Week 8 - Lecture 8 - Leadership and group processes

Question 1

approaches to studying leadership

Answer 1

trait
behavioural
situational
transformational

Question 2

What does the trait approach say about leadership?

Answer 2

Stable personality characteristics that predispose a person to become a leader;

Generally, a person who is a good leader in one situation would make a good leader in any situation;

Question 3

examples of traits of leaders

Answer 3

‒ Intelligence
‒ Assertiveness
‒ Independence
‒ Self-confidence

Question 4

Weaknesses of trait approach to leadership

Answer 4

• Little support for trait theory:
  ‒ Very limited evidence that personality traits alone determine good leaders;
  ‒ Although some traits might be useful to have, they are not essential for a successful leader;
• No “specific” personality traits that make all leaders successful.

Question 5

what does the behavioural approach to personality focus on?

Answer 5

behaviours and actions of great leaders

Question 6

what does behavioural approach say about leadership?

Answer 6

Anyone can become a leader, simply by learning the behaviours of effective leaders.

Question 7

according to behavioural approach what must a person learn to be a good leader?

Answer 7

behaviours related to:
‒ Consideration – Building trust and rapport, showing concern
for group members, maintaining two-way communication;
‒ Initiating Structure – Planning, assigning roles, motivating
group members;

Question 8

leaders are born not made refers to which approach?

Answer 8

trait

Question 9

leaders are made not born refers to which approach?

Answer 9

Behavioural

Question 10

limitations to trait and behavioural approaches

Answer 10

• Trait & behavioural approaches emphasise personal factors at the expense of situational characteristics;
• These approaches are limited as:
  1) No one set of personality characteristics can ensure successful leadership.
  2) Certain leadership styles fit certain situations.
  3) Leaders can adapt their styles to the demands of the situation (task- or person-orientated leadership).

Question 11

what does the situational approach to leadership say?

Answer 11

• Depends more on the characteristics of the situation than on the traits and behaviours of the leaders (Perrow, 1970);
• Differences between leaders are negated by situational demands (Vroom & Jago, 2007);

looks at certain behaviours and characteristics in specific situations

Question 12

Briefly explain Blanchard (1993) model of situational leadership

Answer 12

graph with directive behaviour along the bottom (low-high) and supportive behaviour on side (low-high)

high directive and low supportive behaviour - directing

high directive and high supportive behaviour - coaching

high supportive and low directive behaviour - supporting

low supportive and low directive behaviour - delegating

Question 13

who proposed a spectrum of leadership behaviours?

Answer 13

Bass and Riggio (2006)

Question 14

leadership spectrum proposed by Bass and Riggio (2006)

Answer 14

Laisse-faire, transactional leadership, transformational leadership

Question 15

laissez-faire style

Answer 15

lack of leadership

Question 16

transactional leadership

Answer 16

• contingent reward
• active management by exception
• passive management by exception

Question 17

transformational leadership

Answer 17

• idealised influence
• inspirational motivation
• intellectual stimulation
• individualised consideration

Question 18

what is a group?

Answer 18

two or more people who cooperate with each other and are co- dependent in a sense that they influence each other because of their goals and needs;

Question 19

group properties according to Johnson and Johnson, 1987

Answer 19

• A collection of individuals who are interacting with one another.
• A social unit of 2 or more individuals who perceive themselves as
  belonging to a group.
• A collection of individuals who are interdependent.
• A collection of individuals who join together to achieve a goal.
• A collection of individuals who are trying to satisfy a need through
  their joint association.
• A collection of individuals whose interactions are structured by a set
  of roles and norms.
• A collection of individuals who influence each other.

Question 20

what is social identity?

Answer 20

defining the self in terms of group memberships, for example one’s ethnicity (Hogg & Vaughan, 2017; p. 132).

Question 21

what is social categorisation?

Answer 21

the process of classifying people as members of different social groups.

Question 22

what is group polarisation?

Answer 22

group produced enhancement of members’ pre-existing tendencies; a strengthening of the members’ average tendency, not a split within the group.

Question 23

examples of group polarisation

Answer 23

– French students’ attitude towards their president (pos.) and towards
Americans (neg.) was enhanced by a group discussion (Moscovici & Zavalloni, 1969);
– Isozaki (1984) found that Japanese students, after discussing a traffic case, gave more pronounced “guilty” judgements;
– Canadian business students reinvested more money when they made a decision in groups than individually (Whyte, 1993) [72% vs 94%];

• Republican-appointed judges tend to vote like Republicans and the tendency is strengthen when among like-minded judges (the same for Democrats; Schkade & Sustain, 2003);
• Gang delinquency stems from mutual reinforcement within neighbourhood gangs (shared attributes and hostilities; Cartwright, 1975);
• Terrorism doesn’t appear suddenly, rather, it grows slowly among like-minded people (e.g. shared grievance) (McCauley, 2002);

Question 24

what is groupthink?

Answer 24

“The mode of thinking that persons engage in when concurrence-seeking becomes so dominant in a cohesive in-group that it tends to override realistic appraisal of alternative course of action” (Janis, 1971).

tendency to think like others when we are in a group situation

Question 25

when is groupthink a good thing?

Answer 25

In work: groups, sense of camaraderie and team spirit can positively affect productivity (e.g. effort, time) and it’s good for morale;

Question 26

when can groupthink cause problems?

Answer 26

However, when making decisions, group-thinking process can cause problems;

Question 27

groupthink symptoms

Answer 27

– An illusion of invulnerability;
– Unquestioned belief in the group’s morality;
– Rationalisation;
– Stereotyped view of opponent;
– Conformity pressure;
– Self-censorship;
– Illusion of unanimity;

Question 28

how to prevent groupthink

Answer 28

1. Being impartial – not endorsing any position; (sit back at first)
2. Encouraging critical evaluation; (play devil’s advocate)
3. Occasionally divide the group into sub-groups; (come up with solution to same problem but separately)
4. Welcoming critiques from outside experts;

Question 29

what is social loafing?

Answer 29

“Many hands make diminished responsibility” – groups members may be less motivated and may put less effort in the task when they perform as a part of a group;

Question 30

example of social loafing

Answer 30

Latane et al. (1979) and Harkins et al. (1980) noticed that the noise produced by a single participant alone was louder than when there were six people shouting or clapping;

Question 31

in terms of social loafing, does collective effort always lead to slacking off?

Answer 31

– No – people in groups loaf less when the task is:
challenging, appealing, and involving;
– No - people in groups loaf less when the other members are their friends or when they strongly identify with their group.

Question 32

what is team cohesion?

Answer 32

“A dynamic process which is reflected in the tendency for a group to stick together and remain united in the pursuit of its instrumental objectives and/or for the satisfaction of member affective needs”
Carron, Brawley & Widmeyer (1998, p. 213)

Question 33

who came up with the conceptual model of team cohesion?

Answer 33

Carrol et al., 1985

Question 34

A conceptual model of Team Cohesion (Carron et al., 1985)

Answer 34

team cohesion at top branches into group integration and individual attraction

group interaction splits into task orientation and social orientation

individual attraction splits into task orientation and social orientation

Question 35

2 main dimensions of team cohesion

Answer 35

group integration (GI)
individual attraction to the group (ATG)

Question 36

group integration

Answer 36

how close or united the group is

Question 37

individual attraction to the group

Answer 37

personal motivation to join/remain in a group

Question 38

key characteristics of team cohesion (Carron et al., 1998)

Answer 38

• multidimensional
• dynamic (not a stable quality - it changes)
• instrumental (directed by groups purpose)
• affective (feels good to belong)

Question 39

what comes into cohesion? other factors?

Answer 39

1. Environmental ➢ Size of the team; level of competition;
2. Personal ➢ Satisfaction; adherence behaviour;
3. Leadership ➢ Behaviours;
4. Group/team ➢Roles; norms; goals.

Question 40

what is team building?

Answer 40

• Team building = method of assisting a team to promote an increased sense of unity and cohesiveness and enable the team to function more smoothly and effectively (Newman, 1984);
• The process of attempting to enhance a team’s locomotion as well as its maintenance (Widmeyer & DuCharme, 1997);
  (maintenance in terms of staying together)
• Involves intellectual, physical, and emotional problem-solving tasks and challenges, while emphasizing elements of fun, cooperation, communication, and adventure (Midura & Glover, 2005).

Question 41

what did Brawley and Paskevich (1997) add to the idea of team building?

Answer 41

– (1) satisfy the needs of team members;
– (2) increase team effectiveness;
– (3) improve working conditions;
– (4) enhance team cohesion.

Question 42

Principles of team building (Carron
et al., 1997)

Answer 42

• Each player should be acquainted with the responsibilities of other team members.
• The coach should learn something personal about each team member, and use it
  to gain cooperation.
• Involve players in decision making to make them feel that the team belongs to
  them.
• Set the team goals and celebrate when they are attained.
• Prevent the formation of cliques within the team, by giving every member
  opportunities to perform and avoiding scapegoating.
• Use routines in practice designed to teach team members how dependent they
  are on each other.
• Highlight the positive aspects of play, even when the team is on a losing streak.

Question 43

Personal-Disclosure Mutual Sharing
(PDMS)

Answer 43

• Publicly disclosing personal stories and information that were previously unknown to other members of the team can foster a greater appreciation of team members:
  – values, beliefs, attitudes, and personal motives;
• To create shared perceptions among team members →shared understanding;

Question 44

what can Personal-Disclosure Mutual Sharing (PDMS) lead to?

Answer 44

• PDMS session can lead to enhanced communication and cohesion, greater decision-making efficiency, and to increased motivation (Orlick, 1990; Yukelson, 2006; Cannon-Bowers & Salas, 2001).

Question 45

Holt and Dunn (2006) proposed model of the processes and benefits of a PDMS intervention

Answer 45

perception of meeting at the top branching into enhanced understanding, cohesion and confidence