Jenna Petrucci

Professor Buck
LEAD 515: Leadership Theory & Approaches
July 19, 2021

Chapter 7 Summary

 Leader-member exchange theory: takes another approach and conceptualizes leadership

as a process that is centered on the interactions between leaders and followers (pg.139)
o Makes the dyadic relationship between leaders and followers the focal point of the
leadership process
o Directed researchers’ attention to the differences that might exist between the
leader and each of the leader’s followers
 Figure 7.2 The Vertical Dyad (pg.141)
o Leader forms individualized working relationship with their followers
o The exchanges between leader and follower define their dyadic relationship
 Figure 7.3 Vertical Dyads (pg. 141)
o Leader forms special relationships with their followers
o Each relationship is special and has unique characteristics
 Figure 7.4 In-Groups and Out-Groups (pg.142)
o Leader and their followers form unique relationships
o In -group: marked by mutual trust, respect, liking, and reciprocal influence
o Out-group: marked by formal communication based on job description
o Plus 3 is high quality relationship, 0 is a stranger
 Leaders look for followers who exhibit enthusiasm, participation, gregariousness, and
extraversion
 Followers look for leaders who are pleasant, trusting, cooperative, and agreeable
 Key predictor for relationship quality over time is leader and follower performance
 Leadership making: prescriptive approach to leadership emphasizing that leaders should
develop high-quality exchanges with all of their followers rather than just a few (pg. 144)
o Attempts to make every follower feel as they are part of the in-group
 Avoids inequities and negative implications of being in an out-group
o Suggests that leaders can create networks of partnership throughout the
organization, which will benefit the organization’s goals and leader’s own career
progress
 Stranger phase (phase 1)
 Interactions in leader-follower dyad are rule bound, relying heavy
on contractual relationships
 Leaders/followers relate to each other within prescribed
organizational roles
o Lower quality exchanges
 Follower complies with leader for purpose of achieving economic
reward
 Motives of follower are directed toward self-interest rather than the
good of the group
  Acquaintance phase (phase 2)
 Begins with offer by leader/follower for improved career-oriented
social exchanges, which involve sharing more resources and
personal or work-related information
o Testing period for both leader/followers to assess whether
the follower is interested in taking on more
roles/responsibilities and to assess if leader is willing to
provide more challenges
 Quality of exchanges has improved to medium quality
o Begin to develop more trust and respect
o Tend to focus less on own self-interests and more on the
purposes and goals of the group
 Mature partnership (phase 3)
o Marked by high-quality leader-member exchanges
o Experience a high degree of mutual trust, respect, and
obligation
 Can depend on each other
o High degree of reciprocity between leader/followers
 Each is affected by the other
o Members may depend on each other for favors and special
assistance
o Leaders and followers are tied together in productive ways that go beyond a
traditional hierarchically defined work relationship (pg. 146)
o Partnerships are transformational
 Assist leaders and followers in moving beyond their own self-interests to
accomplish the greater good of the team and organization
o Benefits
 High-quality leader-member relationship includes preferential treatment,
increased job-related communication, ample access to supervisors, and
increased performance-related feedback
o Disadvantages
 Low-quality leader-member relationships include limited trust and support
from supervisors and few benefits outside the employment contract
 LMX theory works in two ways: describes and prescribes leadership (pg 146-147)
o Central concept is the dyadic relationship that leaders form with their followers
o Suggests that its important to recognize the existence of in-groups and out-groups
 Working in an in-group allows a leader to accomplish more work in an
effective manner
 Willing to do more than what is required
 Leaders give more responsibilities and opportunities and more of
their time and support
 Out-group members only do what is required of them
 Treated fairly and accordingly to their contract, no special
treatment
 Receive standard benefits
 o Theory works by focusing attention on the unique relationships leaders can create
with individual followers
 Strengths (pg. 147-148)
o Strong descriptive theory
 Validates our experience of how people within organizations relate to each
other and the leader
 Some contribute more and receive more
o Only approach that makes the concept of the dyadic relationship the centerpiece
of the leadership process
o Directs our attention to the importance of communication in leadership
o Warns leaders to avoid letting their conscious or unconscious biases influence
who is invited into the in-group
 Criticisms (pg. 148-149)
o Initial formulation (vertical dyad linkage theory) runs counter to the basic human
value of fairness
o Supports the development of privileged groups in the workplace
o Researches have not adequately explained the contextual factors that may have an
impact on LMX relationships
o Questions have been raised about the measurement of leader-member exchanges
in LMX theory
 LMX directs leaders to assess their leadership from a relationship perspective
 Suggests ways in which leaders can improve their organization by building strong leader-
member exchanges with all of their followers
 Can by used at all levels within an organization
 Can be used to explain how individuals create leadership networks throughout an
organization to help them accomplish work more effectively
 Can be applied in different types of organizations
o Volunteer settings
 Tells leaders to be respectful and to build trusting relationships with all of their followers,
recognizing that each follower is unique and wants to relate to leadership in a special way

I found this chapter difficult to relate back to my own personal leadership style. If I were to pick
what group I would fall under I believe it would be an in-group member. I enjoy taking on extra
jobs at work because I like the ability to wear many different hats. I feel like this makes me well-
rounded at my job which will help me in the future when I take the next step in my career. In my
current job, I believe that the relationship between my boss and I is a mature partnership. She
trusts me with running events and handling budgets on my own with minimal to no supervision. I
enjoy working for her and she enjoys having me as an employee which means she also feels like
she can depend on me for honest answers, hitting deadlines, and going above and beyond of
what’s asked of me. Her being able to trust me makes me feel confident and excited about my
work.