MG401 Unit 4 Assignment

Unit 4: Key Learning Points and

De�nitions - Chapter 7

Introduction

Rather than describe the values, personality traits, or mental abilities of leaders, this chapter focuses on describing and assessing what leaders actually do on a day-to-day basis. Once researchers understand what behaviors make leaders more or less effective, they can then build performance appraisal, development, and succession planning systems aligned with these key leadership behaviors. The chapter covers some of the early research on leader behavior and discusses several ways to categorize different leadership behaviors. A model of community leadership and 360-degree feedback are addressed at the end of the chapter.

Studies of Leadership Behavior

Early conceptualizations of leadership developed from the Ohio State and University of Michigan studies that grouped leader behaviors into task-oriented and people-oriented behavioral dimensions. More recent conceptualizations of leadership behaviors, such as the Leadership Grid and leadership competency models have strong links to these earlier studies.

The Leadership Pipeline

The Leadership Pipeline is a useful model for explaining where leaders need to spend their time, what they should be focusing on and what they should be letting go, and the types of behaviors they need to exhibit as they move from first-line supervisor to functional manager to chief executive officer. The pipeline also describes the lessons people should learn as they occupy a particular organizational level and the challenges they will likely face as they transition to the next level. As such, this model provides a type of road map for people wanting to occupy the top leadership positions in any organization.

Community Leadership

Although organizational competency models have played a pervasive role in selecting, developing, and promoting government and business leaders, they have not been used much in community leadership, which is the process of building a team of volunteers to accomplish an important community outcome. Whether such leaders succeed in their community change efforts depends on three highly interrelated competencies: framing, building social capital, and mobilization.

Assessing Leadership Behaviors: Multirater Feedback Instruments

One popular way to assess leadership behavior is through multirater or 360-degree feedback assessments, which gather ratings from self, peers, bosses, and followers about specific leadership behaviors exhibited by a particular leader. 360-degree feedback can give leaders insight into whether they need to do anything differently to build stronger teams or get better results through others. Although getting feedback from others can be an uncomfortable experience, this information is vital if people want to succeed as leaders. 360-degree feedback makes the process of getting feedback from others more systematic and actionable, and as such it is an important tool in the development of leaders.

Brief De�nitions of the Key Terms for Chapter 7 Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ): An early leadership behavior assessment developed by researchers at Ohio State. Consideration: One of the two major categories of the LBDQ that focuses on people behaviors. Initiating structure: The other major LBDQ category that focuses on task behaviors. Job-centered dimensions: One of the two major factors in the University of Michigan studies. Goal emphasis: A job-centered dimension focused on goal setting and motivating employees. Work facilitation: A job-centered dimension focused on clarifying roles and getting resources. Employee-centered dimensions: The other major factor in the University of Michigan studies. Leader support: An employee-centered dimension focused on supportive leader behaviors. Interaction facilitation: An employee-centered dimension focused on conflict resolution. Leadership Grid: An extension of the Ohio State studies that plots leaders on two 1-9 scales based on their concern for people and production. Concern for people: One of the dimensions in the Leadership Grid. Concern for production: One of the dimensions in the Leadership Grid. Leadership behavior: A specific action, such as “setting specific performance goals for team members.” Leadership skill: A well-defined body of knowledge, a set of related behaviors, and clear criteria of competent performance Competency models: Models that describe the types of behaviors and skills managers in a particular organization must exhibit if that organization is going to be successful. Intrapersonal skills: One of four major categories found in most 360-feedback questionnaires that focus on adapting to stress, personal drive, and adhering to rules. Interpersonal skills: One of four major categories found in most 360-feedback questionnaires that focus on communicating and building relationships with others. Leadership skills: One of four major categories found in most 360-feedback questionnaires that focus on building teams and getting results through others. Business skills: One of four major categories found in most 360-feedback questionnaires that focus on formulating strategies, solving problems, and building plans.

Organizational levels: The level of manager falls within in an organization (i.e., a top-level strategic manager as opposed to a first-line supervisor). Leadership Pipeline: A model used to illustrate the types of things managers should focus on and the lessons they should acquire as they progress from lower-level management positions through to the position of CEO of the company. Community leadership: A three dimensional model that describes those leadership behaviors needed to drive community change. Framing: One of three community leadership dimensions that consists of those behaviors dealing with defining issues in a way that makes it easy for others to take action. Building social capital: One of three community leadership dimensions that consists of behaviors concerned with building and maintaining social networks. Mobilization: One of three community leadership dimensions that consists of behaviors concerned with organizing, coordinating, and motivating followers. 360-degree, or multirater, feedback: An assessment technique that uses the results of surveys sent to self, peers, bosses, and followers to provide leadership behavior feedback to participants.