Martin started in the mail room at his company and worked his way up to a management position within a few years. For the first six months as manager of the sales department, he reflexively adopted a fairly autocratic style of leadership. The department did well enough, with good sales numbers and a middling level of employee commitment. During his paid vacation, Martin participated in a three-week transformational leadership retreat offered by the corporate headquarters. Tara and Kentaro are two of Martin's employees. They are having lunch two months after Martin's retreat and are discussing his leadership. What do you think they most likely observe about the effect of Martin's new leadership style on the atmosphere in the office?
- Kentaro remarks that, if anything, the seminar had had a somewhat negative effect, as Martin is now expecting them to problem-solve on their own, rather than telling them what to do.
- They discuss how everyone in the office seems a lot more motivated and how much it has affected their sales numbers, which are the highest the department has reported in years.
- Tara remarks that, while there were definite positive changes in Martin's behavior the first few weeks after the seminar, he has since slipped back into his old leadership style.
- Kentaro says that while he personally feels more of a connection with Martin, he knows some people do not-for instance, Lupe actually misses Martin's old leadership style.
- They both feel they have a more positive relationship with Martin, but their motivation and levels of commitment to the company are the same as they always were.
One study of transformational leadership training occurred in one of the largest bank chains in Canada. The results of the study showed that managers who participated in the training were rated as more transformational afterward. More importantly, their employees reported higher levels of organizational commitment, and their branches enjoyed better performance.
Autocratic Style: A leadership style where the leader makes the decision alone without asking for opinions or suggestions of the employees in the work unit.
Which of the following is a common focus of leadership training programs?
- teaching attendees how to more effectively climb the corporate ladder
- training attendees in more effective methods of networking with clients
- stressing ways that managers can exercise their authority more forcefully
- training managers to become more effective at mentoring their employees
- training managers to recognize and reward employees with leadership potential
Leadership training programs often focus on very specific issues, like conducting more accurate performance evaluations, being a more effective mentor, structuring creative problem solving, or gaining more cultural awareness and sensitivity.
Leadership: The use of power and influence to direct the activities of followers toward goal achievement.
Employees whose managers participated in leadership training programs reported ________ afterwards.
- higher levels of organizational commitment
- a temporary boost in their commitment levels
- higher levels of job performance and satisfaction
- higher levels of affective commitment to their bosses
- an increased level of teamwork among their coworkers
One study of transformational leadership training occurred in one of the largest bank chains in Canada. The results of the study showed that managers who participated in the training were rated as more transformational afterward. More importantly, their employees reported higher levels of organizational commitment.
Organizational Commitment: An employee’s desire to remain a member of an organization.
Increasing the time spent on training the leaders can help maximize their effectiveness.
Organizations can maximize the effectiveness of their leaders by spending more time training them.
Training: A systematic effort by organizations to facilitate the learning of job-related knowledge and behavior.
The optimal combination of leader behavior in the R3 stage of the life cycle theory of leadership is
- delegating.
- telling.
- selling.
- participating.
- negotiating.
At the R3 stage of readiness, employees have learned to work together well, though they still need support and collaboration from the leader to help them adjust to their more self-managed state of affairs. Here, participating becomes the optimal combination of leader behaviors.
Participating: When the leader shares ideas and tries to help the group conduct its affairs.
In the life cycle theory of leadership, the optimal combination of leader behavior in the R2 stage is
- delegating.
- telling.
- selling.
- participating.
- negotiating.
In the R2 stage of readiness, the members have begun working together and, as typically happens, are finding that their work is more difficult than they had anticipated. As eagerness turns to dissatisfaction, the optimal combination of leader behaviors is selling, where the leader supplements his or her directing with support and encouragement to protect the confidence levels of the employees.
Selling: When the leader explains key issues and provides opportunities for clarification.
In the ________ leader behavior, leaders supplement their directing with support and encouragement to protect the confidence levels of the employees.
- delegating
- telling
- selling
- participating
- negotiating
In the selling leader behavior, leader supplements his or her directing with support and encouragement to protect the confidence levels of the employees.
Selling: When the leader explains key issues and provides opportunities for clarification.
Which of the following statements is False about research findings related to the life cycle theory?
- The theory's predictions are not supported for high readiness situations.
- The theory's predictions are supported only for low readiness situations.
- The shifting nature of its predictions has made scientific testing somewhat difficult.
- Actual leaders use the recommended combinations more than 50 percent of the time.
- Telling and selling behaviors are more effective when motivation and confidence are high.
The research that has been conducted supports the theory's predictions only for low readiness situations, suggesting that telling and selling sorts of behaviors may be more effective when ability, motivation, or confidence are lacking. When readiness is higher, these tests suggest that leader behaviors simply matter less, regardless of their particular combinations. Tests also suggest that leaders only use the recommended combinations of behaviors between 14 and 37 percent of the time.
Readiness: The degree to which employees have the ability and the willingness to accomplish their specific tasks.
Shawn, Thu, Rei, and Heather are managers working at PureDrop, a bottled water manufacturing company. They each supervise groups of employees who are very different from each other. From a readiness point of view, it can be said that Shawn's group is able but unwilling, Thu's unit is both able and willing, Rei's is neither able nor willing, and Heather's is not able but highly willing to take on the responsibilities. Which of the following behaviors would be best suited to deal with Shawn's group's readiness?
- delegating
- telling
- selling
- participating
- negotiating
Shawn's group is at the R3 stage of readiness. They have learned to work together well, though they still need support and collaboration from Shawn to adjust to a more self-managed state of affairs. Here, participating becomes the optimal combination of leader behaviors.
Participating: When the leader shares ideas and tries to help the group conduct its affairs.
Shawn, Thu, Rei, and Heather are managers working at PureDrop, a bottled water manufacturing company. They each supervise groups of employees who are very different from each other. From a readiness point of view, it can be said that Shawn's group is able but unwilling, Thu's unit is both able and willing, Rei's is neither able nor willing, and Heather's is not able but highly willing to take on the responsibilities. Rei's optimal behavior to deal with her group's readiness should be characterized by ________ initiating structure and ________ consideration.
- moderate; low
- low; high
- low; moderate
- high; high
- moderate; moderate
Rei's group is in the R2 stage of readiness. At this stage, the members have begun working together and are finding that their work is more difficult than they had anticipated. As eagerness turns to dissatisfaction, the optimal combination of leader behaviors is selling (high consideration and high initiating structure), in which the leader supplements his or her directing with support and encouragement to protect the confidence levels of the employees.
Initiating Structure: A pattern of behavior where the leader defines and structures the roles of employees in pursuit of goal attainment.
In the above scenario, Heather's group is at the ________ readiness level.
- R1
- R2
- R3
- R4
- R5
R1 refers to a group of employees who are working together for the first time and are eager to begin, but they lack the experience and confidence needed to perform their roles.
Readiness: The degree to which employees have the ability and the willingness to accomplish their specific tasks.
Which of the following leadership behaviors should Thu adopt for his group?
- delegating
- telling
- selling
- participating
- negotiating
Thu's group is at the R4 readiness level. The optimal combination for the R4 readiness level is delegating such that the leader turns responsibility for key behaviors over to the employees.
Delegating: When the leader turns responsibility for key behaviors over to employees.
Which of the following leadership behaviors should Heather adopt to deal with her group's readiness?
- delegating
- telling
- selling
- participating
- negotiating
Heather's group is at the R1 readiness level. Here, the optimal combination of leader behaviors is telling, in which case the leader provides specific instructions and closely supervises performance.
Telling: When the leader provides specific instructions and closely supervises performance.
The life cycle theory of leadership argues that the optimal combination of ________ and consideration depends on the readiness of the employees in the work unit.
- integration
- personality
- organization
- initiation of structure
- decision-making style
The life cycle theory of leadership (sometimes also called the situational model of leadership) argues that the optimal combination of initiating structure and consideration depends on the readiness of the employees in the work unit.
Initiating Structure: A pattern of behavior where the leader defines and structures the roles of employees in pursuit of goal attainment.
According to the life cycle theory of leadership, a group of employees who are working together for the first time and are eager to begin, but who lack the experience and confidence needed to perform their roles, are at which level of readiness?
- R1
- R2
- R3
- R4
- R5
R1 refers to a group of employees who are working together for the first time and are eager to begin, but they lack the experience and confidence needed to perform their roles.
Life Cycle Theory Of Leadership: A theory stating that the optimal combination of initiating structure and consideration depends on the readiness of the employees in the work unit.
Which of the following theories is also known as the situational model of leadership?
- the Ohio State studies
- the University of Michigan studies
- the life cycle theory of leadership
- the time-driven model of leadership
- Herzberg's two-factor theory
The life cycle theory of leadership is also known as the situational model of leadership. It argues that the optimal combination of initiating structure and consideration depends on the readiness of the employees in the work unit.
Life Cycle Theory Of Leadership: A theory stating that the optimal combination of initiating structure and consideration depends on the readiness of the employees in the work unit.
Margarita recently started working as a temp for Lucid Systems Technology. On her first day, Shari, her team leader, goes over the details of how to use the accounting software and how to file a report on her work at the end of each day. By the end of the first week, Margarita is confident and able to do her work without asking Shari for guidance, but Shari still checks in periodically to give her encouragement and suggestions. By the end of the week, Shari is demonstrating which stage in the life cycle theory of leadership?
- R1, telling
- R1, selling
- R3, selling
- R4, delegating
- R3, participating
As employees gain more ability, guidance and direction by the leader become less necessary. At the R3 stage, employees have learned to work together well, though they still need support and collaboration from the leader to help them adjust to their more self-managed state of affairs.
Participating: When the leader shares ideas and tries to help the group conduct its affairs.
Hamid is part of a team working on a new website for the company. Hamid is new to the company but taught himself to code at age eleven and has a degree in web design from the local university. When Isa, his supervisor, realizes the extent of Hamid's expertise in this area, he tasks Hamid with taking over the back-end design of the website. Isa's behavior is an example of
- R4, participating.
- R4, delegating.
- R3, delegating.
- R2, selling.
- R1, telling.
The optimal combination for the R4 readiness level is delegating-low initiating structure and low consideration-such that the leader turns responsibility for key behaviors over to the employees. Here the leader gives them the proverbial ball and lets them run with it.
Delegating: When the leader turns responsibility for key behaviors over to employees.
The life cycle theory of leadership suggests that ________ leader behavior comprises high initiating structure and low consideration.
- telling
- selling
- participating
- delegating
- performing
At the R1 level of readiness, the optimal combination of leader behaviors is telling. Telling is characterized by high initiating structure and low consideration, and the leader provides specific instructions and closely supervises performance.
Telling: When the leader provides specific instructions and closely supervises performance.
Which leader behavior, according to the life cycle theory of leadership, comprises high initiating structure and high consideration?
- telling
- selling
- participating
- delegating
- performing
In the R2 level of readiness, the optimal combination of leader behaviors is selling. Selling involves high initiating structure and high consideration and the leader supplements his or her directing with support and encouragement to protect the confidence levels of the employees.
Selling: When the leader explains key issues and provides opportunities for clarification.
________ is broadly defined as the degree to which employees have the ability and the willingness to accomplish their specific tasks.
- Integration
- Effectiveness
- Efficiency
- Readiness
- Emergence
Readiness is broadly defined as the degree to which employees have the ability and the willingness to accomplish their specific tasks.
Readiness: The degree to which employees have the ability and the willingness to accomplish their specific tasks.
The life cycle theory of leadership advocates that the optimal combination of leader behavior in the R4 stage is
- delegating.
- telling.
- selling.
- participating.
- negotiating.
The optimal combination for the R4 readiness level is delegating such that the leader turns responsibility for key behaviors over to the employees.
Delegating: When the leader turns responsibility for key behaviors over to employees.