 |  Management: Skills and Application, 10/e Leslie W Rue,
Georgia State University - Emeritus
Lloyd L Byars,
Georgia Institute of Technology
Developing Leadership Skills
Chapter Summary1. Define power. Power is a measure of a person's potential to get others to do what he or she wants them to do, as well as to avoid being forced by others to do what he or she does not want to do.
2. Describe the sources of power in organizations. The sources of power in organizations are reward, coercive, legitimate, expert, and referent.
3. Define leadership. Leadership is the ability to influence people to willingly follow one's guidance or adhere to one's decisions.
4. Describe the self-fulfilling prophecy in management. The self-fulfilling prophecy basically postulates that what a manager expects of subordinates and the way he or she treats subordinates influences their performance and career progress.
5. Define the trait theory of leadership. The trait theory of leadership emphasizes what the leader is like rather than what the leader does. Personality traits and physical characteristics are examined to differentiate leaders. Few studies have been able to support this theory.
6. List and define the basic leadership styles. The autocratic leader makes most decisions for the group. The laissez-faire leader allows people within the group to make all decisions. The democratic leader guides and encourages the group to make decisions.
7. Understand the Managerial Grid. The Managerial Grid is a two-dimensional framework rating a leader on the basis of concern for people and concern for production.
8. Define the contingency approach to leadership. The contingency approach to leadership defines two basic styles of leadership--task-motivated and relationship-motivated. In both highly favorable and highly unfavorable situations, a task-motivated leader was found to be more effective. In moderately favorable situations, a relationship-motivated leader was found to be more effective.
9. Explain the path--goal approach to leadership. The path--goal theory of leadership attempts to define the relationships between a leader's behavior and the subordinates' performance and work activities. Leader behavior influences the motivation of subordinates when it makes the satisfaction of their needs contingent on successful performance; and it provides the guidance, support, and rewards needed for effective performance.
10. Define the life-cycle approach to leadership. According to the life-cycle theory of leadership, as the maturity of followers increases, structure (task) should be reduced while socio-emotional support (relationship) should first be increased and then gradually decreased.
11. Define transactional and transformational leadership. Transactional leadership takes the approach that leaders engage in a bargaining relationship with their followers. Transformational leadership involves cultivating employee acceptance of the group mission.
12. Discuss some of the lessons that can be learned from leadership research. The following lessons can be learned from leadership research:- High consideration and initiating structure often provide a successful leadership style.
- Under emergency or high-pressure situations, emphasis on initiating structure is desirable and often preferred by subordinates.
- When the manager is the only information source for subordinates regarding their tasks, they often expect the manager to structure their behavior.
- Subordinates have differing preferences regarding the degree of consideration and initiating structure exhibited by their managers.
- Higher management often has set preferences regarding the leadership styles employed by lower-level managers.
- Some managers can adjust their behavior to fit the situation; while others, in attempting to make this adjustment, appear to be fake and manipulative.
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2003 McGraw-Hill Higher Education