Laura Heijnen – Working Man
Problem 4. Who’s the boss?
Landy & Conte (2013) – Work in the 21st century: An introduction to industrial and organizational
psychology – Chapter 12: Leadership
Spector (2012) – Industrial and organizational psychology: Research and practice – Chapter 3:
Leadership and Power in Organizations
I: Chair or chore?
What factors affect leadership performance?
Traditional theories
1. Trait approach: leaders have certain characteristics that nonleaders do not have.
- E.g.: age, altruism, dominance, esteem, gender, intelligence, height, responsibility etc.
- Measured through leader performance + emergence.
- Criticism:
o No consistent relationships found
o Different definitions of certain traits.
o Unwillingness to accept leadership in larger context that would include
organization, situation + followers
o Obsession with productivity as criterion leadership also has to do with
commitment, motivation + satisfaction.
2. Behavioural approach: focus on kinds of behaviour in leadership roles.
- Ohio State University:
o Questionnaires with lot of items, ten broad categories (e.g. domination,
communication etc.), how frequently on each item 2 main types:
Consideration: behaviour indicating mutual trust + certain warmth and
rapport between supervisor & group. Concern for members’ needs,
happiness and welfare, allowing more participation of subordinates +
two-way communication.
Initiating structure: behaviour in which supervisor organizes + defines
group activities and his/her relation to group. Emphasizes how to
achieve organisational goals by assigning tasks, planning ahead,
pushing for production etc. Defining own role.
o Implying that leaders are male: similar research also done of females
(interpersonal orientation + task orientation).
o Criticism:
Results were inconsistent from study to study
Questionnaires bias + error
Responses might have been influenced by respondents’ stereotypes,
describing what they had been led to believe were characteristics of
successful leaders
Respondents might have attributed desirable behaviour to leaders who
were perceived as effective
Direction of causation between supervisor behaviour + grievance and
turnover rate uncertain reciprocal?
- University of Michigan: more on dynamics leaders + groups.
o Task-oriented behaviour: similar to initiating structure.
o Relations-oriented behaviour: similar to consideration.
1
Problem 4. Who’s the boss?
Landy & Conte (2013) – Work in the 21st century: An introduction to industrial and organizational
psychology – Chapter 12: Leadership
Spector (2012) – Industrial and organizational psychology: Research and practice – Chapter 3:
Leadership and Power in Organizations
I: Chair or chore?
What factors affect leadership performance?
Traditional theories
1. Trait approach: leaders have certain characteristics that nonleaders do not have.
- E.g.: age, altruism, dominance, esteem, gender, intelligence, height, responsibility etc.
- Measured through leader performance + emergence.
- Criticism:
o No consistent relationships found
o Different definitions of certain traits.
o Unwillingness to accept leadership in larger context that would include
organization, situation + followers
o Obsession with productivity as criterion leadership also has to do with
commitment, motivation + satisfaction.
2. Behavioural approach: focus on kinds of behaviour in leadership roles.
- Ohio State University:
o Questionnaires with lot of items, ten broad categories (e.g. domination,
communication etc.), how frequently on each item 2 main types:
Consideration: behaviour indicating mutual trust + certain warmth and
rapport between supervisor & group. Concern for members’ needs,
happiness and welfare, allowing more participation of subordinates +
two-way communication.
Initiating structure: behaviour in which supervisor organizes + defines
group activities and his/her relation to group. Emphasizes how to
achieve organisational goals by assigning tasks, planning ahead,
pushing for production etc. Defining own role.
o Implying that leaders are male: similar research also done of females
(interpersonal orientation + task orientation).
o Criticism:
Results were inconsistent from study to study
Questionnaires bias + error
Responses might have been influenced by respondents’ stereotypes,
describing what they had been led to believe were characteristics of
successful leaders
Respondents might have attributed desirable behaviour to leaders who
were perceived as effective
Direction of causation between supervisor behaviour + grievance and
turnover rate uncertain reciprocal?
- University of Michigan: more on dynamics leaders + groups.
o Task-oriented behaviour: similar to initiating structure.
o Relations-oriented behaviour: similar to consideration.
1
