Practice in leadership

● (Five paragraphs including a conclusion) List and explain different theories in leadership practice. List three references in APA style.

● Include a summary of the leadership behavior questionnaire

Leadership Behavior Questionnaire

Researchers and practitioners alike have used many different instruments to assess the behaviors of leaders. The two most commonly used measures have been the LBDQ (Stogdill, 1963) and the Leadership Grid (Blake & McCanse, 1991). Both of these measures provide information about the degree to which a leader acts task directed or people directed. The LBDQ was designed primarily for research and has been used extensively since the 1960s. The Leadership Grid was designed primarily for training and development; it continues to be used today for training managers and supervisors in the leadership process.

To assist you in developing a better understanding of how leadership behaviors are measured and what your own behavior might be, a leadership behavior questionnaire is included in this section. This questionnaire is made up of 20 items that assess two orientations: task and relationship. By scoring the Leadership Behavior Questionnaire, you can obtain a general profile of your leadership behavior.

Leadership Behavior Questionnaire

Purpose: The purpose of this questionnaire is to assess your task and relationship orientations as a leader.

Instructions: Read each item carefully and think about how often you engage in the described behavior. Indicate your response to each item by selecting one of the five options to the right of each item.

Key: 1 = Never 2 = Seldom 3 = Occasionally 4 = Often 5 = Always

1.

Tells group members what they are supposed to do.

1

2

3

4

5

2.

Acts friendly with members of the group.

1

2

3

4

5

3.

Sets standards of performance for group members.

1

2

3

4

5

4.

Helps others in the group feel comfortable.

1

2

3

4

5

5.

Makes suggestions about how to solve problems.

1

2

3

4

5

6.

Responds favorably to suggestions made by others.

1

2

3

4

5

7.

Makes their perspective clear to others.

1

2

3

4

5

8.

Treats others fairly.

1

2

3

4

5

9.

Develops a plan of action for the group.

1

2

3

4

5

10.

Behaves in a predictable manner toward group members.

1

2

3

4

5

11.

Defines role responsibilities for each group member.

1

2

3

4

5

12.

Communicates actively with group members.

1

2

3

4

5

13.

Clarifies their own role within the group.

1

2

3

4

5

14.

Shows concern for the well-being of others.

1

2

3

4

5

15.

Provides a plan for how the work is to be done.

1

2

3

4

5

16.

Shows flexibility in making decisions.

1

2

3

4

5

17.

Provides criteria for what is expected of the group.

1

2

3

4

5

18.

Discloses thoughts and feelings to group members.

1

2

3

4

5

19.

Encourages group members to do high-quality work.

1

2

3

4

5

20.

Helps group members get along with each other.

1

2

3

4

5

Scoring The Leadership Behavior Questionnaire is designed to measure two major types of leadership behaviors: task and relationship. Score the questionnaire by doing the following: First, sum the responses on the odd-numbered items. This is your task score. Second, sum the responses on the even-numbered items. This is your relationship score.

Total scores: Task ______________________ Relationship _______________________ Scoring Interpretation

For each category:

40–50 High range 30–39 Moderate range 10–29 Low range The score you receive for task refers to the degree to which you help others by defining their roles and letting them know what is expected of them. This factor describes your tendencies to be task directed toward others when you are in a leadership position. The score you receive for relationship is a measure of the degree to which you try to make followers feel comfortable with themselves, each other, and the group itself. It represents a measure of how people oriented you are.

Your results on the Leadership Behavior Questionnaire give you data about your task orientation and people orientation. What do your scores suggest about your leadership style? Are you more likely to lead with an emphasis on task or with an emphasis on relationship? As you interpret your responses to the Leadership Behavior Questionnaire, ask yourself if there are ways you could change your behavior to shift the emphasis you give to tasks and relationships. To gain more information about your style, you may want to have four or five of your coworkers or classmates fill out the questionnaire based on their perceptions of you as a leader. This will give you additional data to compare and contrast to your own scores about yourself.