shifts from individuals to networks of relationships because the Internet facilitates connecting many people. An example of e-leadership to facilitate teamwork would be establishing chat rooms to solicit opinions from members of a cross-border virtual team before reaching a final decision.
Videoconferencing is ideal for virtual teams because it allows members to see and interact with each other from remote locations at the same time. The trend toward forming cross-cultural teams from geographically dispersed units of a firm increases the application of virtual teams. Another driving force for the use of virtual teams has been the gig economy—workers who are involved in some form of freelancing or contracting, often based on outsourcing.
Suggestions for building teamwork within a virtual team include:
a. Establish and maintain trust through the use of information technology.
b. Ensure that diversity in the team is understood, appreciated, and leveraged.
c. Maintain frequent communication, including virtual meetings.
d. Monitor team progress through the use of technology.
e. Enhance external visibility of the team and its members.
f. Ensure that individuals benefit from participating in virtual teams.
g. To maintain a high-tech environment, conduct one or two face-to-face meetings per year.
B Actions Generally Requiring Organization Structure or Policy
1. Designing Physical Structures That Facilitate Communication. Group cohesiveness, and therefore teamwork, is enhanced when team members are located in proximity and can interact frequently and easily. A shared physical facility also helps. Recognizing the contribution of a shared physical facility to promote teamwork, many organizations have incorporated more open working space into the workplace.
2. Emphasizing Group Recognition and Rewards. Rewarding group accomplishments reinforces teamwork because people receive rewards for what they have accomplished collaboratively. Methods of team recognition include celebrations of milestones, painting equipment in team colors, and a Team-ofthe-Month award.
3. Initiating Ritual and Ceremony. Ritual and ceremony afford opportunities for reinforcing values, revitalizing spirit, and bonding workers to one another and the teams. An example is holding a team dinner whenever the group achieves a major milestone, such as winning bid on a contract.
4 Practicing Open-Book Management. In open-book management every employee is trained, empowered, and motivated to understand and pursue the company’s business goals. In this way, employees become business partners and perceive themselves to be members of the same team.
Selecting Team-Oriented Members. A heavy-impact method of building teamwork is to select team members who are interested in and capable of teamwork. A starting point is self-selection. Many managers believe that individuals who participate or have participated in team sports are likely to be good team players on the job.
6. Using Technology That Enhances Teamwork. Workers can collaborate better when they use information technology that fosters collaboration, often referred to as collaborative ware. Advances in videoconferencing facilitate teamwork. Social networking might be regarded as the most far-reaching technology for enhancing teamwork because many workers can exchange information with each other and thereby collaborate more extensively. The social media are good for knowledge transfer, which enhances collaboration. When knowledge transfer leads to more collaboration, teamwork is enhanced.
7. Blend Representatives from the Domestic Company and Foreign Nationals. On the Team. Working with people from your own country, as well as a representative from the country of company headquarters, often enhances teamwork. Perhaps having a representative from the parent company, yet still respecting local talent, creates a spirit of cooperation.
8. The Problem of Excessive Collaboration. Too much collaboration can be dysfunctional because it lowers individual and team productivity. During the pandemic, dealing with all the chats and messages proved to be dysfunctional for many workers.
III OFFSITE TRAINING AND TEAM DEVELOPMENT
Offsite or outdoor training is a well-known experiential approach to building teamwork and leadership skills. Wilderness training is closely associated with outdoor training except that the setting is likely to be much rougher. In both outdoor training and wilderness training, participants are supposed to acquire leadership and teamwork skills by confronting physical challenges and exceeding their self-imposed limitations. Some forms of outdoor training take place in city parks, as well as in the city itself to rehabilitate or build a house.
The goals of outdoor training include (1) discovering your strengths and weaknesses, (2) testing your limits, and (3) having the opportunity to break through barriers between yourself and others.
A Features of Outdoor and Offsite Training Programs
Participants placed in a demanding outdoor environment have to rely on skills they did not realize they had and on each other to complete the program. Emphasis is placed on building self-confidence, leadership, and teamwork. The list of teambuilding activities continues to grow and now includes tightrope walking, adventure racing, and cooking. Building or repairing houses for people in need is gaining in popularity as a form of team building. Another novel approach is for participants to perform stand-up comedy in front of work associates.
Outward Bound is the best-known and largest provider of outdoor training programs. Courses typically run from three days to four weeks. The Outward Bound Professional Development Program is geared toward organizational leaders: it emphasizes teamwork, leadership, and risk taking. Frequent activities include jumping from high places while attached to a rope pulley and falling backward into
the arms of other participants (“trust falls”). Rope activities are typical of outdoor training.
Outdoor training enhances teamwork by helping participants examine the process of getting things done through working with people. In going through the exercises, they must communicate well and trust one another.
B Evaluation of Outdoor Training for Team Development
Outdoor trainers claim that their programs improve self-confidence, help people appreciate their strengths, and teach them to work better with one another. Many training directors also speak positively of outdoor training. Reservations about outdoor training include the fact that it is physically dangerous and that the teamwork training does not carry over to the job. Also, real workplace teams change membership rapidly, thus negating some of the team building that the group experienced during the training. Another problem with outdoor and offsite training is that some participants perceive the experience as wasting time and sometimes distasteful.
One way to facilitate the transfer of training from outdoors to the workplace is to hold debriefing and follow-up sessions. The participants review what they have learned and discuss how they will apply the lessons to the job.
IV. THE LEADER-MEMBER EXCHANGE MODEL AND TEAMWORK
The leader-member exchange model developed by George Graen and associates helps explain why one subgroup in a unit is part of a cohesive team and another group is excluded. The leader-member exchange model (LMX) proposes that leaders develop unique working relationships with group members. One subset of employees, the ingroup, is given additional rewards, responsibility, and trust in exchange for their loyalty and performance. The in-group becomes part of a smoothly functioning team headed by the formal leader. Out-group members are less likely to experience good teamwork.
A Different-Quality Relationships
Leaders treat each member somewhat differently, with the links that exist between the leader and each individual team member differing in quality. When the quality of the relationship is high, the member is “in” with the leader. Leaders and group members liking each other is a major contributor to the quality of the relationship. A note of caution about leader-member exchanges is that evidence suggests the leader and group members may perceive the quality the exchange differently.
Treatment of In-Group versus Out-Group Members. In-group members are invited to participate in important decision-making, are given added responsibility, and are privy to interesting gossip. Members of the out-group are managed according to the requirements of the employment contract and receive little warmth, inspiration, or encouragement. When the quality of the leader-member exchange is high, group members are more committed to company goals and less likely to quit.
Reciprocity between Leader and Members. The leader grants more favors to the ingroup member, who in response works harder to please the leader; reciprocity is a contributor to being a good team player. In a hospital setting study, positive exchanges involved group members’ engaging in increased good citizenship behavior and in-group role behaviors such as putting extra effort into performing their duties.
Satisfaction with Teamwork. A study with nurses in Iran suggested that the higher the satisfaction with supervisory relationships, the higher the level of satisfaction with teamwork. Lower satisfaction with teamwork was associated with more role ambiguity in dealing with patients.
Extra-Role Behavior. An industrial study found that high-quality exchanges between supervisors and employees contribute to employees engaging in extra-role behavior, or being cooperative in ways that were not expected of them.
Safety Performance. A study with 64 group leaders found that positive leadermember exchanges were associated with more communication about safety,
Transformational Effects. A study showed that positive leader-member exchanges may facilitate the leader having a transformational effect. Transformational relationships were significantly stronger for followers who perceived high-quality relationships with their supervisors.
Leader Status. When group members perceive leaders as having high status, it is easier for the leader to form the type of high-quality relationships that contribute to good teamwork (as shown in a bank study).
B First Impressions
The leader’s first impression of a group member’s competency plays an important role in placing the member into the in-group or out-group. Another key linking factor is whether the leader and team member have positive or negative chemistry. A study showed that the initial leader expectations of group members and member expectations of the leader were good predictors of the leader-member exchanges at two weeks and six weeks.
V. GUIDELINES FOR ACTION AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT
Some research suggests that teamwork is more likely to be enhanced when the team leader coaches the team as an entity, rather than coaching individual members.
Most leaders and many leadership researchers are so enamored with collaboration that they neglect its potential negative side effects. Collaboration can drain time from independent thought and action. Too much time in collaboration can lead to bottlenecks in work and burnout for individuals.
[return to top]
Comments on Experiential Exercises
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 9-1: Shelters for the Homeless
This exercise offers yet another opportunity for practicing teamwork. Our experience with the previous editions of the text is that the content of this exercise has high intrinsic interest and thus leads to enjoyable student interactions. Of note, this approach to team building is widely practiced by companies.
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 9-1: Team Player Attitudes
A useful issue for the modern worker to confront is the extent to which they really do enjoy teamwork. Not everybody is inclined toward working in a team. Such individuals might seek work that gives ample opportunity for working alone.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 9-2: Team Leader Candidates
When a student addresses the rest of the group about why they should be chosen as the team leader, that student is likely to think about their attitudes toward teamwork. The observers might also ponder what type of person makes a good team leader.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 9-3: The Good Samaritans
Although this skill-building may take a lot of time and effort to execute, it is effective for practicing teamwork. At the same time, the task is high in meaningfulness because it involves helping a person in need.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 9-4: My Leadership Portfolio
Most students should be readily able to find a group activity in which to practice enhancing teamwork, either as the group leader or team member. This portfolio entry gains in relevance because many groups and teams could benefit from teamwork enhancement.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 9-5: The Trust Fall
We add the venerable trust-fall exercise for sake of completion. As stated in the text, although most students have participated in a trust fall previously, each new application of the trust fall can add new insights about teamwork. Also, because the mix of people will be different, the experience will be slightly different.
[return to top]
Comments on Discussion Questions and Activities
1. What would be the potential disadvantages of selecting a team leader who is highly charismatic and visionary?
A highly charismatic leader will often be set off from the group, and group members might rely heavily on the leader’s judgment. As a consequence, leadership will not be distributed to the extent it should be in a true team.
2. Some top-level managers prohibit or discourage workers from telework (including working from home and other locations) because they think such activity interferes with teamwork. What is your opinion on this issue?
The reason that telework might interfere with teamwork is that the face-to-face interaction that facilitates teamwork is missing with remote workers. The counterargument is that electronic communication, including phone calls, can compensate for the diminished of face-to-face interaction. (We say “diminished” because many telecommuters have the occasional face-to-face meetings with work associates.) As more people in the workforce become telecommuters, the issue of teamwork and remote work will become more important.
3. Considering that many CEOs are chosen for their position because of their strategic thinking and transformational leadership ability, how important is it for these CEOs to be outstanding team players?
The strategic and transformational leader still needs to be a good team player in terms of working smoothly with the top-management team and other stakeholders. Yet that does not mean that the leader must rely on consensus before introducing strategic decisions or taking bold, transformational actions.
4 Is there a role for independent-thinking, decisive, creative leaders in a team-based organization? Explain.
Despite all the favorable press about team-based organizations, decisive, creative, and independent-thinking leaders are still in demand. Independent leaders of this type are particularly in demand for key corporate positions, such as a CEO hired with the assistance of an executive recruiter.
5. When evaluating candidates, some hiring mangers draw the distinction between a “team player” versus an “independent thinker.” What is your opinion of the validity of this distinction?
The argument for this distinction is that some people who are strong team players want to go along with group opinion and are hesitant to express an independent thought. The argument against this distinction is that some independent thinkers are also good team players and are therefore outstanding performers.
6. At the hamburger chain, Five Guys, each member of the top-management team wears khaki pants and a polo shirt with the Five Guys logo. What impact do you think this practice has on teamwork?
Although superficial by definition, team uniforms often contribute to teamwork because the uniforms suggest a common purpose. The uniforms, of course, also suggest uniformity in many actions. Uniforms might also carry the suggestion that status differences in the group are low.
7. As the team leader, should you make an effort to speak more clearly and use better grammar than the team members? Explain your reasoning.
It is generally a good idea for the team leader to demonstrate leadership qualities in many ways, including standing out in terms of linguistic style. Yet, annoying team members by speaking too differently could create problems. The answer to this question is bolstered by older research suggesting that effective leaders are smarter, but not too much smarter, than the average group member.
8. What is your opinion of the value of experience in team sports for becoming a good team player in the workplace?
Most people see a carryover from team play in sports to team play in the workplace. When polled on the subject, the majority of executives think that team sports help prepare a person for being a team member on the job. People who oppose this idea would therefore face a lot of opposition.
9. Explain whether you would be willing to participate in a wilderness adventure expedition as part of your leadership development.
The student’s attitude toward risk taking and adventure would heavily influence the answer to this question. A cynical answer might be that some people would enjoy taking a one-week, company-paid vacation in the wilderness. Some students might think that the time spend on a wilderness expedition might be better spent on job problems and collaborating with teammates in a work environment.
10. How can political skill help a person avoid being adversely affected by the leadermember exchange model?
By using political skill, the group member can get on the leader’s good side and thus avoid becoming an out-group member. The political actor must work fast, because first impressions count heavily in forming the quality of the leader-member exchanges.
Plausible Responses to Case Questions
Leadership Case Problem A: Jade Wants to Build an Effective Team
The theme of this case is an important one. Virtual teams can experience problems of working smoothly together, including gaining the cooperation of other team members.
1. What suggestions can you offer Jade for developing a more effective virtual team?
Jade might have to resort to fundamentals of building a team in general. The team needs to develop a norm of teamwork to establish reasonable expectations of when requested input is provided to each member. Team members in the case are blaming the lack of input from others for delays in getting their work accomplished.
2. What role might a virtual happy hour have on building team spirit and collaboration?
Anecdotal evidence suggests that virtual happy hours provide at least a short-term boost to team spirit and morale. As mentioned in relation to crisis leadership in Chapter 5, social events for remote workers help team members bond.
3. The barking dog incident may be humorous, but it is a frequent problem with virtual meetings. Any suggestions for dealing with Zorro?
The reflex response here is to train Zorro not to bark during Zoom meetings, but this type of training is difficult. How about Zorro spending time with a friend or neighbor during a Zoom conference?
Associated Role Play
Here is an opportunity to conduct a simulated team meeting designed to be efficient and effective. The person who plays Jade will have to work hard to keep the team members focused on the task. Perhaps at least one of the role players of a team member will present a challenge to keep focused.
Leadership Case Problem B: Should We Dump the Open-Plan Office?
This case illustrates a significant challenge in the modern business world: attempting to foster collaboration through an open-plan office while at the same time respecting the rights of workers who prefer and need some privacy.
1. How might CEO Jason make better use of office space to promote teamwork?
Jason has received both positive and negative feedback on the open-plan office. Although the open spaces might enhance creativity for some workers, the plan appears to diminish the creativity of others. Jason might therefore configure the office space to allow room for both the open plan and privacy.
2. To what extent are the workers opposed to the open-plan office simply being inflexible?
Complaints about open-plan offices are frequent enough, as reported in the business press, that workers who do not want the plan might be expressing a valid preference. In this sense they are not being inflexible.
3. Identify several rules Jason might introduce that would make the open-plan office more conducive to effective teamwork.
A few possible rules are: (a) Avoid disturbing other workers with small talk. (b) Make lengthy phone calls on mobile devices away from the main work area. (c) Do not hold
non-work-related conversations in the open work area. (d) Collaborate with other workers only for a valid purpose.
Associated Role Play
This group role play might be the high point of the course, particularly if dog lovers are the volunteers. On the surface, the role play would appear to be strictly an exercise in group brainstorming. A twist, however, is that the role players might recognize that brainwriting (private brainstorming) is also needed. As a result, the role players might break away from the open-plan office for a few minutes to engage in independent creative thinking.
[return to top]
Additional Activities and Assignments
Read this blogpost and then answer the following questions about management versus leadership.
http://community.cengage.com/GECResource2/info/b/management/archive/2015/02/23/m anagement-versus-leadership
<question type="essay">
1. Discuss one of the fundamental differences between management and leadership. ANS: Answers may vary.
REJ: Refer to the chapter “Developing Teamwork” for more information.
<metadata>
Difficulty: Moderate
LO: Understand the leader’s role in a team-based organization.
Learning Objective Narrative: To increase a student’s understanding of a leader’s impact in the effectiveness of teams.
A-head: Leader Actions that Foster Teamwork
Bloom's: Understand </metadata>
[return to top]
Appendix Generic Rubrics
Providing students with rubrics helps them understand expectations and components of assignments. Rubrics help students become more aware of their learning process and progress, and they improve students’ work through timely and detailed feedback.
Customize these rubrics as you wish. The writing rubric indicates 40 points, and the discussion rubric indicates 30 points.
Standard Writing Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Content
Organization and Clarity
The assignment clearly and comprehensively addresses all questions in the assignment.
15 points
The assignment presents ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are logically related and consistent.
10 points
Research
Research
Grammar and Spelling
The assignment is based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature, including peerreviewed journals and other scholarly work.
5 points
The assignment follows the required citation guidelines.
5 points
The assignment has two or fewer grammatical and spelling errors.
5 points
The assignment partially addresses some or all questions in the assignment.
8 points
The assignment presents ideas in a mostly clear manner and with a mostly strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are mostly logically related and consistent.
7 points
The assignment is based upon adequate academic literature but does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
3 points
The assignment follows some of the required citation guidelines.
3 points
The assignment has three to five grammatical and spelling errors.
3 points
The assignment does not address the questions in the assignment.
0 points
The assignment does not present ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an introduction, content, and conclusion, but coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are not logically related and consistent.
0 points
The assignment is not based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature and does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
0 points
The assignment does not follow the required citation guidelines.
0 points
The assignment is incomplete or unintelligible.
0 points
Standard Discussion Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Participation
Contribution Quality
Submits or participates in discussion by the posted deadlines. Follows all assignment. instructions for initial post and responses.
5 points
Comments stay on task. Comments add value to discussion topic. Comments motivate other students to respond.
20 points
Etiquette
Maintains appropriate language. Offers criticism in a constructive manner. Provides both positive and negative feedback.
5 points
Does not participate or submit discussion by the posted deadlines. Does not follow instructions for initial post and responses.
3 points
Comments may not stay on task. Comments may not add value to discussion topic. Comments may not motivate other students to respond.
10 points
Does not always maintain appropriate language. Offers criticism in an offensive manner. Provides only negative feedback.
3 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Purpose and Perspective of the Chapter
The purpose of this chapter is to provide the reader with specific ideas for motivating and coaching group members. A leader is supposed to inspire people. Nevertheless, influencing others through specific motivation techniques and coaching is also necessary. Instead of this being a chapter about motivation theories in general, we focus on several approaches to motivation that can readily be converted into leadership skills.
Chapter Objectives
The following objectives are addressed in this chapter:
10.01 Describe the leader’s role in employee engagement.
10.02 Characterize leadership skills linked to expectancy theory.
10.03 Describe goal theory.
10.04 Articulate how leaders can motivate others through recognition and pride.
10.05 Describe coaching as an approach to motivation.
10.06 Clarify the characteristics of coaching and how to practice coaching skills and techniques.
10.07 Identify how executive coaches help enhance leadership skills.
Complete List of Chapter Activities and Assessments
For additional guidance, refer to the Teaching Online Guide.
Self-Assessment Quiz 10-1: My Work Engagement Tendencies
Skill-Building Exercise 10-1: Collecting Live Data on Worker Engagement
Self-Assessment Quiz 10-2: How Meaningful Is My Work?
Skill-Building Exercise 10-3: The Application of Goal Theory
Skill-Building Exercise 10-2: Recognition for Outstanding Performance
Self-Assessment Quiz 10-3: How Much Do I Crave Recognition?
Skill-Building Exercise 10-5: My Leadership Portfolio
10.07 24, 25 27, 28, 29, 30 31, 32, 33, 34
[return to top]
Key Terms
Self-Assessment Quiz 10-4: Characteristics of an Effective Coach
Skill-Building Exercise 10-4: Coaching for Improved Performance 10 minutes 10 minutes
Engagement: The high levels of personal investment in the tasks performed on a job.
Executive coaching: A one-on-one development process formally contracted between a coach and a management-level client to help achieve goals related to professional development and/or business performance.
Expectancy theory: A theory of motivation based on the premise that the amount of effort people expend depends on how much reward they can expect in return.
Expectancy: An individual’s assessment of the probability that effort will lead to correct performance of the task.
Goal: What a person is trying to accomplish.
Instrumentality: An individual’s assessment of the probability that performance will lead to certain outcomes.
Meaningful work: The feeling of doing work that matters or makes a difference.
Outcome: Anything that might stem from performance, such as a reward.
Self-efficacy: The confidence in one’s ability to carry out a specific task.
Valence: The worth or attractiveness of an outcome.
[return to top]
What’s New in This Chapter
The following elements are additions and improvements in this chapter from the previous edition:
• Expanded discussion of meaningful work
• Importance of using deadlines in goal setting
• Recognizing group members by thanking them and expressing gratitude
• The importance of being very specific about negative feedback
• Providing regular on-the-spot feedback on what is going well.
• Working on a solution together to solve difficult problem
• Research evidence about the effectiveness of executive coaching
• Recognition for outstanding performance during a crisis
[return to top]
Chapter Outline
The purpose of this chapter is to provide the reader with specific ideas for motivating and coaching group members. A leader is supposed to be able to inspire people. Nevertheless, influencing others through specific motivation techniques and coaching is also necessary. Instead of this being a chapter about motivation theories in general, we focus on several approaches to motivation that can readily be converted into leadership skills.
[return to top]
Chapter Outline and Lecture Notes
Effective leaders are outstanding motivators and coaches. Motivation and coaching techniques are important because not all leaders can influence others through formal authority or charisma and inspirational leadership alone. Face-to-face, day-by-day motivational skills are also important.
I. LEADERSHIP AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
A broad purpose of leaders applying motivation and coaching technique is to get employees involved in their work and excited about working for the organization. Engagement is the current buzzword for the commitment workers make to their employer. The term refers to high levels of personal investment in the tasks performed on a job. Engagement is reflected in employee willingness to stay with the firm and go beyond the call of duty.
Gaining employee commitment is especially important in the current era. A study conducted in 142 countries found that about 63 percent of workers are not fully engaged in their work. The same study found that 13 percent of employees are engaged, and 24 percent actively disengaged
A. The Impact of Worker Engagement on Productivity
The State of the American Workplace report shows that companies with a 9-to-1 ratio of engaged to actively disengaged employees experience a147 percent higher earnings per share on overage in comparison to their competition.
Leaders need to use motivation and coaching techniques to help keep employees engaged. A survey of 1,000 employees revealed that leaders who give positive feedback to employees foster engagement. Furthermore, giving mostly negative feedback is better than no feedback or being ignored.
B. Meaningful Work for Employee Engagement
A key driver of worker engagement is the opportunity to perform meaningful work, the feeling of doing work that matters or makes a difference. Research by McKinsey indicates that the opportunity to make an impact in the following four
areas is the most likely to enhance the meaningfulness of work: on society, on customers, on the workgroup or team, and on themselves. The leader telling stories about these areas of impact can be helpful.
A major way in which leaders make work highly meaningful is to provide subordinates with the opportunity to lead projects or task forces. Performancebased cash incentives were also found to be effective. Another illustrative way in which leaders can facilitate employee engagement is to provide them feedback on their progress (as based on diary reports from workers in many project teams and industries).
C. Relationship with the Leader and Employee Engagement
A human resources consultant says that managers can engage their workers by seeing them as whole people and having courageous conversations that will build trust and see what is really going on. Learning soft skills also helps because they can have a hard impact. A specific technique leaders can use to engage employees is to initiate career discussions.
A study in Brazil found that an employee’s unique relationship with their leader creates follower engagement. A key finding was that LMX contributed more to worker engagement than did transformational leadership. Another study found that based on 12,000 diary entries, a feeling of making progress was the key employee engagement among these workers.
A promising new understanding of how leaders influence subordinates to become engaged is through the energy people derive from a positive relationship with the leader (relational energy).
II. EXPECTANCY THEORY AND MOTIVATIONAL SKILLS
Expectancy theory incorporates features of other motivation theories and offers the leader many guidelines for triggering and sustaining constructive effort from group members.
The expectancy theory of motivation is based on the premise that the effort people expend depends on the reward they expect in return. The theory assumes that people choose among alternatives by selecting the one they think they have the best chance of attaining. Furthermore, they choose the alternative that appears to have the biggest personal payoff.
A Basic Components of Expectancy Theory
All versions of expectancy theory have three major components.
1. Valence is the worth or attractiveness of an outcome. Each outcome in a work situation has a valence of its own. Valences range from –100 to +100 in the version shown here. A valence of –100 reflects intense desire to escape an outcome, whereas +100 indicates intense desire for an outcome. A zero valence reflects indifference.
2. Instrumentality is the probability assigned by the individual that performance will lead to certain outcomes. An outcome is anything that might stem from performance, such as a reward. An instrumentality is also referred to as a performance-to-outcome expectancy because it reflects the link between performance and outcomes. Each outcome has a valence of its own.
3 Expectancy is the probability assigned by the individual that effort will lead to performing the task correctly. It is also referred to as effort-to-performance expectancy. If you have high self-efficacy (the confidence in your ability to carry out a specific task) your motivation will be high. An apparent contradiction in expectancy theory requires explanation: People will engage in low-probability behaviors provided that the valence is extraordinarily high.
B. Leadership Skills and Behaviors Associated with Expectancy Theory
Expectancy theory has many implications for leaders and managers with respect to motivating others. Some of these implications would also stem from other motivational theories and would fit good management practice in general.
1 Determine what levels and kinds of performance are needed to achieve organizational goals.
2. Make the performance level attainable by the individuals being motivated.
3. Train and encourage people.
4 Make explicit the link between rewards and performance.
5. Make sure the rewards are desirable enough.
6. Analyze what factors work in opposition to the effectiveness of the reward.
7. Explain the meaning and implications of second-level outcomes.
8 Understand individual differences in valences.
III. GOAL THEORY
Goal setting is a basic process that is directly or indirectly part of all major theories of work motivation. The core finding of goal theory is as follows: Individuals who are provided with specific, hard goals perform better than those who are given easy, nonspecific, “do your best” goals or no goals. At the same time, however, the individual must have sufficient ability, accept the goal, and receive feedback related to the task.
A. Basic Findings of Goal Theory
Behavior is regulated by values and goals. A goal is what a person is trying to accomplish. Following are consistent findings from goal theory:
1. Specific goals lead to higher performance than do generalized goals.
2. Performance generally improves in direct proportion to goal difficulty. Stretch goals lead to improved organizational effectiveness and professional development. Goals that are too difficult can be frustrating, yet powerful goals can be inspirational. These powerful goals, which often relate to a noble cause, can be divided into subgoals to facilitate attainment.
3. For goals to improve performance, the worker must accept them. (Laboratory experiments suggest, however, that the importance of commitment may be overrated.)
4 Goals are more effective when they are used to evaluate performance.
5. Goals should be linked to feedback and rewards. Rewarding people for reaching goals is perhaps the best-accepted principle of management.
Group goal setting is as important as individual goal setting.
7 A learning-goal orientation (wanting to learn) improves performance more than does a performing-goal orientation (wanting to look good).
A meta-analysis of 76 different results about the impact of goals on group performance supported the findings just presented. In addition, it was found that egocentric goals aimed at maximizing individual performance had a negative impact on group performance. Decade-long research with 8,000 manufacturers in 20 countries found that when management supports long-term goals with tough but achievable short-term performance benchmarks (or goals), the organization is more likely to be profitable.
B. The Importance of How Goals Are Attained and Other Concerns.
A major concern about using goals to motivate performance is that leaders, as well as other workers, will take unethical and dysfunctional shortcuts to attain their goals. To implement goal setting without creating dysfunctions, it is therefore essential to specify how the goals will be attained with a particular focus on ethical behavior. A striking example of the problems with goals was when Wells Fargo CEO Stumpf emphasized cross-selling, or pushing account holders to open new accounts with the bank. A negative result of the sales goals was that Wells Fargo representatives opened many accounts for customers without their consent. Too much focus on goals can also lead to the neglect of emergencies and new opportunities.
The warning label about goals is humorous and insightful, as follows: “Goals can cause systematic problems in organizations due to narrowed focus, increased risk taking, unethical behavior, inhibited learning, decreased cooperation, and decreased intrinsic motivation. Use care when applying goals in your organization.”
IV. USING RECOGNITION AND PRIDE TO MOTIVATE OTHERS
Motivating others by awarding recognition and praise can be considered a direct application of positive reinforcement. Recognition is a strong motivator because it is a normal human need. Tony Schwartz says nothing influences employees’ engagement as the feeling that they are genuinely cared for and valued by their leaders. Yet most workers feel that they do not receive enough recognition. An APA study found that only 46 percent of employees are satisfied with the recognition practices of their employers. David Novak, the former CEO of Yum Brands, believes that he helped turn the company’s fortunes around by emphasizing recognition.
A Appealing to the Recognition Need of Others
To appeal to the recognition need of others, identify a meritorious behavior and then recognize the behavior with an oral, written, or material reward.
Because recognition is low cost or no cost, it has an enormous return on investment in comparison to a cash bonus. A Dale Carnegie principle of leadership supports recognition: “… be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.”
Suggestions for the motivational use of recognition and praise include: (1) Link recognition to corporate values, and use it to help employees attain personal goals. (2) Inform others in the group and outside about the meritorious behavior. (3) Do not use praise to set employees in competition against one another. (4) Take into account the individual’s preference for the type of praise. For example, highly technical people prefer a laid-back, factual statement of how their work made a contribution instead of general praise.
B. Recognizing Group Members by Thanking them and Expressing Gratitude
As gratitude specialist Adrian Gostic says, “It’s vital to pay people appropriately, but there is only so much money to go around. That makes gratitude all the more meaningful and useful as a leadership tool.” Showing gratitude is sometimes difficult because it can make managers as uncomfortable to praise employees as to criticize them.
A field research project revealed that people underestimated how good their compliment would make the recipients feel, and how much it would contribute to the recipient’s sense of well-being. Another way to show appreciation and gratitude for motivational purposes is to begin team meetings with shout-outs for accomplishments of specific team members.
C Appealing to Pride
Recognition for a job well done helps satisfy the desire to feel proud. Giving workers an opportunity to experience pride can be a strong internal motivator that also grants recognition. Workers can also experience pride in relation to recognition symbols. Katzenbach said the leader should place the compass on pride, not money. The manager should celebrate “steps” (attaining small goals) as much as the “landings” (the major goal). Small achievements instill pride.
V. COACHING AS AN APPROACH TO MOTIVATION
Effective leaders are good coaches, and good coaches are effective motivators. Although high-level leaders coach less, there is a coaching component at all levels of leadership. A survey suggests that many managers are falling down by failing to coach, including feedback and guidance. Coaching is a way of enabling others to act and build on their strengths. Coaching often increases productivity.
A. Key Characteristics of Coaching
Coaching might be explained as the art of management. The purpose of the coaching interaction is to help the employee learn from the job in order to his help his or her development. Coaching requires trust on the part of both people in the relationship. Effective coaching focuses on the growth and development of people, rather than telling them what to do in a given situation.
Coaching offers concrete advantages, such as higher motivation and the personal development of the people who are coached.
VI. COACHING SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES
Coaching skills are important because coaching is a direct way of influencing group members. If implemented with skill, the following suggestions will improve the chances that coaching will lead to improved performance.
1 Define the issues and communicate clear expectations to group members.
2. Build relationships.
3. Give feedback on specific areas that require improvement.
4. Provide regular on-the-spot feedback on what is going well.
5 Listen actively.
6. Help remove obstacles.
7 Give emotional support and empathy. (Use positive rather than negative motivators. Displaying empathy is a form of emotional support.)
8. Work on a solution together.
9. Reflect content or meaning.
10 Give gentle advice and guidance.
11. Allow for modeling of desired performance and behavior.
12. Gain a commitment to change.
13. Applaud good results.
A year-long study was conducted of coaching skill with 1,246 sales representatives in 136 teams in a pharmaceutical company. Coaching skill was rated by both the managers’ direct bosses and their regional supervisors. It was found that the manager’s coaching skill was directly related to attaining the sales goals of their subordinates.
VII. EXECUTIVE COACHING AND LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS
Executive coaching is a one-to-one developmental process formally contracted between a coach and a management-level client to help achieve goals related to professional development and/or business performance. Today, people from a wide variety of backgrounds become executive coaches, as well as career coaches and life coaches.
A. Specific Forms of Assistance Provided by Executive Coaches
Executive coaches help managers become more effective leaders by helping them in a variety of ways. Nine examples of assistance offered by executive coaches are:
• Helping corporate stars attain peak performance, such as discovering that the leader has untapped creativity and imagination.
• Counseling the leader about weaknesses, such as being too hostile or impatient, that could interfere with effectiveness.
• Serving as a sounding board when the leader faces a complex decision about strategy, operations, or human resource issues.
• Making specific suggestions about self-promotion and image enhancement, including suggestions about appearance and mannerisms.
• Helping the leader achieve a better balance between work and family life, thereby having more energy for the leadership role.
• Serving as a trusted confidante to discuss uncomfortable issues.
• Giving advice about career management, such as developing a career path.
• Strengthening the executive’s strategic decision-making skills by helping them think more broadly about issues and appreciate how their actions will affect the organizational system.
• Serving as a coach to the entire team helps guide the team to insights into their behavior as it affects performance, and helps improve the teamwork.
The leader/manager’s employer usually hires the executive coach. A refinement of individual coaching is for the coach to work with both the individual and his or her
work associates. The coach will solicit feedback from the group members, as well as involve them in helping the manager improve.
B. Contributions and Concerns about Executive Coaching
Executive coaching often attains the outcomes already mentioned. A potential drawback of executive coaching is that advice and suggestions may backfire because they do not fit the culture. Also, the coach may not recognize a mental health problem, and that they delve into areas that should be the province of mental health professionals. Another ethical problem is that the leader/manager may become too dependent on the coach when making decisions.
VIII.GUIDELINES FOR ACTION AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT
Despite all the hype, there appears to be an optimum amount of engagement for leaders and their subordinates. Studies have found that highly engaged workers tend to suffer from work interfering with personal life, including the development of heart problems.
The leader/manager should keep in mind available forms of recognition because recognition can be such a relatively low cost yet highly effective motivator. For the recognition technique to work well, it should have high valence for the person or group under consideration. Forms of recognition include (a) compliments, (b) comradeship with the boss, (c) a pat on the back or handshake, (d) public expression of appreciation, (e) distributing positive customer comment, and (f) a recognition gift such as a watch. Changing the form of recognition from time to time adds extra punch.
[return to top]
Comments on Experiential Exercises
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 10-1: My Work Engagement Tendencies
Students who are not currently working might relate the statements in the quiz to a past position, even entry-level work. Most statements in the quiz are key symptoms of work engagement, such as Number 12, “I really care about the welfare of my company.” (The selfemployed should have no struggle with the answer to this item!)
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 10-1: Collecting Live Data on Worker Engagement
An exercise of this nature is inherently interesting to the majority of students. Students will most likely encounter some caustic comments about workers commitment to their job. Such comments should prove helpful in recognizing some of the leadership challenges in helping make work meaningful for employees.
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 10-2: How Meaningful Is My Work?
This quiz about the meaningfulness of work should appeal to many students. If the person taking the quiz concludes that work is meaningful, may years of job satisfaction lie ahead. If the person taking the quiz concludes that work is not meaningful, it might be time to search for ways to make the work more meaningful, or to search for more meaningful work.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 10-2:
Recognition for Outstanding Performance
Here is an opportunity to practice one of the most effective motivational skills bestowing deserved recognition. Given that the recipients of the recognition are highly intelligent, technical people, at least some recognition should be specific at about what was accomplished. Here is a possibility: “You fought off the ransomware attack and saved our company about $3 million. Equally important, your efforts stave off a possible delay in the delivery of our lifesaving drugs.”
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 10-3: The Application of Goal Theory
This modest exercise in goal theory gives students an opportunity to implement one of the leader/manager’s most important tasks helping group members establish effective goals. The most challenging part of this assignment is to set goals that fit the basics of goal theory, such as clarifying how the group members will be rewarded for attaining goals. Instead, the focus is on setting effective goal that lead to a more productive company. An example of a goal would be “Reduce products that need to be scrapped by 5 percent for the next 12 months.”
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 10-3: How Much Do I Crave Recognition?
Understanding the intensity of your own recognition need can help you appreciate that many other people also have a strong need for recognition. Also, thinking through the recognition need helps reinforce the relevance of this motivator.
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 10-4: Characteristics of an Effective Coach
An important purpose of this activity is to emphasize the importance of having the right characteristics to be an effective coach. Some students will recognize the importance of developing certain personal characteristics in order to become an effective coach.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 10-4: Coaching for Improved Performance
As in all role plays, students need encouragement to use some of the ideas in the text rather than simply using their present skills and knowledge. Students usually enjoy this type of role play because it reflects the day-by-day reality of being a manager or a leader.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 10-5: My Leadership Portfolio
This portfolio entry should prove quite useful for students because many have not yet developed the skill of bestowing recognition and praise. A major part of being a good coach and motivator is to learn the art of recognition. The same skill will likely add to the student’s charisma.
[return to top]
Comments on Discussion Questions and Activities
1. Elizabeth Gaines, CEO of Fortescue Metals Group, located in Australia, claims that women leaders are the key to helping the company attain stretch goals. Do you think that Gaines is engaging in sexist thinking?
If Gaines has reached an accurate conclusion, she is not sexist in her thinking because sexist thinking bases conclusions on gender rather than performance or behavior. Yet a
pronouncement by a CEO that women are better than men, or men are better than woman, is an aspect of performance comes across as sexist. Many people would object if Gaines had said something like “Men are the key to helping the company attain stretch goals.”
2. Why should a leader be concerned about employee engagement when almost all of their direct reports are corporate professionals?
The purpose of answering this question is to raise awareness that there is not a one-toone relationship between engagement and job level. Workers at any level can feel unengaged, such as a financial analyst not feeling that thework in calculating risk on junk bonds is meaningful. The leader should therefore be concerned about the work engagement level for corporate professionals.
3. To what extent would the amount of financial compensation you receive in a position influence your level of engagement?
Theories about intrinsic motivation suggest that the nature of the work is more important than external rewards such as compensation in influencing engagement. Yet, the influence of financial compensation cannot be dismissed. If a person is highly paid, the work might appear more meaningful. Getting back to the junk bond specialist mentioned above, if the person is paid more highly, the person might think that junk bonds make a large contribution to society.
4. Identify several outcomes you expect from occupying a leadership position. What valences do you attach to them?
The discussion in Chapter 1 about the satisfactions and frustrations of being a leader might help jog the student’s thinking about both positive and negative outcomes associated with being a leader. Valences are a personal matter, but outcomes with high positive valence include power, status, and high income. Outcomes with negative valence might include long hours, time away from family and friends, and receiving so much criticism.
5. Explain which aspects of expectancy theory do you think would be useful to you as a leader.
The entire discussion of expectancy theory in this chapter is geared toward information that should be useful to a leader. Two items at the top of the list are valence and instrumentality. The leader should choose rewards that are valuable to group members, and the leader should assure group members that good performance will result in attaining the desired rewards.
6. Give an example of a noble cause the plant manager of a division that manufactures paperclips might use to motivate workers.
A noble cause for the paperclip plant manager is that the plant is providing a low-cost way of organizing paper for workers and students that has endured a long series of changes in technology. Furthermore, the venerable paperclip has survived countless attempts to change its nature. To add to the noble cause of the paperclip, it provides some stability in life. We don’t have to learn something new every few years to use a paperclip.
7. For purposes of recognition, many companies gift watches, clocks, and shirts with a company logo embedded. What do you think of the effectiveness of this form of recognition?
For a small segment of the workforce, the standard recognition fare of watches, clocks, and shirts with a company logo embedded would be effective. Such individuals would be proud of this form of recognition. This same group of people is likely to be strongly loyal to the company. For many other people, the same forms of recognition are likely to be perceived as unsophisticated, hokey, and uncool. As a result, the watches, clocks, and sport shirts would fail to be effective vehicles for recognition.
8. Imagine that you are a hospital administrator told that a custodial worker just saved the life of a patient who was choking on a pretzel. What type of recognition would you give this custodial worker?
We suspect most students would want to shower the custodial worker with recognition. Among the possibilities would be to use one or more of the following: publicize the rescue on the hospital website, post a photo of the custodial worker and the rescued patient, write the worker a special note of praise, give the worker a cash award, and hold a special luncheon.
9. Imagine that you have a couple of extra-high-performers reporting to you who are carrying out all their job responsibilities in a superior manner. What kind of coaching might you conduct with these people?
Although counterintuitive, the best performers are frequently those most receptive to coaching. Superior performers are often amenable to discuss about how they could enhance their performance even more. For example, an outstanding debt collector might be coached about new techniques in the field that could raise their percentage of recovered debt.
10. Ask a manager to describe the amount of coaching that the manager does on the job. Be prepared to bring your findings back to class.
Managers will probably report a heavy incidence of coaching because they realize that they should be coaching. Also, many managers perceive themselves to be coaches because that is socially desirable.
[return to top]
Plausible Responses to Case Questions
Leadership Case Problem A: Firing Up the Commercial Uniform Team
The theme of this case is the use of praise to motivate and engage workers, as the case suggests, finding the right approach to praise might not be easy.
1. How well is Derrick praising his workers? What advice can you offer him to be more effective in his praise?
It appears that the praise Derrick administers is effective. Perhaps he could provide a few more specifics to justify his praise, such as positive feedback from a customer that he has heard.
2. Which statement of praise do you think was the most effective? Why?
The comment of praise to Hector was highly specific about what he does for the company: “Without you making timely stops at your customers, we have no business.” Specific praise is often quite effective in motivating workers.
3. Which statement of praise do you think was the least effective? Why?
The statement of praise to Kaitlin did not go over well, as evidenced by her quizzical look, and the comment “Good enough, Derrick, whatever you think.” It could be that the praise might have been interpreted as an observation of Kaitlin’s personal qualities rather than her job performance.
Associated Role Play
This role play is challenging because the recipients of the praise might have a different perception of their job performance than does Derrick. Praising Vanessa might be particularly difficult because she is expecting effusive praise. If the role player of Derrick is perceptive the role player will observe Vanessa’s facial expression to see how well the praise is being received. Derrick might need to justify why he gives her modest praise.
Leadership Case Problem B: Guiding Britany to Find Her Purpose
This case illustrates that it might be worthwhile for a manager to help an employee understand the purpose of that individual’s work. The case also illustrates that even a professional-level employee may not necessarily see a burning purpose to the job.
1. To what extent do you think that Britany has found a purpose that will keep her highly motivated?
Perhaps Britany has not found a grand purpose to keep her motivated on the job. Yet she borders on having a purpose by having focused on a career that will most likely bring her considerable satisfaction.
2. What would you recommend that Britany do to find a way to make her work more meaningful?
Hi Britant I recommend that you talk to some satisfied customers of Health Superb to see how your company’s services and products have changed lives in a positive direction. You might then be proud of your purpose in helping people develop a more positive self-image.
3. What is your opinion of whether or not Duncan is invading Britany’s privacy with his line of questioning?
Because the topic of finding a purpose in work has become so well accepted, we do not think Duncan is invading Britany’s privacy. His questions appear to be sufficiently jobrelated to avoid being an invasion of privacy. Yet students are welcome to their subjective opinion in response to this question.
Associated Role Play
As with many role plays in this textbook, here is another opportunity for a leader to conduct a discussion about an important topic with a direct report when the two have different opinions on the topic. Duncan believes that an employee should have a grand purpose, whereas Britany feels her purpose is mostly to add to the top and bottom line.
[return to top]
Additional Activities and Assignments
<narrative>
Read this blogpost and then answer the following questions about the power of reviews. http://community.cengage.com/GECResource2/info/b/management/archive/2017/05/23/th e-power-of-reviews
<question type="essay">
1. How can businesses best address negative reviews, and why?
ANS: Answers may vary.
REJ: Refer to the chapter “Motivation and Coaching Skills” for more information.
<metadata>
Difficulty: Moderate
LO: Describe goal theory.
Learning Objective Narrative: To increase a student’s understanding of how developing the right organizational goals can drive greater organizational success
A-head: Goal Theory
Bloom's: Understand
</metadata>
[return to top]
Appendix
Generic Rubrics
Providing students with rubrics helps them understand expectations and components of assignments. Rubrics help students become more aware of their learning process and progress, and they improve students’ work through timely and detailed feedback.
Customize these rubrics as you wish. The writing rubric indicates 40 points, and the discussion rubric indicates 30 points.
Standard Writing Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Content
Organization and Clarity
The assignment clearly and comprehensively addresses all questions in the assignment.
15 points
The assignment presents ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are logically related and consistent.
10 points
Research
Research
Grammar and Spelling
The assignment is based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature, including peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
5 points
The assignment follows the required citation guidelines.
5 points
The assignment has two or fewer grammatical and spelling errors.
5 points
The assignment partially addresses some or all questions in the assignment.
8 points
The assignment presents ideas in a mostly clear manner and with a mostly strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are mostly logically related and consistent.
7 points
The assignment is based upon adequate academic literature but does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
3 points
The assignment follows some of the required citation guidelines.
3 points
The assignment has three to five grammatical and spelling errors.
3 points
The assignment does not address the questions in the assignment.
0 points
The assignment does not present ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an introduction, content, and conclusion, but coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are not logically related and consistent.
0 points
The assignment is not based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature and does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
0 points
The assignment does not follow the required citation guidelines.
0 points
The assignment is incomplete or unintelligible.
0 points
Standard Discussion Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Participation
Contribution Quality
Submits or participates in discussion by the posted deadlines. Follows all assignment instructions for initial post and responses.
5 points
Comments stay on task. Comments add value to discussion topic. Comments motivate other students to respond.
20 points
Etiquette
Maintains appropriate language. Offers criticism in a constructive manner. Provides both positive and negative feedback.
5 points
Does not participate or submit discussion by the posted deadlines. Does not follow instructions for initial post and responses.
3 points
Comments may not stay on task. Comments may not add value to discussion topic. Comments may not motivate other students to respond.
10 points
Does not always maintain appropriate language. Offers criticism in an offensive manner. Provides only negative feedback.
3 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Purpose and Perspective of the Chapter
The purpose of this chapter is to assist readers in developing the creative problem-solving approach required to be an effective leader, and also to acquire knowledge about fostering creativity in the work unit and organization.
Chapter Objectives
The following objectives are addressed in this chapter:
11.01 Identify the steps in the creative process.
11.02 Identify characteristics of creative leaders and problem solvers.
11.03 Apply overcoming traditional thinking in order to become more creative.
11.04 Describe both organizational and individual approaches to enhance creative problem solving.
11.05 Articulate how the leader and the organization can establish a climate that fosters creativity.
11.06 Pinpoint several leadership practices that contribute to organizational innovation.
Complete List of Chapter Activities and Assessments
For additional guidance refer to the Teaching Online Guide.
Self-Assessment Quiz 11-1: The Creative Personality Test
Self-Assessment Quiz 11-2: The Intuitive ProblemSolving Quiz
Skill-Building Exercise 11-3: My Leadership Portfolio
Skill-Building Exercise 11-1: Two Brainstorming Sessions
Skill-Building Exercise 11-2: Choosing a Compelling Domain Name
Skill-Building Exercise 11-4: The Multimedia Presentation
Leadership Diagnostic Activity 11-1: Assessing the Climate for Creativity and Innovation
11.06 26, 27, 28
[return to top]
Key Terms
Creativity: The production of novel and useful ideas.
Experience of flow: An experience so engrossing and enjoyable that the task becomes worth doing for its own sake, regardless of the external consequences.
Innovation: The creation of new ideas and their implementation or commercialization.
Intuition: An experienced-based way of knowing or reasoning in which the weighing and balancing of evidence are done unconsciously and automatically.
[return to top]
What's New in This Chapter
The following elements are improvements and additions in this chapter from the previous edition:
• Link between curiosity and creativity
• The relevance of the co-existence of intuition and data analytics
• How constraints contribute to creativity
• Brainstorming remotely
• Overcoming the self-perception of not being creative
• Getting advice from someone outside your field to enhance creativity
• The use of cultural brokerage to enhance creativity in cross-cultural groups
• Questioning traditional beliefs or orthodoxies to enhance innovation
• Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 11-2: Choosing a Compelling Domain Name
[return to top]
Chapter Outline
The purpose of this chapter is to assist readers in developing the creative problem-solving approach required to be an effective leader, and also to acquire knowledge about fostering creativity in the work unit and organization.
[return to top]
Chapter Outline and Lecture Notes
Creative problem solving is an important requirement for effective leadership at every organizational level. The role of a creative leader is to bring into existence ideas and things that did not exist previously, or that existed in a different form. Innovation refers to creating new ideas and their implementation or commercialization.
I STEPS IN THE CREATIVE PROCESS
An important part of becoming more creative involves understanding the stages involved in creativity, the production of novel and useful ideas.
Step one in creativity is opportunity or problem recognition, in which the person discovers that a new opportunity exists or a problem needs resolution. Step two is immersion, in which the individual concentrates on the problem and becomes immersed in it. Step three is incubation, in which the person keeps the assembled information in the back of the mind for a while. Step four is insight, when the problem-conquering solution flashes into the mind at an unexpected time. The “aha!” moment usually arrives after hours of thought and study. Step five is verification and application, when the individual sets out to prove that the creative solution has merit.
II CHARACTERISTICS OF CREATIVE LEADERS
Creative leaders, like creative workers of all types, differ in many ways from their less creative counterparts. Creative leaders challenge the status quo and are flexible enough to overcome the traditional way of looking at problems.
A Knowledge. Creative problem solving requires a broad background of information, including facts and observations. Being creative often involves combining two or more concepts in a new way.
B. Cognitive Abilities. Creative problem solvers have characteristically well aboveaverage intelligence. They maintain a youthful curiosity throughout their lives, within and outside their fields. Creative people are good at divergent thinking, but also know when to narrow the choices. A hallmark of a creative businessperson’s intellect is to spot opportunities that others might overlook. Creativity in business requires a blend of left-brain and right-brain thinking. Recent neuroscience research suggests that developing original ideas is a process and not something that stems from one side of the brain.
A major contributor to creative thinking is intuition—an experienced-based way of knowing or reasoning in which weighing and balancing evidence are done unconsciously and automatically. The “aha!” experience is an example of intuition.
C. Personality. Creative people tend to have a positive self-image without being blindly self-confident. They also have the ability to tolerate the isolation necessary for developing ideas. Creative people are frequently nonconformists, not needing strong group approval. Groupthink (consensus at any cost) can discourage innovation. Creative people are also intellectual thrill seekers, persistent, and enjoy dealing with ambiguity and chaos.
D. Passion for the Task and the Experience of Flow. A dominant characteristic of creative people is a passion for their work, or high intrinsic motivation. Passion for the task and high intrinsic motivation contribute to a total absorption in the work and intense concentration, the experience of flow
The formula B = f (P × E) is relevant here. (The formula refers to behavior being a function of the person and the environment,) Certain personal characteristics may facilitate a leader’s being creative, but the right environment is necessary to trigger creative behavior.
III. OVERCOMING TRADITIONAL THINKING AS A CREATIVITY STRATEGY
Creative problem solving requires an ability to overcome traditional thinking. The creative person often looks at problems in a new light and transcends conventional thinking about them. The central task in becoming creative is to break down rigid thinking that blocks new ideas. The process of overcoming traditional thinking has been characterized in several ways. The most familiar is that a creative person thinks outside the box.
A caution about thinking outside the box is that workers still need some constraints as to how far outside the box they are permitted to think. Effective project leaders establish parameters and point people in the right direction for idea generation. Shawn Coyne contends that when people are told to think outside the box with no constraints, they quickly become overwhelmed by the unlimited scope of the task. Donald Sull adds that to attain more disciplined innovation, organizational leaders need to add a few simple rules for innovation. Imagination is still required to think outside the box within the constraints of a required framework.
IV. ORGANIZATIONAL METHODS TO ENHANCE CREATIVITY
Here we describe several creativity-enhancing methods, including a review of brainstorming. The leader plays a dual role in implementing creative problem-solving techniques: facilitating group interaction and providing a fair share of creative output.
A. Systematically Collecting Fresh Ideas
The more ideas you try, the greater the probability of finding one that works.
1. Straightforward collection of ideas. A notable way of collecting fresh ideas is for employees to furnish them to a company database, so when somebody needs a fresh idea it can be assessed through a company search engine. Another approach is for leadership to engage more of its own staff in the search for innovation.
2. Establishing idea quotas. To facilitate fresh ideas, the leader/manager can establish idea quotas, such as asking staff members to bring one new idea to each meeting. Idea quotas become a goal, and the environmental need of a quota is an excellent creativity stimulant.
3. Make whiteboards regularly available for sketching ideas. A wide range of companies encourage employees to doodle their ideas and draw diagrams to explain complicated concepts to colleagues in fields such as information technology, retailing, and real estate.
4. Granting tinkering time. A formal policy approach for collecting fresh ideas is to allocate an amount or percentage of time for employees to think and experiment. Both Google and 3M have restricted tinkering time a little but the concept remains.
B Brainstorming
Brainstorming is the best-known method for creativity improvement (as well as for creative problem solving). To encourage creativity during the idea-generating part of
brainstorming, potential solutions are not criticized or evaluated in any way. The Intellectual Ventures team focuses on the goal of attaining ideas worthy of a patent. Make sure that participants are prepared for brainstorming by studying the problem beforehand. In-depth expertise on the subject may be as important as diversity in generating ideas. Brainstorming can be conducted remotely as well as in person. Much like other creative-problem solving techniques, brainstorming works best in an organizational culture that fosters innovation.
Make sure that participants are prepared for brainstorming by studying the problem beforehand. In-depth expertise on the subject may be as important as diversity in generating ideas.
Brainstorming, much like other creative, problem-solving techniques, works best in an organizational culture that fosters innovation.
C. The Morality of Enhancing Creativity
Gerald Sindell emphasizes the need for creative workers to place their work in a moral context. Every idea and product has potential harmful consequences in minor and major ways. An example would be the many unintended negative consequence of smartphones, including distracted driving and wasted time at work. Creative workers should imagine all the possible misuses of an innovation and then take steps to limit the damage from the misuses.
V. SELF-HELP TECHNIQUES TO ENHANCE CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING
All creative problem-solving techniques aim to increase mental flexibility. The six strategies and techniques described here supplement the organizational programs described previously.
A. Overcome the Self-Perception That You Are Not Creative
Although true that some people in all fields are highly creative, creative-thinking ability is really on a continuum, like problem-solving ability. A person who has exhibited very little or no creativity in the past can begin improving by exploring alternatives to a problem.
B. Practice Creativity-Enhancing Exercises
An established way of sharpening creative thinking is to engage regularly in activities that encourage flexible thinking. Among such activities are creative photography, asking yourself “What-if” questions, puzzles, joke writing, and learning a second language. An example of a “What-if” question is “What would happen if all consumers in the world refused to buy anything for three days?”
C. Stay Alert to Opportunities
The ability to spot opportunities that other people overlook characterizes creative leaders. Opportunity seeking is associated with entrepreneurial leadership because the entrepreneur might build an organization around an unmet consumer need.
D. Maintain an Enthusiastic Attitude Including Being Happy
Creative thinking calls for a positive attitude. Yet a leader must sometimes be judicial (or judgmental) rather than imaginative. The leader is advised to attempt to think positively even about judicial tasks. Being in the right mood facilitates creativity. Perfectionism can block creativity. An analysis of diaries showed that workers are more likely to have a breakthrough idea if they were happy the day before.
E. Maintain and Use a Systematic Place for Recording Your Ideas
Creative ideas can lead to breakthroughs for your group and your career, so they deserve the dignity of a separate notebook, computer file, or entry on your smartphone. It is recommended to keep two copies of the ideas, one at home and one in the office.
F. Get Advice from Someone Outside Your Field
When attempting to find a creative solution to a complex and major problem, it can help to seek advice from someone outside your field. These “outsiders” might offer a perspective that you and other “insiders” are overlooking and think is too obvious.
G. Play the Roles of Explorer, Artist, Judge, and Lawyer
Be an explorer by getting ideas from people in different fields. Be an artist by stretching your imagination, which includes asking what-if questions. Be a judge by critically evaluating ideas. Play the role of a lawyer by negotiating and finding ways to implement your ideas within your field or place of work.
H. Engage in Appropriate Physical Exercise
Engaging in physical exercise is a well-accepted method of stimulating creativity. The surfacing of creative thoughts while exercising relates to the steps of immersion and incubation. Also, physical exercise pumps more blood and oxygen into the brain.
I. Solicit Feedback on Your performance
Even if you are not asking for feedback on creative suggestions exclusively, the feedback process is likely to sharpen your imagination. A study in a management consulting firm found that employees who asked for feedback directly and sought out for indirect feedback tend to be rated more highly on displaying creativity.
VI. ESTABLISHING A CLIMATE FOR CREATIVE THINKING
In addition to being a creative individual, a leader must establish a climate conducive to creative problem solving. A foundation step for fostering organizational creativity is to establish a vision and mission that include creativity. The leader also needs the right organizational culture, and extensive use of the techniques described in this chapter.
A. Foster a Culture or Originality
The larger the number of workers who think originally, the more likely that innovation will take place. According to Adam Grant, workers must first generate multiple ideas. Second, other innovators judge the merits of an idea. Third, workers solicit ideas from individuals rather than groups because individuals are the best source of ideas. Fourth, strike the right balance between cohesion and dissent.
B Leadership Practices for Enhancing Creativity
Nine leadership and managerial practices are particularly helpful in fostering creative thinking.
1. Hire creative people from the outside and identify creative people from within. If you want an innovative environment, hire innovative people.
2 Intellectual challenge. Stretch people intellectually without overwhelming them. Moderate time pressures can sometimes bring about the right amount of challenge.
3. Empower, including the freedom to choose the method. Research in China supports the idea that an empowering style of leadership facilitates worker creativity. Workers tend to be more creative when they are granted the freedom to choose which method is best for attaining a work goal. Stable goals are important.
4. Ample supply of the right resources. Time and money are the most important resources for enhancing creativity. Under some circumstances, setting a deadline will trigger creative thinking because it represents a favorable challenge.
5. Effective design of workgroups. Workgroups are most likely to be creative when they are mutually supportive and have a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives. Encouraging face-to-face contact is helpful, yet allowances must be made for people who work best alone.
6 Supervisory encouragement and linking innovation to performance. Developing a permissive atmosphere that encourages people to think freely is the most important step for bringing about creative problem solving. Supervisory leaders should promote the idea that innovative thinking improves performance.
7. Organizational support and leader encouragement. The entire organization as well as the immediate manager should support creativity, including a reward system with recognition and financial incentives.
8. Have favorable exchanges with creative workers. A study with 191 research and development specialists found a positive relationship between LMX ratings and creativity of workers as measured by supervisory ratings.
9. Give financial rewards for innovation. Creativity is self-rewarding to some extent because it is so exciting. Nevertheless, financial rewards for contributions to innovation help sustain a climate of innovation. Financial rewards for creativity are widespread in industry and universities. Recent research with high-tech teams suggests that financial inducements are also important for enhancing creativity of groups.
C Methods of Managing Creative Workers
Choosing effective methods for managing creative workers is also important. Suggestions are as follows:
1. Give creative people tools and resources that allow their work to stand out.
2 Give creative people flexibility and a minimum amount of structure.
3. Give gentle feedback when turning down an idea.
4 Employ creative people to manage and evaluate creative workers.
VII LEADERSHIP PRACTICES FOCUSED SPECIFICALLY ON ENHANCING INNOVATION
All leadership and management practices that enhance creative problem solving enhance innovation. Consider the following:
1. Emphasize transformational leadership if possible.
2. Continually pursue innovation.
3. Question traditional beliefs or orthodoxies.
4. Recognize that small scale innovations can have a major payoff.
5. Take risks and encourage risk taking.
6. Emphasize collaboration among employees.
7. Avoid innovation for its own sake.
8 Use loose-tight leadership.
VIII GUIDELINES FOR ACTION AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT
Being perceived as creative could have a downside in terms of being promoted. The imaginative person who wants to climb the leadership ladder should frequently remind others in a subtle way that the person is business oriented.
All innovation does not stem from customer desires and suggestions, as often revealed in a focus group. True product leadership, however, can sometimes stem from offering a new product or service consumers never thought they wanted or needed. The product leader’s own intuition can sometimes be the source of profitable innovation. (Thank you, Steve Jobs and Henry Ford.)
[return to top]
Comments on Experiential Exercises
Leadership Self-Assessment
Quiz 11-1: The Creative Personality Test
Based on experience with thousands of students, we believe that this quiz contributes to assessing a person’s current level of mental flexibility and creative attitudes. We doubt that a person with good self-objectivity who scored high on this test would fail to have strong creative tendencies.
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 11-2: The Intuitive Problem-Solving Style Quiz
In recent years, the contribution of intuition to creativity as well as decision-making in general has been assigned more importance. This quiz therefore offers value in sensitizing the student to the relevance of intuition for leadership. The opposite point of view is that leaders must strive at all times to be highly analytical and rational.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 11-1: Two Brainstorming Scenarios
The brainstorming scenarios presented here are likely to be intrinsically interesting to many students.
Here is an exercise with high appeal, lending itself to creativity, innovative thinking and humor. We emphasize checking the Internet to see if the name is already taken, because it shows how frequently a creative idea has already been thought of by somebody else. Count on your students to perform superbly in this exercise.
B. The Next Billion-Dollar Brand
The Next Billion-Dollar Brand part of the exercise is has heavy applied value. Worth noting is whether a person who thought he or she really had a good idea for the next billion-dollar brand would be willing to share the idea. A feature of this exercise is that it places the constraints on the creative thinkers of coming up with ideas in the category (“space” to be cool) of food and beverages.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 11-2: Choosing a Compelling Domain Name
A subtle aspect of this highly applied creativity and skill-building exercise is the demonstration that useful originality is not easy. For example, it might be original to use the domain name “TroubledVehicles.com” for a used-car chain, but the term would be too negative to be useful. Quite often the most logical and useful domain names have already been taken, providing extra challenge to this exercise.
Leadership Diagnostic Activity 11-1: Assessing the Climate for Innovation
Students with significant work experience will find this questionnaire most meaningful. However, relating the questionnaire to school experience can also be enlightening.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 11-3: My Leadership Portfolio
A highly practical outcome of this portfolio exercise is that it results in recording innovative ideas, reinforcing one of the self-help suggestions made in the chapter. The portfolio activity is also useful in sensitizing the student to the importance of being mindful of opportunities to be creative.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 11-4: The Multimedia Presentation
Although completing this project would be time consuming, the end-product would be exciting. Students tend to be at their best in this type of glitzy presentation, and executing the project would be yet another opportunity to practice creativity.
[return to top]
Comments on Discussion Questions and Activities
1. After reading the chapter opener and Leader in Action insert, what do the stories tell you about the suitability of leaders with a business background to be leaders of product innovation?
Both stories suggest strongly that people with a business background can be leaders in product innovation. James M. Loree at Stanley Black & Decker majored in economics and had a business background. Bridget Van Kralingen at IBM (now retired) began her career as an industrial and organizational psychologist, a field closely aligned with business.
2. How might a leader being highly creative inspire subordinates?
A highly creative leader might inspire subordinates in several ways. First, the leader’s creativity might serve as a model for subordinates to also be creative. Second, the leader might be admired for being creative, and admiration contributes to inspiration. Third, a creative leader can facilitate the group believing that it is a winning group and therefore an inspired group.
3. Assume that you are the leader of the paperclip manufacturing division of a company. Do you think it would be worth your time, and that of your group, to attempt to improve the design and intended use of the paperclip?
The design and use of paperclips have remained stable for many years, but who knows when a disruptive design will emerge? It is therefore probably worth some time to spend some research and development time on a new type of paperclip. We have already seen many incremental modifications such as plastic paper clips, solid-color paperclips, striped paperclips, and paperclips in different sizes and designs.
4. In what way does your present program of study contribute to your ability to solve problems creatively?
Almost any program of study facilitates the student’s amassing a base of useful facts that might later serve as the database for creative thought. In addition, some programs of study offer ample opportunity for creative thought, such as studying the problemsolving process. Still other programs give students a chance to solve unstructured field problems, such as analyzing live business opportunities.
5. The opinion has often been expressed that too much emphasis on teamwork inhibits creativity. What do you think of this argument?
The argument that too much teamwork inhibits creativity is sometimes true. Attempting to satisfy the demands of teammates can often mean not pushing forward with an idea of one’s own. A good team member will often build on the ideas of others rather than push for acceptance of the person’s own idea. Another relevant point is that the Japanese emphasis on teamwork and group harmony often results in workers who are better at imitation than at innovation. There are many counterarguments to these two points.
6. Describe a leadership situation in which you think a leader being a creative thinker would be more important than the person being charismatic.
In some situations, the group has an urgent need for an idea, and the need for that idea is more important that the need to be inspired by a charismatic leader. Inspiration may lead to creative ideas in the intermediate term or long term, but the group needs a good idea right now. Perhaps a small company needs an idea for a new product right now because its present product or service has become obsolete. Or, a restaurant is facing a sudden decline in customers and needs a new motif in a hurry.
7. Several people have written that refrigeration was one of the most important innovations of all time. Why might this opinion be true?
It might be difficult for people who regard refrigeration as natural as electricity to think of the former as an innovation. Yet refrigeration might have even been responsible for the population growth of the southern United States, geographically dispersed tourism, and the proliferation of supermarkets. Exporting and importing perishable food has been made possible because of refrigeration.
An amusing slant about the disruption created by refrigeration would be to see if the parents, grandparents or great grand-parents of any class member would describe the
nature of an “ice box,” or the occupation of “ice man.” (Apologies for the sexist language, but ice-people were referred to as ice-men when the occupation existed.) Ice is still delivered to stores and restaurants, but is accomplished by truck drivers.
8. What do you think the next creative breakthrough in business will be that will rival ecommerce and mobile phones in importance? (Loads of product planners and business leaders are waiting for your answer.)
The student who has a plausible response to this question might not want to share the idea, but instead might want to capitalize on the breakthrough idea. Many high-tech companies, including Microsoft and DuPont, have at least one team assigned the task of finding the next breakthrough idea. A possible breakthrough idea would be an inexpensive way of converting garbage into energy for heating and cooling homes and workplaces. Another breakthrough idea close to reality is a computer without a keyboard for people who prefer to speak than write. Another possibility would be a device as small as a toaster that would use solar energy to heat homes and buildings.
9. Assuming that you are convinced that creativity is a legitimate part of a leader’s role, what percent of your working time do you think you should invest in creative thinking? Explain your reasoning.
Considering that most leaders have many demands on their time, not much time is available for thinking about creative improvements. Yet, a small amount of time can have a great payoff. Devoting even about three percent of a leader’s time to creativity could have a big payoff. The reasoning is that one good idea can keep an individual or a firm going for years, such as thinking of an idea for a new product or service.
10 Speak to the most creative person you know in any field, and find out if that person uses any specific creativity-enhancing technique. Be prepared to bring your findings back to class.
Brainstorming is used so frequently that most of the people polled for answers to these questions are likely to say they use brainstorming. Mention of techniques other than brainstorming would be particularly valuable. For the majority of creative thinkers, their ideas stem from a highly focused method of searching for alternatives.
[return to top]
Plausible Responses to Case Questions
Leadership Case Problem A: The T-Shirt Production Innovators
This case illustrates how creative thinking in the form of spotting an opportunity can lead to the building of a business enterprise. Creative thinking was also required to refine and commercialize the business model.
1. In what way have the founders of Teespring demonstrated creative and innovative leadership?
The founders of Teespring have demonstrated creative and innovation leadership at its best. The partners took an idea from the Aha! Experience to becoming a viable enterprise. The partners also inspired thousands of people to buy into their model in terms of becoming customers.
2. In what way does Teespring provide its customers an opportunity to develop their creativity skills?
Customers must be creative if they want to earn any money form their tee-shirt ideas. The customers must think of a catchy idea, and then develop a marketing campaign to obtain customers for their tee-shirts. A creative challenge the would-be entrepreneurs face is to differentiate their product from the enormous variety of t-shirts on the market.
3. What is your evaluation of the prospects of Teespring being sustainable in the sense of lasting a long time as a business?
Teespring appears to have two key advantages in terms of lasting a long time as a business. First, the business model is excellent. Teespring provides other people an opportunity to market tee-shirts without Teespring risking much money. Second, even with competition, Teespring has the size and experience to remain a major player in this niche market.
Associated Role Play
This role play provides an opportunity to deal with problem of having one’s creative ide or business model challenged. Clayton and Willis are probably sufficiently successful and confident to accept negative feedback and process what is true. The role play also provides an opportunity for the role players to think critically about the sustainability of a successful business model without becoming defensive. The student who plays operations manager, nevertheless, must have a lot of courage.
Leadership Case Problem B: The Distressing Empty Storefronts
This case is yet another illustration of how innovative leadership would be required to solve a major problem. The empty storefront problem has no standard solution at present.
1. Explain if the Downtown Neighborhood Association has yet found a workable solution to the problem of too many empty storefronts in downtown.
The Downtown Neighborhood Association has found a couple of solutions that might at least nibble at the major problem. The first two solutions at least contribute to the problem of empty storefronts that generate no revenue. One is renting the storefront to an advertiser, and the other is renting to pop-up tenants.
2. What else might Audrey do in her leadership role to resolve the problem of empty storefronts?
Audrey might keep digging for more alternatives, such as those being implemented by mall operators. The new breed of mall tenants includes small medical clinic offices, government offices, and converted apartments. A mall, however, has a more appropriate physical setup for such uses than does a storefront.
3. What is your opinion of the impact of online shopping on retail vacancy rates?
Online retail sales are approaching 20 percent of all sales, strongly indicating that online shipping is a strong contributor to physical retail stores, especially boutiques, closing. A person leading an effort to decrease empty storefronts would have to take this ominous figure into account.
Associated Role Play
This role play deals with an important use of workplace creativity. Students will mostly likely enjoy participating in this brainstorming activity because they have probably witnessed the problem first hand. A YouTube search about empty storefronts can be a source of useful ideas to bring into the brainstorming session.
[return to top]
Additional Activities and Assignments
<narrative>
Read this blogpost and then answer the following questions about the Five Guys CEO’s lessons learned.
http://community.cengage.com/GECResource2/info/b/management/archive/2012/07/31/fiv e-guys-ceo-shares-lessons-learned
<question type="essay">
1. What does Jerry Murrell of Five Guys say is nearly impossible to do, and why?
ANS: Answers may vary
REJ: Refer to the chapter “Creativity, Innovation and Leadership” for more information.
<metadata>
Difficulty: Moderate
LO: Identify the steps in the creative process.
Learning Objective Narrative: To increase a student’s understanding of how creativity is crucial to competitive positioning and survival in the marketplace
A-head: Characteristics of Creative Leaders
Bloom's: Understand
</metadata>
[return to top]
Appendix
Generic Rubrics
Providing students with rubrics helps them understand expectations and components of assignments. Rubrics help students become more aware of their learning process and progress, and they improve students’ work through timely and detailed feedback.
Customize these rubrics as you wish. The writing rubric indicates 40 points, and the discussion rubric indicates 30 points.
Standard Writing Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Content
Organization and Clarity
The assignment clearly and comprehensively addresses all questions in the assignment.
15 points
The assignment presents ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are logically related and consistent.
10 points
Research
Research
Grammar and Spelling
The assignment is based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature, including peerreviewed journals and other scholarly work.
5 points
The assignment follows the required citation guidelines.
5 points
The assignment has two or fewer grammatical and spelling errors.
5 points
The assignment partially addresses some or all questions in the assignment.
8 points
The assignment presents ideas in a mostly clear manner and with a mostly strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are mostly logically related and consistent.
7 points
The assignment is based upon adequate academic literature but does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
3 points
The assignment follows some of the required citation guidelines.
3 points
The assignment has three to five grammatical and spelling errors.
3 points
The assignment does not address the questions in the assignment.
0 points
The assignment does not present ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an introduction, content, and conclusion, but coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are not logically related and consistent.
0 points
The assignment is not based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature and does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
0 points
The assignment does not follow the required citation guidelines.
0 points
The assignment is incomplete or unintelligible.
0 points
Standard Discussion Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Participation
Contribution Quality
Submits or participates in discussion by the posted deadlines. Follows all assignment. instructions for initial post and responses.
5 points
Comments stay on task. Comments add value to discussion topic. Comments motivate other students to respond.
20 points
Etiquette
Maintains appropriate language. Offers criticism in a constructive manner. Provides both positive and negative feedback.
5 points
Does not participate or submit discussion by the posted deadlines. Does not follow instructions for initial post and responses.
3 points
Comments may not stay on task. Comments may not add value to discussion topic. Comments may not motivate other students to respond.
10 points
Does not always maintain appropriate language. Offers criticism in an offensive manner. Provides only negative feedback.
3 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Purpose and Perspective of the Chapter
The purpose of this chapter is to provide readers with the knowledge to develop many of the communication skills necessary for effective leadership. A secondary purpose is to explain the basics of how leaders resolve conflict, including the use of negotiation. Even though all aspects of communication contribute to managerial and leadership effectiveness, we focus on the communication topics that are most relevant for leaders.
Chapter Objectives
The following objectives are addressed in this chapter:
12.01 Detail how leaders use communication networks to accomplish their tasks.
12.02 Summarize the basics of inspirational and emotion-provoking communication.
12.03 Pinpoint key features of a power-oriented linguistic style.
12.04 Articulate basic principles of persuasion.
12.05 Discuss the challenge of selective listening, and the basics of making the rounds.
12.06 Be sensitive to the importance of overcoming cross-cultural barriers to communication.
12.07 Enumerate basic approaches to resolving conflict and negotiating.
Complete List of Chapter Activities and Assessments
For additional guidance refer to the Teaching Online Guide.
Skill-Building Exercise 12-5: My Leadership Portfolio:
Self-Assessment Quiz 12-1: A Self-Portrait of My Communication Effectiveness
Skill-Building Exercise 12-1: Feedback on Verbal and Nonverbal Behavior
Skill-Building Exercise 12-6: Evaluating the Communication Skills of an Organizational Leader
Skill-Building Exercise 12-2: Leadership Listening
Self-Assessment Quiz 12-2: Cross-Cultural Skills and Attitudes
Self-Assessment Quiz 12-3: My Conflict Resolution Style
Self-Assessment Quiz 12-4: My Tendencies toward Conflict Proneness
Skill-Building Exercise 12-3: The Minimum Wage Negotiation
Skill-Building Exercise 12-4: The Emotionally Intelligent Negotiator 10 minutes 20 minutes 15 minutes 20 minutes
[return to top]
Key Terms
Altercasting: A principle of persuasion in which one characterizes another person as a certain type of person to encourage that person to behave in a desired manner.
Linguistic style: A person’s characteristic speaking pattern.
Making the rounds: The leader casually dropping by constituents to listen to their accomplishments, concern, and problems and to share information.
Win–win approach to conflict resolution: The belief that after conflict has been resolved, both sides should gain something of value.
[return to top]
What's New in This Chapter
The following elements are improvements and additions in this chapter from the previous edition:
• Group messaging apps as leadership communication network
• The usefulness of moderate conflict
• The conflict-prone personality
• The ethical aspects of negotiation
• Use facts more than threats during negotiation
[return to top]
Chapter Outline
The primary purpose of this chapter is to provide readers with the knowledge to develop many of the communication skills necessary for effective leadership. A secondary purpose is to explain the basics of how leaders resolve conflict including the use of negotiation. Even though all aspects of communication contribute to managerial and leadership effectiveness, we focus on the communication topics that are most relevant for leaders.
[return to top]
Chapter Outline and Lecture Notes
Open communication between company leaders and group members helps an organization overcome problems and attain success. John Hamm says that effective communication is a leader’s most essential tool for executing the essential job of leadership: inspiring organizational members to take responsibility for creating a better future.
In this chapter, we expand on the importance of communication in leadership. We also include communication networks for leaders, the contribution of nonverbal, and written, communication. In addition, we provide suggestions for dealing with an important communication challenge resolving conflict and bargaining.
I. COMMUNICATION NETWORKS FOR LEADERS
A major feature of communication by leaders is to rely on networks of contacts, both inperson and electronically. Leadership networks are a response to a rapidly changing world in which interconnectedness is important because it facilitates learning and solving complex problems. Networks provide resources and support for leaders.
A. Face-to-Face Communication Networks
Developing networks of live interpersonal contacts remains an essential method for a leader to build relationships, motivate others, and attain collaboration. Leaders achieve more engagement and credibility when they participate in genuine conversations with subordinates and coworkers. A survey found that although digital natives in the workplace have different values than previous generations, 39 percent prefer in-person communication over digital forms. (At the same time, 61 percent of digital natives prefer electronic communication.)
Four types of leadership networks are particularly relevant. First is the peer leadership network, a system of social ties among leaders connected through shared interests and commitments as well as shared work. The operational network is aimed at doing one’s assigned task more effectively. Personal networks engage cooperative people from outside the organization in a person’s effort to develop personally and advance. Strategic networks focus on attaining business goals directly.
B. Social Media Networks
An important use of social media is for the leader to build and maintain a professional network, such as being a member of LinkedIn. The productive leader focuses on contacts of relevance or density rather than focusing on accumulating hundreds of superficial network members. The social networking website can be internal or external.
The strength-of-ties perspective explains that the quality of a contact in a network is particularly important for social media networks because so many contacts can be of dubious value. A high-density network consists of close friends or associates linked together. In contrast, a low-density network consists of acquaintances linked together. The relationships among the different actors in a network can be broadly classified into two major types: strong versus weak ties and direct versus indirect ties.
C. Group Messaging Apps as Leadership Communication Networks
For internal communication with an emphasis on collaboration, leaders can make extensive use of communication tools, often referred to as group messaging apps.
Three of the most widely used are Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Workspace. Sending messages in these applications is effective for asking quick questions, receiving back updates, and accessing shared knowledge and files by sending people links.
Chat is becoming the backbone of many business organizations, bringing together both people and multiple software programs. Chat can be both immediate and synchronous--identical to a phone call or physical meeting--or asynchronous, like email. The chat leader can quickly connect with several group members at the same time, and receive feedback and input in the time it takes to compose a sentence. Chat can also be used as a huddle to start the workday.
II. INSPIRATIONAL AND POWERFUL COMMUNICATION
Both formal and informal leaders must be persuasive, dynamic communicators. Two key domains are speaking and writing, and nonverbal communication. Seven basic principles of persuasion presented later in this chapter are also relevant here.
A Speaking and Writing
The majority of effective leaders have an extra snap or panache to their communication style. The same energy and excitement are reflected in both speaking and writing. Colorful language is important for communicating a vision.
1. Be Credible. If the speaker is perceived as highly credible, the attempt at persuasive communication is more likely to be successful.
2 Gear Your Message to the Listener, Including the Person’s Needs. A message must be adapted to the interests and motivations of the listener. People with high intelligence tend to be more influenced by messages based on strong, logical arguments.
3 Sell Group Members on the Benefits of Your Suggestions. Leaders are constrained by the willingness of group members to take actions on their suggestions and initiatives. As a consequence, the leader must explain to group members how they can benefit from what the leader proposes.
4. Use Heavy-Impact and Emotion-Provoking Words. Certain words used in the proper context give power and force to your speech. Using powerful, upbeat language can enhance one’s leadership image. Closely related to using heavyimpact language is the use of emotion-provoking words. Examples of emotionprovoking and powerful words include “outclassing the competition,” “bonding with customers,” and “capturing customer loyalty.” It also helps to use words and phrases that connote modernity, such as virtual organization and transparent organization. A large vocabulary assists using both heavy-impact and emotion-provoking words.
5. Use Anecdotes to Communicate Meaning. A carefully chosen anecdote is useful in persuading group members about the importance of organizational values. So long as the anecdote is not repeated too frequently, it can communicate an important message.
6 Back Up Conclusions with Data. Persuasiveness increases when spoken and written presentations are supported with solid data. Being too dependent on data, however, could suggest that you have little faith in your intuition.
7. Minimize Language Errors, Junk Words, and Vocalized Pauses. If you minimize common language errors you increase persuasiveness and appear more articulate and informed. An example: “Just between you and I” is wrong. “Just between you and me” is correct. Perhaps the most common error business leaders make is to convert hundreds of nouns into verbs, such as “focus-group this problem.” Judgment is called for with respect to which nouns should be used as verbs to avoid sounding silly, and therefore weak.
8 Use Business Jargon in Appropriate Doses. Sprinkling business talk with jargon helps establish rapport and adds to a person’s popularity. But too much jargon makes a person appear stereotyped in thinking, and perhaps even unwilling to express an original thought and therefore lacking power. Overused jargon includes “at the end of the day,” “space” for industry sector, and “buckets” for categories. Three examples of disliked buzzwords, or jargon words are “push the envelope,” “out-of-the box thinking,” and “viral.”
9. Write Crisp, Clear Memos and Reports, Including a Front-Loaded Message. Business leaders characteristically write easy-to-read, well-organized
messages both in e-mail and more formal reports. A persuasive speaker or writer places key ideas at the beginning of a conversation, memo, paragraph, or sentence. Using the active voice facilitates front-loading messages. Suggestions for effective business writing continue to evolve, and many of these tips are worthy of a leader’s or potential leader’s attention. An example is less use of “Dear” in a salutation.
10 Use a Power-Oriented Linguistic Style. A major aspect of being persuasive involves choosing the right linguistic style, a person’s characteristic speaking pattern. Several components of a linguistic style give power and authority to the message sender in many situations: (a) speak loudly enough, (b) frequently use the big picture perspective. (c) apologize infrequently, (d) know exactly what you want, and (e) frame your comments in a way that increases your listener’s receptivity.
B. Basic Principles of Persuasion
An advanced method of being persuasive is to capitalize on scientific evidence about how to persuade people. The seven principles listed here have accompanying tactics that can be used to supplement the other approaches to persuasion described in this chapter.
1. Liking. People like those who like them.
2. Reciprocity. People repay in kind. The leader should be a model of desired behavior.
3 Social proof. People follow the lead of similar others.
4. Consistency. People align with their clear commitments.
5. Authority. People defer to experts. Make constituents aware of your expertise.
6. Scarcity. People want more of what they can have less of. People are more likely to act if they believe that the resource at issue is shrinking rapidly.
7. Pre-suasion: put people in a receptive mood before asking them for something. (Complimenting the person in advance might work.)
These principles should be applied in combination to multiply their impact. Another principle of persuasion of potential use to leaders is altercasting, in which you characterize another personal as a certain type of person to encourage him or her to behave in a desired manner. (You’re an expert in Spanish. Can you help me translate this document?)
C. Nonverbal Communication, Including Videoconferencing and Telepresence
Effective leaders are masterful nonverbal and verbal communicators. Nonverbal communication is important because leadership involves emotion, which cannot be communicated convincingly through words alone. Mentioned here are nonverbal signals that are likely to connote power, being in control, and forcefulness:
1. Using erect posture when walking, standing, or sitting.
2 Exhibiting dominant behavior such as standing up straight during confrontation.
3. Standing with toes pointing outward rather than inward.
4. Smiling frequently, in a relaxed, natural-appearing manner.
5. Maintaining eye contact with those around you with the ideal gaze lasting about seven to ten seconds.
6. Gesturing in a relaxed, non-mechanical way.
7. Taking up a lot of space.
Clothing, dress, and appearance represent another mode of nonverbal communication. Even on dress-down days, the majority of effective leaders will choose clothing that gives them an edge over others. Appearance includes more than the choice of clothing. For example, freshly shined shoes and good-looking teeth contribute to a leadership image. What constitutes a powerful and selfconfident image is influenced not only by the organizational culture but by the culture in general.
Videoconferencing places extra demands on the nonverbal communication skills of leaders, managers, and other participants. A recent advance in videoconferencing, referred to as telepresence, places even more demands on nonverbal communication skills because it appears close to human presence.
Videoconferences are a powerful tool for far-flung managers to make a name for themselves at corporate headquarters. Also, the camera multiplies all negative behaviors. Etiquette tips for making a strong nonverbal presence include the following:
• Choose what you wear carefully.
• Speak in crisp, conversational tones and pay attention.
• Behaviors such as rolling eyes to express disagreement show up on the camera.
• Avoid culturally insensitive gestures, including large hand and body gestures that make many Asians feel uncomfortable.
Videotape yourself to see what you might look like during a videoconference or telepresence conference and make necessary adjustments.
III. LISTENING AS A LEADERSHIP SKILL
Listening is a fundamental management and leadership skill for such purposes as encouraging subordinates, establishing good exchanges, and identifying problems. The relevance of careful listening is underscored by the listening tours taken by newlyappointed executives. An effective approach to developing good listening habits is to ask question and then listen to the answers. Leaders face three major listening impediments. First, leaders are often overloaded, making it difficult to listen. Second, people listen faster than others speak, which can create mind wandering. Third, multitasking is a major deterrent to listening to subordinates. Three leadership aspects of listening are presented next.
A. Show Respect
A foundation tactic for a leader to become an effective leader is to show respect for others. Showing respect leads to careful listening.
B.
Listen Selectively to Problems
Being bombarded with information, the leader makes an intentional or unintentional decision to listen to just certain problems. Success, however, is dependent on
staying open to all incoming information. The busy leader must avoid listening to limited categories of information such as good news, bad news, or financial news.
C. Make the Rounds
Making the rounds refers to the leader casually dropping by constituents to listen to their accomplishments, concerns, and problems to share information. Through rounding (or management by walking around) vital information is gathered if the physician or manager listens carefully.
IV. OVERCOMING CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
In today’s workplace, leaders communicate with people from other countries and with a more diverse group of people from their own country. Implementing the guidelines presented here will assist leaders in overcoming and preventing many communication barriers.
1. Be sensitive to the fact that cross-cultural communication barriers exist. (Awareness will lead to asking for feedback.)
2 Challenge your cultural assumptions. (Assumptions work like stereotypes.)
3 Show respect for all workers.
4. Use straightforward language; speak slowly and clearly.
5. Look for signs of misunderstanding when your language is not the native language of the listener.
6 When the situation is appropriate, speak in the language of the people from another culture.
7. Observe cross-cultural differences in etiquette. (For example, in many countries business people want to dine before conducting business.)
8. Do not be diverted by style, accent, grammar, or personal appearance.
9. Be sensitive to differences in nonverbal communication. (For example, make sure you understand the acceptability of physical touching.)
10. Be attentive to individual differences in appearance. (Don’t confuse the identity of people from the same racial or ethnic group.)
V THE LEADER’S ROLE IN RESOLVING CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATING
Leaders and managers spend about 20 percent of their time resolving conflicts and negotiating. Conflict resolution is ordinarily studied in relation to management. We therefore focus on a basic framework for understanding conflict-resolution styles, resolving conflict between two group members, and a few suggestions for negotiating.
A Conflict Management Styles
The five basic styles of managing conflict are based on a combination of satisfying one’s own concerns (assertiveness) and satisfying the concerns of others (cooperativeness). See Figure 12–1.
1 Competitive. The competitive style is a desire to win one’s own concerns at the expense of the other party (win-lose).
2. Accommodative. The accommodative style favors appeasement, or satisfying the other’s concerns without taking care of one’s own.
3 Sharing. Sharers prefer moderate but incomplete satisfaction for both parties, which results in a compromise such as splitting the difference.
4. Collaborative. The collaborative style reflects a desire to satisfy fully the desires of both parties. It is based on an underlying philosophy of the win-win approach to conflict resolution--the belief that after conflict has been resolved, both sides should gain something of value. When collaborative approaches to resolving conflict are used, the relationships among the parties are improved. The collaborative style of conflict management has many variations, one of which is to agree with the person criticizing you.
5. Avoidant. The avoider is a combination of uncooperative and unassertive, indifferent to the concerns of either party.
People engaged in conflict resolution typically combine several of the five resolution styles to accomplish their purpose. For example, a generally effective approach to resolving conflict is to be competitive with regard to a cost that is important for oneself but unimportant to the opponent. At the same time, the person uses accommodation for a cost that is unimportant to oneself but important to the opponent. A variable influencing how much conflict a leader has to resolving is personality. An accepting, warm, and understanding leader will have much less conflict to resolve than a rejecting, cold, and compassionless leader.
B. Resolving Conflict between Two Group Members
The most useful approach to resolving conflict between two people is to get the parties involved to engage in confrontation and problem solving. The manager sits down with the two sides and encourages them to talk to each other about the problem, not talk directly to the manager
C. Negotiating and Bargaining
Negotiating and bargaining is a basic leadership role. Conflicts can be considered situations calling for negotiating and bargaining or conferring with another person to resolve a problem. The approaches to negotiation here emphasize a strategy of integration or collaboration, with a philosophy of win-win.
1. Minimize Feeling or Looking Anxious during the Negotiation. Experiments suggest that negotiators who feel anxious tend to make weaker first offers and are more likely to exit negotiation early. To avoid such problems, train, practice, and rehearse. Visualize how you will conduct yourself during the negotiation.
2. Listen First to Investigate What the Other Side Wants. Whoever talks the most during negotiation loses. Being the first to listen helps establish trust. Listening also involves paying attention to what the other side is saying. Making the first offer can exert a strong pull throughout the negotiation (the anchoring effect). Then listen carefully to the reactions.
3 Begin with a Plausible Demand or Offer. A plausible demand or offer is better than a grossly inflated one because it shows that you are bargaining in good faith. Also, if a third party has to resolve the conflict, a plausible demand or offer will receive more sympathy than an implausible one.
4 Focus on Interests, Not Position. Rather than clinging to specific negotiation points, keep your overall interests in mind and try to satisfy them. The true object of negotiation is to satisfy the underlying interests of both sides.
5 Be Sensitive to International Differences in Negotiating Style. Americans often have a no-nonsense approach to negotiation, displaying frankness and impatience. This may be interpreted as rudeness by people from non-American cultures, and it can lead to failed negotiations. Be careful about putting the final deal in writing because this practice can backfire in Africa or Asia.
6. Use Facts More than Threats. During negotiation, both sides often become emotional and make threats. A better negotiating tactic is to stick with the facts, rather than threatening the other side.
7. Allow for Face Saving. While negotiating, recognize that you might want to make another deal with the other party, so conduct yourself in a dignified manner. Do not attempt to maximize gain for yourself and minimize gain for the other side. A Dale Carnegie leadership principle states that if employees are allowed to save face after dealing with a problem, they are more likely to perform well and report errors.
VI. GUIDELINES FOR ACTION AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT
A subtle aspect of being an effective communicator is to avoid language that discourages another people from expressing opinions, or worse, shuts the other person up. An example is to say, “I already know that.” A blank stare also often curtails communication.
The basic principle, “Be hard on the problem, and soft on the person,” applies well to negotiation because it diminishes and a desire for revenge. [return to top]
Comments on Experiential Exercises
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 12-1: A Self-Portrait of My Communication Effectiveness
A potential contribution of this self-portrait is that it points to behaviors likely to be characteristic of effective communicators. Most people believe that they need improvement in communication skills, and this modest quiz might point to a few specific areas for improvement.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 12-1: Feedback on Verbal and Nonverbal Behavior
Constructive feedback about the impact of one’s verbal and nonverbal behavior is valuable. We suspect that some students will regard this exercise as the most valuable in the course. Watching videotapes of oneself makes some contribution, but the feedback is distorted by the person’s own perception.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 12-2: Leadership Listening
Students typically enjoy participating in group role plays of this nature. The challenge, as usual, is for students to apply new knowledge rather than to conduct a group discussion following only the dictates of common sense. Another challenge of the role play is that it is not easy to demonstrate good listening. The role play demonstrates that being an effective listener requires skill.
Leadership
Attitudes
This quiz has a bilingual bias, with three of the statements referring to competence in another language. Although this quiz is presented in the context of cross-cultural communications, it is also a good fit for Chapter 14 about cross-cultural leadership.
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 12-3: My Conflict Resolution Style
This quiz provides some clue as to whether the student emphasizes collaboration (win-win) versus competitive (win-lose) in resolving conflict. Negotiations that receive considerable publicity, such as the agents of professional athletes negotiating mega-contracts, usually focus on win-lose. This information leads many people to think that a competitive stance is best.
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 12-4: My Tendencies Toward Conflict Proneness
The tendency toward conflict-proneness is an important variable to explore in understanding conflict in the workplace. People who are conflict prone are much more likely to engage in workplace conflict. Conflict proneness probably has a strong positive correlation with hostility and aggression--both traits that detract from leadership effectiveness. It will be interesting to see if students tend to agree with the score they attain on this self-quiz. Perhaps a few students might be willing to share their observations.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 12-3: The Minimum Wage Negotiation
This role-play about the minimum wage negotiation is potentially effective because people have strong feelings about the topic. An ideal way to resolve the issue of a minimum wage would be to find a win-win solution. For example, if the workers become more productive and show less voluntary turnover, the company might be able to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 12-4: The Emotionally Intelligent Negotiator
This exercise provides an opportunity to apply the advanced skill of making emotionally intelligent responses. Cognitive intelligence helps one make an emotionally intelligent response. A sample response is provided under each scenario.
Scenario A: Hot Coffee on the Lap
“This is very uncomfortable for me, but the spilled coffee is not going to ruin my day or may career. We all make errors, so do not be too concerned about what happened.”
Scenario B: An Insult to Your Company
“I appreciate your candor in providing me negative feedback about our company. Yet we have many satisfied customers and our company is doing well.”
Scenario C: The Recent Recipient of a Kidney Transplant
“Wow, you have must have gone through a lot physically and emotionally. I think it is quite an accomplishment that you are back at work and ready to negotiate something of major importance to both of us.”
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 12-5:
My Leadership Portfolio
Reflecting on communication experiences is a relatively easy portfolio entry because almost everybody has had communication events. Nevertheless, the exercise helps the student think through how important communication is to carrying out the leadership role. The exercise also helps the student recognize that it useful to make good use of communication opportunities.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 12-6: Evaluating the Communication Skills of an Organizational Leader
Evaluating the communication skills of an organizational leader is a particularly relevant exercise because it provides some ideas about how well an organizational leader is likely to communicate. Many interviews with business leaders are also found on Bloomberg radio, which might require satellite radio to access. Many students are likely to be surprised how articulate some business leaders prove to be.
[return to top]
Comments on Discussion Questions and Activities
1. Now that you have studied this chapter, what are you going to do differently to improve your communication effectiveness as a leader?
We like this question because it serves as one more reminder for the student that skill development is required to become an effective leader. Many students will mention at least one aspect of developing a more power-oriented linguistic style.
2. How could a person find out early in their career if their communication skills were good enough to become a successful leader?
One approach would be to ask knowledgeable people, such as a professor or executive, for feedback on the person’s ability to communicate in the style of a leader. Another approach would be to listen to and observe the communization approach of experienced leaders, such as on television or the social media. Assuming that the student had good self-awareness, the student could then make comparisons to see how they stacked up.
3. In the United States, a person who has an English (U.K.) accent is often at an advantage to obtain a leadership position. What is your opinion of the ethics of a person developing such an accent in order to get promoted?
A point of view advocating developing an English (U.K.) accent to get ahead is “Do whatever you have to.” Also, you have a legal right to change your accent to get ahead. The other point of view is that even if developing a false accent is not totally unethical, it does suggest a phoniness and lack of authenticity poor behaviors for a leader.
4 What do you see as a potential downside to a power-oriented linguistic style?
One potential downside to a power-oriented linguistic style is that it could make the communicator appear phony much like the actors in commercials for making millions in real estate or selling food supplements. One manuscript reviewer said that the suggestions for a power-oriented linguistic style reminded him of Dilbert cartoons. Another problem with the power-oriented linguistic style is that some people are turned off by highly persuasive communicators.
5. In what way does being good at public speaking enhance a leader’s effectiveness?
Being an effective public speaker enhances a leader’s effectiveness in several key ways. First, the leader might have a public speaking assignment, so being effective in this respect would add to the person’s stature. Second, being effective at public speaking enhances a person’s self-confidence which is an essential leadership trait. Third, being an effective public speaker helps a person with other forms of communication, such as heading a meeting or being a participant.
6. As you review the information about persuasive communication, how might an introverted person be a persuasive leader?
A leader’s persuasiveness can stem from credibility and expert power. An introverted leader often makes an effective persuader by making use of rational persuasion, emphasizing facts, figures, and logic. Two aspects of a power-oriented linguistic style suited to an introvert are making frequent use of a big picture perspective, and emphasizing direct rather than indirect talk.
7. What concrete steps can a leader take to demonstrate that the leader respect a group member from another culture?
Respect is generally best communicated in subtle and indirect ways. Listening carefully to the person speaking about the person’s native culture is a good starting point. Asking cross-cultural questions shows respect. An example would be, “How much value do people in your culture attach to having material possessions?” Expressing enthusiasm for cultural traditions in the other country is also effective. An example would be: “I can understand now why reaching the World Cup final was such a source of national pride and celebration.”
8. Assume that during a meeting, a middle manager is told by a subordinate the former is not fit the position and should resign. What approach do you recommended that the leader take to resolve this conflict?
One viewpoint is that the leader should probably not feel obliged to enter into negotiation with the rude and inappropriate subordinate, and therefore might use the avoidant style. The leader could brush off the subordinate with a statement such as “You are entitled to your opinion, but this is not the forum to discuss my qualifications for this position.”
Another viewpoint is that confrontation and problem solving should be helpful in this situation of extreme conflict and insubordination. The middle manager has the stronger negotiating position because the subordinate has violated rules related to etiquette and organizational politics. The middle manager would be justified in imposing discipline into the situation by stating that a repetition of such behavior could result in a recommendation for dismissal. The middle manager might also inquire into why the subordinate acted so inappropriately.
9. Perhaps by consulting a person in your network, provide two examples of a situation calling for negotiation.
With reflection, most students will provide useful example of situations calling for negotiation, such as the following: (a) The manager wants to offer two days per week for working from home, and the subordinate wants three days. (b) The labor union wants a 6 percent cost-of-living adjustment for union workers, and company leadership wants to offer 3 percent. (c) A division head wants to invest $300,000 in data analytics and AI software, and company leadership prefers $100,000.
10. Think of any business leader you admire, and then go to YouTube to find a video of that leader talking. (You may need to try a few business leaders to find one feature on YouTube.) What do you think of that executive’s communication effectiveness?
The evaluation of the communication effectiveness is likely to be subjective. Yet if the student bases the answer somewhat on the many ideas presented in this chapter, the activity will enhance learning about leadership communication.
[return to top]
Plausible Responses to Case Questions
Leadership Case Problem A: Dani, the Front-Stabbing CEO
A key point this case raises is how candid should feedback be to enhance organizational effectiveness? Open, candid communication can be valuable, but sensitivity and tact are still important for effective communication.
QUESTIONS
1. How helpful does the new candid feedback at Bellerose appear to be?
The candid feedback, or “front stabbing,” may be going too far. The feedback is so negative it may shut down constructive communication. Karl’s comment about Dani’s vision for Bellerose being a hallucination is an example of very negative feedback.
2. What suggestions might you make to Dani and her staff so the candid feedback to each other does not trigger interpersonal conflict?
The “front stabbers," in general, should learn to emphasize positive feedback and use more tact, diplomacy, and sensitivity in giving feedback. The feedback giving might also be framed in making better use of emotional intelligence, particularly in understanding the impact of one’s behavior on other people’s feelings.
Associated Role Play
Given that many people believe that candid feedback to coworkers enhances organizational effectiveness, here is an opportunity to practice such feedback. At the same time the role players are challenged with the task of providing constructive feedback without alienating the recipient.
Leadership Case Problem B: Struggling for Conference Room Space
This case illustrates a growing problem in organizations: too little conference room space to meet operational demands. The underlying cause of most conflicts is illustrated by this problem competition for limited resources.
1. How can conflict about conference rooms exist in this age of high technology?
High technology might make scheduling more accurate and efficient, but high technology cannot expand resources. The resource here is conference-room space, which needs to be expanded unless the number of meetings can be reduced.
2. How should Bradley go about resolving the conflicts mentioned in the case?
Bradley should most likely choose the collaborative style to resolve the conflict. Both sides should work together in resolving the problem. As stated above, the underlying problem here is competition for limited resources. Broadview Travel can either increase the amount of conference room space available or find a way to decrease the number of conferences. For example, the groups might try to make better use of virtual meetings.
3. So what’s wrong with company employees meeting at a nearby coffee shop or restaurant?
For some employees, meeting at a local coffee shop would be fun, and they would not mind paying for their own refreshments. (I visited a Dunkin’ Donuts near Chicago that had an upstairs wing that would be perfect for a small meeting.) Yet there are problems in meeting at a café or restaurant. First is projecting the image of a company that lacks the physical resources to meet an operational demand. Second, a lot of work time will be lost traveling back and forth the café. Third, such a meeting might be more distracting and less businesslike than a meeting conducted on company premises.
Associated Role Play
Here is a challenging role play for the student playing the role of Bradley. He has to deal with four department heads who are demanding more resources. Particularly because the four department heads are likely to have strong feelings about needing more conference room space, it behooves Bradly to listen carefully to their concerns before making a plausible offer of his own.
[return to top]
Additional Activities and Assignments
<narrative>
Read this blogpost and then answer the following questions about leadership lessons. http://community.cengage.com/GECResource2/info/b/management/archive/2015/04/28/lea dership-lessons
<question type="essay">
1. Why is empathy an important characteristic in a true leader?
ANS: Answers may vary.
REJ: Refer to the chapter “Communication and Conflict Resolution Skills” for more information.
<metadata>
Difficulty: Moderate
LO: Describe the basics of inspirational and emotion-provoking communication. Learning Objective Narrative: To increase a student’s understanding of why listening is critical as a leadership skill
A-head: Inspirational and Powerful Communication
[return to top]
Appendix
Generic Rubrics
Providing students with rubrics helps them understand expectations and components of assignments. Rubrics help students become more aware of their learning process and progress, and they improve students’ work through timely and detailed feedback.
Customize these rubrics as you wish. The writing rubric indicates 40 points, and the discussion rubric indicates 30 points.
Standard Writing Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Content
Organization and Clarity
The assignment clearly and comprehensively addresses all questions in the assignment.
15 points
The assignment presents ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are logically related and consistent.
10 points
Research
Research
Grammar and Spelling
The assignment is based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature, including peerreviewed journals and other scholarly work.
5 points
The assignment follows the required citation guidelines.
5 points
The assignment has two or fewer grammatical and spelling errors.
5 points
The assignment partially addresses some or all questions in the assignment.
8 points
The assignment presents ideas in a mostly clear manner and with a mostly strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are mostly logically related and consistent.
7 points
The assignment is based upon adequate academic literature but does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
3 points
The assignment follows some of the required citation guidelines.
3 points
The assignment has three to five grammatical and spelling errors.
3 points
The assignment does not address the questions in the assignment.
0 points
The assignment does not present ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an introduction, content, and conclusion, but coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are not logically related and consistent.
0 points
The assignment is not based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature and does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
0 points
The assignment does not follow the required citation guidelines.
0 points
The assignment is incomplete or unintelligible.
0 points
Standard Discussion Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Participation
Contribution Quality
Submits or participates in discussion by the posted deadlines. Follows all assignment instructions for initial post and responses.
5 points
Comments stay on task. Comments add value to discussion topic. Comments motivate other students to respond.
20 points
Etiquette
Maintains appropriate language. Offers criticism in a constructive manner. Provides both positive and negative feedback.
5 points
Does not participate or submit discussion by the posted deadlines. Does not follow instructions for initial post and responses.
3 points
Comments may not stay on task. Comments may not add value to discussion topic. Comments may not motivate other students to respond.
10 points
Does not always maintain appropriate language. Offers criticism in an offensive manner. Provides only negative feedback.
3 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Purpose and Perspective of the Chapter
The purpose of this chapter is to examine the leader’s role in developing strategy, the organization’s plan for achieving its vision, mission, and goals. Strategic leadership is the process of providing the direction and inspiration necessary to create, provide direction to, or sustain an organization. We also focus on the leader’s contribution to a continuing thrust in strategy, knowledge management, and developing a learning organization.
Chapter Objectives
The following objectives are addressed in this chapter:
13.01 Articulate the relevance of organizational agility for business strategy and knowledge management.
13.02 Describe the development of business strategy.
13.03 Paraphrase how to use the SWOT model to assist in strategic planning.
13.04 Enumerate a number of current business strategies.
13.05 Discuss how leaders contribute to the management of knowledge and the learning organization.
Complete List of Chapter Activities and Assessments
For additional guidance refer to the Teaching Online Guide.
Self-Assessment Quiz 13-1: Are You a Strategic Thinker?
Skill-Building Exercise 13-1: Mapping Out a Future for an Organization
Skill-Building Exercise 13-5: My Leadership Portfolio
Skill-Building Exercise 13-5: Developing a Business Strategy for a Small Appliance Chain
Skill-Building Exercise 13-2: Conducting a SWOT Analysis
Skill-Building Exercise 13-3: The Business Strategy of a Favorite Company
Self-Assessment Quiz 13-2: My Attitudes Toward Sharing Knowledge
[return to top]
Key Terms
Crowdsourcing: The use of collective intelligence gathered from the public for accomplishing tasks, often by the use of social media.
Knowledge management (KM): A concerted effort to improve how knowledge is created, delivered, and applied.
Learning organization: An organization that is skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge and modifying behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights.
Strategic leadership: The process of creating or sustaining an organization by providing the right direction and inspiration.
Strategic planning: Those activities that lead to the statement of goals and objectives and the choice of strategy.
Strategy: The organization‘s plan for achieving its vision, mission, and goals.
SWOT analysis: A longstanding method of considering internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats, in a given situation.
[return to top]
What's New in This Chapter
The following elements are improvements and additions in this chapter from the previous edition:
• Organizational agility, business strategy, and knowledge management
• Strategic thinking heavily emphasizes long-term thinking
• The contribution of artificial intelligence (AI) to business strategy
[return to top]
Chapter Outline
The purpose of this chapter is to examine the leader’s role in developing strategy, the organization’s plan for achieving its vision, mission, and goals. Strategic leadership is the process of providing the direction and inspiration necessary to create, provide direction to, or sustain an organization. We also focus on the leader’s contribution to a continuing thrust in strategy, knowledge management, and developing a learning organization.
[return to top]
Chapter Outline and Lecture Notes
Strategic leadership deals primarily with leadership in the executive suite, yet leaders at all levels are expected to think strategically. For example, they should see the “big picture,” understand the long-range implications of their actions, and recognize how their daily activities support the firm’s strategy.
I. ORGANIZATIONAL AGILITY, BUSINESS STRATEGY, AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
A recent emphasis in understanding how organizations adapt to their environment concerns flexibility, or agility, the ability to quickly reorient the organization to capitalize on valuable opportunities. An agile leadership team helps the company adapt to the environment without creating major upheavals. The leader strikes the optimum balance between standardizing operations and pursuing a reasonable number of innovations.
Humility helps a leader stay agile because humble leaders listen carefully to a wide range of input, knowing that good ideas can come from anywhere. Agile ways of working can improve organizational performance, reduce risks, and create flexibility. One of the most notable characteristics of an agile organization is that leadership agrees on a small, well-defined set of priorities--ideally a maximum of ten. Business units receive extra funding if their main initiatives support the main strategic priorities.
Organization agility is relevant for strategy because company leaders search for strategies that enable to capitalize on opportunities. Organizational agility is relevant for knowledge management because part of organizational learning is the ability to spot opportunities and to share knowledge that could facilitate spotting opportunities.
II. THE DEVELOPMENT OF BUSINESS STRATEGY
Elaborate methods of planning are often used to help develop business strategy. Yet in the opinion of some management specialists, the best strategy emerges from an organization having a grand purpose. Planning alone does not create strategy because strategy can also stem from inspired thinking. Corporate values can influence strategy. While strategy often stems from planning, many business leaders choose the strategy prior to the planning.
A. The Importance of Strategic Thinking
An important purpose of strategic planning is to get managerial workers throughout the organization thinking strategically and wondering about how the firm adapts to it its environment and how it will cope with its future. A strategically minded worker at any level would think, “How does what I am doing right now support corporate strategy?” A study of 231 upper-level leaders in a large global company found that global work experience was associated with a stronger tendency to thin k globally.
B. Maintaining a Human and Emotional Aspect
As implied by the creative component to strategy, strategic leaders rely heavily on intuition as to the direction the organization should take. To make strategy more personal, leaders should answer the questions: “Does your company matter? “What is your company adding to what already exists in the market?” Most great companies start with great purposes formulated by the founder. Henry Mintzberg believes that synthesizing information and thinking ahead is more important than strategic planning in developing useful business strategy.
C.
Many strategic leaders arrive at their ideas for the organization’s future by consulting with a wide range of parties with an interest, in a process similar to conducting research to create a vision. Customers are a natural source of inputs for formulating strategy; often simply by asking them what new products, services or features they would want.
In most business enterprises, authority for the most important strategic decisions is left to the highest-paid person’s opinion (HIPPO). Yet the HIPPO can be wrong, so multiple inputs are welcome. A growing number of companies are gathering strategy inputs through crowdsourcing, the use of collective intelligence gathered from the public for accomplishing tasks, often by the use of social media. Different perspectives are gathered, and enthusiasm for and alignment with the strategy might be established. Lego uses crowdsourcing extensively.
A caution here is that if staff members are asked what direction an organization should take, the executive’s leadership is weakened.
D. The Contribution of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Business Strategy
Strategic leaders sometimes use the results of artificial intelligence to analyze data to uncover relationships that could be useful in formulating strategy. Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of a computer program or machine to think and learn in a manner that emulates human intelligence. The algorithms produced by AI are sets of rules or procedures to solve a problem and guide decision-making.
Artificial intelligence plays a major role in quantitative approaches to forecasting by providing data about associations among possible thousands of facts and observations. For forecasting to be considered scientific, data and facts must be the basis for conclusions, and AI amasses data and facts. The facts provided by AI can be used to verify hunches, but the strategic leader and decision-maker must decide if the facts are relevant.
E. Leadership Effectiveness and Strategy Implementation
Carefully crafting a strategy and vision is not sufficient for its effectiveness. The strategy and vision must also be implemented or executed by the leader/manager. No strategy, however, brilliant, can be implemented successfully unless the people with key jobs know what they need to do and understand how and why they should be executing. Quite often, implementation requires a series of goals that will be steps along the way.
Field sales representatives have a major role in implementing strategy because in a business enterprise, a major purpose of strategy is to sell more products or services. Competitive advantage is transient, so companies must therefore launch new strategic initiatives from time to time.
F. Conducting a SWOT Analysis
Strategic planning encompasses those activities that lead to the statement of goals and objectives and the choice of strategy. Strategic planning often takes the form of a SWOT analysis, a method of considering internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats, in a given situation. A SWOT analysis examines the interaction between the organization, or organizational unit, and its environment.
1. Preparing for the Analysis. Be clear about what you are doing and why you are doing it. Select people with appropriate experience, talent, and enthusiasm.
Allocate research and information-gathering tasks. Create a workshop environment by encouraging open communication among participants.
2. Conducting the Analysis. The components of SWOT are as follows.
a. Identify internal strengths. Assess factors within the organization that will have a positive impact on implementing the plan. What are your advantages? What do you do well?
b. Identify internal weaknesses. Take a candid look at factors within the firm that could have a negative impact on the proposed plan. Consider the risks of pursuing a particular course of action.
c. Identify external opportunities. Assess socioeconomic, political, environmental, and demographic factors in terms of benefits they may bring to the organization. Think of the opportunities that welcome you if you choose a promising strategic alternative.
d. Identify external threats. Assess the possible negative impact socioeconomic, political, environmental, and demographic factors may have on the organization. There’s a downside to every alternative, so think ahead to allow for contingency planning. For example, is changing technology compromising your ability to compete successfully?
III. A SAMPLING OF BUSINESS STRATEGIES FORMULATED BY LEADERS
In addition to the process of making strategic decisions, the content of these decisions is important. Business strategies are often classified according to their focus of impact: corporate level, business level, or functional level. Twelve current strategies are described next.
1. Differentiation. A differentiation strategy attempts to offer a product or service that is perceived by the customer as different from available alternatives.
2 Cost leadership. A cost leadership strategy is to produce or sell a product or service at a lower price to gain market share. However, unethical, knock-off brands are included here.
3. Focus or niche. Using a focus strategy, the organization concentrates on a specific regional market or buyer group. Almost every successful business venture was founded by locating a niche, including pawn shops that cater to the affluent. A CEO of one such enterprise says, “We focus on the blue-chip, wealthy crowd.”
4. High quality. Leaders continue to emphasize quality even if there is less explicit emphasis today on formal quality programs. An important exception are Six Sigma programs that emphasize statistical approaches to attaining quality. How about Apple Inc. or the Swiss Army knife for a quality strategy?
5 Imitation. Using the imitation strategy, the company waits for the right time to introduce a lower-priced competitor. Benchmarking is a form of learning by watching.
6. Strategic alliances. An increasingly popular business strategy is to form alliances, or share resources, with other companies to exploit a market opportunity. Typically, the parent companies have complementary skills and assets. Marketing partnerships are another form of strategic alliance.
7 Growth through acquisition. A standard strategy for growth is for one company to purchase others. However, acquisitions are often made to acquire an important technology. The approximately 200 acquisitions by Google fit parent company Alphabet’s vision of changing the world though information technology.
8. High speed and first-mover. High-speed managers focus on speed in all of their business activities, including production development, sales response, and customer service. Getting to market first is also referred to as the first-mover strategy. Moving in after a product or service is already successful will sometimes best the first-mover strategy.
9. Product and global diversification. A natural business strategy is to offer a variety of products and services and sell across borders to enhance market opportunities. Sometimes a company with a strong reputation for delivering one product or service will branch out to capitalize on the allure of its brand.
10. Sticking to core competencies. Many firms of all sizes believe that they will prosper if they confine their efforts to the activities they perform best their core competencies. Jim Collins calls this the hedgehog concept. In recent years, GE has refocused on its core competencies
11 Brand leadership. Succeeding through developing the reputation of your brand can be considered a business strategy. Many Internet-based companies perceive brand leadership as being key to their survival. According to Interbrand, the ten leading brands in order of strength are (1) Apple, (2) Google, (3) Coca-Cola, (4) Microsoft, (5) Toyota, (6) IBM, (7) Samsung, (8) Amazon, (9) Mercedes-Benz, and (10) General Electric.
12. Self-reinvention. To survive, many enterprises radically change their business model. A leading example is how Intuit, the tax software maker, stays on top of the competition by rethinking its business model. For instance, the company’s original product, Quicken Personal Finance, had to be recreated when Microsoft Windows replaced the DOS operating system.
13 Competitive advantage through hiring talented people. To build great companies, the most urgent business charge is to find and keep great people. Talented people may need some leadership, but they will think of new products and services and develop effective work processes.
All of the impressive strategies just described have limited impact unless they are implemented properly, meaning that effective management must support strategic leadership. Strategies are sometimes not implemented correctly because top management is not aware of problems that threaten the business.
IV. KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND THE LEARNING ORGANIZATION
Another strategic thrust of leaders is to help their organizations better adapt to the environment by assisting workers and the organization to become better learners. Knowledge management (KM) is a concerted effort to improve how knowledge is created, delivered, and applied. Sharing of information is a key aspect of knowledge information. Managing knowledge well helps an organization learn. A learning organization is one that is skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge, and at modifying behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights.
A. Knowledge Sharing
Knowledge management in the form of knowledge sharing has surged in importance in recent years because so many Baby Boomers are retiring, resulting in tribal knowledge leaving the firm. A key part of the knowledge transfer program used in some firms is for older workers to share useful knowledge with younger workers. Technical knowledge is often included in knowledge sharing.
The relevance of knowledge sharing to the organization is reinforced by the negative impact of knowledge hiding. Creativity often depends on information and knowledge sharing.
B. Knowledge Management
Managing knowledge is an important leadership role because so few organizations make systematic use of the collective wisdom of employees. Most knowledge in the organization resides in the brains of employees or in documents not readily accessible to others. Knowledge management has three components. Knowledge creation is used to spur innovation. Knowledge dissemination through information technology is the most frequent activity within knowledge management. Knowledge application is the process of making workers better at what they do.
1 General format of KM programs. Most knowledge management programs are technology mediated, yet person-to-person exchange of information is still important. Storytelling can be helpful in knowledge sharing. An advance in knowledge management is to deliver information just in time or at the point when it is most needed. A widely practiced method of delivering information just in time is through tablet computers.
Advanced technology for KM must be combined with a culture that values knowledge and encourages its dissemination. A study showed that professional workers are less likely to horde knowledge when there is less competition across organizational units. The organization subculture shapes our assumptions about what constitutes knowledge, and which knowledge is worth managing.
2. Servant leadership and the creation of knowledge. A key point of a recent theory about knowledge creation is that servant leaders are effective in sharing leadership responsibility, and shared leadership enhances the creation of knowledge. Shared leadership deemphasizes hierarchical boundaries which facilitates servant leaders and followers communicating freely.
Caring for people is another aspect of servant leadership that facilitates knowledge creation. Caring relationships facilitate the expression of diverse ideas, and foster constructive reasoning and evaluation of ideas. People who feel cared for are more willing to disclose information and put effort into processing information.
C The Learning Organization
A learning organization can be viewed as a group of people working together to enhance their capacities to create results they value. Researched based on 20,000 executives found that strategic leaders are the focal point for organizational learning, including establishing a culture of inquiry. To help create a learning organization, several firms have created a position such as Chief Knowledge Officer. WD-40 is an extreme example of a learning organization—which may come as a surprise to many people.
1. Transformational versus transactional leadership and organizational learning. A European study found that transformational leadership behaviors contribute significantly to encourage workers to pursue exploratory innovation. Another finding was that transactional leadership behaviors facilitate improving and extending existing knowledge and are associated with exploitative innovation. (Exploratory innovation finds something new, whereas exploitation refers to making incremental improvements over that which exists.)
2. Leadership initiatives for enhancing the learning organization. A supportive learning environment is a start, including comfort about expressing disagreement. Concrete learning processes are important. A third building block of a learning organization is leadership that reinforces learning; a leader should create a strategic intent to learn thereby gaining competitive advantage. Creating a shared vision is important. In a learning organization, employees are empowered to make decisions and seek continuous improvement.
Systems thinking is almost synonymous with organizational learning, whereby people see the interrelatedness of their work. Personal mastery of the job should be encouraged, as well as team learning that centers on collective problem solving. Action learning, or learning while working on real problems, is a fundamental part of a learning organization. Participants in action learning are asked to work in teams to attack a significant organizational problem. Learning from failure contributes to organizational learning, and so does encouraging continuous experimentation. Organizational learning requires that workers have the political skills to make connections and influence others. Finally, the leader must encourage workers to think creatively
Three recommended rules toward making strategy understandable are (1) make it simple, (2) perfection is not necessary, and (3) explain the logic behind the strategy clearly.
To ensure that all workers understand the company’s vision of where it wants to go, the vision statement should be (1) brief, (2) verifiable, (3) focused on a major goal, (4) understandable, and (5) inspirational.
[return to top]
Comments on Experiential Exercises
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 13-1: Are You a Strategic Thinker?
If taken with a spirit of self-objectivity, this questionnaire can help many students realize that a key area for growth is the ability to “think big,” as well as linking personal work accomplishment to the good of the organization. In general, people tend to think less strategically early in their careers.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 13-1: Mapping Out a Future for an Organization
Mapping out a future for an organization relies heavily on conceptual thinking even though the exercise seems easy. The steps involved in getting from the present to the future might have to be sketchy because a valid answer might require months of planning. Students typically enjoy using their imagination in response to the demands of this exercise.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 13-2: Conducting a SWOT Analysis
Conducting a SWOT analysis is a tangible leadership and management skill that most students enrolled in a business leadership class would enjoy. Students with an interest in the public sector or the nonprofit sector should also find a SWOT analysis to be valuable. Most students are probably familiar with SWOT analysis, so this exercise should give them a chance to practice their skills.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 13-3: The Business Strategy of a Favored Company
The reason we include this new exercise is that the term business strategy or strategy is used so frequently but rarely is a specific strategy identified. Often what is a described as a strategy, such as “offering rebates” would not be considered a true strategy by specialists in the field.
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 13-2: My Attitudes Toward Sharing Knowledge
Sharing knowledge is critical to the success of knowledge management, yet many people would prefer to keep their best ideas to themselves. This quiz helps the student reflect on how willing he or she might be to share knowledge in a competitive environment.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 13-4:
Then Knowledge-Sharing Investigation Team
This exercise is designed to collect first-hand data on a major issue in knowledge sharing that is usually glossed over or ignored, how much and what kinds of information are organization members willing to share with each other. The investigation will most likely reveal wide individual differences in preferences for sharing information with some people being more open than others. It will be interesting to see if any of the respondents express a willingness to share a creative idea that could be monetized.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 13-5: My Leadership Portfolio
This portfolio exercise helps illustrate the idea that strategic thinking is possible even in relation to everyday occurrences. Practicing a little strategic thinking along the way might help a student prepare for becoming a strategic thinker in a future leadership position. More fundamentally, by demonstrating strategic thinking a person’s qualifications for receiving a promotion into leadership are enhanced.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 13-6: Developing a Business Strategy for an Appliance Repair Chain
This exercise provides an opportunity to practice one of the most useful aspects of developing business strategy creating ideas for the survival of an enterprise. The tactic so often used by turnaround managers of laying off a large chunk of the workforce, is probably not an option here. The appliance-repair chain is most likely already thinly staffed. Instead, the strategy team must develop a positive strategy for keeping the enterprise afloat.
[return to top]
Comments on Discussion Questions and Activities
1. As described in the chapter opener, the strategy chief at Verizon demands that her creative team come up with revenue-generating products and services. How effective is that approach to leading creative workers?
The strategy chief is implementing an important initiative for leading creative workers. She is placing constraints on creative thinking. It has often been stated that very few creative product or services ideas are worth implementing because even if they are useful—and therefore creative—the revenue potential is too limited.
2. Why is cognitive intelligence, including knowledge of the business, important for a strategic leader?
Cognitive intelligence is important for a strategic leader for at least two major reasons. The first reason is that to think strategically the leader must assimilate loads of facts and integrate them into sensible output. The second reason is that even if the strategic leader relies heavily on intuition, high cognitive intelligence contributes to having useful strategic hunches.
3. Why might being very practical-minded interfere with being an outstanding strategic leader?
Developing a strategy for an organization requires some optimistic and wishful thinking, combined with taking risks. An example would be spending an enormous amount of money to purchase a startup. A practical-minded person might be hesitant to take major
risks, including gambling with large sums of money, and would tend to be more risk averse.
4. How might being very strong with business analytics (such as analyzing reams of data and preparing spreadsheets) help a person develop a business strategy?
Although effective business strategy is often based on hunches and intuition, it can also arise from a careful analysis of data, such as scrutinizing data to find a marketplace niche. For example, automobile executives probably studied enormous amounts of data from dealers to recognize that, by late 2015, consumers were shifting their preferences toward pickup trucks and SUVs and away from compact automobiles. A marketing strategy was then developed to increase production of larger vehicles and away from smaller vehicles. Common sense might have predicted that fuel-conscious and environmentally conscious consumers would be more inclined to purchase smaller vehicles. Lower gasoline prices at the time strengthened the trend toward purchasing large vehicles.
5. In what way can a business strategy motivate and inspire employees?
A business strategy can be motivational because the right strategy can be inspirational, particularly if the strategy points the organization in a bold, new direction. For example, it might be inspiring to know that the company is embarking on a bold acquisition strategy that will make it a dominant player in the field.
6. How could you adapt a business strategy to guide you in your career as a leader?
Several business strategies can be applied personally to guide a person’s leadership career. How about differentiation to gain an edge on the competition, such as being skilled at cloud computing, or speaking Russian or an Arabic language? Sticking to core competencies is another winner for the leader who wants to build on strengths.
7 Many top-level managers want lower-ranking managers to think strategically. How can a middle manager or a first-level manager “think strategically”?
Middle managers can think strategically by looking at the long-range implications of their thinking, investigating how their activities interact with the outside environment, and attempting to ensure that their daily activities support corporate strategy.
8 Working alone or with several team members, provide a recent example of a company that is in big trouble or went out of business because it lacked an effective strategy.
The most visible companies that went bankrupt or found themselves struggling to survive are in the retail sector. Blockbuster and Borders are prime examples that could not develop a strategy to cope successfully with their online competitors. Visiting Blockbuster was almost a ritual for millions of Americans, but the need to rent videos and CDs eventually passed. Netflix, even before it began its streaming video service, developed a highly effective business model that made Blockbuster less relevant. Blockbuster remains in business, but with only a handful of stores.
9. During the Great Recession, many consumers who had previously shopped at traditional supermarkets shifted to doing basic shopping at dollar stores and discount department stores. Furthermore, some of these shoppers remained loyal to the low-price stores after the recession. What are the strategy lessons here?
The consumer shift to low-priced supermarkets offers several important strategy lessons. One lesson is that the niche of a firm may suddenly become more lucrative because of factors in the external environment. Another strategy lesson is that a business strategy may have to be modified from time to time. For example, the Great Recession may have caused several major supermarkets (and department stores as well) to adapt their strategy because part of their customer base went downscale. Most large retailers today have off-price stores, and some have off-price departments or rows.
10. In what way might doing a good job of knowledge management give a company a competitive advantage?
A company that manages knowledge well would gain a competitive advantage through solving internal problems better, solving customer problems better, and, in general, having a continuing stream of useful ideas.
[return to top]
Plausible Responses to Case Questions
Leadership Case Problem A: Vehicle Buddy Seeks Its Purpose
This case is a straightforward example of how a company might seek to elucidate its purpose. The case also illustrates how managers differ in their big-picture perspective.
1. Which of the suggested purposes of Vehicle Buddy do you think would be the most effective in enhancing the commitment of the company’s customers, employees, and suppliers?
The executive team is doing a fine job, but our two favorites are (a) Ashley’s statement, “To make driving cars and trucks a more esthetic and enjoyable experience,” and (b) Abigail’s statement, “To design and distribute high-quality protective devices for vehicle interiors that will help sustain the appearance and functionality of those vehicles.”
2. Which of the suggested purposes of Vehicle Buddy do you think would be the least effective in enhancing the commitment of the company’s customers, employees, and suppliers?
Alfredo says that the purpose of Vehicle Buddy is “to make a profit and survive.” Although this purpose is true, it does not distinguish the company and would most likely not be inspirational.
3. To what extent do you think Jordan is just wasting time? Does Vehicle Buddy really need a written purpose?
It is most likely helpful for Vehicle Buddy to have a written purpose, and certainly it can do no harm and costs almost nothing. The stated purpose will help many employees recognize that their business has a grander purpose than making protective interiors and smartphone holders for vehicles.
Associated Role Play
Here is a highly challenging role play attempting to agree on a purpose for a company. However, the purpose stated by the lead role player gives the group plenty of material to work with. Because the purpose posited by the lead role player integrates the ideas from the strategy session, the other role players might choose to build on or modify that statement of purpose.
Leadership Case Problem B: The Product Differentiation Strategy Team
This case deals with perhaps the most demanding aspect of strategy identifying what does not already exist.
1. What approaches would you recommend that the product differentiation strategy team use to identify new market space for the conglomerate?
A combination of brainwriting and brainstorming might be best, with the goal of identifying a market not already served that would fit into the capabilities of the conglomerate. Yet, a far-out thinker might say, “Why restrict ourselves to what we can already do? Let’s learn something new.” A possible approach to this assignment would be to search industry databases for startups to see if new market spaces are being explored.
2. How realistic is if for Kevin to delegate the tasks of finding a product differentiation strategy to a group of middle managers? Explain your reasoning.
Delegating the product differentiation strategy to a group of middle managers would be realistic if these managers had contact with the outside world, including vendors and customers. The reason is that contact with customers and vendors can be a good source of information about what the world might need.
3. What do you think would be the effectiveness of using the Internet to develop a productdifferentiation strategy for the team? For example, why not go to Ask.com and enter the question, “What would be a new market space with no competition?”
A thorough Internet search might provide more information on the nature of a product differentiation strategy, but the search would probably not reveal a new market space. Such a search, however, would probably identify a number of strategy consultants willing to help find a new market niche.
Associated Role Play
We like this role play because it focuses on the principle of “Not leaving the room until you have some kind of an answer.” The role play should therefore end with some type of product differentiation strategy, even it does not appear to be effective. How about manufacturing a tire that self-adjusts to different road conditions such as dry, wet, icy, and heavy snow?
[return to top]
Additional Activities and Assignments
<narrative>
Read this blogpost and then answer the following questions about the marriage of strategy and leadership.
http://community.cengage.com/GECResource2/info/b/management/archive/2016/10/14/m anagement-101-the-marriage-of-strategy-and-leadership
<question type="essay">
1. Describe one of the six key steps in effectively combining strategy and leadership.
ANS: Answers may vary.
REJ: Please refer to the chapter, “Strategic Leadership and Knowledge Management” for more information.
<metadata>
Difficulty: Moderate
LO: Describe the development of business strategy.
Learning Objective Narrative: To increase a student’s understanding of business strategy fundamentals
A-head: The Development of Business Strategy
Bloom's: Understanding
</metadata>
[return to top]
Appendix
Generic Rubrics
Providing students with rubrics helps them understand expectations and components of assignments. Rubrics help students become more aware of their learning process and progress, and they improve students’ work through timely and detailed feedback.
Customize these rubrics as you wish. The writing rubric indicates 40 points, and the discussion rubric indicates 30 points.
Standard Writing Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Content
Organization and Clarity
The assignment clearly and comprehensively addresses all questions in the assignment.
15 points
The assignment presents ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are logically related and consistent.
10 points
Research
Research
Grammar and Spelling
The assignment is based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature, including peerreviewed journals and other scholarly work.
5 points
The assignment follows the required citation guidelines.
5 points
The assignment has two or fewer grammatical and spelling errors.
5 points
The assignment partially addresses some or all questions in the assignment.
8 points
The assignment presents ideas in a mostly clear manner and with a mostly strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are mostly logically related and consistent.
7 points
The assignment is based upon adequate academic literature but does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
3 points
The assignment follows some of the required citation guidelines.
3 points
The assignment has three to five grammatical and spelling errors.
3 points
The assignment does not address the questions in the assignment.
0 points
The assignment does not present ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an introduction, content, and conclusion, but coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are not logically related and consistent.
0 points
The assignment is not based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature and does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
0 points
The assignment does not follow the required citation guidelines.
0 points
The assignment is incomplete or unintelligible.
0 points
Standard Discussion Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Participation
Contribution Quality
Submits or participates in discussion by the posted deadlines. Follows all assignment instructions for initial post and responses.
5 points
Comments stay on task. Comments add value to discussion topic. Comments motivate other students to respond.
20 points
Etiquette
Maintains appropriate language. Offers criticism in a constructive manner. Provides both positive and negative feedback.
5 points
Does not participate or submit discussion by the posted deadlines. Does not follow instructions for initial post and responses.
3 points
Comments may not stay on task. Comments may not add value to discussion topic. Comments may not motivate other students to respond.
10 points
Does not always maintain appropriate language. Offers criticism in an offensive manner. Provides only negative feedback.
3 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Purpose and Perspective of the Chapter
The purpose of this chapter is to help the reader understand the leadership challenges stemming from working in international and culturally diverse environments. In addition, the reader is given many specific suggestions for leading effectively in such an environment. The underlying theme to the chapter is that effective leadership of diverse people requires a sensitivity to and enjoyment of cultural differences.
Chapter Objectives
The following objectives are addressed in this chapter:
14.01 Elaborate on the potential, ethical, and competitive advantage from leading and managing diversity, equity, and inclusion.
14.02 Describe how cultural factors, including values, influence leadership practice.
14.03 Summarize the contribution of cultural sensitivity to leadership effectiveness.
14.04 Explain how global leadership skills contribute to leadership effectiveness.
14.05 Pinpoint leadership initiatives to attain cultural diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Complete List of Chapter Activities and Assessments
For additional guidance refer to the Teaching Online Guide.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 14-1: Pinpointing a Diversity Advantage
Self-Assessment Quiz 14-1: Charting Your Cultural Value Profile
Self-Assessment Quiz 14-2: My Appreciation of Cultural Differences
Skill-Building Exercise 14-2: Positive Cross-Cultural Experiences in the Workplace
Skill-Building Exercise 14-5: My Leadership Portfolio
Skill-Building Exercise 14-3: Gaining International and Cross-Cultural Experiences Inexpensively
Skill-Building Exercise 14-4: The Diversity Circle
Key Terms
Assertiveness: Forthrightness in expressing demands, opinions, feelings, and attitudes. As a cultural value, the degree to which individuals are (and should be) assertive, confrontational, and aggressive in their relationships with one another.
Cross-cultural training: A set of learning experiences designed to help employees understand the customs, traditions, and beliefs of another culture.
Cultural sensitivity: An awareness of and a willingness to investigate the reasons why people of another culture act as they do.
Diversity training: A learning experience designed to bring about workplace harmony by teaching people how to get along better with diverse work associates.
Equity: Ensuring that access, resources, and opportunities are provided for all to succeed and develop, particularly for people who are underrepresented and have been historically disadvantaged.
Future orientation: As a cultural value, the extent to which individuals engage (and should engage) in future-oriented behaviors such as delaying gratification, planning, and making investments for the future.
Gender egalitarianism: As a cultural value, the degree to which a culture minimizes, and should minimize, gender inequality.
Global leadership skills: The ability to exercise effective leadership in a variety of countries.
Humane orientation: As a cultural value, the degree to which a society encourages and rewards, and should encourage and reward, individuals for being fair, altruistic, and caring others.
In-group collectivism: As a cultural value, the degree to which individuals express, and should express, pride, loyalty, and cohesiveness in their organizations and families.
Leadership diversity: The presence of a culturally heterogeneous group of leaders.
Multicultural leader: A leader with the skills and attitudes to relate effectively to and motivate people across race, gender, age, social attitudes, and lifestyles.
Multicultural worker: A worker who is convinced that all cultures are equally good and enjoys learning about other cultures.
Performance orientation: As a cultural value, the degree to which a society encourages (or should encourage) and rewards group member for performance improvement and excellence.
Power distance: As a cultural value, the degree to which members of a society expect, and should expect, power to be distributed unequally.
Time orientation: As a cultural value, the importance nations and individuals attach to time.
Uncertainty avoidance: As a cultural value, the extent to which members of a society rely (and should rely) on social norms, rules, and procedures to lessen the unpredictability of future events.
Work orientation: As a cultural value, the number of hours per week and weeks per year people expect to invest in work versus leisure, or other nonwork activities.
[return to top]
What's New in This Chapter
The following elements are improvements and additions in this chapter from the previous edition:
• Use of diversity, equity, and inclusion framework to describe diversity efforts.
• New evidence for the financial payoff from gender diversity in company leadership.
• Cultural diversity can make more effective use of human capital.
• New data on working-hour differences across the world.
• Resolving cross-cultural conflict
• Emphasize inclusive language
• Be aware of potential diversity danger zones.
[return to top]
Chapter Outline
The purpose of this chapter is to help the reader understand the leadership challenges stemming from working in international and culturally diverse environments. In addition, the reader is given many specific suggestions for leading effectively in such an environment. The underlying theme to the chapter is that effective leadership of diverse people requires a sensitivity to and enjoyment of cultural differences.
[return to top]
Chapter Outline and Lecture Notes
Sensitivity to and appreciation of cultural diversity improves working relationships. The modern leader must be multicultural because corporate success, profit, and growth depend increasingly on the management of a diverse workforce. Because the focus ion diversity includes giving many types of people an opportunity to participate fully in the organization, the term inclusion is often used to replace diversity. Cultural diversity in organizations sometimes focuses on valuing differences, while other organizations focus on valuing equality.
I. THE ADVANTAGES OF MANAGING FOR DIVERSITY
The ethical and social responsibility goals of leaders and their organizations support the importance of providing adequately for members of the diverse workforce. Ethical leaders feel compelled to use merit as a basis for making human resource decisions. A firm that embraces diversity is also behaving in a socially responsible manner. Managing for diversity brings a competitive advantage to the firm in the following ways:
1 Managing diversity well offers a marketing advantage. For example, a multicultural group of decision-makers may be at an advantage in reaching a multicultural market. Another marketing advantage is that many people from culturally diverse groups prefer to buy from a company that has a good reputation for managing diversity.
2. Companies with a favorable record in managing diversity are at a distinct advantage in recruiting and retaining talented people.
3 Heterogeneity in the workforce may offer the company a creativity advantage, plus improved problem solving and decision-making.
4. Diversity and inclusion programs help local economies, thereby boosting social responsibility.
5. Cultural diversity can enhance team performance, often because diverse backgrounds are associated with diverse information, knowledge and perspectives that can be used to solve problems.
6. Cultural diversity can make more effective use of human capital. Diversity can be a double-edge sword: It increases both the opportunity for creativity and the likelihood that group members will be dissatisfied and fail to identify with the group.
II. CULTURAL FACTORS INFLUENCING LEADERSHIP PRACTICE
A multicultural leader possesses the skills and attitudes to relate effectively to and motivate people across race, gender, age, social attitudes, and lifestyles. To influence, motivate, and inspire culturally diverse people, the leader must be aware of overt and
subtle cultural differences. Such culturally based differences as generalizations and stereotypes are starting points in attempting to lead a person from a particular culture.
One way of understanding how national cultures differ is to examine their standing on selected values, ten of which are described here.
1. Performance orientation is the degree to which a society encourages (or should encourage) and rewards group members for performance improvement and excellence.
2. Assertiveness is the degree to which individuals are (and should be) assertive, confrontational, and aggressive in their relationships with one another.
3. Future orientation is the extent to which individuals engage (and should engage) in future-oriented behaviors such as delaying gratification, planning, and making investments for the future.
4. Time orientation is the importance nations and individuals attach to time. People with an urgent time orientation perceive time as a scarce resource and tend to be impatient.
5 Humane orientation is the degree to which a society encourages and rewards, and should encourage and reward, individuals for being fair, altruistic, and caring to others.
6. In-group collectivism is the degree to which individuals express, and should express, pride, loyalty, and cohesiveness in their organizations and families.
7 Gender egalitarianism is the degree to which a culture minimizes, and should minimize, gender inequality.
8. Power distance is the degree to which members of a society expect, and should expect, power to be distributed unequally.
9 Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which members of a society rely, and should rely, on social norms, rules, and procedures to reduce the unpredictability of future events.
10. Work orientation is the number of hours per week and weeks per year people expect to invest in work versus leisure or other nonwork activities.
To use the above information, a leader should recognize that a person’s national values might influence his or her behavior. For example, a person with a low powerdistance orientation would not immediately comply with a superior’s suggestions. The leader might therefore have to sell the person on the request.
III. CULTURAL SENSITIVITY
The traits and behaviors described in Chapters 2, 3, and 4 should equip a person to lead diverse groups. In addition, cultural sensitivity and cultural intelligence, and certain specific global leadership skills, are essential for inspiring people from cultures other than one’s own.
A cross-cultural leader must also be patient, adaptable, flexible, and willing to listen and learn. These characteristics are part of cultural sensitivity, an awareness of and willingness to investigate the reasons why people of another culture act as they do. Six aspects of cultural sensitivity are described next.
1. Recognition of nuances in customs. A person with cultural sensitivity will recognize certain nuances in customs that will help build better relationships with work associates from different cultures.
2. Being a multicultural worker. Cultural sensitivity is also important because it helps a person become a multicultural worker one who is convinced that all cultures are equally worthy and who enjoys learning about other cultures. The concept of a multicultural worker also refers to an employee who identifies with two or more cultures, such as a graphics designer born in Japan who speaks Japanese at home and works in the United States.
Sensitivity is the most important characteristic for leading people from other cultures because cultural stereotypes rarely provide reliable guides.
3. Recognizing potential problems of cultural misunderstanding. Problems of cultural misunderstanding that leaders should be aware of cluster in five areas: (1) language differences; (2) religious differences; (3) different work habits, such as being willing to invest personal time in work; (4) differences in women’s roles across cultures; and (5) differences in personal appearance and behavior. Another manifestation of cultural differences is generational differences, quite often within a leader’s national culture. For example, young people typically want more frequent recognition and rewards as well as flexible scheduling.
4. Flexibility in dealing with others. Cultural sensitivity is enhanced by diversity training as well as by simply listening carefully and observing. A key principle is to be flexible when dealing with people from other cultures.
5. Eliciting ideas and giving critical feedback. Cultural norms about expressing ideas vary across cultures. Team members from relatively egalitarian cultures such as the United States might be more candid in voicing their opinions. In contrast, team members from more hierarchical cultures such as Japan and China tend to speak up only after more senior colleagues have provided their input.
Critical feedback is perceived differently across cultures. Executives from more individualistic and task-oriented cultures such as the U.S. and Canada usually perceive feedback as an opportunity for personal development. More collectivistic, relationship-oriented cultures might feel uncomfortable in receiving critical feedback, particularly in a group setting.
A. The English-Only Policy and Cultural Sensitivity
To facilitate communication in international enterprise, a growing number of companies have declared English as the official language for conducting business. A key argument for the English-only policy is that multilingualism without restriction interferes with accomplishing business goals. Despite the general acceptance of English as the language of business, problems of cultural sensitivity remain. The English-only policy can be regarded as an affront to a person’s cultural identity, and people who do not speak English well, may have difficulty using English when dealing with complex topics. To demonstrate cultural sensitivity, the leader might reserve the English-only policy for formal meetings. Insisting that workers speak English during informal interactions is an EEOC violation.
Should a company adopt an English-only policy, the leadership team should spearhead assessment sin English skills and training for all nonnative speakers.
Global leadership skills refer to the ability to exercise effective leadership in various countries. The essence of global leadership is the ability to influence people who are dissimilar to the leader and stem from different cultural backgrounds.
A. General Model of Global Leadership Skills.
Global leadership skills improve a company’s reputation and contribute to a sustainable competitive advantage. Excellent global leaders have a leadership style that generates superior corporate performance in terms of four criteria: (1) profitability and productivity, (2) continuity and efficiency, (3) commitment and morale, and (4) adaptability and innovation.
Another perspective on global leadership skills is that the leader must tap into a deep, universal layer of human motivation in order to build loyalty, trust, and teamwork in different cultures. Universal needs include wanting to be part of a group and wanting to perform meaningful work
B. Success Factors in International Management Positions
Effective global leaders also exhibit leadership skills necessary for dealing with dayby-day interactions. As revealed by a study, two success factors are sensitivity to cultural differences and being culturally adventurous. A study demonstrated that deficits in emotional intelligence contributed to executive failure on assignments in Latin America, Europe, and Japan.
Tolerance for ambiguity is especially important for developing global leadership skills because every country represents a new way of doing things. Providing leadership to cross-cultural teams also requires tolerance for ambiguity, such as team members having different attitudes toward power and authority.
A confusing skill issue for many international managers is the importance of a good command of a second language. English is the standard language of business and science, but when trying to influence a person from another culture, speaking their language well gives you an advantage.
C.
Motivating
and Inspiring Workers in Other Cultures
Expectancy theory provides the best general clue to motivating people in other cultures figure out which rewards have high valence for them. Also, workers will be motivated and inspired to the extent that need satisfaction will be forthcoming. One stereotype is that team members from Asian cultures are mostly motivated by rewards that emphasize group harmony, such as a group reward.
D. Resolving Cross-Cultural Conflict
National culture can influence the choice of the most effective method of conflict resolution. A major finding of one study was that Japanese, German, and American managers tend to use different models when resolving workplace conflict. Half the variance in choosing a conflict model could be accounted for by a manager’s cultural group membership. Japanese preferred a status power model, Germans preferred a regulations model, and Americans preferred an interests (win-win) model.
A study in Asia found that Koreans in comparison to the Chinese and Japanese were more likely to use compromise to resolve conflict with their supervisor. Another finding was that Japanese workers compared to their Chinese and Korean counterparts were less likely to dominate, and more likely to oblige their supervisor.
E. Understanding Which Leadership and Management Practices Function Well in a Specific Culture
A general challenge confronting the global leader is that techniques that work well in one culture many not necessarily work well in another culture. For example, in a culture that highly respects authority, granting decision-making authority to the group may not be so effective. An innovation center of a U.S. company featured open office space in a location removed from the main campus. The same approach at a new innovation center in China worked poorly because the Chinese preferred working alone at their desks and being on the main campus.
Certain leadership practices are likely to work well in every culture, including giving people clear directions and administering appropriate rewards for attaining goals. A meta-analysis with studies from twenty-three countries found that high-quality relationships with subordinates facilitated task performance in countries with different values.
Arnold W. Donald, the Carnival CEO featured in this chapter, is offered as an example of a leader with global leadership skills. His enterprise is global, and he works well with team members and guests from many countries.
V. LEADERSHIP INITIATIVES FOR ACHIEVING CULTURAL DIVERSITY
For organizations to value diversity, top management must be committed to embedding diversity in company strategy. The commitment is clearest when it is embedded in organizational strategy, as well as in the life and culture of the organization. Diversity initiatives should be deep rather than superficial.
A. Hold Managers Accountable for Achieving Diversity
If managers are held accountable for behavior and business changes in the diversity arena, an organizational culture supportive of diversity will develop. A group of CEOs whose organizations are well known for their diversity practices agreed that metrics are essential because “What gets measured gets done.” Bank of America, for example, includes questions about diversity and inclusiveness in its biannual employee engagement survey, and results are compared to a normative group of companies.
Achieving diversity objectives can be included in performance appraisals and linked to compensation, as well as promotion.
B. Establish Minority Recruitment, Retention, and Mentoring Programs
An essential initiative for building a diverse work force is to recruit and retain members of the targeted minority group. Because recruiting talented members of minority groups and women is competitive, careful human resources planning is required. Efforts at recruiting a culturally diverse work force must be supported by a leadership and management approach that leads to high retention, such as establishing cultural training programs.
Mentoring is a key initiative for retaining minority group members, as well as facilitating their advancement. Successful minorities with supportive managers and coworkers have faster compensation growth and progress more rapidly in their firms.
A study of 829 midsize and large U.S. firms found that college recruitment targeting minorities in an effective diversity initiative. Recruiting at historically black schools typically yields a group of qualified minority group members. The same study found mentoring to have an especially positive impact.
C. Conduct Diversity Training
Diversity training has become a widely used, though controversial, method for enhancing diversity within organizations. The purpose of diversity training is to bring about workplace harmony by teaching people how to get along better with diverse work associates. Training sessions in valuing differences focus on the ways in which individuals of different races reflect different values, attitudes, and cultural backgrounds. Sometimes these programs are confrontational, sometimes not. An essential part of relating more effectively to diverse groups is to empathize with their point of view.
A concern about diversity training is that it serves to reinforce stereotypes about groups. Leaders of diversity training are cautioned to guard against encouraging participants to be too confrontational and expressing too much hostility.
Diversity training needs to be incorporated into a culture that supports inclusion for the training to have an impact on the organization. A review of 178 articles found that when diversity training was integrated into a system of other diversity-related activities, the outcomes were more likely to be positive, such as participants believing that they learned to interact more effectively with other cultural groups. Voluntary adversity training tends to be more effective than making such training mandatory.
D. Conduct Anti-Bias Training
Closely related to diversity training are programs to encourage employees discover unconscious biases that may adversely affect certain demographic and cultural groups. An unconscious bias is a hidden, reflex-like preference that can shape a person’s view of the world. The Facebook anti-bias program concentrates on identifying and neutralizing racial, age, gender, and other forms of bias that might be present in the workplace.
Research at Google indicates that almost everyone is a little bit sexist or racist. Training can help us become aware of our unconscious biases and make appropriate adjustments.
E Conduct Cross-Cultural Training
The method frequently chosen for overseas assignments is cross-cultural training, a set of learning experiences designed to help employees understand the customs, traditions, and beliefs of another culture. A major thrust to cross-cultural training is to improve internal and external communications, including overcoming cross-cultural communication barriers. The art of facial cheek kissing is an amusing yet important aspect of cross-cultural training.
Another development in intercultural training is to train global leaders in cultural intelligence. Global managers receive training in the cognitive, physical, and emotional/motivational domain.
F Avoid Group Characteristics When Hiring for Person-Organization Fit
Person-organization fit centers around the extent to which a person’s major workrelated values and personality traits fit major elements of the organization culture. Selecting for person-organization fit can lead to a cohesive and strong organizational culture. The danger, however, is that when employers focus too sharply on cultural fit in the hiring process, they might inadvertently discriminate against protected classes of workers. The selection of candidates who look and act alike conflicts with a diversity strategy. The antidote is to focus on traits, behaviors, and values rather than group characteristics when hiring. Leaders at Microsoft and Amazon emphasize hiring intelligent people only because bright people fit their culture best. Being intelligent is an individual difference rather than a group characteristic.
G.
Attain Diversity among Organizational Leaders
To achieve a multicultural organization, firms must also practice leadership diversity, the presence of a culturally heterogeneous group of leaders. An organization with leadership diversity also has a heterogeneous group of leaders in such positions as supervisors, middle managers, and team leaders. The presence of a chief diversity officer is another way of attaining diversity among organizational leaders.
H. Emphasize Inclusive Language
A leader can go beyond subtle nuances in language such as avoiding “he” or “she.”
A strong leadership initiative for fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture is to emphasize phrases that specifically welcome every organizational member as well as other stakeholders. Two communication specialists offer these observations for using inclusive language: First, use audience-centered language. Second, demonstrate subject-matter expertise, such as providing relevant data. Third, introduce humble phrases into a conversation, which creates spaces for others to contribute.
I. Be Aware of Potential Diversity Danger Zones
Despite the importance of initiatives to accomplish diversity, equity, and inclusion, leaders must be aware of initiatives that carry legal risk and might also be considered unfair.
1. Imposing caps on experience to attract minorities and women might exclude older workers.
2. Targeted applicant pools should be conducted at the same time as general recruiting.
3. Selective blind screening: When leaders make an exception to the practice for certain positions, they take a legal risk.
4. Implicit awareness tests: The test may not be valid as predictors of biased job behavior toward the individual.
5. Demographic or cultural diversity as a basis for hiring decisions: Outright rejection of candidates who fall outside the target group is job discrimination. Yet it is possible to hire people with attributes related to the group status that are a true job requirement, such as fluency in Spanish.
VI. GUIDELINES FOR ACTION AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT
Focusing on differences among workers is insufficient for building connections. A recommended approach for building connections is to focus on similarities. Casual conversation will often reveal similarities such as a sports or cultural interest.
A challenge for leaders as well as individual contributors in a multicultural organization is using labels to describe group members that the group members find acceptable. Attempting to appear trendy by using the latest label to describe that group could be irritating. First, recognize that mentioning the demographic or cultural group is rarely necessary. Second, ask the group which term they prefer, such as Hispanic, Latino, or Latinx.
[return to top]
Comments on Experiential Exercises
An important feature of this exercise is that it provides an opportunity to attempt to obtain original data on a highly relevant leadership topic identifying a tangible advantage of being a diverse organization. The assignment could be challenging because few people are exposed
directly to the advantages of cultural and demographic diversity within their present or past employer.
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 14-1: Charting Your Cultural Value Profile
In addition to plotting their own cultural profiles, students are asked to speculate on the impact of the profile on leading others. Students are asked to identify which type of profile would respond well or poorly to their leadership. We can assume in general that it is easier to lead a person with a cultural profile comparable to our own.
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 14-2: My Appreciation for Cultural Differences
Given that students are inherently interested in cross-cultural relations, they should enjoy confronting the various scenarios mentioned in the statements. A message this quiz may carry for many people is that they have a long way to go in terms of being tolerant of cultural differences.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 14-2: Positive Cross-Cultural Experiences in the Workplace
It might prove helpful to pool information on positive cross-cultural experiences in the workplace. Considerable information is circulated about biases, prejudices, discrimination, and EEOC lawsuits, so it can be refreshing to focus on positive experiences. A sample input: “The chief cardiologist in our HMO is from Pakistan, and everybody thinks she is great.”
Drawing conclusions from this exercise will require reflection. One possible conclusion might be, “Most workers enjoy the opportunity to work with people different than themselves. They have no problem with cultural differences.”
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 14-3: Gaining International and Cross-Cultural Experience Inexpensively
The purpose of this exercise is to sensitize students to the possibility of gaining cross-cultural experience through everyday living. Obvious possibilities including dining at ethnic restaurants and visiting sections of town that are homogeneous with respect to an ethnic or racial group. How about the Chinatown in most large cities? To make these experiences more meaningful, one has to interact with people from other ethnic groups.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 14-4: The Diversity Circle
The diversity circle is a powerful exercise in demonstrating how some people feel about being diverse themselves. Volunteerism is very important in this exercise. No person should feel compelled to participate. Self-selection helps avoid placing anybody in an uncomfortable position. Ask students to describe a perception of being different that they are willing to share with the rest of the class. Our experience using this exercise repeatedly has been a student participation rate of over 98 percent.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 14-5: My Leadership Portfolio
This portfolio entry is yet another opportunity for the student to reach out into everyday life to practice a skill or develop an attitude that should prove helpful in a leadership role. Many students already are taking the opportunity to spend meaningful time with somebody quite different from themselves. Others may have to reach out, which is a major point of the exercise.
Comments on Discussion Questions and Activities
1 A person using a wheelchair is conducting a job search to land a middle-management position. Given that so many companies are attempting to build a more culturally diverse group of managers, should this job hunter include a photo of that person in a wheelchair on the job résumé? Explain your reasoning.
Many students will think that the person should include such a photo because it makes sense to give oneself any possible edge in a competitive job hunt. Furthermore, because those using wheelchairs have not been at an advantage in the past, here is an opportunity to capitalize on the possibility of gaining advantage now. Many other students will think that including the photo could backfire in at least two ways. First, the job searcher could be discriminated against as a wheelchair user, as evidenced by the photograph. The opposite point is that many employers do not want to receive résumés with photos to avoid being charged with discrimination if the applicant is rejected. Second, including a photo could be considered in poor taste because very few résumés these days contain a photo. The candidate could therefore be rejected for showing poor judgment, as well as going out of the way to be given special consideration.
2. With so much business being conducted over the Internet, including email, why is it important to understand cross-cultural differences in values?
Although a considerable amount of business is conducted electronically, values can be incorporated into electronically transmitted messages. For example, a person from a high-power-distance culture might respond best to directive messages. Another example is that when communicating with people from an in-group collectivism culture, it would be prudent to mention their workmates.
3. Suppose an American manager is assigned to be the general manager of a division in Sweden. During the first week in her position, the manager is confronted by a group of workers who declare that, being Swedish, they do not respect rank and status. They insist that she should share her executive salary with the production and clerical staff. If you were the American manager, how would you respond?
The general manager might respond that although she and her company respect Swedish national values, this is still an American company in which the general manager is in control. She might also note that she welcomes input from the workers, but they are not empowered to make decision about executive salaries.
4. If a business leader is regarded as charismatic by many people in one culture, to what extent do you think the leader would be perceived as charismatic in many other cultures?
Many of the traits and behaviors that contribute to the perception of a leader being charismatic cut across many cultures. In almost any culture, for example, having a warm smile and a friendly greeting would enhance a business leader’s charisma, and so would being visionary. We can therefore conclude that a leader who is perceived as charismatic in one culture would also be perceived similarly in many other cultures.
5. What actions might a leader take to demonstrate that their interest in diversity goes beyond rhetoric?
An obvious step to show that a leader has a genuine interest in diversity would be to promote diverse people into key positions. A related step would be for the leader to have
diverse people as closest advisers. Hiring a male administrative assistant is another visible way of demonstrating that the leader values diversity.
6. Assume that a manager becomes the leader of a division in which the vast majority of the workers are under twenty-five, such as a restaurant chain. Would you recommend that the leader get some body piercing to help establish rapport with the division workforce? Explain your reasoning.
A danger point in attempting to establish rapport with another group is to duplicate certain aspects of their behavior that make you appear patronizing. Cultural sensitivity and good judgment are required. In this instance, we think that the leader who suddenly emerged with body piercing would appear to be too obvious.
7. Walmart has such a diverse workforce that it appears the majority of workers are minority-group members. Why do you think that Walmart receives such little publicity for being culturally diverse?
The problem could be that the anti-Walmart groups and individuals capture more attention. These people complain about the low wages to workers and the preference of Walmart leadership to remain nonunionized. Anti-Walmart groups also complain about the company pressuring vendors for lower and lower prices. Walmart is therefore almost left to itself to advertise how minority-group members advance their careers at the company.
8. Should a company such as McDonald’s Restaurants, which already has a highly diverse workforce and customer base, require managers and franchise owners to attend diversity training? Explain your reasoning.
The major goal of diversity training is to teach people how to get along with culturally diverse people, with enhanced diversity among employees and customers being a consequence of getting along well. The fact that McDonald’s has a diverse workforce and customer base does not necessarily mean that intergroup harmony exists. Cultural diversity training might still be worthwhile, but whether or not franchise owners can be forced to attend might be a legal issue.
9. Suppose you are a team leader and one of your team members has a strong work ethic based on cultural values. Is it fair to assign this member more work just because that person is willing to work longer and harder than other team members?
It might be helpful to use an ethical screen to answer this question. A significant ethical issue is whether the workhorse employee receives greater rewards than coworkers with a weaker work ethic. Assigning the person with a strong work ethic more work than others might facilitate their being promoted, thereby rewarding the extra work.
10. What can you do this week to help prepare yourself to become a multicultural leader?
Action steps this week to prepare for multicultural leadership would include many of the suggestions in this chapter. Working or socializing with people from different cultures or demographic groups would be helpful. Spending a couple of hours working on a second language would also be very helpful. Even modest steps like visiting a restaurant in an ethnic section of town would help one become more culturally adept.
[return to top]
Plausible Responses to Case Questions
Leadership Case Problem A: Cultural Sensitivity at Pacific Pods
The major theme this case illustrates the lengths to which a leader/manager might go in attempting to demonstrate cultural sensitivity. A second theme is whether it is better for the leader/manager to focus on similarities or point out differences in an attempt to build good workplace relationships.
1. What is your evaluation of the appropriateness and effectiveness of Ava’s cultural sensitivity initiatives?
Ava may be well intended, but she might be making her staff feel uncomfortable in her obvious attempt to appeal to their cultural or demographic differences. An example is telling Lindsay that her tattoos and body piercings will not be a deterrent to her being promoted at Pacific Pods.
2. What suggestions can you offer Ava to be even more effective in displaying cultural sensitivity?
Ava might comment on cultural and demographic differences only when the subject arises naturally. For example, if Deon introduces the topic of Kwanza, she could then make a couple of knowledgeable comments about the holiday. Also, Ava should guard against expressing cultural assumptions unless she has evidence that the assumption is valid. A germane point is assuming that Gloria plays shuffleboard and bingo because she is a senior.
3. Explain if you found any one of Ava’s four cultural sensitivity initiatives to be offensive. Cultural sensitivity is more likely to be perceived as offensive when it makes an assumption about another person or group that appears to be negatively tinged. Two of Ava’s comments appear to having an element of negativity assuming that Gloria plays shuffle board and bingo, and that Lindsay might be concerned about her advancement in the company because of her tattoos and body piercing.
Associated Role Play
This role play might illustrate that it is difficult to predict how attempts at cultural sensitivity will be interpreted. For example, one student playing Tyler might appreciate being labeled courageous for commuting to work while being wheelchair-bound. Another student playing the role of Tyler might appreciate the compliment.
Leadership Case Problem B: Unfiltered Expressions at Anti-Bias Training
Depending on one’s perspective, this case illustrates what can go wrong, or go right, during anti-bias training. The open expression of conscious biases (it is difficult to express unconscious biases) helps identify potential problems being faced within the organization. Yet openly expressing these biases can lead to resentment about potential prejudices and discrimination.
1. To what extent do you think that the employees’ expression of their conscious biases in a workshop accomplishes anything worthwhile?
As just mentioned, openly expressing biases can help organizational members understand potential problems of discrimination they might be facing. At the same time, the expression of positive biases and stereotypes might lead to many good feelings.
2. Which one or two of the biases expressed do you think might be harmful to a climate of cultural diversity at Ambrose?
It is most likely that the expression of negative biases can do the most damage, as follows. Kurt’s comment that physically attractive women may not be smart; Eric’s comment that a Black person might dislike him; Ashley’s unwillingness to ask a worker over age 50 for technical advice; Bianca’s thought that an obese person might be lazy; Emily’s thought that a recently divorced, middle-aged male might be a predator; and Eva’s comment about millennials having poor attendance records.
3. If you were in the workshop, explain whether or not you would express any conscious biases you might have.
Although some people think they would be hesitant to express conscious biases in the workshop, after attendance they might first listen to others, and then overcome their reluctance to participate. Students who strongly believe in political correctness are likely to express their biases in a culturally sensitive manner.
Associated Role Play
An advantage of this role play is that is quite natural. The group will engage in an open discussion of the perceived value of anti-bias training and perhaps confront someone else about statements made during the anti-bias training. Nobody’s feeling will be hurt because any potentially offense statements are just part of the case script.
[return to top]
Appendix
Generic Rubrics
Providing students with rubrics helps them understand expectations and components of assignments. Rubrics help students become more aware of their learning process and progress, and they improve students’ work through timely and detailed feedback.
Customize these rubrics as you wish. The writing rubric indicates 40 points, and the discussion rubric indicates 30 points.
Standard Writing Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Content
Organization and Clarity
The assignment clearly and comprehensively addresses all questions in the assignment.
15 points
The assignment presents ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are logically related and consistent.
10 points
Research
Research
Grammar and Spelling
The assignment is based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature, including peerreviewed journals and other scholarly work.
5 points
The assignment follows the required citation guidelines.
5 points
The assignment has two or fewer grammatical and spelling errors.
5 points
The assignment partially addresses some or all questions in the assignment.
8 points
The assignment presents ideas in a mostly clear manner and with a mostly strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are mostly logically related and consistent.
7 points
The assignment is based upon adequate academic literature but does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
3 points
The assignment follows some of the required citation guidelines.
3 points
The assignment has three to five grammatical and spelling errors.
3 points
The assignment does not address the questions in the assignment.
0 points
The assignment does not present ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an introduction, content, and conclusion, but coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are not logically related and consistent.
0 points
The assignment is not based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature and does not include peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
0 points
The assignment does not follow the required citation guidelines.
0 points
The assignment is incomplete or unintelligible.
0 points
Standard Discussion Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Participation
Contribution Quality
Submits or participates in discussion by the posted deadlines. Follows all assignment instructions for initial post and responses.
5 points
Comments stay on task. Comments add value to discussion topic. Comments motivate other students to respond.
20 points
Etiquette
Maintains appropriate language. Offers criticism in a constructive manner. Provides both positive and negative feedback.
5 points
Does not participate or submit discussion by the posted deadlines. Does not follow instructions for initial post and responses.
3 points
Comments may not stay on task. Comments may not add value to discussion topic. Comments may not motivate other students to respond.
10 points
Does not always maintain appropriate language. Offers criticism in an offensive manner. Provides only negative feedback.
3 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Purpose and Perspective of the Chapter
The purpose of this chapter is help readers understand the nature of leadership development and succession, including the need for continuous learning. Many of the ideas in the chapter can be applied to the reader for personal development as a leader.
Chapter Objectives
The following objectives are addressed in this chapter:
15.01 Detail how leaders develop through self-awareness and self-discipline.
15.02 Elaborate how leaders develop through education, experience, and mentoring.
15.03 Enumerate the nature of leadership development programs.
15.04 Describe the nature of leadership succession.
Complete List of Chapter Activities and Assessments
For additional guidance refer to the Teaching Online Guide.
Self-Assessment Quiz 15-1: My Self-Discipline Tendencies
Self-Assessment Quiz 15-2: The Interpersonal Skills Checklist
10, 11, 12,
Skill-Building Exercise 15-1: Finding a Mentor or Mentors for Leadership Development
Skill-Building Exercise 15-3: My Leadership Portfolio
Skill-Building Exercise 15-2: Building for the Future
Skill-Building Exercise 15-4: Analyzing a Local Leader
[return to top]
Key Terms
Feedback-intensive development program: A learning experience that helps leaders develop by seeing more clearly their patterns of behaviors, the reasons for such behaviors, and the impact of these behaviors and attitudes on their effectiveness.
Leadership succession: An orderly process of identifying and grooming people to replace executives.
Mentor: A more experienced person who develops a protégé’s abilities through tutoring, coaching, guidance, and emotional support.
Reverse mentoring: The process of a younger, less experienced person teaching an older, more experienced person.
Self-awareness: Insightfully processing feedback about oneself to improve personal effectiveness.
Self-discipline: The ability to mobilize one’s efforts to stay focused on attaining an important goal.
Shadowing: An approach to mentoring in which the trainee follows the mentor around for a stated period of time.
[return to top]
What's New in This Chapter
The following elements are improvements and additions in this chapter from the previous edition:
• More about self-awareness the two types.
• The #MeToo Movement and mentoring
• The application of neuroscience, or brain science, to enhance leadership effectiveness.
• Evidence about the effectiveness of executive coaching in comparison to other interventions for development.
• Dealing with sensitive and delicate issues as a new leader challenge
• Table 15-1Seven Attitudes and Beliefs of a Person with a Growth Mindset
[return to top]
Chapter Outline
The primary purpose of this chapter is to help readers understand the nature of leadership development and succession, including the need for continuous learning. Many ideas in this chapter can be applied to the reader for personal development as a leader.
[return to top]
Chapter Outline and Lecture Notes
This chapter describes the processes organizations use to develop present and future leaders. A description of one facet of leadership self-development is also included. The chapter assumes that leaders are both born and made.
I. DEVELOPMENT THROUGH SELF-AWARENESS AND SELF-DISCIPLINE
Self-help contributes heavily to developing leadership capabilities. Two major components of leadership self-development are self-awareness and self-discipline. Leadership development is often perceived in terms of education and training, job experience, and coaching. Self-help also contributes heavily to developing leadership capabilities. Research suggests that individuals with a strong growth orientation are more skilled at self-development of leadership characteristics and behaviors. Underlying a career growth orientation is a growth mindset, the idea that the true mark of success is the ability to learn. A growth mindset thrives on challenges and sees failure not as an indicator of low intelligence, but as a springboard for improving current abilities.
A. Leadership Development Through Self-Awareness
An important mechanism underlying self-development is self-awareness, insightfully processing feedback about oneself to improve personal effectiveness. Part of self-awareness is being able to understand how the individual is perceived by others. According to two specialists in leadership assessment, many big mistakes in careers and organizations result from gaps in self-awareness.
Research reveals that self-awareness consists of two types of knowledge. Introspective awareness is seeing ourselves clearly, knowing what we value, and what we aspire to. Self-awareness is also knowing how people see us.
A promising, area of self-awareness is for leaders to recognize their standing on two key dimensions of leadership: forceful versus enabling leadership; and strategy versus operational. The leader should not go overboard on each dimension, such as being too forceful or too enabling. Also, the leader should not spend so much time strategizing that operations are neglected, or so much time focusing on operations that strategy is neglected. The lopsided leader focuses on the extremes.
A Leadership Development through Self-Discipline
Leadership development requires considerable self-discipline, mobilizing one’s effort and energy to stay focused on attaining an important goal. Self-discipline plays an important role in the continuous monitoring of one’s behavior to ensure that needed self-development occurs.
Self-discipline plays an important role in the continuous monitoring of one’s behavior to ensure that needed self-development occurs. After one identifies a developmental need, it is necessary to periodically review whether one is making the necessary improvements
II. DEVELOPMENT THROUGH EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, AND MENTORING
Much leadership development takes place through means other than self-awareness and self-discipline or leadership development programs. Almost any life activity can help people prepare for a leadership role.
A. Education
Education generally refers to acquiring knowledge without concern about immediate application. The extent of formal education is positively correlated with achieving managerial and leadership positions and with the level of leadership position attained. Most high-level leaders are intelligent, well-informed people who gather knowledge throughout their career. Another key contribution of formal education to leadership development is that it enhances a person’s learning agility (the ability to learn).
B Experience
Without experience, knowledge cannot readily be converted into skill. Leadership experience also helps build skills and insights that a person may not have formally studied.
1 Challenging Experiences. The best experiences for leadership development are those that challenge the manager realistically. The goal of leadership development is to provide meaningful development opportunities, not to push managers to the point where they are most likely to fail. According to flamboyant executive and entrepreneur Richard Branson, failure can be developmental. Table 15–1 in the text lists powerful developmental experiences. An important part of capitalizing on challenging experiences is for the leader/manager to be given leeway in choosing how to resolve the problem.
Challenging experiences are the most likely to result in leadership development when the leader receives coaching and guidance about the lessons to be derived from these experiences.
2 Sources of Experience. The two major developmental factors in any work situation are work associates and tasks. Work associates can serve as positive or negative models. Work-related tasks give the leader an opportunity to become an effective and innovative problem solver. The tasks that do most to foster development are those that are more complex and ambiguous than a person has faced previously.
An extreme approach to developing leadership skills is to be assigned responsibility for an area in which one lacks the appropriate skills or knowledge of the business. Leadership skills needed to succeed in unfamiliar situations
include consultation with the right people and exuding self-confidence, yet not being arrogant.
3. Broad Experience. Many aspects of leadership are situational. Gaining managerial experience in different settings is therefore advantageous. A widespread practice is to assign managers to cross-functional teams to give them experience in working with other disciplines. Achieving broad experience fits well with the current emphasis on growth through learning new skills rather than a preoccupation with vertical mobility.
A particularly effective type of broad experience early in a career is to perform technical work in one’s specialty and combine it with front-line supervision. As implied by double-loop learning, experience is the most beneficial when the person extracts value from what is happening.
C. Mentoring
Coaching often comes from a mentor, a more experienced person who develops a protégé’s abilities through tutoring, coaching, guidance, and emotional support. A mentor is often a person’s manager but can also be a staff professional or a coworker.
1. Informal Versus Formal Mentoring. Mentoring is traditionally thought of as an informal relationship based on compatibility between two personalities; however, many firms offer formal mentoring programs.
Another approach to mentoring is shadowing, or directly observing the work activities of the mentor by following the person around for a stated period of time. The protégé might be invited to strategy meetings, visits with key customers, discussions with union leaders, and the like.
2. Online Mentoring. Online, or virtual, mentoring is popular because sending email messages, texting, and social media posts helps overcome barriers created by geography, limited time, and voice mail. Online mentoring offers a wide pool of possible mentors and better matches between the mentor and person mentored. Online mentoring also includes profiling software and intranets to make matching more specific. Despite the efficiency advantage of online mentoring, some face-to-face contact with a mentor is recommended to help keep the relationship vibrant.
3. Effective Mentoring Behaviors. In general, effective mentors tend to engage in behaviors of effective leaders. In addition, their behaviors include (a) being credible, (b) telling things the mentored person does not want to hear, (c) encouraging risk taking, (d) encouraging goal setting, and (e) sharing a way of thinking about a problem rather than solving it.
4. Impact on Leadership. Mentorship is the way leaders spread their influence, transfer their wisdom, and allow others to take part in their experience, thereby helping their mentees develop as leaders. Mentors can make recommendations for promotion and help the mentee develop contacts. Highlevel leaders sometimes use mentors as a way of obtaining useful feedback. The mentor can coach the protégé about handling leadership situations and understanding the political aspects of the organization.
The impact of mentoring on leadership works in two directions. The mentor helps the protégé, and having a protégé often improves the mentor’s
leadership effectiveness. The process of a less experienced person teaching an older, more experienced person is termed reverse mentoring. Data analytics are a possibility as well as teaching the giving mentor insights into a particular cultural group.
5. The Importance of Having More than One Mentor. Mentoring relationships are often fragile and problems can occur, including feelings of rivalry or the mentee being neglected. Having more than one mentor can help deal with these problems. The term composite mentor refers to a collection of people from whom one draws lessons, including strategic thinking and creativity.
6. The #MeToo Movement and Mentoring.
Concerns have been expressed about more senior males mentoring young women as part of the #MeToo movement. #MeToo is a social movement against sexual violence, assault, and harassment, advocating women speak out about their own experiences of this type. A contributing factor to any harassment that takes place is that the mentor exerts power over the person mentored. Male mentors also are concerned about being accused of sexual harassment by female protégés.
As a result of concerns about a mentoring relationship involving sexual harassment, a more senior person should exert extra care to keep the relationship professional. It has been recommended to avoid selecting as mentors men with a pattern of dominance, aggression, and strong sexual identity. Also, make awareness of sexual harassment part of mentor training.
Leadership development has become a heavy priority for many major businesses and government organizations. Many management development programs are also aimed at leadership development. Leadership development is important because without a cadre of effective current and future leaders, a company would lose its competitive edge. The leadership development program has to be appropriately sponsored, carefully designed, and professionally executed. Although online learning supplements leadership development, face-to-face interaction with other leaders and course presenters will most likely remain popular.
A. Types of Leadership Development Programs
In practice, the various programs for developing leaders often overlap.
1 Feedback-Intensive Programs. A feedback-intensive development program helps leaders develop by seeing more clearly their patterns of behavior, the reasons for such behaviors, and the impact of these behaviors and attitudes on their effectiveness. 360-degrfee feedback is widely used in all types of organizations. An instructive point about feedback intensive programs, as well as practically all forms of leadership development, if that the person being developed needs to follow up.
2. Skill-Based Programs. Skill training in leadership development involves acquiring abilities and techniques that can be converted into action. The emphasis is on learning how to apply knowledge. Five different methods are often used in skill-based leadership training: lecture, case study, role-play, behavioral role modeling, and simulations. Behavioral role modeling is an extension of role playing and is based on social learning theory.
Simulations give participants an opportunity to work on a problem that simulates a real organization. According to one simulation developer, the most effective training involves competition. Simulations are also used to give managers the opportunity
3. Conceptual Knowledge and Awareness Programs. A standard approach to leadership development is to learn useful concepts about leadership. Conceptual knowledge is very important because it alerts the leader to information that will make a difference in leadership. Table 15-1 presents key examples of conceptual knowledge and awareness programs.
4 Socialization Programs. From the company standpoint, an essential type of leadership development program emphasizes socializing (becoming acclimated to and accepting) the company vision and values. Frequently, the chief executive makes a presentation of the company vision and values.
Action Learning Programs. In action learning, leaders and potential leaders work together in groups to solve organization problems outside of their usual sphere of influence. Action learning is also referred to as experiential learning. Action learning is part of the learning organization.
6. Coaching. Executive coaching described in Chapter 10 is clearly a form of leadership development because the managers coached receive advice and encouragement in relation to their leadership skills. An analysis of 84 studies about executive coaching concluded that it might be the most effective form of leadership development. Among the many positive outcomes from coaching related to leadership effectiveness are improved team player and team-building skills, and ability to build cross-functional relationships.
7. Evaluation of Leadership Development Programs. Many companies evaluate their leadership development programs to see if they are cost effective, and to investigate if leadership performance improves. Another method of evaluating the outcomes of a leadership development program would be to compare the financial results of participants versus nonparticipants.
IV LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION
In a well-managed organization, replacements for retiring and dismissed executives are chosen through leadership succession, an orderly process of identifying and grooming people to replace executives. Succession planning is vital to the long-term health of an organization and therefore an important responsibility of senior leadership. Being groomed as a successor is part of a person’s development, and fostering a successor’s development is part of a manager’s own development.
A How the Board Chooses a Successor
The board is likely to follow standard principles of human resources selection such as thoroughly screening candidates, including speaking to people who have worked with the candidate. It is recommended that board members have regular contact (both formal and informal) with potential candidates. One opinion is that being a small-company CEO is better preparation for being at CEO at a larger company than is general manager experience.
Whether selecting an insider or an outsider to succeed a given leader, the board is encouraged to obtain objective data about the candidate’s performance in addition to opinions about their effectiveness.
B The Emotional Aspects of Leadership Succession
When executives are replaced, even if they are financially independent, they are likely to experience an emotional loss. Leadership succession in a family business is emotional for many reasons, such as family squabbles over the best-qualified successor. Another potential problem with leadership succession in a family business is conflict between or among siblings. Replacing a business founder is another emotional process. When a family member is chosen as a successor among several qualified members, the traditional choice has been to choose the oldest sibling. New research suggests that the tradition is declining, partially because later-born children learn about business in college as opposed to learning in the family firm.
Emotional reactions to leadership succession also take place at the workgroup level. An example is that when a departing leader is well liked by the group or team, it will
be more difficult for the new leader to exert their authority or be accepted. Also, turnover might be higher and productivity lower.
C. Developing a Pool of Successors
Developing a pool of candidates combines evaluating potential with giving highpotential individuals the right type of developmental experiences. The steps include evaluating the extent of the organization’s pending leadership shortage, and identifying high-potential individuals for possible inclusion in the pool which includes evaluating their potential. Financial services giant Aetna focuses on mentoring young managers with high potential.
D. Promotion from Within
Research suggests that promoting insiders with an outside perspective may be the best solution to the dilemma of whether to promote an insider or an outsider to a top leadership position. An analysis of 1,800 successions found that companies performed substantially better when the appointed insiders to CEO a finding also supported by other researchers. A major problem is that the outsider often does not understand how to bring about changes within the company. Promotion from within also offers the advantage of more hope to insiders because they believe they have more opportunity for advancement within their own company.
Insider-outsiders are internal candidates who have developed an outside perspective. They frequently have considerable experience away from the company mainstream and away from headquarters, and taking on challenging opportunities. A study indicated that board members who are appointed as CEO outperformed other types of candidates because they represent a strong blend of insider and outsider.
V. CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Leadership development programs include succession and promotion from within. A successful program should include the following characteristics: (1) cognitive and experiential components, (2) the developers should have both applicable academic credentials and experience in working with managers and leaders, (3) senior executives should participate in the program, (4) leaders should understand their own strengths and weaknesses, and (5) heavy emphasis must be placed on sustained use of the knowledge and skills learned in the program.
VI CHALLENGES OF BEING A NEW LEADER
One way of preparing for becoming a leader for the first time is to think through some of the inevitable challenges of occupying a formal leadership role. Among the challenges are:
1. Uncertainty about how much time to spend leading versus doing individual tasks.
2. Overcoming the resentment of the people in the group who wanted your leadership position.
3. Building relationships and fostering teamwork quickly enough.
4. Having realistic expectations about how much you can accomplish right away.
5. Overcoming the need to be liked by everybody.
6. Being able to deal with sensitive and delicate issues.
A major determinant of whether a person will develop as a leader later in life is the motivation to lead, as mentioned in Chapter 2. This type of motivation manifests in such activities as volunteering for leadership roles, and well as taking the initiative to lead in sport, club, or neighborhood activities.
An important method for enhancing both the acceptance and the effectiveness of leadership development is needs analysis, the diagnosis of needs for development. A needs analysis recognizes individual differences among leaders and future leaders. Sources of data for assessing leadership development needs include (1) selfperceptions of developmental needs, (2) perceptions by others in the workplace, (3) psychological evaluation, and (4) a statement of organizational needs for development.
[return to top]
Comments on Experiential Exercises
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 15-1: My Self-Discipline Tendencies
Thinking about one’s level of self-discipline is potentially valuable because self-discipline is a major success factor for leadership and almost any undertaking. Self-discipline is also important because is the driving force behind mindfulness and grit.
Leadership
Self-Assessment Quiz 15-2: The Interpersonal Skills Checklist
The interpersonal skills checklist is an extraordinarily important development exercise. Most people have their developmental needs tapped by this straightforward questionnaire. Moving from need recognition to change requires an astute action plan and considerable self-discipline.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 15-1: Finding a Mentor or Mentors for Leadership Development
What better skill-building exercise for students who want to advance their career as a leader? This same exercise might be framed as finding quality people to include in your network. One possibility that might not come to mind is for the person to perform so well on the job that they develop a good reputation and therefore attract a mentor.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 15-2: Building for the Future
An important aspect of many leadership development programs is feedback from peers. The standard feedback method described in this exercise is well structured and usually quite effective. At this point in the course, many students will appreciate constructive suggestions for personal development.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 15-3: My Leadership Portfolio
The final entry into the leadership portfolio is a reminder and a suggestion to maintain a leadership journal throughout your career. Reflection about what we are doing often leads to skill development because it can lead to error correction and repetition of leadership practices that went well.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 15-4: Analyzing a Local Leader
Analyzing a local leader might serve as a capstone exercise to the course. It is easy to criticize a person in power, but this exercise demands more: doing a thorough analysis of the person’s leadership attributes and behaviors.
[return to top]
Comments on Discussion Questions and Activities
1. The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) offers a leadership development program that includes simulating being a firefighter by going through emergency drills such as rescuing passengers from a subway accident. Assuming that you have the physical capabilities, would you be willing to participate in such a challenge as part of your leadership and teamwork skills development? Explain your logic.
Most students voluntarily taking a leadership course would leap at the opportunity to practice teamwork in such an intense, high-status setting. Part of the logic of many students is that they would like the high-speed action and the experience of working under intense pressure. The reasons for not wanting to participate in the FDNY activity would include concerns about safety, the amount of time involved, and not knowing if course credit would be gained for the exercise. Physical limitations such as a bad back might also be a reason for not wanting to participate.
2. Many business executives believe that playing team sports helps a person develop as a leader. Based on your knowledge of leadership development, where do you stand on this issue?
Playing team sports undoubtedly contributes to an awareness of the importance of team play. Many executives, however, overlook the possibility that a person can develop teamwork skills in other group activities such as experience with a school newspaper, a club, or an orchestra.
3. How convinced are you that having a growth mindset contributes to a leader’s effectiveness?
If the student frames having a growth mindset as a willingness to learn, it would be difficult to dismiss the relevance of a growth mindset as contributing to a leader’s effectiveness. Leaders face learning challenges regularly in such areas as new government regulations, dealing with social movements including #MeToo, and an everincreasing amount of technology required for the position.
4. In terms of developing as a leader, should an executive take seriously nasty comments made about that person on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram?
As much as it hurts, the executive might take seriously comments that seem consistent, rather than one random negative comment. Imagine that an executive observes several comments about being a hypocrite. The executive might reflect, “Is there anything I am doing consistently that shows a discrepancy between what I tell people and what I do? If so, I should strive for more consistency between my words and deeds.”
5. Suppose you aspired to become a senior executive in a large company. How would working as an office supervisor, production supervisor, or manager in a quick-service restaurant help you achieve your goal?
Supervisory experience is highly valuable for a future executive position for many reasons. The future executive has an opportunity to practice basic management skills
such as motivation and communication with career beginners. Furthermore, the executive learns firsthand about operations and is better able to empathize with line personnel. Also, the future executive learns how difficult it is to earn a profit.
6. Why is being a member of a cross-functional team considered to be helpful experience as a future leader?
As a member of a cross-functional team a person has to work smoothly with people from different disciplines, and get to understand their frames of reference and perspective. Similarly, a leader often has to work with a variety of people and integrate their different points of view into goals. The effective leader has to build community by blending diverse viewpoints, and the cross-functional team usually contains diverse viewpoints.
7. A number of elementary schools have programs with titles such as “Everybody is a leader,” or “The leader in me.” What do you think of the merits of conducting leadership development with children younger than 12?
Perhaps if these leadership programs would be valuable if they emphasized fundamentals such as taking the initiative to solve problems and helping other people attain what they want. Yet detailed instructions about such leadership topics as coaching others and strategy development would be too advanced for these young people to do much good.
8. Identify at least one developmental need with respect to leadership skills for the current president of the United States. Point to any specific behavior of the president that indicates the need for the particular development you specify. (Attempt to be objective rather than political in your answer.)
In stories and cartoons, the press provides many hints about the developmental needs of the president. Political blogs also suggest developmental needs for the president. Developmental needs for recent presidents include the need to be more precise in oral communication, learning to laugh in a more convincing manner, and learning to appear more emotionally involved in the subject at hand. Tolerance for different points of view might also be a strong developmental need.
9. Ask an experienced leader what the leader thinks is the most effective method of developing leadership skills. Bring your findings to class.
The most frequent response will probably be experience. At this point in the course it would be effective to review why guided experience, or the application of leadership concepts combined with experience, is probably an even better way to develop leadership skills.
10. Now that you have completed a course in leadership, what do you think of this ancient adage: “Leadership shouldn’t be a popularity contest”?
Agreeing with this adage indicates that the person believes a leader should be an independent thinker who takes decisive actions that sometimes may be disliked by group members. An example would be killing a product or laying off people to help the company survive. Disagreeing with this adage would indicate the perception that the person in charge should be more like a servant leader who does what the group members want.
[return to top]
Plausible Responses to Case Questions
Leadership Case Problem A: Holly, the Potential Team Leader
1. Based on her interview responses, explain whether Malcolm should recommend that Holly be promoted to team leader.
Holly appears to be a satisfactory candidate for the team leadership position. It appears that her education, job performance, and interpersonal skills qualify her to occupy the role of team leader.
2. What has Holly revealed that would suggest she might be an effective team leader?
As answered in question 1, Holly shows many positive attributes for the position of team leader. She is passionate about the discipline of environmental engineering, she has taken initiative to become a leader, she has a good sense of humor, and she has a strong work ethic. She also is an analytical thinker as revealed in her response that instead of making an on-the-spot decision about accepting the teal leadership position, she first wants more details.
Associated Role Play
This role play provides an opportunity to practice a scenario that will be encountered by many ambitious people presenting oneself in a favorable light in order to secure a valued position. Holly has a lot going for her, so she can be confidently describe her qualifications. The role play also offers the opportunity to practice the useful leadership and management skill of conducting a job interview.
Leadership Case Problem B: Ashok Eyes the Executive Suite
This case deals directly with a subject of strong interest to most students of leadership—career advancement. The case also deals with the potential problem of expressing too much ambition.
1. In what way is this case about leadership development?
Ashok is trying very hard to create a path to the executive suite by acquiring the education and experience that will facilitate him becoming a C-suite executive.
2. What do you recommend that Ashok do to facilitate a path to an executive position?
Ashok has done a fine job of facilitating his path to the executive suite in terms of education and experience. Yet he needs to demonstrate higher job performance, and ore focus on company welfare and less on himself.
3. To what extent do you think that Jessica’s is justified?
Many students will agree that Ashok has become too self-centered in his plan to become a C-suite executive. He needs to be more subtle. While planning his career Ashok needs to emphasize high job performance and talk less about his demands for promotion. An insensitive comment he made was, “I would get the experience and visibility I need to move more quickly into the executive suite.”
Associated Role Play
Here is an opportunity for the person who plays Ashok to demonstrate positive leadership characteristics such as self-confidence and cognitive skills. At the same time, the role player will need to display enough insight and emotional intelligence to not push too hard about wanting to advance in the company. The role player should demonstrate effective listening
skills, and perhaps also demonstrate diplomacy and tact in suggesting to Ashok that he is pushing too hard for advancement.
[return to top]
Additional Activities and Assignments
<narrative>
Read this blogpost and then answer the following questions about relational leadership. http://community.cengage.com/GECResource2/info/b/management/archive/2015/03/19/rel ational-leadership
<question type="essay">
1. Define relational leadership.
ANS: Answers may vary.
REJ: Refer to the chapter “Leadership Development & Succession” for more information.
<metadata>
Difficulty: Moderate
LO: Summarize the nature of leadership development programs.
Learning Objective Narrative: To increase a student’s understanding of the value of leadership development programs.
A-head: Leadership Development Programs Diversity
Bloom's: Understanding </metadata>
<question type="essay">
2. Why is coaching and mentoring important in achieving a relational work environment?
ANS: Answers may vary.
REJ: Refer to the chapter “Leadership Development and Succession” for more information.
<metadata>
Difficulty: Moderate
LO: Explain how leaders develop through education, experience, and mentoring.
Learning Objective Narrative: To increase a student’s understanding of the value of coaching and mentoring.
Appendix
Generic Rubrics
Providing students with rubrics helps them understand expectations and components of assignments. Rubrics help students become more aware of their learning process and progress, and they improve students’ work through timely and detailed feedback.
Customize these rubrics as you wish. The writing rubric indicates 40 points, and the discussion rubric indicates 30 points.
Standard Writing Rubric
Organization and Clarity
Research
Research
Grammar and Spelling
and comprehensively addresses all questions in the assignment.
15 points
The assignment presents ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are logically related and consistent.
10 points
The assignment is based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature, including peer reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
5 points
The assignment follows the required citation guidelines.
5 points
The assignment has two or fewer grammatical and spelling errors.
5 points
addresses some or all questions in the assignment.
8 points
The assignment presents ideas in a mostly clear manner and with a mostly strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an appropriate introduction, content, and conclusion. Coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are mostly logically related and consistent.
7 points
The assignment is based upon adequate academic literature but does not include peer reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
3 points
The assignment follows some of the required citation guidelines.
3 points
The assignment has three to five grammatical and spelling errors.
3 points
address the questions in the assignment.
0 points
The assignment does not present ideas in a clear manner and with strong organizational structure. The assignment includes an introduction, content, and conclusion, but coverage of facts, arguments, and conclusions are not logically related and consistent.
0 points
The assignment is not based upon appropriate and adequate academic literature and does not include peer reviewed journals and other scholarly work.
0 points
The assignment does not follow the required citation guidelines.
0 points
The assignment is incomplete or unintelligible.
0 points
Standard Discussion Rubric
Criteria Meets Requirements Needs Improvement Incomplete
Participation
Contribution Quality
Submits or participates in discussion by the posted deadlines. Follows all assignment instructions for initial post and responses.
5 points
Comments stay on task. Comments add value to discussion topic. Comments motivate other students to respond.
20 points
Etiquette
Maintains appropriate language. Offers criticism in a constructive manner. Provides both positive and negative feedback.
5 points
Does not participate or submit discussion by the posted deadlines. Does not follow instructions for initial post and responses.
3 points
Comments may not stay on task. Comments may not add value to discussion topic. Comments may not motivate other students to respond.
10 points
Does not always maintain appropriate language. Offers criticism in an offensive manner. Provides only negative feedback.
3 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points
Does not participate in discussion.
0 points