ACTIVITIES
Teams and Groups
Groups are characterized by their interaction, interdependence, time, and size. Operating at a higher level,teams are characterized by clear and inspiring shared goals, a results-driven structure, competent team members, unified commitment, collaborative climate, standards of excellence, external support and recognition, and principled leadership. Choose a group and a team from your life,explaining why each qualifies assuch according to these criteria identified in the text.
Leadership Styles
Review the approaches to leadership presented in the chapter. Which approach(es) do you find most appealing? Which approach(es) do you find most troubling? How do these different styles affect your relationships with those in leadership positions? Provide examples of times when the most troubling approach and the most appealing approach hindered and helped your ability to work with a particular leader.
Take the following test to discover your leadership potential. How does the discussion of leadership on this site compare to what you learned in the chapter?
Norms, Rules, and Roles
Consider your worst group experience. Did a lack of rules and/or norms create problems? Were unfulfilled social and task roles alsoa factor? What role did you play in the group? Do you tend to take on the same role in a group or team?
Then describe the desirable norms and explicit rules you would like for the following new groups, and outline the steps you could take to see that they are established.
- A group of classmates forms to develop and present a class research project
- A group of neighbors meets for the first time to persuade the city to install a stop sign at a dangerous intersection
- A group of fellow employees will be sharing new office space
Group and Individual Goals
Think about two groups to which you belong or belonged.Are your individual goals compatible or incompatible with the group goals?What effect does the compatibility or incompatibility of goals have on the effectiveness of the group?
Have you ever been guilty of having a hidden agenda or being a social loafer? What about others in the group? What steps were taken to address these issues?
Leaders and Power
Identify a small group you belong to and the types of power in operation. Using Table 9-4, describe how you could acquire power and rise to leadership in this group, as in the following example:
What could I do to enhance my power in my investment group? To increase my legitimate authority, I’ll be sure to attend all meetings (increasing visibility) with my stock reports ready (demonstrating knowledge and following group norms). Those who don't show up or never do their stock reports for the group lose credibility. To increase my information power, I could read and study more than our investment magazine [EP1]and attend extra workshops on stock analysis, sharing that information with the group. To increase my referent power, when it is my turn to report on a stock, I can have copies for everyone or an overhead [EP2]to present my ideas clearly.
Followers and Power
There are numerous types of followers, and they toowield power. Choose a favorite TV program or film that features a group whosemembers may be categorized by follower type: isolates, bystanders, participants, activists, and/or diehards.Identify the type of power each group member uses to his/her advantage: legitimate, expert, connection, reward coercive, and/or referent.How do the types of followers and their use of power advance or hinder the attainment of group goals?
FOR FURTHEREXPLORATION
TED Talk
Drew Dudley: “Everyday Leadership”
Films
(For further discussion of these and other films that illustrate communication concepts, see Now Playing.)
Spotlight(2015, Rated R)
Communication Concepts:gatekeeping, agenda setting, small group and team communication
Mean Girls (2004, Rated PG-13)
Communication Concepts: leadership, power, conflict, communication climate
Almost Famous(2000, Rated R)
Group communication, individual versus group goals, identity management, self-disclosure)
Books
Stengel, R. (2009). Mandela’s Way: Lessons on Life, Love, and Courage. New York: Random House.
Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs Richard Stengel offers fifteen life lessons derived from hours of conversation with Nelson Mandela, one of the world’s most inspiring leaders.
Journal Articles
Boies, K., Fiset, J., & Gill, H. (2015). Communication and trust are key: Unlocking the relationship between leadership and team performance and creativity.The Leadership Quarterly,26, 1080–1094.
Abstract:This experimental study examined how transformational leadership behaviors influence team performance and creativity through underlying mechanisms of team communication and trust. Transformational leadership is a style that accentuates vision and inspiration. It is accomplished through four distinct but interrelated behaviors: idealized influence (the leader acts in a way that followers want to emulate), inspirational motivation (the leader articulates an inspiring vision), individualized consideration (the leader attends to followers’ individual needs and aspirations), and intellectual stimulation (the leader challenges followers’ preconceived notions). The authors focused on leadership behaviors of inspirational motivation and intellectual simulation and how these behaviors foster team communication, trust, and eventually influence team outcomes.
Skogstad, A., Hetland, J., Glasø, L., & Einarsen, S. (2014). Is avoidant leadership a root cause of subordinate stress? Longitudinal relationships between laissez-faire leadership and role ambiguity.Work & Stress,28(4), 323–341.
Abstract:Within a stressor-strain framework, the aim of this study is to examine the influence of perceived laissez-faire leadership—a type of leadership characterized by the superiors' avoidance and inaction when subordinates are experiencing a situational need for leadership—on stress in the form of experiences of role ambiguity. This was tested within a prospective 3-wave research design with time lags of 2 and 3 years respectively. A combination of 2 constructive types of leadership, initiating structure and showing consideration, was included as a control. In a sample of 1771 employees drawn from the Norwegian working population, structural equation modelling supported the hypothesis that perceived laissez-faire leadership would be positively related to experiencing role ambiguity at 3 consecutive measurement points. The findings did not support a potential reciprocal relationship between the two across time. Initiation of structure and Consideration were not related to role ambiguity, providing strong evidence of the importance of laissez-faire leadership within a stressor-strain framework. Demonstrating that laissez-faire leadership is a root source of subordinate role ambiguity underlines the importance of superiors perceiving situations and circumstances where subordinates experience a need for leadership and, accordingly, approaching this need instead of avoiding it.
Van Wart, M. (2013). Lessons from leadership theory and the contemporary challenges of leaders.Public Administration Review,73(4), 553–565.
Abstract:Leadership theories and the academic literature can sometimes seem difficult for practitioners to understand becauseof complex conceptualizations, obscure terms, and itsenormousness. Yet taken as a whole, the literature makesa great deal of sense and has much to offer. Indeed, thetruths are often quite simple, elegant, and straightforward. The purpose of this article is to review the major findingsof the organizational leadership literature and to identifythe important overarching insights, specifically those ofparticular importance to today’s leaders in administrativepositions in the public sector, where an evolving context constantly reconfigures age-old challenges.
[EP1]AQ: Do you mean read materials other than the investment magazine? Please reword to make this clear. Thank you!
[EP2]AQ: An overhead ______?