351

Leading and
Leadership 14
Development
> INTEGRITY
Whether you call it ethical leadership clerks, for example. Moore says that
Insight
or moral leadership, the lesson is the
same: Respect flows toward leaders
the ways we deal with people who
are powerless “brings out our real Learning
who behave with integrity. If you have
integrity, you’ll be honest, credible, and
dispositions.”
The “integrity line” in the figure
About Yourself
consistent in all that you do. This de- marks the difference between where
scription seems like a no-brainer. “This we should and should
is what we have been taught since we not be. Below the line are
were kids,” you might say. leaders who lie, blame oth-
Leadership and the Integrity Line
So, why do we find so many exam- ers for personal mistakes,
ples of people who act without integ- want others to fail, and Honest Consistent Humble Selfless
rity? Where, so to speak, does integrity take credit for others’
go when some people find themselves ideas. They’re conceited, Where leaders should always be
in positions of leadership? and they’re also selfish.
CEO coach Kenny Moore says that Above the integrity line
our personal character gets “revealed are honest, consistent, Where leaders don't want to be

by how we treat those with no power.” humble, and selfless lead-

Dishonest Inconsistent Conceited Selfish
Look closely at how people in leader- ers. Some call such leaders
ship positions treat everyday workers— “servants” of the organiza-
servers, technicians, custodians, and tion and its members.2

BUILD SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES AT END OF CHAPTER <GET TO KNOW

■ Engage in Further Reflection on Your Integrity YOURSELF BETTER
■ Take the Self-Assessment—Least-Preferred Coworker Scale
■ Prepare for the Team Exercise—Leading by Participation
■ Solve the Career Situations for Leadership
■ Analyze the Case Study—Zappos: They Did It with Humor
 LEARNING Leading and Leadership
DASHBOARD Development
TAKEAWAY 1 TAKEAWAY 2 TAKEAWAY 3 TAKEAWAY 4
14
The Nature of Leadership Traits Contingency Personal Leadership
Leadership and Behaviors Approaches to Development
• Leadership and power • Leadership traits Leadership • Charismatic and
• Leadership and vision • Leadership behaviors • Fiedler’s contingency transformational
model leadership
• Leadership as service • Classic leadership
styles • Hersey-Blanchard • Emotional intelligence
situational model and leadership
• Path–goal theory • Gender and leadership
• Leader–member • Moral leadership
exchange theory • Drucker’s “old-fashioned”
• Leader–participation leadership
model

LEARNING CHECK 1 LEARNING CHECK 2 LEARNING CHECK 3 LEARNING CHECK 4

The late Grace Hopper, management expert and the first female admiral in
the U.S. Navy, once said: “You manage things; you lead people.”3 Leadership
scholar and consultant Barry Posner says: “The present moment is the domain
of managers. The future is the domain of leaders.”4 Consultant and author Tom
Peters claims the leader is “rarely—possibly never?—the best performer.”5 All
seem to agree that leaders thrive through and by the successes of others.

If we go right to the heart of the matter, the consensus is that leaders become
great by bringing out the best in people. Although this message is clear, the
task isn’t easy. Managers today often face daunting responsibilities. Resources
are scarce and performance expectations are high. Time frames for getting
things accomplished are becoming shorter. Problems to be resolved are com-
plex, ambiguous, and multidimensional.6

It takes hard work to be a great leader. There are lots of challenges to be

mastered. But at the bottom of it all, say scholars Beth Benjamin and Charles
O’Reilly, “Leadership is . . . about what you do, how you think, and who you
are.”7 So, why not use this chapter as an opportunity to find out more about
the leader who resides in you?

The Nature of Leadership

Leadership is the process of inspiring A glance at the shelves in your local bookstore will quickly confirm that leadership—
others to work hard to accomplish the process of inspiring others to work hard to accomplish important tasks—is one
important tasks.
of the most popular management topics.8 As shown in Figure 14.1, it is also one of
352
 The Nature of Leadership 353

the four functions that constitute the management pro-

cess. Planning sets the direction and objectives; organizing Leading—
to inspire effort
brings together resources to turn plans into action; lea-
• Communicate the
ding builds the commitments and enthusiasm for people vision
to apply their talents to help accomplish plans; and con- • Build enthusiasm
• Motivate
trolling makes sure things turn out right. commitment,
hard work
Planning— Controlling—
to set the direction to ensure results
Leadership and Power Organizing—
to create structures
Leadership success begins with the ways a manager
uses power to influence the behavior of other people.
Harvard professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter once called FIGURE 14.1 Leading viewed in relationship to the other man-
power “America’s last great dirty word.”9 She was con- agement functions.
cerned that too many people, managers included, are
uncomfortable with the concept of power. They don’t
realize how indispensable it is to leadership.
Power is the ability to get someone else to do something you want done, or to Power is the ability to get someone else
make things happen the way you want. And, the “positive” face of power is the foun- to do something you want done or to
make things happen the way you want.
dation of effective leadership. This means using power not with the desire to influ-
ence others for the sake of personal satisfaction. It means using power to influence
others for the good of the group or organization as a whole.10
Anyone in a managerial position theoretically has power, but how well it is used
will vary from one person to the next. Leaders gain power from both the positions
they hold and their personal qualities.11 The three bases of position power are re-
ward power, coercive power, and legitimate power. The two bases of personal power
are expertise and reference.

Position Power
When it comes to the position of being a manager, reward power is the ability to Reward power is the capacity to offer
influence through rewards. It is the capacity to offer something of value—a positive something of value as a means of influ-
encing other people.
outcome—as a means of influencing another person’s behavior. This involves use of
incentives such as pay raises, bonuses, promotions, special assignments, and verbal
or written compliments. To mobilize reward power, a manager says, in effect: “If you
do what I ask, I’ll give you a reward.” And as you might expect, this approach can
work well as long as people want the reward and the manager or leader makes it
continuously available. But take the value of the reward or the reward itself away,
and the power is quickly lost.
Coercive power is the capacity to
Coercive power is the ability to influence through punishment. It is the capac- punish or withhold positive outcomes
ity to punish or withhold positive outcomes as a way to influence the behavior as a means of influencing other people.
of other people. A manager may attempt to coerce someone by
threatening him or her with verbal reprimands, pay penalties, Power of the POSITION:
and even termination. To mobilize coercive power, a manager Based on things managers can offer to others.
says, in effect: “If you don’t do what I want, I’ll punish you.” How
Rewards: “If you do what I ask, I’ll give you a reward.”
do you or would you feel when threatened in these ways? If you’re
like many, you’ll most likely resent both the threat and the person Coercion: “If you don’t do what I ask, I’ll punish you.”
making it. You might act as requested or at least go through the
Legitimacy: “Because I am the boss; you must do
motions. But, you’re unlikely to continue doing so once the threat as I ask.”
no longer exists.
354 LEADING AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Legitimate power is the capacity to in- Legitimate power is the ability to influence through authority. It is the right by
fluence other people by virtue of formal
authority, or the rights of office.
virtue of one’s organizational position or status to exercise control over persons in
subordinate positions. To mobilize legitimate power, a manager says, in effect: “I am
the boss; therefore, you are supposed to do as I ask.” When the instructor assigns
homework, exams, and team projects, don’t you most often do what is requested?
Why? You do it because the requests seem legitimate in the context of the course.
But if the instructor moves outside of the course boundaries, such as telling you to
attend a campus sports event, the legitimacy is lost and your compliance is much
less likely.

Personal Power
After all is said and done, position power isn’t sufficient for any manager. It’s very
often the amount of personal power you can mobilize through expertise and refer-
ence that makes the difference between success and failure in a leadership situa-
tion, and even in your career.
Expert power is the capacity to Expert power is the ability to influence through special skills, knowledge, and
influence other people because of information. It is the capacity to influence the behavior of other people because of
specialized knowledge.
expertise. When a manager uses expert power, the implied message is: “You should
do what I want because of what I know.” This expertise can be gained from experi-
ence and accomplishments as well as access to useful informa-
Power of the PERSON:
tion. It is maintained by protecting one’s credibility by not over-
Based on how managers are viewed by others. stepping boundaries and pretending to expertise that really isn’t
there. Although some people are granted at least temporary ex-
Expertise—as a source of special knowledge and
information. pertise due to credentials, such as medical doctors and attorneys,
they can quickly lose it through mistakes and bad behavior. Most
Reference—as a person with whom others like
to identify.
of us acquire expertise at work one step at a time. Gaining it, in
fact, may be one of your biggest early career challenges.
Referent power is the capacity to Referent power is the ability to influence through identifica-
influence other people because of their tion. It is the capacity to influence the behavior of other people because they admire
desire to identify personally with you.
you and want to identify positively with you. Reference is a power derived from
charisma or interpersonal attractiveness. When a manager uses referent power, the
implied message is: “You should do what I want in order to maintain a positive, self-
defined relationship with me.” It’s helpful to view reference power as something that
can be developed and maintained through good interpersonal relationships, ones
that encourage the admiration and respect of others. Simply put, it’s a lot easier to
get people to do what you want when they like you than when they dislike you.

Leadership and Vision

“Great leaders,” it is said, “get extraordinary things done in organizations by
inspiring and motivating others toward a common purpose.”12 In other words,
they use their power exceptionally well. And that use of power is associated
Vision is a clear sense of the future. with vision—a future that one hopes to create or achieve in order to improve
upon the present state of affairs. But simply having the vision of a desirable
future is not enough. Truly exceptional leaders are really good at turning their
visions into accomplishments.
Visionary leadership brings to the
situation a clear sense of the future and The term visionary leadership describes a leader who brings to the situation a
an understanding of how to get there. clear and compelling sense of the future, as well as an understanding of the actions
 The Nature of Leadership 355

Recommended
Reading
Power: Why Some People Have It and
Others Don’t (HarperBusiness, 2010)
by Jeffrey Pfeffer
According to Jeffrey Pfeffer, there’s no doubt about it. Power plays a major role
in a person’s career success, salary level, and job performance. He even claims it
positively affects one’s life span. With power being the engine that helps people
get things done in social situations, both work and personal, it’s something to
be cultivated and not avoided. Pfeffer believes people in organizations need to
be politically savvy, they should know the power centers, and be diligent and
adept at getting the resources and making decisions. Focus, energy, and ambi-
tion are desirable personal qualities for power seekers. But raw intelligence, says
Eric
E i Ri
Risberg/©AP/Wide
b /©AP/Wid World
W ld Photos
Ph Pfeffer, is no guarantee of power.

needed to get there successfully.13 This means having a clear vision, communicating
the vision, and getting people motivated and inspired to pursue the vision in their
daily work. Think of it this way. Visionary leadership gives meaning to people’s
work; it makes what they do seem worthy and valuable. Noted educational leader
Lorraine Monroe says: “The job of a good leader is to articulate a vision that oth-
ers are inspired to follow.”14 Her views match those of the late John Wooden, for-
mer stand-out men’s basketball coach at UCLA. He once said: “Effective leadership
means having a lot of people working toward a common goal.” If you can achieve
that with no one caring who gets the credit, you’re going to accomplish a lot.15

Leadership as Service
Institutions function better when the idea, the dream, is to the fore, and the person,
the leader, is seen as servant to the dream.
—Robert Greenleaf of the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership16

The real leader is a servant of the people she leads. A really great boss is not afraid
to hire smart people. You want people who are smart about things you are not
smart about.
—Lorraine Monroe of the Monroe Leadership Institute17
When thinking about leadership, power, and vision, it is important to remember
personal integrity as described in the chapter opener. According to Peter Drucker,
the concept of “service” is central to integrity, and leaders who have integrity act
as “servants of the organization.”18 More and more today you’ll hear conversations
about servant leadership that is based on serving others and helping them fully Servant leadership is follower-
use their talents so that organizations benefit society.19 Ask this question: Who is centered and committed to helping
others in their work.
most important in leadership, the leader or the followers? For those who believe in
servant leadership there is no doubt about the correct answer. It’s the followers. A
servant leader is “other-centered” and not “self-centered.”
356 LEADING AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

FOLLOW > “THE JOB OF THE LEADER IS TO UPLIFT HER PEOPLE . . . AS INDIVIDUALS
THE STORY OF INFINITE WORTH . . .”

Educator’s Leadership Turns Vision into Inspiration

D r. Lorraine Mon-
roe’s career in the
New York City schools
people—not just as members of and contributors to the orga-
nization, but as individuals of infinite worth in their own right.
Monroe believes leaders must always start at the “heart
began as a teacher. She of the matter” and that “the job of a good leader is to ar-
went on to serve as as- ticulate a vision that others are inspired to follow.” She also
sistant principal, princi- believes in making sure all workers know they are valued and
pal, and vice-chancel- that their advice is welcome, and that workers and managers
lor for curriculum and should always try to help and support one another. “I have
instruction. Then she never undertaken any project,” she says, “without first imag-
founded the Frederick ining on paper what it would ultimately look like. . . . all the
Douglass Academy, a doers who would be responsible for carrying out my imagin-
public school in Har- ings have to be informed and let in on the dream.”
lem, where she grew Now retired and serving as a leadership consultant, Monroe
up. Like its namesake, retains her commitment to public leadership. “We can reform
an escaped slave who society,“ she says, “only if every place we live—every school,
later became a promi- workplace, church, and family—becomes a site of reform.”
nent abolitionist and
civil rights leader, the
WHAT’S YOUR TAKE?
school became highly
Copyright © 2003 by Lorraine Monroe. Re- respected for educa- Is visionary leadership something that works only at the
printed by permission of PUBLICAFFAIRS, tional excellence. very top of organizations? Should the leader of a work team
a member of Perseus Books Group. All
rights reserved.
Through her experi- also have a vision? And what about this notion that a leader
ences, Monroe formed should be follower centered? Does that mean that followers
a set of beliefs cen- get to determine what gets done and when? What are the
tered on a leader being vision-driven and follower-centered. lessons of the Monroe Doctrine for everyday leaders at all
They are summarized in what is called the “Monroe Doctrine.” levels in organizations of all types and sizes? Could this doc-
It begins with this advice: “The job of the leader is to uplift her trine serve you well someday?

When a leader shifts the focus away from himself or herself and toward others,
Empowerment enables others to gain what happens? The answer is empowerment. This is the process of allowing others
and use decision-making power. to exercise power and achieve influence within the organization. Servant leaders
realize that power in organizations is not a “zero-sum” quantity. They reject the idea
that in order for one person to gain power someone else needs to give it up.20 They
empower others by providing them with the information, responsibility, authority,
and trust to make decisions and act independently. And, they expect that people
who are empowered will work hard so that the organization as a whole is more
powerful in pursuing its cause or mission.

LEARNING CHECK 1

TAKEAWAY QUESTION 1 What is the nature of leadership?

Be sure you can • define power • illustrate three types of position power and discuss how managers use each
• illustrate two types of personal power and discuss how managers use each • define vision • explain the
concept of visionary leadership • define empowerment • explain the notion and benefits of servant leadership
 Leadership Traits and Behaviors 357

Leadership Traits and Behaviors

People have recognized for centuries that some persons perform very well as lead-
ers while others do not. The question still debated is why. Historically, the issue
has been studied from the perspective of the trait, behavioral, and contingency ap-
proaches. Although they differ in how leadership effectiveness is explained, each
still offers useful insights on leadership development.

Leadership Traits
Question—What personal traits and characteristics are associated with leader-
ship success?
An early direction in leadership research involved the search for universal traits or
distinguishing personal characteristics that separate effective from ineffective lead-
ers.21 Sometimes called the “great person theory,” the results of many years of re-
search in this direction can be summarized as follows.
Physical characteristics such as a person’s height, weight, and physique make no dif-
ference in determining leadership success. On the other hand, certain personal traits
are common among the best leaders. A study of more than 3,400 managers, for example,
found that followers rather consistently admired leaders who were honest, competent,
forward looking, inspiring, and credible.22 And, a comprehensive review by Shelley Kirk-
patrick and Edwin Locke identifies these personal traits of many successful leaders:23
• Drive—Successful leaders have high energy, display initiative, and are tenacious.
• Self-confidence—Successful leaders trust themselves and have confidence in
their abilities.
• Creativity—Successful leaders are creative and original in their thinking.
• Cognitive ability—Successful leaders have the intelligence to integrate and in-
terpret information.

FACTS > ONLY 37% OF WORKERS IN A HARRIS SURVEY BELIEVE THEIR

FOR
FO ANALYSIS MANAGERS DISPLAY “INTEGRITY AND MORALITY ”

Workers Report Shortcomings of Leaders and Top Managers

H arris Interactive periodically conducts surveys of work-

ers’ attitudes toward their jobs and employers. The
results for “leaders” and “top managers” reveal lots of
• 25% of women and 16% of men believe their organizations
pick the best people for leadership.
• 33% of managers are perceived by followers as “strong
shortcomings: leaders.”
• 37% believe their top managers display integrity and
morality. YOUR THOUGHTS?
• 39% believe leaders most often act in the best interest of
organization. How do the leaders you have experienced stack up? Which
ones rate as ”strong or weak,” or as “moral or immoral”?
• 22% see leaders as ready to admit mistakes.
How would you describe your best leader and his or her
• 46% believe their organizations give them freedom to do impact on you? What makes the greatest difference in the
their jobs. ways leaders are viewed in the eyes of followers?
358 LEADING AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Researchers Find Bias against Black

Leaders on the Football Field
Are black leaders at a disadvantage when leadership success is evaluated? The answer is
“yes” according to research reported in the Academy of Management Journal. Scholars An-
drew M. Carton and Ashleigh Shelby Rosette studied how the performance of football quar-
terbacks was reported in the news. They found that successful performances by black quar-
terbacks were attributed less often to leadership competence—such as “making decisions
under pressure,” and more often to factors that made up for incompetence—such as having
“the speed to get away.” Black quarterbacks were more likely than whites to be perceived
as incompetent, especially when their teams lost. The researchers expressed concern that
Sportschrome/NewsCom black leaders may suffer poor career advancement because of biased evaluations.

• Job-relevant knowledge—Successful leaders know their industry and its techni-

cal foundations.
• Motivation—Successful leaders enjoy influencing others to achieve shared goals.
• Flexibility—Successful leaders adapt to fit the needs of followers and the de-
mands of situations.
• Honesty and integrity—Successful leaders are trustworthy; they are honest, pre-
dictable, and dependable.

Leadership Behaviors
Question—How is leadership success affected by the ways leaders behave when
engaging with followers?
Moving on from the early trait studies, researchers next turned their attention to
the issue of how leaders behave when dealing with followers.24 If the most effective
behaviors could be identified, they reasoned, then it would be possible to train lead-
ers to become skilled at using them.
A stream of research that began in the 1940s, spearheaded by studies at Ohio State
University and the University of Michigan, focused attention on two dimensions of
leadership behavior: (1) concern for the task to be accomplished, and (2) concern
for the people doing the work. The Ohio State studies used the terms initiating struc-
ture and consideration for the respective dimensions; the University of Michigan studies
called them production-centered and employee-centered.25 Regardless of the terminol-
ogy used, the characteristics of each dimension of leadership behavior were quite clear.
• A leader high in concern for task—plans and defines the work to be done, as-
signs task responsibilities, sets clear work standards, urges task completion,
and monitors performance results.
• A leader high in concern for people—acts with warmth and supportiveness to-
ward followers, maintains good social relations with them, respects their feel-
ings, is sensitive to their needs, and shows trust in them.
The results of leader behavior research at first suggested that followers of people-
oriented leaders would be the most productive and satisfied.26 However, researchers
eventually moved toward the position that effective leaders were high in concerns for
both people and task. Figure 14.2 shows one of the popular versions of this conclusion—
 Contingency Approaches to Leadership 359

the Leadership GridTM of Robert Blake and Jane Mouton.27

The preferred combination of “high-high” leadership on Country Club Team Manager

High
the grid is called the team manager. This leader shares Manager Democratic Leader
Human Relations Leader Focuses on building
decisions with team members, empowers them, encour- Focuses on people’s needs, participation and support

Concern for People

building relationships for a shared purpose
ages participation, and supports teamwork.
Middle-of-Road
Manager
Classic Leadership Styles Focuses on balancing
work output and morale
Work in the leader behavior tradition made it easy to
Impoverished Authority–Obedience
talk about different leadership styles—the recurring Manager Manager
patterns of behaviors exhibited by leaders. When peo- Laissez-faire Leader Autocratic Leader
Focuses on minimum Focuses on efficiency

Low
ple talk about the leaders with whom they work, even effort to get work done of tasks and operations
today, their vocabulary often describes classic styles of
Low Concern for Production High
leadership from the behavioral theories.28
A leader identified with an autocratic style, Blake
and Mouton’s authority-obedience manager, emphasizes FIGURE 14.2 Blake and Mouton’s Leadership Grid.
task over people, retains authority and information, and Leadership style is a recurring pattern
of behaviors exhibited by a leader.
acts in a unilateral, command-and-control fashion. A leader with a human relations
An autocratic leader acts in a com-
style, the country club manager in the grid, does just the opposite and emphasizes mand-and-control fashion.
people over task. A leader with a laissez-faire style, the impoverished manager in the A human relations leader emphasizes
grid, shows little concern for the task, lets the group make decisions, and acts with a “do people over task.
the best you can and don’t bother me” attitude. A leader with a democratic style, Blake A laissez-faire leader has a “do the best
you can and don’t bother me” attitude.
and Mouton’s “high-high” team manager, is committed to both task and people. This
A democratic leader emphasizes both
leader tries to get things done while sharing information, encourages participation in tasks and people.
decision making, and otherwise helps others develop their skills and capabilities.

LEARNING CHECK 2

TAKEAWAY QUESTION 2 What are the important leadership traits and behaviors?
Be sure you can • contrast the trait and leader-behavior approaches to leadership research • identify five per-
sonal traits of successful leaders • illustrate leader behaviors consistent with a high concern for task • illustrate leader
behaviors consistent with a high concern for people • describe behaviors associated with four classic leadership styles

Contingency Approaches to Leadership

Over time, scholars became increasingly uncomfortable with the notion of a “high-
high” leader. They concluded that no one set of behaviors or style works best all of
the time. And, they developed a number of contingency approaches to explain the
conditions for leadership success in different situations.

Fiedler’s Contingency Model

Question—Which leadership styles work best in the different types of situations
that leaders face?
One of the first contingency leadership models was developed by Fred Fiedler. He
proposed that good leadership depends on a match or fit between a person’s leader-
ship style and situational demands.29
360 LEADING AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Fiedler believed that leadership style is part of one’s personality and is difficult to
change. Thus, he didn’t place much hope in trying to train leaders to behave in dif-
ferent ways. He instead suggested that leadership success comes from putting our
existing styles to work in situations for which they are the best fit. This requires both
self-awareness of one’s leadership style and a good understanding of the situational
strengths and weaknesses of that style.30

Understanding Leadership Styles and Situations

Leadership style in Fiedler’s model is measured on the least-preferred coworker
The least-preferred coworker scale,
LPC, is used in Fiedler’s contingency
scale, known as the LPC scale and found as the end-of-chapter self-assessment. It
model to measure a person’s leadership
style. describes tendencies to behave either as a task-motivated leader (low LPC score) or
relationship-motivated leader (high LPC score).
Leadership situations in Fiedler’s model are assessed accord-
Keys to Understanding ing to the amount of control they offer the leader. Three con-
Leadership Situations tingency variables measure situational control. The quality of
leader–member relations (good or poor) measures the degree to
1. Leader–member relations—good which the group supports the leader. The degree of task struc-
or poor? ture (high or low) measures the extent to which task goals, pro-
2. Task structure—high or low? cedures, and guidelines are clearly spelled out. The amount of
position power (strong or weak) measures the degree to which
3. Position power—strong or weak? the position gives the leader power to reward and punish
subordinates.
Figure 14.3 shows eight leadership situations that result from different combina-
tions of these contingency variables. They range from the most favorable situation
of high control (good leader–member relations, high task structure, strong in posi-
tion power) to the least favorable situation of low control (poor leader–member
relations, low task structure, weak in position power).

Matching Leadership Style and Situation

Fiedler’s research showed that neither the task-oriented nor the relationship-oriented
leadership style was effective all the time. Instead, as summarized here and shown in
Figure 14.4, each style seemed to work best when used in the right situation.

Best Fit =
Task-motivated Leader

High-control Moderate-control Low-control

Situations Situations Situations
Leader–member relations Good Good Poor Poor
Task structure High Low Low High Low
Position power Strong Weak Strong Weak Strong Weak Strong Weak
I II III IV V VI VII VIII

Best Fit = Relationship-

motivated Leader

FIGURE 14.3 Predictions on style–situation fit from Fiedler’s contingency leadership model.
 Contingency Approaches to Leadership 361

Task-motivated style—This leader will be most successful in either very favorable

(high-control) or very unfavorable (low-control) situations.
Relationship-motivated style—This leader will be most successful in situations of
moderate control.
Consider some examples. Assume you are the leader of a team of market researchers.
The researchers seem highly supportive of you, and their job is clearly defined regard-
ing what needs to be done. You have the authority to evaluate their performance and to
make pay and promotion recommendations. This is a high-control situation consisting
of good leader–member relations, high task structure, and high position power. Figure
14.4 shows that a task-motivated leader would be most effective in this situation.
Suppose now that you are the faculty chairperson of a committee asked to improve
student–faculty relationships in a university. Although the goal is clear, no one can
say for sure how to accomplish it and task structure is low. Because the committee is
voluntary and members are free to quit any time, the chairperson has little position
power. Because student members thought that the chair should be a student rather
than a faculty member, leader–member relations are mixed. According to the figure,
this low-control situation also calls for a task-motivated leader.
Finally, assume that you are the new head of a fashion section in a large depart-
ment store. Because you were selected over one of the popular sales associates you
now supervise, leader–member relations are poor. Task structure is high because
the associate’s job is well-defined. Your position power is low because associates
work under a seniority system and fixed wage schedule. Figure 14.4 shows that a
relationship-motivated leader is the best fit for this moderate-control situation.

Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Model

Question—How should leaders adjust their leadership styles according to the task
readiness of followers?
In contrast to Fiedler’s notion that leadership style is hard to change, the Hersey-
Blanchard situational leadership model suggests that successful leaders do adjust
their styles. But they do so wisely and based on the task readiness, or task maturity,
of followers.31 “Readiness,” in this sense, refers to how able
and willing or confident followers are to perform required
tasks. The four leadership styles to choose from are shown High
Participating Selling
in Figure14.4 as:
Relationship Behavior

Share ideas Explain decisions

• Delegating—allowing the group to take responsibility for
Support Required

Followers able, Followers unable,

task decisions; a low-task, low-relationship style. unwilling, insecure willing, confident

• Participating—emphasizing shared ideas and participa-

Delegating Telling
tive decisions on task directions; a low-task, high-rela- Turn over decisions Give instructions
tionship style.
Followers able, Followers unable,
• Selling—explaining task directions in a supportive and willing, confident unwilling, insecure
Low
persuasive way; a high-task, high-relationship style.
• Telling—giving specific task directions and closely su-
pervising work; a high-task, low-relationship style. Low Task Behavior High
Guidance Required
The delegating style works best in high-readiness situations
with able, willing, and confident followers. The telling style FIGURE 14.4 Leadership implications of the Hersey-
works best at the other extreme of low readiness, where Blanchard situational leadership model.
362 LEADING AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

ETHICS > THE BOSS EXPECTS YOU TO SPEND PART OF YOUR WORKDAY
ON THE LINE ON ONE OF HER COMMUNITY FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES

Would You Put Your Boss Above Your Organization?

Sure, we’re getting paid to do these things, but is it only the
boss that benefits?
What if your boss wants to pay you overtime to make
PowerPoint slides for a presentation he is giving at a con-
ference? It doesn’t sound wrong until you learn that he
hopes the presentation will lead to a job offer from another
employer. What if your boss is active in a local community
group? It sounds great, until she asks you to spend part of
your workday helping organize one of its fundraising events.
The group has no connection to work. What do you say?
By helping your boss with requests like these, you may
Masterfile

benefit from extra pay or by building up goodwill in the boss–

subordinate relationship. Yet it’s also clear that the work you
would do on company time has no direct benefit for the orga-
nization. In fact, the organization may end up being worse off.

M anagement scholars like to talk about the “zone of

indifference” in leadership. It basically identifies the
range of requests that a follower is willing to comply with
ETHICS QUESTION

just because someone is his or her boss. Is it ethical to help your supervisor in the situations described
Most of the time this zone is clear to all. Bosses stick to above? Are you doing a disservice to the organization’s other
legitimate requests that others have no qualms about follow- stakeholders if you go along with these requests? How far does
ing. But, some bosses take things into ambiguous territory. a supervisor’s authority extend? Is it acceptable for a supervisor
They ask us to do things that are outside the job description to ask for help with things that are not directly tied to work?
and/or that don’t really benefit the employing organization. Just where do you draw the line for your zone of indifference?

followers are unable and unwilling, or insecure. The participating style is recommended
for low-to-moderate-readiness followers—able but unwilling, or insecure. And, the sell-
ing style is for moderate-to-high-readiness followers—unable, but willing or confident.
Hersey and Blanchard also believe that leadership styles should be adjusted as
followers change over time. If the correct styles are used in lower-readiness situa-
tions, followers will “mature” and grow in ability, willingness, and confidence. This
allows the leader to become less directive and more participative as followers ma-
ture. Although the Hersey-Blanchard model is intuitively appealing, limited research
has been accomplished on it to date.32

Path–Goal Leadership Theory

Question—How can leaders use alternative leadership styles to add value in differ-
ent types of situations?
The path–goal theory advanced by Robert House seeks the right fit between leader-
ship style and situation.33 Unlike Fiedler, House believes that a leader can use all of
the following leadership styles and actually shift back and forth among them:
• Directive leadership—letting followers know what is expected; giving directions
on what to do and how; scheduling work to be done; maintaining definite stan-
dards of performance; clarifying the leader’s role in the group.
 Contingency Approaches to Leadership 363

• Supportive leadership—doing things to

make work more pleasant; treating team Follower
contingencies
members as equals; being friendly and ap-
Ability
proachable; showing concern for the well- Experience
being of subordinates. Locus of control

• Achievement-oriented leadership—setting
Leadership styles Leader
challenging goals; expecting the highest lev- effectiveness
Directive
els of performance; emphasizing continu- Supportive Value added to situation
ous improvement in performance; display- Participative
Achievement-oriented
ing confidence in meeting high standards.
• Participative leadership—involving team
Environmental
members in decision making; consulting contingencies
with them and asking for suggestions; using Task structure
these suggestions when making decisions. Authority system
Work group

Path–Goal Contingencies FIGURE 14.5 Contingency

relationships in House’s path–goal
The path–goal theory advises leaders to shift among the four styles in ways that leadership theory.
best fit situational needs. The critical thing is to use the style that adds real value
to a situation by contributing something that is missing or needs strengthening.
Leaders should avoid redundancy and doing things that are already taken care
of. When team members are already expert and competent at their tasks, for ex-
ample, it is unnecessary and even dysfunctional for the leader to tell them how
to do things.
The details of path–goal theory, as summarized in Figure 14.5, provide a
variety of research-based guidance on how to contingently match leadership
styles with situational characteristics. When job assignments are unclear, di-
rective leadership helps to clarify task objectives and expected rewards. When
worker self-confidence is low, supportive leadership can increase confidence
by emphasizing individual abilities and offering needed assistance. When task
challenge is insufficient in a job, achievement-oriented leadership helps to set
goals and raise performance aspirations. When performance incentives are
poor, participative leadership might clarify individual needs and identify ap-
propriate rewards.34

Substitutes for Leadership

Path–goal theory contributed to the recognition of what we call substitutes for Substitutes for leadership are factors
leadership.35 These are aspects of the work setting and the people involved that in the work setting that direct work
efforts without the involvement of a
can reduce the need for active leader involvement. In effect, they make leadership leader.
from the “outside” unnecessary because leadership is already provided from within
the situation.
Possible substitutes for leadership include follower characteristics such as abil-
ity, experience, and independence; task characteristics such as the presence or ab-
sence of routine and the availability of feedback; and organizational characteristics
such as clarity of plans and formalization of rules and procedures. When these sub-
stitutes for leadership are present, managers are advised in true path–goal fashion
to avoid duplicating them. Instead, they should concentrate on making other and
more important leadership contributions.
364 LEADING AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Leader–Member Exchange Theory

Question—How do in-group and out-group dynamics influence leader–follower
relationships?
One of the things you may have noticed is the tendency of leaders to develop “spe-
cial” relationships with some team members, even to the point where not every-
one is always treated in the same way. This notion is central to leader–member
exchange theory, or LMX theory as it is often called.36
Described in Figure 14.6, LMX theory recognizes that
not everyone is treated the same by the leader. People
fall into “in-groups” and “out-groups,” and the group you
Followers Leader– Followers
defined into Member defined into are in can make a big difference in your experience with
“out-group” Exchange “in-group” the leader.37 In-group members enjoy special and trusted
Relationships
high-exchange relationships with the leaders and often
Perceptions
get special rewards, assignments, privileges, and access
of Followers to information. For a follower in the leader’s in-group,
Compatibility it’s motivating and satisfying to receive such favorable
Competency treatments. Out-group members have a low-exchange
Personality
relationship and may be marginalized, ignored, and even
“–” “+”
get fewer benefits. For someone in the out-group, it can
be frustrating to receive fewer rewards, less information,
and little or no special attention.
FIGURE 14.6 Elements of leader–member exchange (LMX) theory.
Just look around. You’re likely to see examples of this in
classroom situations between instructors and certain students, and in work teams
between leaders and certain members. The notion of leader in-groups and out-groups
seems to make sense and corresponds to working realities experienced by many peo-
ple. Interestingly, research shows that members of leaders’ in-groups get more positive
An authority decision is made by the performance evaluations and report higher levels of job satisfaction. They are also
leader and then communicated to the
group. more loyal as followers and less prone to turnover than are members of out-groups.38
A consultative decision is made by a
leader after receiving information, ad-
vice, or opinions from group members.
A group decision is made by group
Leader-Participation Model
members themselves. Question—How should leaders make decisions in different types of problem
situations?
The Vroom-Jago leader-participation model links
leadership success with use of alternative decision-
Leader Who has information and expertise? Followers making methods. It suggests that leaders are most ef-
fective when they make decisions in ways that best fit
Acceptance and commitment the problem situation.39
No Yes
critical for implementation? Figure 14.7, shows that a leader’s decision-making
alternatives fall into three broad categories—author-
High Time pressure for decision making? Low ity, consultative, or group decisions.40 An authority
decision is made by the leader and then commu-
Authority decision Consultative decisions Group decisions
nicated to the group. A consultative decision is
made by the leader after gathering information
and advice from others. A group decision is made
FIGURE 14.7 Leadership implications of Vroom-Jago leader- by the group with the leader’s support as a contrib-
participation model. uting member.
 Personal Leadership Development 365

A leader’s choice among alternative

decision-making methods is governed by ManagementSmarts
three factors: (1) Decision quality—based
on who has the information needed for Five Ways for Leaders to Make Decisions
problem solving; (2) Decision acceptance—
1. Decide alone—This is an authority decision; the manager decides how to
based on the importance of follower ac-
solve the problem and communicates the decision to the group.
ceptance to the decision’s eventual imple-
2. Consult individually—The manager makes the decision after sharing the prob-
mentation; (3) Decision time—based on the lem and consulting individually with group members to get their suggestions.
time available to make and implement the 3. Consult with group—The manager makes the decision after convening
decision. Because each decision method the group, sharing the problem, and consulting with everyone to get their
has its advantages and disadvantages in suggestions.
respect to these factors, effective leaders 4. Facilitate group—The manager convenes the group, shares the problem,
continually shift methods as they deal with and facilitates discussion to make a decision.
daily problems and opportunities.41 5. Delegate to group—The manager convenes the group and delegates author-
Authority decisions work best when ity to define the problem and make a decision.
leaders have the expertise needed to
solve the problem and are confident and
acting alone. They also work best when followers are likely to accept and implement
the leader’s decision, and when there is little or no time available for group discussion.
Consultative and group decisions work best when the leader lacks the expertise
and information needed to solve the problem. They also work best when the prob-
lem is unclear, follower acceptance is uncertain but necessary for implementation,
and adequate time is available.
Although all decision methods are potentially useful (see Management
Smarts), Vroom and Jago believe the consultative and group decisions offer spe-
cial benefits.42 Participation helps improve decision quality by bringing more
information to bear on the problem. It helps improve decision acceptance as
participants gain understanding and commitment. It also contributes to leader-
ship development by allowing others to gain experience in the problem-solving
process. Of course, the lost efficiency of consultative and group decisions is a
potential negative. Participative decision making is time consuming and leaders
don’t always have extra time available. When problems must be resolved imme-
diately, the authority decision may be the only option.43

LEARNING CHECK 3

TAKEAWAY QUESTION 3 What are the contingency approaches to leadership?

Be sure you can • contrast the leader-behavior and contingency leadership approaches • explain Fiedler’s con-
tingency model • identify the four leadership styles in the Hersey–Blanchard situational model • explain House’s
path–goal theory • define substitutes for leadership • explain LMX theory • contrast the authority, consultative,
and group decisions in the Vroom-Jago model

Personal Leadership Development

The opening questions posed for the trait, behavioral, and contingency theories
should have prompted you to think seriously about your leadership qualities, ten-
dencies, styles, and effectiveness in various situations. There’s no one answer to the
366 LEADING AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

question of what makes a particular person—say you—an effective leader. Personal

leadership development is best viewed as an ongoing goal that benefits from know-
ing the concepts and models, but also requires continuous learning as you move
from one experience to the next. And, there is always room to grow. If you consider
the various theories just visited, listen to what people say about leaders in their
workplaces, are open to feedback about your leadership successes and failures, and
understand the contextual issues presented next, the pathways of leadership devel-
opment should be clear and full of opportunities.

Charismatic and Transformational Leadership

It is popular to talk about “superleaders,” persons whose visions and strong personali-
ties have an extraordinary impact on others.44 Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “I Have
a Dream” speech delivered in August 1963 on the Washington Mall is a good example.
A charismatic leader inspires followers Some call people like King charismatic leaders because of their ability to inspire oth-
in extraordinary ways. ers in exceptional ways. We used to think charisma was limited to only a few lucky
persons. It’s now considered one of several personal qualities—including honesty, cred-
ibility, and competence—that we should be able to develop with foresight and practice.
Leadership scholars James MacGregor Burns and Bernard Bass link charis-
Transformational leadership is matic qualities like enthusiasm and inspiration with something called transfor-
inspirational and arouses extraordinary mational leadership.45 They also lament its absence in the ways of many leaders.
effort and performance.
Transformational leaders use their personalities to inspire followers. They get
them so highly excited about their jobs and organizational goals that they strive
for extraordinary performance accomplishments. Indeed, the easiest way to spot
a truly transformational leader is through his or her followers. They are likely to be
enthusiastic about the leader, loyal and devoted to his or her ideas, and willing to
work exceptionally hard to achieve the leader’s vision.
The pathway to transformational leadership starts with a willingness to bring
real emotion to the leader–follower relationship. It involves acting with integrity
and living up to the trust of others. It requires both having a compelling vision of
the future and the ability to communicate that vision in ways that cause others to
work hard together to achieve it. Transformational leaders excel in part because of
the strong sense of high aspiration, confidence, and contagious enthusiasm they
bring to a situation.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Shared An Inspiring Dream

When Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, on August 28,
1963, at the Washington Mall, he connected with a massive audience of civil rights supporters.
His choice of words and emotional delivery are exemplars of transformational leadership skill.
“I have a dream today,” said Martin Luther King, “that my four little children will one day live
in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their
character.” Indeed! The U.S. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act in 1964, and King received
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965.

RollsPress/Popperfoto/
Getty Images
 Personal Leadership Development 367

Emotional Intelligence and Leadership

The role of personality in transformational leadership relates to another area of
inquiry in leadership development—emotional intelligence. Popularized by the Emotional intelligence is the ability to
work of Daniel Goleman, emotional intelligence, or EI for short, is an ability to un- manage our emotions in social relation-
ships.
derstand emotions in yourself and others and use this understanding to handle
social relationships effectively.46 “Great leaders move us,” say Goleman and his col-
leagues. “Great leadership works through emotions.”47
Emotional intelligence shows up in research as an important influence on leader-
ship success, especially in more senior management positions. In Goleman’s words:
“the higher the rank of the person considered to be a star performer, the more emo-
tional intelligence capabilities showed up as the reason for his or her effectiveness.”48
This is a pretty strong endorsement for paying attention to Goleman’s belief that not
only is EI a key leadership asset, it is one that we can each develop.
Consider the four emotional intelligence competencies shown
Motivated and
nearby.49 A leader strong in emotional intelligence possesses self-aware- persistent
ness. This is the ability to understand our own moods and emotions,
and to understand their impact on our work and on others. The emo-
tionally intelligent leader is good at self-management, or self-regulation.
High The High
This is the ability to think before we act and to control otherwise dis- self- social
emotionally
ruptive impulses. Emotional intelligence in leadership involves motiva- awareness intelligent awareness
leader
tion and persistence in being willing to work hard for reasons other than
money and status. Leaders who are high in emotional intelligence dis-
play social awareness, or empathy. They have the ability to understand
Good relationship Good
the emotions of others and to use this understanding to better relate self-management
management
to them. And, a leader high in emotional intelligence is good at rela-
tionship management. This is the ability to establish rapport with others
and to build social capital through relationships and networks.

Gender and Leadership

When Sara Levinson was president of NFL Properties, Inc., she asked the all-male
members of her NFL management team this question: “Is my leadership style dif-
ferent from a man’s?” “Yes,” they replied, and even suggested that the very fact that
she was asking the question was evidence of the difference. They said her leadership
style emphasized communication as well as gathering ideas and opinions from oth-
ers. When Levinson probed further by asking, “Is this a distinctly ‘female’ trait?” the
men said they thought it was.50
Are there gender differences in leadership? In pondering this question, three back-
ground points deserve highlighting. First, social science research largely supports the
gender similarities hypothesis. That is, males and females are very similar to one The gender similarities hypothesis
another in terms of psychological properties.51 Second, research leaves no doubt that holds that males and females have simi-
lar psychological properties.
both women and men can be equally effective as leaders.52 Third, research does show
that men and women are sometimes perceived as using somewhat different styles,
and perhaps arriving at leadership success from different angles.53
When men and women are perceived differently as leaders, the perceptions fit
traditional stereotypes.54 Men may be expected to act as “take-charge” leaders who
are task-oriented, directive, and assertive while trying to get things done in tradi-
tional command-and-control ways. Women may be expected to act as “take-care”
368 LEADING AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

RESEARCH
BRIEF

Charismatic Leaders Display Positive Emotions

That Followers Find Contagious

W hen leaders show positive emo-

tions, the effect on followers is
positive, creating positive moods and
Leader Charisma and Emotional Contagion

Leader Leader Follower

also creating tendencies toward posi- charisma emotions mood
tive leader ratings and feelings of at-
traction to the leader. These are the
major conclusions from four research
studies conducted by Joyce E. Bono
and Remus Ilies, and reported in Follower rating of leader
Leadership Quarterly. Follower attraction to leader
Reprinted from LEAD- Bono and Ilies set out to examine
ERSHIP QUARTERLY, how charismatic leaders “use emo-
Vol. 17, Issue 2, 2006.
tion to influence followers.” They
Reproduced with permis-
sion from Elsevier advanced hypotheses as indicated in
leaders use negative emotions and how these emotions
the figure. They expected to find that
affect followers. Also, the researchers suggest we need to
charismatic leaders display positive emotions, that positive
know more about the impact of leader moods on follower
leader emotions create positive follower moods, and that
performance and creativity.
positive follower moods generate both positive ratings of
the leader and attraction toward the leader. These hypoth-
eses were examined in a series of four empirical studies. YOU BE THE RESEARCHER
The researchers concluded that positive emotions are
an important aspect of charismatic leadership. They found Is this logic of emotional contagion insightful? What are
that leaders who rated high in charisma chose words with the implications? Should we conclude that a leader can
more positive emotional content for vision statements and never allow herself or himself to have a “bad” day, and
speeches. They also found that the positive emotions of can never communicate, verbally or nonverbally, anything
leaders were transferred into positive moods among fol- other than positive emotional messages? Is it realistic for
lowers; that is, the positive leader moods were contagious. managers to live up to these expectations to always be
They also found that followers with positive moods had more positive? Could you design a research study to examine
positive perceptions of leader effectiveness. these questions?
These studies, by Bono and Ilies, focused only on posi- Reference: Joyce E. Bono and Remus Ilies, “Charisma, Positive Emotions and
tive leader emotions. This leaves open the questions of how Mood Contagion,” Leadership Quarterly, vol. 17 (2006), pp. 317–34.

leaders who behave in supportive and nurturing ways. Studies report, for example,
that female leaders are viewed as more participative than male leaders. They are
also rated by peers, subordinates, and supervisors as strong on motivating others,
emotional intelligence, persuading, fostering communication, listening to others,
mentoring, and supporting high-quality work.55 In research using 360-degree assess-
ments, women were rated more highly than men in all but one area of leadership—
visioning. The possible explanation was that because women are less directive as
leaders, they aren’t perceived as visionaries.56
Harvard scholar Rosabeth Moss Kanter says that in many ways “Women get high
ratings on exactly those skills required to succeed in the global information age, where
teamwork and partnering are so important.”57 The pattern of behaviors sometimes attrib-
Interactive leaders are strong com- uted to women is called interactive leadership.58 Leaders with this style are democratic,
municators and act democratic and participative, and inclusive. They approach problems and decisions through teamwork,
participative with followers.
show respect for others, and share power and information. They use communication and
 Personal Leadership Development 369

involvement to build good interpersonal relations and seek consensus.59 They also tend
to get things done more through personal power and good interpersonal relationships
than through command-and-control use of position power.
One of the risks in any discussion of gender and leadership is falling prey to
stereotypes that place individual men and women into leadership boxes in which
they don’t necessarily belong.60 Perhaps we should set gender issues aside, accept
the gender similarities hypothesis, and focus instead on the notion of interactive
leadership. The likelihood is that an interactive leader is a very good fit with the
needs of today’s organizations and their members. Furthermore, there is no reason
why men and women can’t do it equally well.61

Moral Leadership
As highlighted in the chapter opener on integrity, society expects organizations to
be run with moral leadership. This is leadership with ethical standards that clearly Moral leadership is always “good” and
meet the test of being “good” and “correct.”62 Anyone in a leadership position will “right” by ethical standards.

ideally practice high ethical standards of behavior, try to build and maintain an ethi-
cal organizational culture, and both help and require others to behave ethically in
their work. Unfortunately, the facts don’t always support this aspiration.
Would you be surprised to learn that a Business Week survey found that just
14% of top executives at large U.S. firms rated “having strong ethical values” as a
top leadership characteristic?63 Likely not. But how about this? A Harris Poll found
that only 37% of U.S. adults in a survey described their top managers as acting with
“integrity and morality.” 64
Moral leadership begins with personal integrity, a concept fundamental to the no-
tion of transformational leadership. Leading with integrity means acting in an hon- Leaders show integrity by acting with
est, credible, and consistent manner in putting one’s values into action. When a leader honesty, credibility, and consistency in
putting values into action.
has integrity, he or she earns the trust of followers. And when followers believe leaders
are trustworthy, they try to behave in ways that live up to the leader’s expectations.
In his book, Transforming Leadership: A New Pursuit of Happiness, James Mac-
Gregor Burns explains that transformational leadership creates significant, even
revolutionary, change in social systems, while still based on integrity. He notably
eliminates certain historical figures from this definition: Napoleon is out—too
much order-and-obey in his style; Hitler is out—no moral foundations; Mao is out,
too—no true empowerment of followers. Among Burns’s positive role models from
history are Mahatma Gandhi, George Washington, and both Eleanor and Franklin
Delano Roosevelt. Burns firmly believes that great leaders follow agendas true to
the wishes of their followers. He also says that wherever in the world great leader-
ship is found, it will always have a moral anchor point.65
One of the risks we face in living up to the expectations of moral leadership is
moral overconfidence. Dean Nitin Nohria of the Harvard Business School de- Moral overconfidence is an overly pos-
scribes this as an overly positive view of one’s strength of character. He believes this itive view of one’s strength of character.

is quite common and we must be vigilant to guard against it.66 Leaders with moral
overconfidence may act unethically without recognizing it or while justifying it by
inappropriate rationalizations. “I’m a good person, so I can’t be wrong,” one might
say with overconfidence. “The world isn’t neatly divided into good people and bad
people,” Nohria says. “Most will behave well or poorly, depending on the context.”67
The concept of servant leadership fits with the concept of a moral leader. So, too,
Authentic leadership activates posi-
does the notion of authentic leadership. Fred Luthans and Bruce Avolio describe an tive psychological states to achieve self-
authentic leader as one with a high level of self-awareness and a clear understanding awareness and positive self-regulation.
370 LEADING AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Nonviolence Was Moral Path for Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is praised as a moral leader who rallied nonviolent civil
disobedience to support India’s independence from Great Britain. He is most often ad-
dressed with the honorific “Mahatma,” meaning great-souled. Although not known for
giving inspirational and emotional speeches, his symbolic and determined behavior was
a contagious role model for others. Gandhi’s example might prompt us to ask: Where are
the exemplars of moral leadership today?

of his or her personal values.68 An authentic leader acts consistent with those values,
being honest and avoiding self-deceptions. Because of this the leader is perceived by
followers as genuine, gains their respect, and develops a capacity to positively influ-
ence their behaviors.69 The values and actions of authentic leaders create a positive
B
Bettmann/©Corbis
/©C bi ethical climate in their organizations.70

Drucker’s “Old-Fashioned” Leadership

The late and respected consultant Peter Drucker took a time-tested and very prag-
matic view of leadership. His many books and articles remind us that leadership
effectiveness must have strong foundations, something he refers to as the “good
old-fashioned” hard work of a successful leader.71
Drucker believes that the basic building block for success as a leader is defin-
ing and establishing a sense of mission. A good leader sets the
Drucker’s Straight goals, priorities, and standards. And a good leader keeps them all
Talk on Leadership clear and visible. As Drucker puts it: “The leader’s first task is to be
the trumpet that sounds a clear sound.”72 Next, Drucker believes
• Define and communicate a clear vision. that leadership should be accepted as a responsibility rather than
a rank. He adds that good leaders surround themselves with tal-
• Accept leadership as a responsibility,
not a rank. ented people, aren’t afraid to develop strong and capable followers,
and don’t blame others when things go wrong. The adage—“The
• Surround yourself with talented people. buck stops here,” is still good to remember.
• Don’t blame others when things go Finally, Drucker stresses the importance of earning and keeping
wrong. the trust of others. The key here is the leader’s personal integrity,
• Keep your integrity; earn the trust of the point on which the chapter began. The followers of good lead-
others. ers trust them. They believe the leader means what he or she says,
and know his or her actions will be consistent with what is said. In
• Don’t be clever, be consistent. Drucker’s words again: “Effective leadership is not based on being
clever; it is based primarily on being consistent.”73

LEARNING CHECK 4

TAKEAWAY QUESTION 4 What are current issues in personal leadership development?

Be sure you can • define transformational leadership • explain how emotional intelligence contributes to
leadership success • discuss research insights on the relationship between gender and leadership • define
interactive leadership • discuss integrity as a foundation for moral leadership • list Drucker’s essentials of good
old-fashioned leadership
 Management Learning Review 371

MANAGEMENT
LEARNING REVIEW

LEARNING CHECK SUMMARY

TAKEAWAY QUESTION 1 What is the nature is one that properly matches the demands of each
of leadership? unique situation.
• Fiedler’s contingency model matches leadership styles
• Leadership is the process of inspiring others to work with situational differences in task structure, position
hard to accomplish important tasks. power, and leader–member relations.
• The ability to communicate a vision—a clear sense of • The Hersey-Blanchard situational model recommends
the future—is essential for effective leadership. using task-oriented and people-oriented behaviors,
• Power is the ability to get others to do what you want depending on the “maturity” levels of followers.
them to do through leadership. • House’s path–goal theory points out that leaders add
• Sources of position power include rewards, coercion, value to situations by using supportive, directive,
and legitimacy or formal authority; sources of personal achievement-oriented, or participative styles.
power include expertise and reference. • The Vroom-Jago leader-participation theory advises
• Effective leaders empower others, allowing them to leaders to choose decision-making methods—
make job-related decisions on their own. individual, consultative, group—that best fit the prob-
• Servant leadership is follower-centered, focusing on lems to be solved.
helping others fully utilize their talents. For Discussion What are the career development
For Discussion When is a leader justified in using implications of Fiedler’s contingency model of
coercive power? leadership?

TAKEAWAY QUESTION 2 What are the im- TAKEAWAY QUESTION 4 What are current
portant leadership traits and behaviors? issues in personal leadership development?
• Traits that seem to have a positive impact on leader- • Transformational leaders use charisma and emotion to
ship include drive, integrity, and self-confidence. inspire others toward extraordinary efforts and perfor-
• Research on leader behaviors has focused on alterna- mance excellence.
tive leadership styles based on concerns for the task • Emotional intelligence—the ability to manage our
and concerns for people. relationships and ourselves effectively—is an important
• One suggestion of leader-behavior researchers is that leadership capability.
effective leaders are team-based and participative, • The interactive leadership style emphasizes communi-
showing both high task and people concerns. cation, involvement, and interpersonal respect.
For Discussion Are any personal traits indispensable • Managers are expected to be moral leaders who com-
“must haves” for success in leadership? municate high ethical standards and show personal
integrity in all dealings with other people.
TAKEAWAY QUESTION 3 What are the con- For Discussion Is transformational leadership always
tingency approaches to leadership? moral leadership?

• Contingency leadership approaches point out that no

one leadership style always works best; the best style

SELF-TEST 14

Multiple-Choice Questions
1. Someone with a clear sense of the future and 2. Leader power ! power "
the actions needed to get there is considered a power.
leader. (a) reward, punishment (b) reward, expert
(a) task-oriented (b) people-oriented (c) legitimate, position (d) position, personal
(c) transactional (d) visionary
372 LEADING AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

3. A manager who says “because I am the boss, you (a) task-motivated (b) laissez-faire
must do what I ask” is relying on power. (c) participative (d) relationship-motivated
(a) reward (b) legitimate 10. leadership model suggests that leader-
(c) expert (d) referent ship style is strongly anchored in personality and
4. When a leader assumes that others will do as she asks therefore hard to change.
because they want to positively identify with her, she (a) Trait (b) Fiedler’s
is relying on power to influence their (c) Transformational (d) Blake and Mouton’s
behavior. 11. House’s theory of leadership says that
(a) expert (b) reference successful leaders find ways to add value to leader-
(c) legitimate (d) reward ship situations.
5. The personal traits now considered important for (a) trait (b) path–goal
managerial success include . (c) transformational (d) life-cycle
(a) self-confidence (b) gender 12. A leader who would be described as
(c) age (d) height achievement-oriented in the path–goal theory.
6. In the leader-behavior approaches to leadership, (a) sets challenging goals for others
someone who does a very good job of planning work, (b) works hard to achieve high performance
setting standards, and monitoring results would be (c) gives directions and monitors results
considered a(n) leader. (d) builds commitment through participation
(a) task-oriented (b) control-oriented 13. The critical contingency variable in the Hersey-
(c) achievement-oriented (d) employee-centered Blanchard situational model of leadership is
7. According to the Blake and Mouton leadership grid, .
the most successful leader is one who acts with (a) followers’ maturity (b) LPC
. (c) task structure (d) LMX
(a) high initiating structure and low consideration 14. Vision, charisma, integrity, and symbolism are all
(b) high concern for task and high concern for people on the list of attributes typically associated with
(c) high emotional intelligence and high integrity leaders.
(d) low job stress and high task goals (a) contingency (b) informal
8. A leader whose actions indicate an attitude of “do as (c) transformational (d) transactional
you want, and don’t bother me” would be described 15. The interactive leadership style, sometimes associ-
as having a(n) leadership style. ated with women, is characterized by .
(a) autocratic (b) country club (a) inclusion and information sharing
(c) democratic (d) laissez-faire (b) use of rewards and punishments
9. In Fiedler’s contingency model, both highly favor- (c) command and control
able and highly unfavorable leadership situations are (d) emphasis on position power
best dealt with by a leader.

Short-Response Questions
16. Why does a person need both position power and favorability of leadership situations, and what
personal power to achieve long-term managerial does each mean?
effectiveness? 19. How does Peter Drucker’s view of “good old-
17. What is the major insight of the Vroom-Jago leader- fashioned leadership” differ from the popular
participation model? concept of transformational leadership?
18. What are the three variables that Fiedler’s
contingency model uses to diagnose the

Essay Question
20. When Marcel Henry took over as leader of a new shared this concern with you during a coffee break.
product development team, he was both excited Based on the insights of this chapter, how would
and apprehensive. “I wonder,” he said to himself on you describe to him the implications for his personal
the first day in his new assignment, “if I can meet leadership development of current thinking on trans-
the challenges of leadership.” Later that day, Marcel formational leadership and moral leadership?
 Management Skills and Competencies 373

MANAGEMENT SKILLS
AND COMPETENCIES

Further
Furrth
her R
Refl
efl
flec
ection:
ctio
on: Integrity
Inteegrrityy
Even though we can get overly enamored with the notion
DO IT NOW . . .
of the “great” or “transformational” leader, it is just one
LOOK IN THE MIRROR
among many leadership fundamentals that are enduring
and important. This chapter covered a range of concepts, • Ask: How often have I worked for someone who be-
models, and theories useful for leadership development. haved below the “integrity line”? How did I feel about
Each is best supported by a base of personal integrity that it, and what did I do?
keeps the leader above the “integrity line” depicted in the • Write a set of notes on your behavior in situations
chapter opener—high in honesty, consistency, humility, where your own leadership integrity could be ques-
and selflessness. Servant leadership represents integrity; tioned. What are the lessons for the future?
Drucker’s notion of good old-fashioned leadership requires • Who are your leadership exemplars, the ones you
integrity; Gardner’s concept of moral leadership is centered most admire and would like to emulate?
on integrity. Why is it, then, that in the news and in everyday • At this point in your life, who is the real leader in you?
experiences we so often end up wondering where leadership
integrity has gone?

SSelf-Assessment:
ellf Asseessm
men
nt:: Least-Preferred
Leeast Preferred
dCCoworker
ow
work
kerr Sc
Scale
calle
Instructions you had the most difficulty getting a job done. This is the
one person—a peer, boss, or subordinate—with whom
Think of all the different people with whom you have you would least want to work. Describe this person by
ever worked—in jobs, in social clubs, in student projects, circling numbers at the appropriate points on each of
or whatever. Next think of the one person with whom the following pairs of bipolar adjectives. Work rapidly.
you could work least well—that is, the person with whom There are no right or wrong answers.74

Pleasant 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Unpleasant
Friendly 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Unfriendly
Rejecting 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Accepting
Tense 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Relaxed
Distant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Close
Cold 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Warm
Supportive 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Hostile
Boring 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Interesting
Quarrelsome 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Harmonious
Gloomy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Cheerful
Open 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Guarded
Backbiting 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Loyal
Untrustworthy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Trustworthy
Considerate 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Inconsiderate
Nasty 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Nice
Agreeable 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Disagreeable
Insincere 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Sincere
Kind 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Unkind
374 LEADING AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Self-Assessment Scoring this style is a relatively fixed part of our personality and
is therefore difficult to change. Thus, he suggests the
Compute your “least-preferred coworker” (LPC) score
key to leadership success is finding (or creating) good
by totaling all the numbers you circled; enter that score
“matches” between style and situation. If your score is
here [LPC ____________ ].
73 or above, Fiedler considers you a “relationship-
motivated” leader. If your score is 64 or below, he
Interpretation considers you a “task-motivated” leader. If your score is
The LPC scale is used by Fred Fiedler to identify a between 65 and 72, Fiedler leaves it up to you to deter-
person’s dominant leadership style. He believes that mine which leadership style is most like yours.

Team Exercise:
Leadership and Participation in Decision Making

Procedure choose. However, because of the coopera-

tive effort of your employees, they must
1. For the 10 situations described here, decide which all work the same eight hours. You are not
of the three styles you would use for that unique sure of the level of interest in changing the
situation. Place the letter A, P, or L on the line be- hours. Your employees are a very capable
fore each situation’s number. group and like to make decisions.
A—authority; make the decision alone without ad- ____ 5. The technology in your industry is changing
ditional inputs. faster than the members of your organiza-
P—consultative; make the decision based on group tion can keep up. Top management hired
inputs. a consultant who has given the recom-
L—group; allow the group to which you belong to mended decision. You have two weeks to
make the decision. make your decision. Your employees are
capable, and they enjoy participating in the
Decision Situations decision-making process.
____ 1. You have developed a new work procedure ____ 6. Your boss called you on the telephone to
that will increase productivity. Your boss likes tell you that someone has requested an
the idea and wants you to try it within a few order for your department’s product with a
weeks. You view your employees as fairly ca- very short delivery date. She asked that you
pable and believe that they will be receptive call her back with the decision about taking
to the change. the order in 15 minutes. Looking over the
____ 2. The industry of your product has new compe- work schedule, you realize that it will be
tition. Your organization’s revenues have been very difficult to deliver the order on time.
dropping. You have been told to lay off three Your employees will have to push hard to
of your ten employees in two weeks. You make it. They are cooperative, capable, and
have been the supervisor for over one year. enjoy being involved in decision making.
Normally, your employees are very capable. ____ 7. A change has been handed down from
____ 3. Your department has been facing a prob- top management. How you implement it is
lem for several months. Many solutions your decision. The change takes effect in
have been tried and have failed. You finally one month. It will personally affect every-
thought of a solution, but you are not one in your department. The acceptance
sure of the possible consequences of the of the department members is critical to
change required or its acceptance by the the success of the change. Your employ-
highly capable employees. ees are usually not too interested in being
____ 4. Flextime has become popular in your orga- involved in making decisions.
nization. Some departments let each em- ____ 8. You believe that productivity in your depart-
ployee start and end work whenever they ment could be increased. You have thought
 Case Study 375

of some ways that may work, but you’re not deadline would require employees to work
sure of them. Your employees are very expe- nights and weekends for six weeks. You can-
rienced; almost all of them have been in the not require them to work overtime. Filling this
department longer than you have. profitable contract could help get you the
____ 9. Top management has decided to make a raise you want and feel you deserve. However,
change that will affect all of your employees. if you take the contract and don’t deliver on
You know that they will be upset because it time, it will hurt your chances of getting a big
will cause them hardship. One or two may raise. Your employees are very capable.
even quit. The change goes into effect in 30
2. Form groups as assigned by your instructor. Share
days. Your employees are very capable.
and compare your choices for each decision situation.
____ 10. A customer has offered you a contract for your
Reconcile any differences and be prepared to defend
product with a quick delivery date. The offer
your decision preferences in general class discussion.
is open for two days. Meeting the contract

Career Situations for Leadership:

What Would You Do?
1. Autocratic Boss Some might say it was bad luck. great résumé material. But you’re worried about the
Others will tell you it’s life and you’ d better get used leadership dynamics and your role as a newcomer to
to it. You’ve just gotten a new boss, and within the first the team. What can you do to get on board as soon
week it was clear to everyone that she is as “auto- as possible, work well with the team leader, and be
cratic” as can be. The previous boss was very “demo- valued by other team members?
cratic,” and so is the next-higher-level manager, with 3. Out of Comfort Zone Okay, it’s important to be
whom you’ve always had a good working relationship. “interactive” in leadership. By personality, though,
Is there anything you and your coworkers can do to you tend to be a bit withdrawn. If you could do things
remedy this situation without causing anyone, includ- by yourself, that’s the way you would behave. That’s
ing the new boss, to lose their jobs? your comfort zone. Yet you are talented and ambi-
2. New to the Team You’ve just been hired as a visual tious. Career growth in your field requires taking on
effects artist by a top movie studio. The team you management responsibilities. So, here you are agree-
are joining has already been together for about two ing to take over as a team leader in your first upward
months. There’s obviously an in-group when it comes career move. Can you succeed by leading within your
to team leader and team member relationships. This comfort zone? If not, what can you do to “stretch”
job is important to you; the movie is going to be your capabilities into new leadership territories?

Case Study

Zappos
Go to Management Cases for Critical Thinking to find the
recommended case for Chapter 14—“Zappos: They Did It with
Humor.”
 Andrew H. Walker/Stringer/Getty Images
Wisdom > THERE ARE PERSONALITIES BEHIND THOSE FACES
The story: Woman, unhappy with the had a passion for direct selling and
Learning way she looks in white slacks, cuts feet
off a pair of panty hose, puts them on
diligently researched patents and
trademarks. When manufacturers
From Others under slacks, attends party, and feels balked—with one calling it “a crazy
great. The result: Sara Blakely founds idea”—she persisted. When depart-
Spanx, Inc. ment stores turned her down, she
“I knew this could open up so many persisted. Finally, she persuaded a
women’s wardrobes,” Blakely says. buyer at Neiman Marcus to give
“All women have that clothing in the Spanx its first big chance.
back of the closet that they don’t wear As sales grew, Blakely realized
because they don’t like the way it looks.” her limits; additional skills were
With $5,500 and the idea for “body- needed to handle the firm’s fast-
shaping” underwear, she set out to start paced growth. Saying she “was eager
a business. But the pathway to profits to delegate my weaknesses,” she
wasn’t a straight line. Others with the turned day-to-day operations over to
same idea might not have succeeded. CEO Laurie Ann Goldman and freed
Blakely brought a unique experi- herself for brand development and
ence and personality to the task. She philanthropy.1

MORE TO LOOK FOLLOW THE STORY FACTS FOR ANALYSIS

Little Things Are Big Things at Life Job Satisfaction Trends
FOR INSIDE> Is Good
RESEARCH BRIEF
ETHICS ON THE LINE Business Students More Satisfied with
Is Personality Testing in Your Future? Their Lives Perform Better
Individual
Behavior 15
> AMBITION
When it comes to understanding the first obstacles appeared. Ambi-
Insight
people at work, one of the big differ-
ences is often ambition, the desire to
tion in this sense is something to be
admired and developed both in others Learning
achieve or to accomplish something.
It shows up in personality as a sense of
and in ourselves.
But there’s also a potential downside
About Yourself
competitiveness and the urge to be the to ambition. Charan says people
Personal Traits
best at something.2 blinded by ambition can end up
Associated with
Scholar and consultant Ram Charan sacrificing substance for superfici-
People Who Perform
calls ambition a “personal differentiator” ality and even sacrificing right for
that separates “people who perform wrong. Overly ambitious people • Ambition—to achieve
from those who don’t.”3 It was a driving may overstate their accomplish- • Drive—to solve
force in Sara Blakely’s success story at ments to themselves and others. • Tenacity—to persevere
Spanx. Less ambitious persons could They may try to do too much and • Confidence—to act
• Openness—to experience
have gotten the same idea, but failed to end up accomplishing too little.
• Realism—to accept
pursue it as a business venture. Or they And, ambitious people who lack • Learning—to grow
might have tried to make a business integrity can also get trapped by • Integrity—to fulfill
out of it, but ended up quitting when corruption and misbehavior.4

BUILD SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES AT END OF CHAPTER <GET TO KNOW

■ Engage in Further Reflection on Your Ambition YOURSELF BETTER
■ Take the Self-Assessment—Internal/External Control
■ Prepare for the Team Exercise—Job Satisfaction Preferences
■ Solve the Career Situations in Individual Behavior
■ Analyze the Case Study—“Panera: Growing a Company with Personality”
 LEARNING Individual
DASHBOARD Behavior
TAKEAWAY 1 TAKEAWAY 2 TAKEAWAY 3 TAKEAWAY 4
15
Perception Personality Attitudes Emotions, Moods,
• Perception and • Big five personality • What is an attitude? and Stress
psychological contracts dimensions • What is job satisfaction? • Emotions
• Perception and • Myers-Briggs personality • Job satisfaction and its • Moods
attribution type indicator outcomes • Stress
• Perception tendencies • Personal conception and
• Sources of stress
and distortions emotional adjustment
• Perception and traits
impression management

LEARNING CHECK 1 LEARNING CHECK 2 LEARNING CHECK 3 LEARNING CHECK 4

In his books, Leadership Is an Art and Leadership Jazz, Max DePree, former
chairperson of furniture maker Herman Miller, Inc., talks about a millwright
who worked for his father. When the man died, DePree’s father, wishing to
express his sympathy to the family, went to their home. There he listened
as the widow read some beautiful poems which, to his father’s surprise, the
millwright had written. DePree says that he and his father often wondered,
“Was the man a poet who did millwright’s work, or a millwright who wrote
poetry?” He summarizes the lesson this way: “It is fundamental that leaders
endorse a concept of persons.”5

Contrast that story with this one. Some years ago, Karen Nussbaum found-
ed an organization called 9 to 5 devoted to improving women’s salaries and
promotion opportunities in the workplace. She started it after leaving her
job as a secretary at Harvard University. Describing what
she calls “the incident that put her over the edge,” Nuss-
Individual Behavior Sets
baum says: “One day I was sitting at my desk at lunchtime,
Performance behaviors—task perfor- when most of the professors were out. A student walked
mance, customer service, productivity into the office and looked me dead in the eye and said, ‘Isn’t
Withdrawal behaviors—absenteeism, anyone here?’”6 Nussbaum founded 9 to 5 to support her
turnover, job disengagement commitment to “remake the system so that it does not pro-
Citizenship behaviors—helping, volun- duce these individuals.”
teering, job engagement
Such things as perceptions, personalities, attitudes, emo-
Dysfunctional behaviors—antisocial tions, and moods influence individual behavior—the good
behavior, intentional wrongdoing
and the bad. When people work without respect, as in

378
 Perception 379

Nussbaum’s story, they can tend toward low performance, poor customer
service, absenteeism, and even antisocial behavior. But when they work in
supportive settings, positive behavior sets—higher performance, less with-
drawal and dysfunction, and helpful citizenship—are more likely. As Max
DePree says: “We need to give each other space so that we may both give
and receive such beautiful things as ideas, openness, dignity, joy, healing,
and inclusion.”7

Perception
Perception is a major influence on individual behavior. It is the process through Perception is the process through
which people receive and interpret information from the environment. It affects the which people receive, organize, and
interpret information from the
impressions we form about ourselves, other people, and daily life experiences. And environment.
importantly, we behave according to these perceptions.8 Perception acts as a screen
or filter through which information passes before we respond to it. Because percep-
tions are influenced by such things as cultural background, values, and other per-
sonal and situational circumstances, people can and do perceive the same people,
things, or situations differently.

Perception and Psychological Contracts

One way in which perception influences individual behavior is through the psycho- A psychological contract is the set
logical contract, or what the individual expects in the employment relationship.9 of individual expectations about the
employment relationship.
Figure 15.1 shows that a healthy psychological contract offers a balance between
individual contributions made to the organization and inducements received. Con-
tributions are work activities, such as effort, time, creativity, and loyalty. Induce-
ments are what the organization gives to the individual in exchange for these con-
tributions. They include pay, fringe benefits, training and opportunities for personal
growth and advancement, and job security.

Offers Contributions
Individual

Serving needs of the individual Serving needs of the organization

Pay Opportunity Effort Loyalty
Training Respect Time Commitment
Benefits • Security Creativity

Organization
Offers Inducements

FIGURE 15.1 Components in the psychological contract.

 380 IN DIVIDUA L B E HAVIOR

The ideal psychological contract is one in which the exchange of values is per-
ceived as fair. Problems are likely to occur when the psychological contract is per-
ceived as unbalanced or broken. Individuals who sense they are getting less from
the organization than they are giving, for example, might try to compensate through
lower performance, withdrawal, and poor citizenship.

Perception and Attribution

Attribution is the process of explaining Perception also influences individual behavior through attribution, the process of
events. developing explanations for events. What happens when you perceive that some-
one else in a job or student group isn’t performing up to expectations? How do you
explain it? And given your explanation, how do you react?
Attribution theory describes how people try to explain the behavior of them-
Fundamental attribution error over- selves and other people, while often making errors in the process.10 Fundamen-
estimates internal factors and underes- tal attribution error occurs when someone’s performance problems are blamed
timates external factors as influences
on someone’s behavior. more on internal failures of the individual than external factors relating to the
environment. In the case of poor-quality work, for example, a team leader might
blame a person’s lack of job skills or laziness—an unwillingness to work hard
enough. In response, the leader may try to resolve the problem through training,
reward or punishment, or even replacement. Because fundamental attribution
error neglects possible external explana-
Fundamental They are I am Self-Serving tions for the poor-quality work, such as
Attribution Error performing performing Bias unrealistic time pressures or bad technol-
“It’s their fault.” poorly poorly “It’s not my fault.”
ogy, opportunities to improve these factors
easily get missed.
Attribution theory also recognizes ten-
Self-serving bias explains personal dencies toward self-serving bias. This happens when individuals blame personal
success by internal causes and personal failures or problems on external causes while attributing successes to internal
failures by external causes.
causes. You can recognize it as the “It’s not my fault!” error when something is
wrong and as the “It was me, I did it!” error when things go right. Think of this the
next time you blame your instructor for a poor course grade or are quick to claim
credit for a team project that received a high grade. Self-serving bias creates a false
sense of confidence. It causes us to overlook opportunities for personal change and
development.

Small Firm Helps People Take Pride in

Being Themselves
The individual counts at Root Learning, a small management consulting firm in
Sylvania, Ohio, ranked by the Wall Street Journal as one of America’s Top Small
Workplaces. Individual differences are a source of pride. Caricature drawings of
each employee are prominently hung in the lobby. The goal is to celebrate diversity
Courtesy Root Learning

and uniqueness while highlighting each person’s special interests and talents. CEO
Jim Haudan sees this as a way of making sure that everyone is viewed as a whole
person. “If we pigeon-hole or just identify any of our people as a ‘proofer’ or an ‘ana-
lyst,’ it grossly limits what they’re capable of,” he says.
 Perception 381

Recommended
Reading
Women Count: A Guide to Changing the World
Cover design by Anna Christian. Reproduced courtesy of

(Purdue University Press, 2010)

Susan Bulkeley Butler and Purdue University Press

by Susan Bulkeley Butler

Author Susan Bulkeley Butler says women need to think big, take action, assert
their leadership value, and help one another. She speaks from experience as the
first female partner at Accenture. If some rebalancing of work and home lives is
necessary, employers should work with women to redefine the roles to achieve a
better fit. Supportive human resource policies can only pay off. Women have real
leadership advantages when it comes to things like communication, compassion,
listening, and even keeping egos in check. The world needs the qualities they have
to offer. “Women count,” says Butler. They “have the numbers, the education, the
track record, and the characteristics to change the world.” Her final appeal is to
men and women alike: “It’s time to join the new movement. Let’s get going.”

Perception Tendencies and Distortions

A variety of perceptual tendencies and distortions also influence the way we com-
municate with and behave toward one another. They include the use of stereotypes,
halo effects, selective perception, and projection. And importantly, they can each
cause us to lose sight of important individual differences.

Stereotypes
A stereotype occurs when someone is identified with a group or category, and then A stereotype occurs when attributes
oversimplified attributes associated with the group or category are used to describe commonly associated with a group are
assigned to an individual.
the individual. We all make use of stereotypes, and they are not always negative or
ill-intended. But those based on such things as gender, age, and race can, and unfor-
tunately do, bias perceptions.
Although employment barriers caused by gender stereotypes are falling, for ex-
ample, they can still cause even everyday behavior to be misconstrued. Scene: A man
is talking with coworkers—stereotyped interpretation: he’s discussing a new project.
Scene: A woman is talking with coworkers—stereotyped interpretation: she’s gossip-
ing.11 And, only a small portion of U.S. managers sent on international assignments
are women. Why? A Catalyst study of women in global business blames gender ste-
reotypes that place women at a disadvantage to men for these jobs. The perception
seems to be that women lack the abilities or willingness for working abroad.12

Halo Effects
A halo effect occurs when one attribute is used to develop an overall impression of A halo effect occurs when one attribute
a person or situation. When meeting someone new, for example, the halo effect may is used to develop an overall impression
of a person or situation.
cause one trait, such as a pleasant smile, to trigger overall positive perceptions. A
unique hairstyle or manner of dressing, by contrast, may trigger negative perceptions.
Halo effect errors often show up in performance evaluations. One factor, such as a per-
son’s punctuality or pleasant personality, may become the “halo” for a positive overall
performance assessment even though a full set of facts would show it is not deserved.
 382 IN DIVIDUA L B E HAVIOR

Selective Perception
Selective perception is the tendency to Selective perception is the tendency to single out for attention those aspects of
define problems from one’s own point
of view.
a situation or person that reinforce one’s existing beliefs, values, or needs.13 Infor-
mation that makes us uncomfortable is screened out; comfortable information is
allowed in. What this often means in organizations is that people from different
departments or functions—such as marketing and manufacturing—see things from
their own points of view and fail to recognize other points of view. One way to re-
duce this tendency and avoid the negative impact of selective perception is to be
sure to gather and be open to inputs and opinions from many people.

Projection
Projection is the assignment of per- Projection involves the assignment of personal attributes to other individuals. A clas-
sonal attributes to other individuals. sic projection error is to assume that other people share our needs, desires, and values.
Suppose that you enjoy a lot of responsibility and challenge in your work. Suppose,

FOLLOW > “YOU CAN DECIDE YOU’RE GOING TO BE HAPPY TODAY . . . THE LITTLE THINGS
THE STORY IN LIFE ARE THE BIG THINGS”

Little Things Are Big Things at Life Is Good

company devoted to humor and humility. John says: “It’s
Erick Jacobs/The New York Times/Redux Pictures

important that we’re saying ‘Life is good,’ not ‘Life is great’

or ‘Life is perfect’; there’s a big difference. . . . Don’t deter-
mine that you’re going to be happy when you get the new
car or the big promotion or meet that special person. You
can decide that you’re going to be happy today.” Accord-
ing to Bert: “The little things in life are the big things.” And
that’s the message of the Life Is Good brand.
So how did the two brothers turn a belief in happiness
into a successful firm? Well, they didn’t start with business
degrees or experience. They paved the road for prosperity
with good instincts, creativity, and positive views on life.
And they stuck to their values while learning about busi-
ness as their firm grew. They still live the brand while en-
joying leisure pursuits like kayaking and ultimate Frisbee.
They also support philanthropies like Camp Sunshine for
children with serious illnesses and Playmakers for trauma-
I magine! Yes, you can! Go for it! Life is good. We’ll make
that: Life is really good! These thoughts can turn dreams
into realities. They’re also part and parcel of a multimillion-
tized children.

dollar company that really is named Life is Good.

YOUR TAKE?
It all began with two brothers—Bert and John Jacobs—
making t-shirts for street sales. Picture a card-table set up Bert and John Jacobs built a successful company with a
at a Boston street fair and two young brothers setting out smile and feel-good approach to life. Just how far can pos-
48 t-shirts printed with a smiling face—Jake—and the words itive thinking carry them? Does there come a point where
“Life is good.” Then picture the cart empty, with all shirts business need for good old-fashioned management kicks
sold for $10 apiece, and two brothers happily realizing they in? How about us? Is there more to be gained by looking
might—just might—have a viable business idea. for positives than negatives in our everyday experiences
From that modest beginning, Bert—Chief Executive and relationships? And when it comes to our lives—your
Optimist—and John—Chief Creative Optimist—built a life—who’s in charge of the “good” factor?
 Personality 383

too, that you are the newly appointed manager for a team whose jobs you consider
dull and routine. You might move quickly to give team members more responsibilities
and challenge. But this may not be a good decision. Instead of designing jobs to best
fit members’ needs, you have designed the jobs to fit your needs. The fact is that some
people might be quite satisfied doing jobs that seem overly routine to you. Projection
errors can be controlled through self-awareness and a willingness to communicate and
empathize with other persons. To do this you must try to see things through their eyes.

Perception and Impression Management

Richard Branson, CEO of the Virgin Group, is one of the richest and most famous
executives in the world. He’s also known for informality and being a casual dresser.
One of his early successes was launching Virgin Airlines as a competitor of British
Airways (BA). The former head of BA, Lord King, said: “If Richard Branson had worn
a shirt and tie instead of a goatee and jumper, I would not have underestimated
him.”14 This shows how much impressions can count—both positive and negative.
Scholars discuss impression management as the systematic attempt to influ- Impression management is the
ence how others perceive us.15 It’s really a matter of routine in everyday life. We systematic attempt to influence how
others perceive us.
dress, talk, act, and surround ourselves with things that convey a desirable image to
other persons. When well done, impression management can help us to advance in
jobs and careers, form relationships with people we admire, and even create path-
ways to group memberships. And some of its basic tactics are worth remembering.
Dress in ways that convey positive appeal—for example, know when to “dress up”
and when to “dress down.” Use words to flatter other people in ways that generate
positive feelings toward you. Make eye contact and smile when engaged in conver-
sations so as to create a personal bond. Display a high level of energy that is sugges-
tive of lots of work commitment and initiative.16

LEARNING CHECK 1

TAKEAWAY QUESTION 1 How do perceptions influence individual behavior?

Be sure you can • define perception • explain the benefits of a healthy psychological contract • explain
fundamental attribution error and self-serving bias • define stereotype, halo effect, selective perception, and
projection and illustrate how each can adversely affect work behavior • explain impression management

Personality
Perrso
onaliity
How often do you complain about someone’s “bad personality” or tell a friend how
much you like someone because of their “nice personality”? Well, the same holds true at
work. Perhaps you have been part of conversations like these: “I can’t give him that job;
with a personality like that there’s no way he can work with customers.” “Put Erika on
the project—her personality is perfect for the intensity that we expect from the team.”
We use the term personality in management to describe the profile of enduring Personality is the profile of charac-
characteristics that makes each of us unique. No one can doubt that a person’s per- teristics making a person unique from
others.
sonality can have consequences for how she or he behaves and how that behavior
is regarded by others. The implications extend to our relationships with everyone
from family to friends to coworkers.
384 IN DIVIDUA L B E HAVIOR

Big Five Personality Dimensions

Although there are many personality traits, some of the best known are on a short
list of five that are especially significant in the workplace. Known as the Big Five,17
these personality traits are:
Extraversion is being outgoing, 1. Extraversion—the degree to which someone is outgoing, sociable, and asser-
sociable, and assertive.
tive. An extravert is comfortable and confident in interpersonal relationships;
an introvert is more withdrawn and reserved.
Agreeableness is being good-natured, 2. Agreeableness—the degree to which someone is good-natured, cooperative,
cooperative, and trusting. and trusting. An agreeable person gets along well with others; a disagreeable
person is a source of conflict and discomfort for others.
Conscientiousness is being respon- 3. Conscientiousness—the degree to which someone is responsible, dependable,
sible, dependable, and careful.
and careful. A conscientious person focuses on what can be accomplished
and meets commitments; a person who lacks conscientiousness is careless,
often trying to do too much and failing, or doing little.
Emotional stability is being relaxed, 4. Emotional stability—the degree to which someone is relaxed, secure, and
secure, and unworried.
unworried. A person who is emotionally stable is calm and confident; a per-
son lacking in emotional stability is anxious, nervous, and tense.
Openness to experience is being 5. Openness to experience—the degree to which someone is curious, open to
curious, receptive to new ideas, and new ideas, and imaginative. An open person is broad-minded, receptive to new
imaginative.
things, and comfortable with change; a person who lacks openness is narrow-
minded, has few interests, and is resistant to change.
ETHICS
ON THE LINE > IF YOU WANT THE JOB, TAKE THE PERSONALITY TEST

Is Personality Testing in Your Future?

Thank you again for your interest in XYZ Corp. I look forward
to meeting you during the next step in our recruiting process.
Sincerely,
[signed]
© Rob Wilkinson/Alamy Limited

Human Resource Director

Getting a letter like this is great news. It’s a nice confirmation

of your hard work and performance in college. You obviously
made a good first impression. But have you thought about this
“personality test” thing? What do you know about them and
how they are used for employment screening? Some people
might even consider their use an invasion of privacy.

ETHICS QUESTIONS

D ear [your name goes here]:

I am very pleased to invite you to a second round of
screening interviews with XYZ Corporation. Your on-campus
What are the ethical issues associated with the use of personal-
ity testing? What responsibilities does an employer have if they
session with our representative went very well, and we would are being used? Should they be required to have data showing
like to consider you further for a full-time position. Please con- that personality tests actually predict key areas of employee
tact me to arrange a visit date. We will need a full day. The performance on the job? Just when is personality testing inap-
schedule will include several meetings with executives and your propriate and an invasion of privacy? How should all this be
potential team members, as well as a round of personality tests. handled by a job candidate as in the case just presented?
 Personality 385

A considerable body of literature links the personality dimensions of the Big Five
model with individual behavior at work and in life overall. For example, conscien-
tiousness is a good predictor of job performance for most occupations. Extraver-
sion is often associated with success in management and sales.18 Indications are
that extraverts tend to be happier than introverts in their lives overall, that con-
scientious people tend to be less risky, and that those more open to experience are
more creative.19
You can easily spot the Big Five personality traits in people with whom you work,
study, and socialize. But don’t forget that they also apply to you. Others form im-
pressions of your personality, and respond to it, just as you do with theirs. Manag-
ers often use personality judgments when making job assignments, building teams,
and otherwise engaging in the daily social give-and-take of work.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is another popular approach to personality assess-
ment. It “types” personalities based on a questionnaire that probes into how people
act or feel in various situations. Called the MBTI for short, it was developed by Kath-
erine Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs-Myers from foundations set forth in the
work of psychologist Carl Jung.20
Jung’s model of personality differences included three main distinctions. First
is how people differ in the ways they relate with others—by extraversion or in-
troversion, as just discussed. Second is how they differ in the ways they gather
information—by sensation (emphasizing details, facts, and routine) or by intu-
ition (looking for the “big picture” and being willing to deal with various possi-
bilities). Third is how they differ in ways of evaluating information—by thinking
(using reason and analysis) or by feeling (responding to the feelings and desires
of others). Briggs and Briggs-Myers used all three of Jung’s personality dimen-
sions in developing the MBTI. But they also added a fourth dimension that de-
scribes how people differ in the ways they relate to the outside world— judging
or perceiving. The four MBTI dimensions are:
• Extraverted vs. introverted (E or I)—social interaction: whether a person tends
toward being outgoing and sociable or shy and quiet.
• Sensing vs. intuitive (S or I)—gathering data: whether a person
tends to focus on details or on the big picture in dealing with
Sample Myers-Briggs Types
problems.
• ESTJ (extraverted, sensing, thinking,
• Thinking vs. feeling (T or F)—decision making: whether a person judging)—decisive, logical, and quick
tends to rely on logic or emotions in dealing with problems. to dig in; common among managers.
• Judging vs. perceiving (J or P)—work style: whether a person pre-
• ENTJ (extraverted, intuitive, thinking,
fers order and control or acts with flexibility and spontaneity.
judging)—analytical, strategic, quick to
Sixteen possible MBTI personality types result from combi- take charge; common for leaders.
nations of four dimensions just described.21 A sample of Myers-
• ISJF (introverted, sensing, judging, feel-
Briggs types often found in work settings is shown in the box.
ing)—conscientious, considerate, and
Such neat and understandable personality classifications have helpful; common among team players.
made the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator popular in management.22
Employers and trainers like it because people can be taught both • INTJ (introverted, intuitive, thinking,
judging)—insightful, free thinking,
to understand their own personality types, for example as an
determined; common for visionaries.
ESTJ or ISJF, and to learn how to work better with people having
different ones.
 386 IN DIVIDUA L B E HAVIOR

Personal Conception and Emotional

Conscientiousness Adjustment Traits
Emotional
Agreeableness In addition to the Big Five dimensions and the Myers-Briggs
stability
Type Indicator, psychologists have long studied many other
Extraversion
Individual
Openness personality traits. As shown in Figure 15.2, some with special
Personality relevance to people at work include the personal conception
Locus of Variations
Self-monitoring traits of locus of control, authoritarianism, Machiavellianism,
control
and self-monitoring, as well as the emotional adjustment trait
Authoritarianism Machiavellianism
of Type A orientation.23 In general, you can think of a personal
Type A
conception trait as describing how people by personality tend
orientation to relate with the environment, while an emotional adjustment
= Big Five trait describes how they are inclined toward handling stress
and uncomfortable situations.
FIGURE 15.2 Common personal-
ity dimensions that influence human Locus of Control
behavior at work.
Scholars have a strong interest in locus of control, recognizing that some people
Locus of control is the extent to believe they are in control of their destinies, while others believe that what happens
which one believes that what happens
is within one’s control. to them is beyond their control.24 “Internals” are more self-confident and accept
responsibility for their own actions. “Externals” are more prone to blame others and
outside forces for what happens to them. Research suggests that internals tend to
be more satisfied and less alienated from their work.

Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is the degree to Authoritarianism is the degree to which a person defers to authority and accepts
which a person tends to defer to status differences.25 Someone with an authoritarian personality tends to act rigidly
authority.
and be control-oriented when in a leadership capacity. This same person is likely to
act subservient and comply with rules when in a follower capacity. The tendency of
people with authoritarian personalities to obey can cause problems if they follow
orders to the point of acting unethically or even illegally.

Machiavellianism
In his 16th-century book, The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli gained lasting fame
for giving his prince advice on how to use power to achieve personal goals.26 The

Does Success Come from Hard Work, Good

Luck, or a Bit of Both?
A survey of LinkedIn members in 15 countries reports that 84% believe that luck influ-
ences their careers—for good and bad. But they also say that luck is something we cre-
ate for ourselves, with good luck coming mostly to those who have a strong work ethic.
Burazin/Masterfile

In addition to work ethic, other things believed to drive good luck include communi-
cation skills, networking, being flexible, and acting on opportunities when they arise.
Japanese survey respondents considered themselves most lucky in their careers while
Americans—with 49% feeling career luck—ranked in the middle.
 Attitudes 387

personality trait of Machiavellianism describes the extent to which someone is Machiavellianism describes the extent
to which someone is emotionally
emotionally detached and manipulative in using power.27 A person with a “high- detached and manipulative.
Mach” personality is viewed as exploitative and unconcerned about others, often
acting with the assumption that the end justifies the means. A person with a “low-
Mach” personality, by contrast, would be deferential in allowing others to exert
power over him or her.

Self-Monitoring
Self-monitoring reflects the degree to which someone is able to adjust and modify Self-monitoring is the degree to which
behavior in response to the immediate situation and to external factors.28 A person someone is able to adjust behavior in
response to external factors.
high in self-monitoring tends to be a learner, comfortable with feedback, and both
willing and able to change. Because high self-monitors are flexible in changing be-
havior from one situation to the next, it may be hard to get a clear reading on where
they stand. A person low in self-monitoring, by contrast, is predictable and tends to
act consistently regardless of circumstances.

Type A Personality
A Type A personality is high in achievement orientation, impatience, and perfec- A Type A personality is a person
tionism. One of the important tendencies of Type A persons is to bring stress on oriented toward extreme achievement,
impatience, and perfectionism.
themselves, even in situations others may find relatively stress free. You can spot
Type A personality tendencies in yourself and others through the following patterns
of behavior.29
• Always moving, walking, and eating rapidly.
• Acting impatient, hurrying others, put off by waiting.
• Doing, or trying to do, several things at once.
• Feeling guilty when relaxing.
• Hurrying or interrupting the speech of others.

LEARNING CHECK 2

TAKEAWAY QUESTION 2 What should we know about personalities in the workplace?

Be sure you can • list the Big Five personality traits and give work-related examples of each • list and explain the
four dimensions used to assess personality in the MBTI • list five personal conception and emotional adjustment
personality traits and give work-related examples for each

Attitudes
Attiitu
udess
When Challis M. Lowe was executive vice president at Ryder System, she was one
of only two African American women among the five highest-paid executives in
over 400 U.S. companies.30 She rose to the top after a 25-year career that included
several changes of employers and lots of stressors—working-mother guilt, a failed
marriage, gender bias on the job, and an MBA degree earned part-time. Through it
all, she once said: “I’ve never let being scared stop me from doing something. Just
because you haven’t done it before doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try.” That, simply put,
is what we would call a “can-do” attitude!
388 IN DIVIDUA L B E HAVIOR

What Is an Attitude?
An attitude is a predisposition to act in Attitudes are predispositions to act in a certain way toward people and things in our
a certain way. environment.31 To fully understand them, it helps to recognize the three components
shown in the small box. First, the cognitive component reflects a belief or an opinion.
You might believe, for example, that your management course is very interesting.
Second, the affective or emotional component of an attitude reflects a
Components of Individual Attitudes specific feeling. For example, you might feel very good about being a
management major. Third, the behavioral component of an attitude re-
Cognition Affect Behavior flects an intention to behave in a manner consistent with the belief and
feeling. Using the same example again, you might say to yourself: “I am
going to work hard and try to get an A in all my management courses.”
“I really “I’m going to
“This job isn’t The intentions reflected in an attitude may or may not be confirmed
challenging; work is don’t like my ask for a better
important to me.” job.” job, or quit.” in actual behavior. Despite having a positive attitude and all good in-
tentions in your management courses, for example, the demands of
family, friends, or leisure activities might use up time you would other-
wise devote to studying. You end up not working hard enough to get an A, and fail
to live up to your original intentions.
Cognitive dissonance is discomfort The psychological concept of cognitive dissonance describes the discomfort felt
felt when attitude and behavior are when one’s attitude and behavior are inconsistent.32 For most people, dissonance is
inconsistent.
very uncomfortable and results in changing the attitude to fit the behavior (“Oh, I
really don’t like management that much anyway”), changing future behavior to fit
the attitude (dropping out of intramural sports to get extra study time), or rational-
izing to force the two to be compatible (“Management is an okay major, but being a
manager also requires the experience I’m gaining in my extracurricular activities”).

What Is Job Satisfaction?

People hold attitudes about many things at work—bosses, each other, tasks, poli-
Job satisfaction is the degree to which cies, goals, and more. One of the most discussed work attitudes is job satisfaction,
an individual feels positive or negative the degree to which an individual feels positive or negative about various aspects
about a job.
of work.33 The following are among the job satisfaction facets most commonly dis-
cussed and measured:
• Work itself—Does the job offer responsibility, interest, challenge?
• Quality of supervision—Are task help and social support available?
• Coworkers—How much harmony, respect, friendliness exists?
• Opportunities—Are there avenues for promotion, learning, growth?
• Pay—Is compensation, actual and perceived, fair and substantial?
• Work conditions—Do conditions offer comfort, safety, support?
• Security—Is the job and employment secure?

Job Satisfaction Trends

If you watch or read the news, you’ll regularly find reports on job satisfaction. You’ll
also find lots of job satisfaction studies in the academic literature. The results don’t
always agree, but they do show that job satisfaction tends to be higher in small firms
and lower in large ones, that it tends to run together with overall life satisfaction,
and that the general trend has been down for several years.34
 Attitudes 389

RESEARCH
BRIEF

Business Students More Satisfied with Their Lives Perform Better

W ondering if “a happy student is a high-performing stu-

dent,” Joseph C. Rode, Marne L. Arthaud-Day, Chris-
tine H. Mooney, Janet P. Near, Timothy T. Baldwin, William
Life satisfaction influences on academic performance
Significant
Leisure
H. Bommer, and Robert S. Rubin hypothesized that students’ satisfaction Not significant
satisfaction with their life and student domains would, along
Family
with cognitive abilities, have a positive influence on aca- satisfaction Life
Academic
demic performance. satisfaction
performance
A sample of 673 business students completed satisfac- University
satisfaction
tion and IQ questionnaires, and their academic performance
was measured by self-reported GPAs and performance on a Housing
satisfaction
3-hour simulation exercise. The findings confirmed the ex- Wonderlic
IQ
pected relationships between students’ leisure and family
satisfaction and overall life satisfaction. Also confirmed were
links between both life satisfaction and IQ scores, and self-
reported GPA and simulation performance. Expected rela-
tionships between students’ university and housing satisfac-
you would predict student academic performance, not limit-
tion and overall life satisfaction proved not to be significant.
ing yourself to directions used in this study. If it is true that
Rode et al. point out that “it is time to more fully acknowl-
students’ academic performance is influenced by overall life
edge that college students also live ‘integrated lives’ and
satisfaction, what does this mean to an instructor or to a col-
are heavily influenced by the milieu that surrounds them.”
lege administrator?

YOU BE THE RESEARCHER

Reference: Joseph C. Rode, Marne L. Arthaud-Day, Christine H. Mooney, Janet P.
Near, Timothy T. Baldwin, William H. Bommer, and Robert S. Rubin, “Life Satisfac-
Does your everyday experience as a student support these tion and Student Performance,” Academy of Management Learning & Education,
results or contradict them? Build a model that describes how vol. 4 (2005), pp. 421–33.

Conference Board surveys identify a slide in reported job satisfaction. In 1987 about
61% of workers said they were satisfied. By 2008 that dropped to 49% and by 2010, af-
ter the effects of the recession were in full force, it dropped further to 45%. Younger
workers under 25 were the least happy, with 64% reporting dissatisfaction. Among
other findings, only 51% of all workers surveyed said their jobs were interesting, 56%
liked their co-workers, and 51% were satisfied with their bosses. These data say “some-
thing troubling about work in America,” according to a Conference Board analyst.35

Job Satisfaction and Its Outcomes

An effective manager helps others achieve both high performance and job satisfaction.
Surely you can accept that job satisfaction is an important goal on quality-of-work-life
grounds alone; people deserve to have satisfying work experiences. But, is job satisfac-
tion important in other than a “feel-good” sense? Here is what we know.

Job Satisfaction and Withdrawal Behaviors

A strong relationship exists between job satisfaction and the withdrawal behaviors Withdrawal behaviors occur as tem-
of temporary absenteeism and actual job turnover. With regard to absenteeism, porary absenteeism and actual
job turnover.
workers who are more satisfied with their jobs are absent less often than those
390 IN DIVIDUA L B E HAVIOR

who are dissatisfied. With regard to turnover, satisfied workers are more likely to
stay and dissatisfied workers are more likely to quit their jobs.36
Both findings are important. Absenteeism and turnover are costly in terms of
the recruitment and training needed to replace workers, as well as in the produc-
tivity lost while new workers are learning how to perform up to expectations.37 In
fact, one study found that changing retention rates up or down results in magnified
changes to corporate earnings. It also warns about the negative impact on corpo-
rate performance of declining employee loyalty and high turnover.38

Job Satisfaction and Employee Engagement

A survey of 55,000 American workers by the Gallup organization suggests that busi-
Employee engagement is a strong ness profits rise with higher levels of employee engagement—a strong sense of
positive feeling about one’s job and belonging or connection with one’s job and employer.39 It shows up as being willing
the organization.
to help others, always trying to do something extra to improve performance, and
feeling and speaking positively about the organization. Things that counted most
toward employee engagement among workers in the Gallup research were believing
they had the opportunity to do their best every day, believing their opinions count,
believing fellow workers are committed to quality, and believing there is a direct
connection between their work and the company’s mission.40
Employee engagement also links with two other attitudes that influence indi-
Job involvement is the extent to which vidual behavior at work. Job involvement is the extent to which an individual feels
an individual feels dedicated to a job. dedicated to a job. Someone with high job involvement psychologically identifies
with her or his job, and, for example, would be expected to work beyond expec-
Organizational commitment is tations to complete a special project. Organizational commitment reflects the
the loyalty an individual feels toward degree of loyalty an individual feels toward the organization. Individuals with a high
the organization.
organizational commitment identify strongly with the organization and take pride
in considering themselves a member. Researchers find that strong emotional com-
mitments to the organization—based on values and interests of others, are as much

FACTS > ONLY 30% OF YOUNG ADULTS CONSIDER THEIR

FOR
F
FO ANALYSIS PRESENT JOBS AS PART OF A REAL CAREER

Tough Times Shown in Employment Trends for Younger Workers

O ngoing research on job satisfaction and employment

among young adults (ages 18 – 34) shows the difficulties
they face in dealing with hard economic times.
YOUR THOUGHTS?

Do these data seem consistent with your work experiences

and those of your friends and family? Are people with jobs
• 30% consider their present jobs a real career.
going to be “satisfied” just because they’re employed and
• 49% took jobs they didn’t like in order to pay their bills. earning a paycheck? Or, does uncertainty in the economy
• 24% have taken unpaid jobs to get experience on their change the relationship between what we want from work
resumes. and what we expect in return? What can a concerned em-
• 46% believe they have the education and skills needed to ployer do to create conditions for high job satisfaction given
do well. these data?
• 35% went back to school because of the recession.
• 20% put off marriage and 22% put off having a baby.
p
• 24% moved back in with parents to save money.y
 Attitudes 391

as four times more powerful in positively influencing performance than are rational
commitments—based primarily on pay and self-interests.41

Job Satisfaction and Organizational Citizenship

Have you ever wondered about those people who are always willing to “go beyond
the call of duty” or “go the extra mile” in their work?42 Such behaviors represent
organizational citizenship and are also linked with job satisfaction.43 A person Organizational citizenship is a will-
who is a good organizational citizen does things that, although not required, help ingness to “go beyond the call of duty”
or “go the extra mile” in one’s work.
advance the performance of the organization. Examples are a service worker who
goes to extraordinary lengths to take care of a customer, a team member who is
always willing to take on extra tasks, or an employee who always volunteers to stay
late at no pay just to make sure a key job gets done right.

Job Satisfaction and Job Performance

The job satisfaction and job performance relationship is
somewhat complicated.44 Three plausible arguments are de- Arguments in the Job Satisfaction
picted in the small figure. and Performance Relationship
There is probably a modest link between job satisfaction "The happy worker is a productive worker."
and performance. But, keep the stress on the word modest
45 Satisfaction ————— Performance
in the last sentence. We shouldn’t rush to conclude that mak- "The productive worker is a happy worker."

ing people happy is a surefire way to improve their job per- Performance ————— Satisfaction

formance. The reality is that some people will like their jobs, "Performance followed by rewards creates satisfaction;
satisfaction influences future performance."
be very satisfied, and still will not perform very well. That’s
Performance ——Rewards—— Satisfaction
just part of the complexity regarding individual differences.
When you think of this, remember a sign that once hung in
a tavern near a Ford plant in Michigan: “I spend 40 hours a
week here, am I supposed to work too?”
There is also a link between performance and job satisfaction. High-performing
workers are likely to feel satisfied. Here again, caution is called for; not everyone is
likely to fit the model. Some people may get their jobs done and meet high perfor-
mance expectations while still not feeling satisfied. Given that job satisfaction is
a good predictor of absenteeism and turnover, managers might be well advised to
worry about losing highly productive but unhappy workers unless changes are made
to increase their job satisfaction.
Finally, job satisfaction and job performance most likely influence one another.
But the relationship is also most likely to hold under certain “conditions,” particu-
larly those related to rewards. We know that job performance followed by rewards
that are valued and perceived as fair tends to create job satisfaction. This experi-
enced satisfaction is likely to increase motivation to work hard and achieve high
performance in the future.

LEARNING CHECK 3

TAKEAWAY QUESTION 3 How do attitudes influence individual behavior?

Be sure you can • define attitude and list the three components of an attitude • define job satisfaction and list
its components • explain the potential consequences of high and low job satisfaction • define employee
engagement, job involvement, organizational commitment, and organizational citizenship • explain three
arguments in the job satisfaction and performance relationship
392 IN DIVIDUA L B E HAVIOR

Emotions,
Em
motio
ons, Moods,
Mood
ds,, and
and
d Stress
Strresss
Situation: Hewlett-Packard’s former CEO, Mark V. Hurd, faced an unusual corporate
scandal. Information leaks by members of HP’s board of directors had been uncov-
ered and the board chairman had resigned. When trying to explain this to the press,
Hurd called the actions “very disturbing” and said that “I could have and I should
have” read an internal report that he had been given on the matter. The Wall Street
Journal described him as speaking with “his voice shaking.”46
Looking in from the outside, we might say that Hurd was emotional and angry
that this incident was causing public humiliation for him and the company. He
ended up in a bad mood because of it. And, the whole episode was very stressful.

Emotions
Emotional intelligence is an ability Emotional intelligence is an important human skill for managers and an es-
to understand emotions and manage sential leadership capability. Daniel Goleman defines “EI” as an ability to un-
relationships effectively.
derstand emotions in ourselves and in others, and to use this understanding
to manage relationships effectively.47 His point is that we perform best when
Emotions are strong feelings directed
toward someone or something. we are good at recognizing and dealing with emotions. Simply put, we should
avoid letting our emotions “get the better of us.’’ We should also
show restraint when the emotions of others are getting the bet-
Understanding Emotions ter of them.”48
An emotion is a strong feeling directed toward someone or
“I was really mad when Prof. Nitpicker something. For example, you might feel positive emotion or elation
criticized my presentation.” when an instructor congratulates you on a fine class presentation;
• Linked with a specific cause you might feel negative emotion or anger when an instructor criti-
cizes you in front of the class. In both cases the object of your emo-
• Tends to be brief or episodic tion is the instructor, but the impact of the instructor’s behavior
• Specific effect on attitude, behavior on your feelings is quite different. How you respond to the aroused
emotions is likely to differ as well—perhaps breaking into a wide
• Might turn into a mood
smile with the compliment, or making a nasty side comment after
the criticism.

Moods
Moods are generalized positive and Whereas emotions tend to be short term and clearly targeted, moods are more gen-
negative feelings or states of mind. eralized positive and negative feelings or states of mind that may persist for some
time.49 Everyone seems to have occasional moods, and we each know the full range
of possibilities they represent. How often do you wake up in the morning and feel
excited, refreshed, and just happy, or wake up feeling low, depressed, and generally
unhappy? What are the consequences of these different moods for your behavior
with friends and family, and at work or school?
Positive and negative emotions can be “contagious,” causing others to display
Mood contagion is the spillover similarly positive and negative moods. Researchers call this mood contagion, and
of one’s positive or negative moods it can easily extend to one’s followers, coworkers, and teammates, as well as family
onto others.
and friends.50 When a leader’s mood contagion is positive, followers display more
positive moods, report being more attracted to their leaders, and rate their leaders
more highly.51
 Emotions, Moods, and Stress 393

With regard to CEO moods, a BusinessWeek article claims it

pays to be likable.52 If a CEO goes to a meeting in a good mood and Understanding Moods
gets described as “cheerful,” “charming,” “humorous,” “friendly,”
and “candid,” she or he may be viewed as on the upswing. But if “I just feel lousy today and don’t have
the CEO is in a bad mood and comes away perceived as “prickly,” any energy. I’ve been down all week.”
“impatient,” “remote,” “tough,” “acrimonious,” or even “ruthless,” • Hard to identify cause
she or he may be seen as on the downhill slope. Some CEOs are
• Tends to linger, be long-lasting
even hiring executive coaches to help them manage emotions
and moods so that they will come across as more personable and • General effect on attitude, behavior
friendly in their relationships with others. • Can be “negative” or “positive”

Stress
Closely aligned with a person’s emotions and moods is stress, a state of tension Stress is a state of tension caused by
caused by extraordinary demands, constraints, or opportunities.53 It’s a life force extraordinary demands, constraints,
or opportunities.
to be reckoned with. In one survey of college graduates, for example, 31% reported
working over 50 hours per week, 60% rushed meals and 34% ate lunches “on the
run,” and 47% of those under 35 and 28% of those over 35 had feelings of job burn-
out.54 A study by the Society for Human Resources Management found that 70%
of those surveyed worked over and above scheduled hours, including putting in
extra time on the weekends; over 50% said that the pressure to do the extra work
was “self-imposed.”55

Sources of Stress
Stressors are the things that cause stress. Whether they come from work or non- A stressor is anything that causes stress.
work situations, or from personality, stressors can influence our attitudes, emotions
and moods, behavior, job performance, and even health.56 Having the Type A per-
sonality discussed earlier is an example of a personal stressor. Stressful life situa-
tions include such things as family events (e.g., the birth of a new child), economics
(e.g., a sudden loss of extra income), and personal affairs (e.g., a preoccupation with
a bad relationship). Importantly, stressors from one space—work or nonwork—can
spill over to affect the other.
Work factors have an obvious potential to create job stress. Some 34% of
workers in one survey said that their jobs were so stressful they were thinking of
quitting.57 We experience stress from long hours of work, excessive e-mails, un-
realistic work deadlines, difficult bosses or coworkers, unwelcome or unfamiliar
work, and unrelenting change. It is also associated with excessively high or low
task demands, role conflicts or ambiguities, poor interpersonal relations, and
career progress that is too slow or too fast.
One common work-related stress syndrome is set up to fail—where the per-
formance expectations are impossible or the support is totally inadequate to the
task. Another is mistaken identity—where the individual ends up in a job that
doesn’t at all match talents, or that he or she simply doesn’t like.58

Constructive and Destructive Stress Constructive stress acts in a posi-

tive way to increase effort, stimulate
Constructive stress, sometimes called eustress, is personally energizing and creativity, and encourage diligence in
performance-enhancing.59 It encourages increased effort, stimulates creativity, and one’s work.
394 IN DIVIDUA L B E HAVIOR

Tension Must Be Fine Tuned

When the tension on a violin string is just right, a talented artist can create a beau-
tiful sound. But if the string is too loose the sound is weak, and if it’s too tight the
sound is shrill and the string can snap. Stress is a lot like that. It sometimes adds a
creative high-performance edge to what we are doing. But other times there’s too
little or too much tension on the system. With too little tension we can get lazy
and underperform. With too much tension we may also underperform even though
working too many hours, eating too many lunches “on the run,” missing too many
family and leisure activities . . . and ending up with feelings of burnout.

enhances diligence, while still not overwhelming the individual and causing nega-
tive outcomes. Individuals with a Type A personality, for example, are likely to work
Stockbyte/Getty Images long hours and to be less satisfied with poor performance. Challenging task de-
mands move them toward ever-higher levels of task accomplishment. Even non-
work stressors such as new family responsibilities may cause them to work harder
in anticipation of greater financial rewards.
Achieving the right balance of stress for each person and situation is difficult.
Destructive stress impairs the perfor- Destructive stress, or distress, is dysfunctional. It occurs when intense or long-
mance of an individual. term stress overloads and breaks down a person’s physical and mental systems. This
Job burnout is physical and mental can lead to job burnout—a form of physical and mental exhaustion that can be
exhaustion from work stress. personally incapacitating.
Figure 15.3 shows how productivity suffers when people with exhaustion and
burnout react through turnover, absenteeism, errors, accidents, dissatisfaction,
Workplace rage is aggressive behavior and reduced performance. An extreme by-product of destructive stress is work-
toward coworkers or the work setting. place rage—aggressive behavior toward coworkers and the work setting in gen-
eral. Lost tempers are common examples; the unfortunate extremes are trag-
edies that result in physical harm to others.60
Medical research is concerned that too much stress causes poor health.
Stress becomes destructive to health when it reduces resistance to disease and
increases the likelihood of physical and/or mental illness. Other possible stress-
related health problems include hypertension, ulcers, substance abuse, overeat-
ing, depression, and muscle aches, among others.61

FIGURE 15.3 Potential negative

consequences of a destructive job
stress–burnout cycle.

Exhaustion and Possible Effects

Burnout • Lower performance
Intense
• Lack of energy • Lower satisfaction
or Long-term
• Emotional distress • Workplace rage
Stress
• Bad attitude • Personal problems
• Poor self-esteem • Poor health
 Emotions, Moods, and Stress 395

Stress Management
The best stress management strategy is to prevent it from reaching excessive
levels in the first place. A top priority for individuals and employers alike is
personal wellness. Individually this means taking personal responsibility for Personal wellness is the pursuit of
one’s full potential through a personal
your physical and mental health through a disciplined approach to such things health-promotion program.
as smoking, alcohol use, diet, exercise, and physical fitness. As an employer this
means setting up wellness programs and assistance plans to help employees
follow through with wellness commitments to healthy living.
Stress can also be managed by taking actions to cope with and, hopefully, mini-
mize the impact of personal and nonwork stressors. Family difficulties may be re-
lieved by a change in work schedule, or the anxiety they cause may be reduced by
an understanding supervisor. Work stress can sometimes be dealt with by role clari-
fication through frank and open communication between bosses and coworkers.
Jobs can sometimes be redesigned to eliminate poor fits between individual abilities
and job demands.
Some employers are trying to curb tendencies to “work too much” as a way of
helping people “do better work.” The consulting firm KPMG, for example, uses a
wellness scorecard to track and counsel workers who skip vacations and work ex-
cessive overtime. Harvard scholar Leslie Perlow says the goal is to avoid “a feeling of
having no time truly free from work, no control over work and no opportunity to ask
questions to clarify foggy priorities.”62

LEARNING CHECK 4

TAKEAWAY QUESTION 4 What are the dynamics of emotions, moods, and stress?
Be sure you can • define emotion, mood, and stress • explain how emotions and moods influence behavior
• identify the common stressors found in work and in personal life • differentiate constructive and destructive
stress • define job burnout and workplace rage • discuss personal wellness as a stress management strategy
396 IN DIVIDUA L B E HAVIOR

MANAGEMENT
LEARNING REVIEW

LEARNING CHECK SUMMARY

TAKEAWAY QUESTION 1 How do perceptions TAKEAWAY QUESTION 3 How do attitudes

influence individual behavior? influence individual behavior?
• Perception acts as a filter through which people receive • An attitude is a predisposition to respond in a certain
and process information from the environment. way to people and things.
• Because people perceive things differently, a situation • Cognitive dissonance occurs when a person’s attitude
may be interpreted and responded to differently by and behavior are inconsistent.
different people. • Job satisfaction is an important work attitude that re-
• A healthy psychological contract occurs with per- flects a person’s evaluation of the job, coworkers, and
ceived balance between work contributions, such as other aspects of the work setting.
time and effort, and inducements received, such as • Job satisfaction influences work attendance and
pay and respect. turnover, and is related to other attitudes, such as job
• Fundamental attribution error occurs when we blame involvement and organizational commitment.
others for performance problems while excluding pos- • Three possible explanations for the job satisfaction
sible external causes; self-serving bias occurs when we and performance relationship are: satisfaction causes
take personal credit for successes and blame failures performance, performance causes satisfaction, and
on external factors. rewards cause both performance and satisfaction.
• Stereotypes, projection, halo effects, and selective For Discussion What should a manager do with
perception can distort perceptions and result in errors someone who has high job satisfaction but is a low
as people relate with one another. performer?
For Discussion Are there times when self-serving
bias is actually helpful? TAKEAWAY QUESTION 4 What are the
dynamics of emotions, moods, and stress?
TAKEAWAY QUESTION 2 What should we • Emotions are strong feelings that are directed at some-
know about personalities in the workplace? one or something; they influence behavior, often with
• Personality is a set of traits and characteristics that intensity and for short periods of time.
cause people to behave in unique ways. • Moods are generalized positive or negative states
• The personality factors in the Big Five model are extra- of mind that can be persistent influences on one’s
version, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional behavior.
stability, and openness to experience. • Stress is a state of tension experienced by individuals
• The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator profiles personalities facing extraordinary demands, constraints, or
in respect to tendencies toward extraversion-introver- opportunities.
sion, sensing-intuitive, thinking-feeling, and judging- • Stress can be destructive or constructive; a moderate
perceiving. level of stress typically has a positive impact on
• Additional personality dimensions of work significance performance.
include the personal conception traits of locus of con- • Stressors are found in a variety of personal, work, and
trol, authoritarianism, Machiavellianism, and behavioral nonwork situations.
self-monitoring, as well as the emotional adjustment • Stress can be managed through both prevention and
trait of Type A orientation. coping strategies, including a commitment to personal
For Discussion What dimension would you add wellness.
to make the “Big Five” the “Big Six” personality For Discussion Is a Type A personality required for
model? managerial success?
 Management Learning Review 397

SELF-TEST 15

Multiple-Choice Questions
1. In the psychological contract, job security is a/an 7. When a person believes that he or she has little in-
__________, whereas loyalty is a/an __________. fluence over things that happen in life, this indicates
(a) satisfier factor, hygiene factor a/an __________ personality.
(b) intrinsic reward, extrinsic reward (a) low emotional stability
(c) inducement, contribution (b) external locus of control
(d) attitude, personality trait (c) high self-monitoring
2. Self-serving bias is a form of attribution error that (d) intuitive-thinker
involves __________. 8. Among the Big Five personality traits, __________
(a) blaming yourself for problems caused by others indicates someone who is responsible, dependable,
(b) blaming the environment for problems you and careful with respect to tasks.
caused (a) authoritarianism
(c) poor emotional intelligence (b) agreeableness
(d) authoritarianism (c) conscientiousness
3. If a new team leader changes job designs for (d) emotional stability
persons on her work team mainly “because I would 9. The __________ component of an attitude is what
prefer to work the new way rather than the old,” the indicates a person’s belief about something, where-
chances are that she is committing a perceptual as the __________ component indicates a specific
error known as __________. positive or negative feeling about it.
(a) halo effect (a) cognitive, affective
(b) stereotype (b) emotional, affective
(c) selective perception (c) cognitive, attributional
(d) projection (d) behavioral, attributional
4. If a manager allows one characteristic of a person, 10. The term used to describe the discomfort someone
say a pleasant personality, to bias performance feels when his or her behavior is inconsistent with an
ratings of that individual overall, the manager is expressed attitude is __________.
committing a perceptual distortion known (a) alienation
as __________. (b) cognitive dissonance
(a) halo effect (c) job dissatisfaction
(b) stereotype (d) person–job imbalance
(c) selective perception 11. Job satisfaction is known from research to be a good
(d) projection predictor of __________.
5. Use of special dress, manners, gestures, and vocabu- (a) job performance
lary words when meeting a prospective employer in (b) job burnout
a job interview are all examples of how people use (c) conscientiousness
__________ in daily life. (d) absenteeism
(a) projection 12. A person who is always willing to volunteer for extra
(b) selective perception work or to help someone else with his or her work is
(c) impression management acting consistent with strong __________.
(d) self-serving bias (a) job performance
6. A person with a/an __________ personality would (b) self-serving bias
most likely act unemotionally and manipulatively (c) emotional intelligence
when trying to influence others to achieve personal (d) organizational citizenship
goals.
(a) extraverted
(b) sensation-thinking
(c) self-monitoring
(d) Machiavellian
398 IN DIVIDUA L B E HAVIOR

13. Which statement about the job satisfaction-job perfor- 15. Through ____________, the stress people experience
mance relationship is most likely based on research? in their personal lives can create problems for them
(a) A happy worker will be a productive worker. at work while the stress experienced at work can cre-
(b) A productive worker will be a happy worker. ate problems for their personal lives.
(c) A productive worker well rewarded for perfor- (a) eustress
mance will be a happy worker. (b) self-monitoring
(d) There is no link between being happy and being (c) spillover effects
productive in a job. (d) selective perception
14. A/an __________ represents a rather intense but
short-lived feeling about a person or a situation,
whereas a/an __________ describes a more general-
ized positive or negative state of mind.
(a) stressor, role ambiguity
(b) external locus of control, internal locus of control
(c) self-serving bias, halo effect
(d) emotion, mood

Short-Response Questions
16. What is a healthy psychological contract? 19. Why is it important for a manager to understand the
17. What is the difference between self-serving bias and Type A personality?
fundamental attribution error?
18. Which three of the Big Five personality traits do you
believe most affect how well people work together
in organizations, and why?

Essay Question
20. When Scott Tweedy picked up a magazine article Scott was glad to have read this and made a
on how to manage health care workers, he was pledge to himself to start doing a much better job
pleased to find some advice. Scott was concerned of making workers happy. But should Scott follow
about poor or mediocre performance on the part this advice? What do we know about the relation-
of several respiratory therapists in his clinic. The ship between job satisfaction and performance,
author of the article said that the “best way to im- and how can this apply to the performance prob-
prove performance is to make your workers happy.” lems at Scott’s clinic?
 Management Skills and Competencies 399

MANAGEMENT SKILLS
AND COMPETENCIES

Further
Furrth
her R
Refl
efl
flection:
ecctio
on: Ambition
Ambittion
n
People differ in the ways they work, relate to others, and
DO IT NOW . . .
even in how they view themselves. One difference you
TAKE THE MIRROR TEST
might observe when interacting with other people is in
ambition, or the desire to succeed and reach for high • Review the “personal differentiators” in the small box in
goals. Ambition is one of those traits that can certainly the chapter opener. How do you score?
have a big impact on individual behavior. As discussed in • Can you say that your career ambition is backed with a
the chapter opener, it is evident in how we act and what sufficient set of personal traits and skills to make success
we try to achieve at work, at home, and in leisure pur- a real possibility?
suits. The more we understand ambition in our lives, and • Ask others to comment on the ambition you display as
the more we understand how personality traits like those you go about your daily activities.
in the Big Five model, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, • Write a short synopsis of two situations—one in which
and others influence our behavior, the more successful you showed ambition and one in which you did not.
we’re likely to be in accomplishing our goals and helping Consider the implications for your career development.
others do the same.

SSelf-Assessment:
ellf Asseessm
men
nt:: Internal/External
In
ntern
nal//Exxterrnal Control
Co
onttroll
Instructions
Circle either (a) or (b) to indicate the item you most 6. (a) If one knows how to deal with people, they are
agree with in each pair of the following statements.63 really quite easily led.
1. (a) Promotions are earned through hard work and (b) I have little influence over the way other people
persistence. behave.
(b) Making a lot of money is largely a matter of 7. (a) In my case, the grades I make are the result of my
breaks. own efforts; luck has little or nothing to do with it.
2. (a) Many times the reactions of teachers seem (b) Sometimes I feel that I have little to do with the
haphazard to me. grades I get.
(b) In my experience there is usually a direct connec- 8. (a) People like me can change the course of world
tion between how hard I study and grades I get. affairs if we make ourselves heard.
3. (a) The number of divorces indicates more and more (b) It is only wishful thinking to believe that one
people are not trying to make their marriages work. can really influence what happens in society
(b) Marriage is largely a gamble. at large.
4. (a) It is silly to think that one can really change an- 9. (a) Much of what happens to me is probably a matter
other person’s basic attitudes. of chance.
(b) When I am right, I can convince others. (b) I am the master of my fate.
5. (a) Getting promoted is really a matter of being a 10. (a) Getting along with people is a skill that must be
little luckier than the next guy. practiced.
(b) In our society an individual’s future earning power (b) It is almost impossible to figure out how to please
is dependent on his or her ability. some people.
400 IN DIVIDUA L B E HAVIOR

Self-Assessment Scoring locus of control. Persons with a high internal locus of

control tend to believe they have control over their
Give yourself 1 point for 1a, 2b, 3a, 4b, 5b, 6a, 7a, 8a, own destinies. They may appreciate opportunities for
9b, 10a. greater self-control at the workplace. Persons with a
• 8–10 ! high internal locus of control high external locus of control tend to believe that what
• 6–7 ! moderate internal locus of control happens to them is largely in the hands of external
• 5 ! mixed locus of control people or forces. They may be less comfortable with
self-control and more responsive to external controls
• 3–4 ! moderate external locus of control
at work.

Interpretation
This instrument offers an impression of your tendency
toward an internal locus of control or an external

Team Exercise:
Job Satisfaction Preferences

Preparation a consensus ranking of the items as they think

women ranked them. The reasons for the rankings
Rank the following items for how important (1 ! least should be shared and discussed so they are clear
important to 9 ! most important) they are to your to everyone. The women in the group should not
future job satisfaction.64 participate in this ranking task. They should listen to
My job will be satisfying when it— the discussion and be prepared to comment later in
(a) is respected by other people. class discussions. A spokesperson for the men in the
(b) encourages continued development of group should share the group’s rankings with
knowledge and skills. the class.
(c) provides job security.
(d) provides a feeling of accomplishment. Optional Instructions
(e) provides the opportunity to earn a high income. Form into groups consisting entirely of men or
(f) is intellectually stimulating. women. Each group should meet and decide which
(g) rewards good performance with recognition. of the work values members of the opposite sex will
(h) provides comfortable working conditions. rank first. Do this again for the work value ranked
(i) permits advancement to high administrative last. The reasons should be discussed, along with
responsibility. the reasons why each of the other values probably
was not ranked first or last. A spokesperson for each
Instructions group should share group results with the rest of
the class.
Form into groups as designated by your instructor.
Within each group, the men should develop
 Case Study 401

Career Situations in Individual Behavior:

What Would You Do?
1. Putting Down Seniors While standing on line at the even at lunch it’s hard to get her to stay and just talk
office coffee machine, you overhear the person in front for awhile. Your guess is that she’s fighting stress from
of you saying this to his friend: “I’m really tired of having some sources other than work and the job itself. How
to deal with the old-timers here. It’s time for them to can you help her out?
call it quits. There’s no way they can keep up the pace 3. Bad Mood in the Office Your department head
and handle all the new technology we’re getting these has just told you that some of your teammates have
days.” You can listen and forget, or you can listen and complained to him that you have been in a really bad
act. What would you do or say here, and why? mood lately. They like you and point out that this isn’t
2. Compulsive Coworker You’ve noticed that one characteristic of you at all. But, they also think your
of your coworkers is always rushing, always uptight, persistent bad mood is rubbing off on others in this
and constantly criticizing herself while on the job. situation. What can you do? Is there anything your
She never takes breaks when the rest of you do, and boss or co-workers might do to help?

Case Study

Panera Bread Go to Management Cases for Critical Think-

ing to find the recommended case for
Chapter 15—“Panera: Growing a Company
with Personality.”

Company
Panera’s success runs with founder Ron Shaich’s So far, Panera’s fresh breads, deli sandwiches and
personality—open, conscientious, extraverted. soups, all followed with fresh pastries, have been a
It’s also part and parcel of his ability to predict combination proven to please the hungry masses.
long-term trends and orient the company toward The company has been able to stick with the
innovation to fulfill consumers’ desires. Panera’s founder’s values even while growing rapidly. But
self-perception as a purveyor of artisan bread competition and changing times are ever-present
predated the current national trend for fresh bread challenges. The low-carb craze didn’t faze Panera, but
and an explosion of both large-chain and small can this company continue to navigate the changing
artisan bakeries. dietary trends tastes in today’s unstable market?
 UPPA/Zuma Press
Wisdom > GREAT EMPLOYERS BRING OUT THE BEST IN US
A regular on Fortune magazine’s “Best issues. For a fee you can even schedule
Learning Companies to Work For,” it recently
ranked number one for two years in a
an in-house masseur at the company’s
fitness center.
From Others row. Who are we talking about? The SAS offers no stock options and
company is SAS, headquartered in does not offer the highest salaries.
North Carolina and the world’s largest CEO Jim Goodnight believes pam-
privately owned software firm. Here’s pering makes up for the lack of
what it is like to be one of SAS’s 4,800 outright financial incentives. “My
employees. chief assets walk out the door every
The typical workweek is 35 hours day,” he says. “My job is to make sure
and no one monitors what time you they come back.”
show up or leave. There are two SAS employee Bev Brown says:
day-care centers. You can get dry “Some may think that because SAS is
cleaning, car detailing, and haircuts on family-friendly and has great benefits
site. Work–life and wellness centers that we don’t work hard, but people
provide everything from workout do work hard here because they’re
rooms to special programs in weight motivated to care for a company that
management to counseling on family takes care of them.”1

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