Theories & The People Behind Them Flashcards
(35 cards)
Trait Theory
Leaders are identified through certain innate characteristics that followers do not possess (and probably cannot acquire), such as physical characteristics and personality traits, e.g., “Great Man” theory.
Blake-Mouton Behavioral Theory
● Two dimensions:
● Task (initiating structure)
● Employee (consideration)
● Five types of managers, one of which is termed leadership:
● Country club manager (low task, high consideration)
● Impoverished manager (low task, low consideration)
● Authoritarian manager (high task, low consideration)
● Middle-of-the-road manager (midpoint on both)
● Team leader (high task and high consideration—often seen as optimal)
Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory
● Two axes: supporting behavior and directing behavior
● Four quadrants that require the leader to demonstrate different behaviors and correspond to employee development:
1. Telling (employee not yet motivated or competent)
2. Selling (becoming more competent but still needing focus and motivation)
3. Participating (motivated, engaged, and competent team members)
4. Delegating (very competent team members, but susceptible to losing focus and motivation)
Fiedler’s Contingency Theory (Situational Leadership Theory)
● A leader is most effective when the leader’s skills match the needs of the situation—both task and team.
● “Situation favorableness” occurs when:
● Leader-member relationships are strong.
● Task structure and requirements are clear.
● The leader can exert the necessary power to reach the group’s goal.
● Unfavorable situations must be changed to improve group (and leader) effectiveness.
Behavioral Theory
Leaders influence group members through certain behaviors.
Situational Theories
Leaders can flex their behaviors to meet the needs of unique situations, employing both task (using directive behaviors) and relationship (using supportive behaviors) with employees.
Path-Goal Theory
Leader performs the behavior needed to help employees stay on track toward their goal. This involves addressing different types of employee needs:
● Directive—help the employee understand the task and its goal.
● Supportive—try to fulfill employee’s relationship needs
● Achievement—motivate by setting challenging goals
● Participative—provide more control over work and leverage group expertise through participative decision making
Emergent Theory
Leaders are not appointed but emerge from the group, which chooses the leader based on interactions.
Meredith Belbin’s Solo vs Team Leader Concept
Solo Leader
● Gets involved (and interferes) in everything.
● Expects team members to conform to his or her standards of behavior and style.
● Collects admirers and “yes men.”
● Directs team members’ activities.
● Sets objectives.
Team Leader
● Delegates team roles to others.
● Recognizes the value of diversity in the team.
● Encourages constructive disagreement and is not threatened by team members’ special abilities.
● Develops team members’ growth.
● Creates vision on which others act.
Jack Zenger & Joseph Folkman
Strong HR leaders: ● Develop and coach others. ● Build positive relationships. ● Model their values and fulfill their promises and commitments. ● Have functional expertise.
Weak HR leaders:
● Focus internally rather than externally, failing to look outside the HR function to the organization’s internal and external stakeholders.
● Lack strategic perspective, focusing on short-term objectives and daily tasks.
● Do not anticipate or react well to change.
● Resist “stretch” goals and act as a drag on the organization’s attempts to innovate.
Robert Hurley
While honesty and predictability are necessary to build trust, they are only part of the requirements. Building trust is more likely when the person bestowing trust recognizes certain qualities in the other person: ●Common Values ●Aligned Interests ●Benevolence ●Capability or Competence ●Predictability and Integrity ●Communication
Peter Salovey & John D. Mayer 4 Branches of Emotional Intelligence (EI)
●Perceiving Emotion
●Using Emotion to Facilitate Thought
●Understanding Emotion
●Regulating Emotion
Daniel Goleman Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EIQ)
5 Components ●Self-Awareness ●Self-Regulation ●Motivation ●Empathy ●Social Skills
McGregor’s Theory X/Theory Y
●Theory X manager believes that employees inherently do not like to work and must be strictly controlled and forced to work.
●Theory Y manager believes that employees dislike rigid controls and inherently want to accomplish something; thus, they cultivate a more participative style that empowers and motivates employees.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Five basic categories of needs that must be met in an ascending order:
● Physiological
● Safety and security
● Belonging and love
● Esteem (both self-esteem and admiration of others)
● Self-actualization
Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory
There are two factors affecting behavior: motivation (intrinsic) and hygiene (extrinsic). Satisfying hygiene factors will not create motivated employees, but it can remove some areas of discontent that interfere with motivation.
● Intrinsic factors: challenging work, meaningful impact of work, recognition
● Extrinsic factors: job security, pay, conditions
McClelland’s Three Needs Theory
Individuals are motivated by three basic desires:
● Achievement (accomplishment)
● Affiliation (feeling part of a group)
● Power (influence over others)
Self-Determination Theory, Edward Deci, Richard Ryan, Daniel Pink
Individuals are motivated by basic needs within a social and cultural context:
● Competence
● Relatedness
● Autonomy
Expectancy Theory
Effort increases in relation to one’s confidence that the behavior will result in a positive outcome and reward.
Attribution Theory
The way a person interprets the causes for past success or failure is related to the level of motivation. A leader can help employees accurately attribute causes and create opportunities for success.
Needs Theory
Individuals are motivated by a desire to satisfy certain needs. Understanding these needs allows leaders to offer the right incentives and create the most motivational external environments. Common factors are achievement, a desire for social connection, and some degree of control.
Victor Vroom
Level of effort depends on:
● Expectancy (belief in the probability of the anticipated outcome).
● Instrumentality (belief that a behavior will lead to an outcome).
● Valence (strength of desire for the outcome).
Heider, Weiner & Others
● Three attribution factors:
● Stability (the degree to which a factor changes)
● Locus of control (internal or external)
● Controllability (whether a cause can be controlled or not)
● Four attributional states:
● Negative—learned helplessness and aggression
● Positive—empowerment and resilience
Goal-Setting Theory
Motivation can be increased by providing employees with goals against which they can assess their achievement. Optimally, employees should be involved in designing goals and supported in achieving their goals. Characteristics of effective goals and goal-setting process:
● Specific and clear.
● Important to individual. This enables greater commitment.
● Realistic but challenging. Goals that are unrealistically high can harm motivation.
● Feedback to help employees determine effectiveness of their effort.
