Personality and situational determinants of leader behavior.

Tested hypotheses derived from F. Fiedler's (see record 1973-20908-001) motivational hierarchy interpretation of least preferred co-worker (LPC) by observing the behavior of high- and low-LPC leaders of 32 3-man laboratory groups. High-LPC leaders showed greater variability in their behavior as a function of situational differences than did low-LPC leaders. Leader behavior differed as a function of leader attributes (LPC), situational factors (leader-member relations and task structure), and LPC * Task Structure interactions. Results do not clearly support motivational hierarchy predictions. U. Foa, T. Mitchell, and F. Fiedler's (1971) cognitive analysis of the LPC, suggesting that the greater flexibility in behavior of high-LPC leaders is a consequent of a more complex cognitive structure, appeared more capable of accounting for these data. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compliance with a leader's suggestions as a function of perceived leader/member competence and potential reciprocity.

Examined with 80 male undergraduates the effects of perceived leader/group member competence and potential reciprocity on group member compliance with a leader's task suggestions. Ss worked in 5-person nominal groups on 2 construction tasks. A confederate was always appointed leader by a bogus random selection procedure. Perceived leader and group member competence were manipulated through bogus performance feedback following the 1st task. Ss received a written suggestion from the leader before the 2nd task that called for an assembly line procedure. Potential reciprocity was manipulated by the leader's request or refusal to see Ss' own suggestions. Compliance was measured through observer coding of Ss' performance on the 2nd task. Ss in the high leader competence/low group member competence condition compiled significantly more than did Ss in all other conditions. Internal analysis revealed that reciprocity was positively related to compliance among Ss with high-quality task suggestions and negatively related to compliance among those with low-quality suggestions. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The White standard: Racial bias in leader categorization.

In 4 experiments, the authors investigated whether race is perceived to be part of the business leader prototype and, if so, whether it could explain differences in evaluations of White and non-White leaders. The first 2 studies revealed that "being White" is perceived to be an attribute of the business leader prototype, where participants assumed that business leaders more than nonleaders were White, and this inference occurred regardless of base rates about the organization's racial composition (Study 1), the racial composition of organizational roles, the business industry, and the types of racial minority groups in the organization (Study 2). The final 2 studies revealed that a leader categorization explanation could best account for differences in White and non-White leader evaluations, where White targets were evaluated as more effective leaders (Study 3) and as having more leadership potential (Study 4), but only when the leader had recently been given credit for organizational success, consistent with the prediction that leader prototypes are more likely to be used when they confirm and reinforce individualized information about a leader's performance. The results demonstrate a connection between leader race and leadership categorization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Time-phased interrelationships of group atmosphere, group performance, and leader style.

Examined the time-phased interrelationships of group atmosphere (measured by the Group Atmosphere Scale), group performance, and the leader's style (assessed by the Least Preferred Co-Worker Scale) in a longitudinal study of 80 male university intramural basketball teams in a 9-wk season; the number of teams included in the analyses varied from 85 to 67 and the number of captains from 80 to 69. Results, consistent with the contingency model of leadership effectiveness, indicate that group atmosphere and leader style have a unique ability to predict shifts in performance. The unique ability of performance and leader style to predict shifts in atmosphere was also supported. These results are interpreted as support for a systems rather than a unidirectional view of the interrelationships between these variables. A preliminary search for a mediating mechanism by which leader style, group atmosphere, and subsequent performance are so related was unsuccessful; available measures of leader behavior and perceptual differences between leaders did not account for the demonstrated relationships. Implications for contingency model research design, analysis, and interpretation are discussed. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of justice in team member satisfaction with the leader and attachment to the team.

This study examined the effects of team decision accuracy, team member decision influence, leader consideration behaviors, and justice perceptions on staff members' satisfaction with the leader and attachment to the team in hierarchical decision-making teams. The authors proposed that staff members' justice perceptions would mediate the relationship between (a) team decision accuracy, (b) the amount of influence a staff member has in the team leader's decision, and (c) the leader's consideration behaviors and staff attachment to the team and satisfaction with the leader. The results of an experiment involving 128 participants in a total of 64 teams, who made recommendations to a confederate acting as the team leader, generally support the proposed model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reactions to prescribed leader behavior as a function of role perspective: The case of the Vroom-Yetton model.

To examine the reputational consequences of various leader behaviors, 2 experiments were conducted in which a leader's reported actions were either correct or incorrect in terms of the V. H. Vroom and P. W. Yetton (1973) contingency model. Results of Study 1, with 25 22–59 yr old volunteers, indicate that, when cast in the role of subordinates, Ss never rated an autocratic leader's behavior as more effective than a participative leader's behavior, even when the situation was one in which autocratic behavior would be prescribed by the Vroom-Yetton model. This finding was replicated in Study 2 when the perspective of 72 19–63 yr old participants was systematically varied. However, in this study Ss assigned the role of boss evaluated leader effectiveness in total accordance with the contingency principles of the model. Findings suggest that the perspective of the individual viewing a leader influences the way in which he/she evaluates that leader's task effectiveness. Data from both studies indicate a consistently more favorable affective response to the participative than to the autocratic leader, regardless of S's perspective or the circumstances. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Establishing the next generation at work: Leader generativity as a moderator of the relationships between leader age, leader-member exchange, and leadership success.

In this study, the authors investigated leader generativity as a moderator of the relationships between leader age, leader-member exchange, and three criteria of leadership success (follower perceptions of leader effectiveness, follower satisfaction with leader, and follower extra effort). Data came from 128 university professors paired with one research assistant each. Results showed positive relationships between leader age and leader generativity, and negative relationships between leader age and follower perceptions of leader effectiveness and follower extra effort. Consistent with expectations based on leadership categorization theory, leader generativity moderated the relationships between leader age and all three criteria of leadership success, such that leaders high in generativity were better able to maintain high levels of leadership success at higher ages than leaders low in generativity. Finally, results of mediated moderation analyses showed that leader-member exchange quality mediated these moderating effects. The findings suggest that, in combination, leader age and the age-related construct of generativity importantly influence leadership processes and outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contingency model of leadership effectiveness: Some experimental results.

Conducted 2 parallel experiments with 78 and 96 undergraduates to replicate and further study the contingency model of leadership effectiveness proposed by F. Fiedler. Ss were assigned to 3-man groups and completed a high and a low structured task after selecting a leader. Ss completed a measure of leadership style, the Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) scale, a group atmosphere scale, and a leader behavior scale. None of the observed correlations for either study reached significance, and in Exp. II, only 2 of the 7 correlations were in the hypothesized direction. Results along with those of other studies are discussed as casting doubt on the plausibility of the contingency model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Centrality and charisma: Comparing how leader networks and attributions affect team performance.

When leaders interact in teams with their subordinates, they build social capital that can have positive effects on team performance. Does this social capital affect team performance because subordinates come to see the leader as charismatic? We answered this question by examining 2 models. First, we tested the charisma-to-centrality model according to which the leader's charisma facilitates the occupation of a central position in the informal advice network. From this central position, the leader positively influences team performance. Second, we examined the centrality-to-charisma model according to which charisma is attributed to those leaders who are socially active in terms of giving and receiving advice. Attributed charisma facilitates increased team performance. We tested these 2 models in 2 different studies. In the first study, based on time-separated, multisource data emanating from members of 56 work teams, we found support for the centrality-to-charisma model. Formal leaders who were central within team advice networks were seen as charismatic by subordinates, and this charisma was associated with high team performance. To clarify how leader network centrality affected the emergence of charismatic leadership, we designed Study 2 in which, for 79 student teams, we measured leader networking activity and leader charisma at 2 different points in time and related these variables to team performance measured at a third point in time. On the basis of this temporally separated data set, we again found support for the centrality-to-charisma model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding the Emergence of State Goal Orientation in Organizational Work Groups: The Role of Leadership and Multilevel Climate Perceptions.

This article attends to a broad range of practically significant employee motivations and provides insight into how to enhance individual-level performance by examining individual-level state goal orientation emergence in organizational work groups. Leadership and multilevel climate processes are theorized to parallel each dimension of state goal orientation to cue and ultimately induce the corresponding achievement focus among individual work group members. It is argued that the patterns of leader behavior, which elucidate the leader's achievement priority, shape group members' psychological and work group climate to embody this priority. Resulting multilevel climate perceptions signal and compel group members to adopt the ascribed form of state goal orientation. The quality of the leader-member exchange relationship is viewed as a means to clarify leader messages in the formation of group members' psychological climate and internalize these cues in the emergence of state goal orientation. Considerations for future research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational stress and the use and misuse of managerial intelligence and experience.

Four studies in military organizations investigated the conditions under which personnel in leadership positions (infantry squad leaders, 1st sergeants, Coast Guard staff, and battalion and line officers) effectively use their intelligence and experience in the performance of their tasks. The use of intelligence or experience is inferred from the correlation between intelligence or experience and rated task performance. The 4 studies provide consistent evidence that individuals use their intelligence if the relationship with their immediate superior is nonstressful; they fail to use their intelligence or they misuse it when stress with the superior is high. Experience is used effectively when this stress is high but not when it is low. The discussion relates these findings to current theories of stress and anxiety and to social facilitation theory. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An experimental investigation of group members' perceived influence over leader decisions.

The premise that increased perceived influence over leader-made decisions has positive effects on members' satisfaction and commitment was tested in an experiment. One hundred four participants in ad hoc groups of 4 (plus 1 confederate) gave their opinions about the settlement of a civil lawsuit to the group leader (a confederate), who made the decision on behalf of the group. Feedback provided to the participants by the leader manipulated members' perceived personal influence, and the influence of the group as a whole, over the leader's decision. Perceived personal influence predicted levels of satisfaction, whereas perceptions of group influence were important with respect to commitment to the decision. Results are integrated with recent work on leadership and organizational behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and leader effectiveness: A moderated mediation model of leadership self-efficacy, job demands, and job autonomy.

The trait theory of leadership is advanced by a joint investigation of the mediating role of (a) leadership self-efficacy (LSE = leader's perceived capabilities to perform leader roles) in linking neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness with leader effectiveness and (b) the moderating role of job demands and job autonomy in influencing the mediation. Using K. J. Preacher, D. D. Rucker, and A. F. Hayes' (2007) moderated mediation framework, the authors tested the model (over a 2-year period) with matched data from 394 military leaders and their supervisors. Results showed that LSE mediated the relationships for neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness with leader effectiveness. Moderated mediation analyses further revealed that LSE mediated the relationships for (a) all 3 personality variables for only those leaders with low job demands; (b) neuroticism and conscientiousness for only those leaders with high job autonomy; and (c) extraversion, regardless of a leader's level of job autonomy. Results underscore the importance of accounting for leaders' situational contexts when examining the relationships between personality, LSE, and effectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leader's contribution to task performance in cohesive and uncohesive groups.

Army tank crews, B-29 bomber crews, antiaircraft artillery crews, and creative discussion groups provided data which were analyzed to determine the relationship between the leader's intelligence and group performance. Each sample was divided into cohesive and uncohesive groups, and the correlation between the leader's intelligence and group performance was computed. The results indicated consistently that the leader's intelligence predicts group performance in cohesive groups, but not in uncohesive groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of incentive, feedback, and manner of presenting the feedback on leader behavior.

Attempted to determine whether or not the content of a leader's verbal behavior could be altered by manipulation of the type and manner of feedback and incentive. 96 groups of 4 male undergraduates, with 1 leader per group, served as Ss in a 2 * 2 * 2 design. During a case discussion, the E varied the 3 independent variables and recorded the content of the leader's verbal behavior by means of the Bales category system. It was found that (a) positive feedback made the leaders more task oriented, whereas negative feedback increased negative social-emotional behavior; (b) the incentive decreased the number of questions asked; and (c) the manner of presenting the feedback (publicly or privately) produced no changes in verbal behavior when analyzed as a main effect, but significant interactions were found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contemporary trends in the analysis of leadership processes.

Provides an overview of several lines of development in the study of leadership up to, and within, the contemporary scene. These lines include consideration of (1) leadership as a process involving an influence relationship, (2) the leader as one among other participants in this relationship, (3) the transaction occurring between leaders and followers, (4) the differential tasks or functions associated with being a leader, and (5) the nature of leader effectiveness. Several implications for future research are derived, including the need to (1) attend to leadership as a property of the system of a group; (2) recognize the 2-way influence characterizing leader-follower relations; (3) distinguish better between the maintenance of leadership and its emergence, particularly those factors legitimizing the leader's position through processes of succession; (4) consider followers' expectations as they are affected by the source of the leader's authority and differential role functions; (5) focus greater attention on leader effectiveness in terms of the followers' perceptions of him, expecially as they may reveal the psychological basis for identification; and (6) extend such research further into a probing of the effects of organizational contexts on leadership processes. (2 p. ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An investigation of the validity of leader behavior descriptions obtained from subordinates.

Assigned 80 male college students to 18 4-person work groups as either the leader or a subordinate according to their scores on the Dominance scale of the California Personality Inventory. Leader behaviors in a simulated work setting (utilizing a complex paper folding task) were described by the 3 subordinates and 2 independent observers of each work group. Individual subordinate ratings of leader behavior were unrelated to observer ratings of behavior toward each group member; however, observer ratings for general leader behavior toward all group members correlated significantly with the mean member ratings. Subordinate ratings also failed to detect leader behavior effects on performance and overestimated the magnitude of behavior effects on member satisfaction. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)