Unit III Leadership Theory

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Course Learning Outcomes for Unit III At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

4. Summarize the practical application of leadership research in the workplace.

4.1 Explain how leaders can improve trust and communication.

Required Unit Resources Chapter 7: Leadership Behavior (ULO 4.1) Chapter 8: Skills for Building Personal Credibility and Influencing Others (ULO 4.1)

Unit Lesson Lesson: Individualism in Leadership (ULO 4.1)

Individualism in Leadership Leaders develop a leadership style from theory complied with their own personalities. The vast differences in leadership theories were discussed in previous units. Leadership has evolved and adapted over time due to societal and cultural changes. Researchers uncover the antecedents for successful organizations and effective leadership is a primary factor. This unit discusses library resources for doctoral students. Leader personality and profiles applied within organizations is explained. Finally, trust and communication between leader and followers is an important foundation to a successful organization. Research Sorensen et al. (2023) focus on how research can aid how changes can affect leadership behavior relating to task, relation, and change orientations. Sorensen et al. (2023) further show the significant differences between subordinates, peers, and superiors in their perception of the specific development of leadership. With most research for doctoral learners, research will start in the school library. A doctoral student will find that the library will soon become a very useful tool and aid. Below is some very helpful information about our library and some of the specific databases available for your use.

• Library Tour video

• How to Do Research LibGuide

• Doctoral Research Toolkit LibGuide Here are the databases most useful for business as well as a few others that are more general, but still excellent resources:

• ABI/INFORM Collection: This database contains business-related publications including scholarly journals providing peer-reviewed articles.

• Business Source Ultimate: Business Source Ultimate offers a comprehensive scope of sources such as peer-reviewed journals, trade/professional publications, and company reports. The materials cover an extensive range of topics related to all aspects of business.

UNIT III STUDY GUIDE

Leadership Focus

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• Business Collection: The Business Collection database includes full-text coverage of all business disciplines through leading business and trade publications as well as a selection of international, U.S., and regional news publications.

• Business Economics and Theory Collection: The Business, Economics and Theory Collection includes peer-reviewed journals and other publications about economics and additional core business subjects.

• Entrepreneurial Studies Source: Entrepreneurial Studies Source offers hundreds of full-text magazines, journals, and books, plus thousands of company profiles and hundreds of videos.

• Small Business Collection: Updated daily, this database provides small business insights, tips, strategies, and success stories through its collection of periodicals.

Additional research databases:

• Academic Search Ultimate: This extensive database includes materials on most academic disciplines, and thousands of the publications are peer-reviewed journals.

• Academic OneFile: Academic OneFile provides peer-reviewed journals plus trade/professional publications, magazines, and other information sources that support a broad range of subjects and programs of study.

• Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Reference Center: This database covers all aspects of business continuity and disaster recovery.

Understanding Research

The amounts of research found in the online library and texts are extensive. Peer reviewed journals are required for scholarly writing and research. Most, if not all articles include an abstract that a doctoral student will find valuable. The abstract provides a synopsis of article. As a doctoral student, understand the function of research is to broaden and expand knowledge (Seivert et al., 2023). Doctoral students will be expected to conduct primary research, analyze the data, and report findings. Researchers have expanded the body of knowledge in leadership topics related to personality, trust, and communication so that organizations have an understanding of how a leader’s personality affects behaviors that lead to developing trusting relationships and effective communication with followers.

Leader Personality Researchers have identified personality profiles of effective leaders. Organizations may request job candidates to complete a personality profile assessment where the results are used to predict job success. Two personality profile assessments include the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Big Five personality profile. The MBTI is a framework used to identify and describe behavioral patterns (Hughes, 2022) (see Figure 1). Noted below are the five dimensions of the MBTI and more information may be read in the course text by Hughes (2022).

Figure 1: Myers-Briggs Personality Types

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Myers-Briggs Personality Types

1. Extroversion versus introversion: Drawing energy from us or others. 2. Sensing versus intuition: How we perceive something. 3. Thinking versus feeling: Being objective or emotional. 4. Judging versus perceiving: Views with structure. 5. Assertive versus turbulent: Aspects of control (Newcomer & Connelly, 2020).

Although the MBTI assessment is one of the most popular indicators and used by more than two million people annually, it does have its limitations as noted in the course text (Hughes et al., 2022). Of particular importance to researchers and scholars—the MBTI is not a valid or reliable psychological instrument due to the inconsistent results and rigidity of the personality traits, according to Hughes et al. (2022). Another popular theory is the big five model of personality, otherwise referred to as the five-factor or OCEAN model of personality in the Hughes (2022) text, which categorizes traits into dimensions as shown below (see Figure 2). The big five traits are as follows:

Figure 2: Big Five Personality (adapted from Burak & Atabek, 2023)

Trust

Trust is difficult to earn and easily lost. Leaders can struggle at times because of a lack of trust issues. Effective leaders align their talk (words) and their walk (actions). There are some people that do one thing but say another. This does not build good relationships. Once a leader breaks the trust factor, it is difficult to regain that trust (Hughes et al., 2022). Some leaders think that expertise is the only way to build trust; expertise can play a part, but some followers will not trust someone just because they are knowledgeable (Hughes et al., 2022). In their case study, Mushonga et al. (2023), focus on perceptions. The perception of knowledge and relationships were found to be more important to followers than the actual knowledge and relationships actually given by leaders. The level of trust will have an effect on the relationship between a leader and follower (Hughes et al., 2022). Each leader might use these two parts, expertise and trust differently, but each leader has to find that place where their leadership is most effective. Some leaders are judged by performance; does their leadership produce the required results within their organization, or are some leaders missing the desired outcomes? According to Hughes et al. (2022), some leaders understand communication as the method of delivery toward establishing trust. Researchers trust that peer-reviewed published authors report accurate data and findings. Researchers are expected to be honest with their methodology and findings. An institutional review board (IRBs) is a formal group designated to review and monitor students’ research involving human subjects. This board will ensure that students’ research proposal is focused and well planned within regulations that serve to protect the rights and welfare of human subjects. A dissertation chair will work closely with the doctorate student to ensure accuracy and diligence throughout the process.

Neuroticism

Emotional instability

Extraversion

Highly social and

assertive

Openness

Comfort with change

Agreeableness

Acceptance of others

Conscientiousness

Goal- focused

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Communication Communication is key to follower connection to leadership effectiveness. There are two types of communication, verbal and nonverbal. Verbal is talking in conversation and speeches. Nonverbal communication is in the form of emails, expressions and body language. There are nine types of nonverbal communication:

• Facial expressions

• Body language

• Gestures

• Posture

• Physical touch

• Personal space

• Paralinguistics

• Eye contact

• Appearance (Covey, 2023). According to Hughes et al. (2022), effective communication includes the following principles of effective communication (see Figure 3):

Figure 3: Principles of Effective Communication

Hughes et al. (2022) break down communication with leaders into the following:

• Know your purpose.

• Choose the appropriate context and medium of communication.

• Send clear signals.

• Ensure others understand the message. Effective leaders strive to meet the mission, goals, and strategy of their organization. Often, organizations will not guide the leader in what specific leadership theory or style to use, however, they will make changes when leaders do not produce the desired results. Ineffective leadership characteristics that organizations seek to avoid are low solidarity that lead to low job satisfaction and burnout (Kelly & MacDonald, 2019).

• The message needs to be clearClarity

• The message needs to get to the pointConciseness

• The message cannot be too long or distractingBrevity

• How the message will be deliveredMethod

• The focus of the message given Understanding

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A large part of communication is understanding. Leaders need to understand their followers and learn what motivates them. Roy (2023) noted leaders might find four types of followers:

• problem solvers: getting answers but focused on facts;

• innovators: high levels of creativity and open to changes;

• systematizers: doing things the right ways often following rules and policies and

• connectors: being people focused. An effective leader will focus on transmitting and receiving information depending on the type of group receiving that message (Hughes et al., 2022). Active listening shows respect; passive listeners do not focus on receiving a message.

Conclusion A subject matter expert in leadership and research begins as doctorate students and develops by expanding knowledge on theories, methods, and styles of leadership and followership. Leader personality and the trust and communication with followers is foundational to building successful relationships and organizations. This unit is a brief introduction of the library resources available to doctorate students during the process of becoming leadership experts.

References Burak, S., & Atabek, O. (2023, July). Relationships between self-regulated learning, big five personality traits,

and amount of instrument practice. Journal of Research in Music Education, 71(2), 208–228. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=asn&AN=164221588&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Covey. (2023). 9 types of nonverbal communication. https://covey.org/nonverbal-communication/ Hughes, R., Ginnett, R., & Curphy, G. J. (2022). Leadership: Enhancing the lessons of experience. McGraw-

Hill. https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781264071470 Kelly, S., & MacDonald, P. (2019). A look a leadership styles and workplace solidarity communication.

International Journal of Business Communication, 56(3), 17–20. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=bsu&AN=136917480&site=ehost-live&scope=site

macrovector_official. (n.d.). Business cooperation of people worldwide [Graphic]. Freepik.

https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/business-cooperation-people- worldwide_4431367.htm#&position=1&from_view=user

Mushonga, S. M., Lundy, H. Jr., & Lundy, B. (2023). A holistic framework examining multifoci justice and trust

perceptions in work outcomes. Journal of Managerial Issues, 35(1), 73–88. Newcomer, J. M., & Connelly, D. A. (2020). Personality and leadership: The potential impact to future

strategic thinking. Air & Space Power Journal, 34(2), 36–54. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=asn&AN=145277677&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Roy, M. (2023, Summer). Leadership development for professional services firms. TIP: The Industrial-

Organizational Psychologist, 61(1), 1–6. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=asn&AN=169633117&site=ehost-live&scope=site

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Seivert, N., Werntz, A., Hsueh, L., Sain, K., Washburn, J., & Cavell, T. (2023). Career-enhansing research competencies: Student perceptions of research training in clinical psychology doctoral programs. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 17(3), 259–268. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=pdh&AN=2023-20593-001&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Sorensen, P., Hansen, M., & Valladsen, A. (2023). Perceived changes in leadership behavior during formal

leadership education. Public Personnel Management, 52(2), 170–190. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=bsu&AN=163764889&site=ehost-live&scope=site

upklyak. (n.d.). Goal achievement and teamwork business concept, career growth and cooperation for

development of project [Graphic]. Freepik. https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/goal-achievement- teamwork-business-concept-career-growth-cooperation-development- project_4850064.htm#query=leadership&position=20&from_view=search&track=sph

Suggested Unit Resources Chapter 6: Leadership Attributes (Optional) Although not required, reading the above chapter will expand your knowledge on the skills possessed by successful leaders.