Studies of Leadership Behavior Chapter 8 Lecture Notes

Studies of Leadership Behavior  Leadership behaviors – functions of intelligence, personality traits, emotional intelligence, values, attitudes, interests, knowledge and experience  building blocks of skills  Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ) o Subordinates rate leader by:  Does leader let subordinate know when they’ve done a good job?  Does leader set clear expectations about performance?  Does leader show concern for subordinates as individuals?  Does leader make subordinates feel at ease?  Independent dimensions of behavior o Consideration – how much a leader is friendly and supportive towards subordinates o Initiating structure – how much a leader emphasizes meeting work goals and accomplishing tasks  Four categories contributing to effective group performance o Leader support – leader shows concern for subordinates o Interaction facilitation – leaders act to smooth over and minimize conflicts among followers o Goal emphasis – motivating subordinates to accomplish the task at hand (jobcentered dimension) o Work facilitation – clarifying roles, acquiring and allocating resources, and reconciling organizational conflicts (job-centered dimension) Alternative Conceptualizations of Leadership Behaviors  Concerned with: o Identifying key leadership behaviors o Determining whether these behaviors have positive relationships with leadership success o Developing those behaviors related to leadership success  Leadership Grid – profiles leader behavior on two dimensions: o Concern for people o Concern for production  Competency models – describe behaviors and skills mangers need to exhibit if an organization is to be successful o Clarify expectations of performance and develop o Skills and behaviors in competency model  Intrapersonal skills – adapting to stress, goal orientation, and adhering to rules  most difficult to change, no interaction w/ others  Interpersonal skills – direct interaction with others  Leadership skills – building teams and getting results through others  Business skills – analyzing issues, making decisions, financial savvy, and strategic thinking  Community leadership – process of building a team of volunteers to accomplish a community outcome o Community leaders do not have position power; have fewer resources/rewards; anyone can be one o Three leadership competencies (community leadership)  Framing – helping a group or community recognize and define its opportunities and issues in ways that result in effective action  What needs to be done, why it’s important, & how it’s done  How can they benefit from the outcome  Building social capital – developing and maintaining relationships that allow people to work together in the community w/ differences  Social capital – power of relationships shared between others  Mobilization – engaging critical mass to take action to achieve a specific or set of outcome(s) through strategic, planned purposeful activity Assessing Leadership Behaviors: Multirater Feedback Instruments  360-degree or multirater feedback – direct feedback from boss, self, and peers  Improves ratings over time  Differences in feedback based on culture, gender, and race  Mostly important for broad leadership skills between others, not self  Create goals and plans Managerial Derailment  Managerial derailment o Patterns  Inability to build relationships  Failure to meet business objectives, pointed fingers or lied about results  Inability to build and lead a team  Inability to adapt to new bosses, businesses, cultures, or structures  People leave organization due to inadequate preparation for promotion  “High-potential” managers Changing Behavior Development Planning  Development pipeline Initial capabilities  insight  motivation  new knowledge/skills (development plan)  real world application  accountability  increased capabilities o Do leaders know what behaviors need to change? o Is the leader motivated to change these behaviors?  Development plan – self-focused o Do leaders have plans in place for changing targeted behaviors? o Do leaders have opportunities to practice new skills? o Are leaders held accountable for changing targeted behavior?  Get feedback and review progress Coaching  Coaching – process of equipping people with tools, knowledge, and opportunities needed to develop and become more successful o Informal coaching – takes place whenever a leader helps followers to change their behaviors; five steps:  Forge a partnership (identify goals and motivators, perspectives) and determine the level of mutual trust  relationship  Inspire commitment – gather and analyze data to determine development needs  Growing skills  coaching plan – development plan between leader and follower  Promote persistence  Transfer skills to new environments o Informal coaching  Helps groups to be successful and reduce turnover  Use this to make top performers even better o Formal coaching – program  one-on-one relationship between manager and coach and lasts from six months to more than one year Mentoring  Mentoring – personal relationship where more experienced mentor acts as a guide, role model, and sponsor of a less experienced protégé o Give knowledge, advice, challenge, support, counsel, etc. o Unlike coaching – does not target specific development needs o Gain different perspectives or advice o Mentors not always part of same organization o Informal and formal mentoring