LEADERSHIP

Presented by: Francis Daniel Gabriel G. Cual – III, BS

Psychology
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Learn what types of people become good leaders

• Understand the importance of leaders adapting their behavior to each
situation
• Know what skills are essential for effective leadership
• Understand the theories of leadership
• Learn how leaders use power and influence
AN INTRODUCTION TO LEADERSHIP

Many different theories about leadership have been

developed over the last few decades. Although none of
the theories “tells the whole story” about leadership,
each has received at least some empirical support.
Understanding the theories and research behind
leadership is important because the theory that
company executives believe about leadership will, for
the most part, determine how an organization selects or
develops its managers.
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
ASSOCIATED WITH LEADERSHIP

• LEADER EMERGENCE - A part of trait theory

that postulates that certain types of people will
become leaders and certain types will not.
• In fact, research indicates that to some extent,
people are “born” with a desire to lead or not lead,
as somewhere between 17% (Ilies, Gerhardt, & Le,
2004) and 30% (Arvey, Rotundo, Johnson, Zhang,
& McGue, 2006) of leader emergence has a genetic
basis.
 Table 12.1 – More recent reviews suggests… (Pg.
431)

• people high in openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, masculinity, creativity, and

authoritarianism and low in neuroticism are more likely to emerge as leaders than
their counterparts (Ensari, Riggio, Christian, & Carslaw, 2011; Judge, Bono, Ilies, &
Gerhardt, 2002);
• high self-monitors (people who adapt their behavior to the social situation) emerge
as leaders more often than low self-monitors (Day & Schleicher, 2006; Day,
Schleicher, Unckless, & Hiller, 2002);
• more intelligent people are more likely to emerge as leaders than are less
intelligent people (Ensari et al., 2011; Judge, Colbert, & Ilies, 2004); and
• looking at patterns of abilities and personality traits is more useful than looking
at single abilities and traits (Foti & Hauenstein, 2007).
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
ASSOCIATED WITH LEADERSHIP

• It is especially perplexing that some of the early reviews

concluded that specific traits are seldom related to leader
emergence because both anecdotal evidence and research
suggest that leadership behavior has some stability (Law, 1996).
• Perhaps one explanation for the lack of agreement on a list of
traits consistently related to leader emergence is that the
motivation to lead is more complex than originally thought.
MOTIVATION (Chan and Drasgow, 2001)

• AFFECTIVE IDENTITY MOTIVATION - people

with this become leaders because they enjoy being in
charge and leading others.
• NONCALCULATIVE MOTIVATION - those who
seek leadership positions because they will result in
personal gain.
• SOCIAL-NORMATIVE MOTIVATION – the desire
to lead out of a sense of duty or responsibility.

• Note: Individuals with high leadership motivation tend to

obtain leadership experience and have confidence in their
leadership skills (Chan & Drasgow, 2001).
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
ASSOCIATED WITH LEADERSHIP

• The role of gender in leader emergence is

complex. Meta-analyses indicate that men and
women emerge as leaders equally often in
leaderless group discussions (Benjamin, 1996);
men emerge as leaders more often in short-term
groups and groups carrying out tasks with low
social interaction (Eagly & Karau, 1991); and
women emerge as leaders more often in groups
involving high social interaction (Eagly &
Karau, 1991).
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
ASSOCIATED WITH LEADERSHIP

• LEADER PERFORMANCE - a part of trait theory that

postulates that certain types of people will be better leaders
than will other types of people.
• For example, an excellent leader might be intelligent,
assertive, friendly, and independent, whereas a poor leader
might be shy, aloof, and calm.
• Research on the relationship between personal
characteristics and leader performance has concentrated on
three areas: TRAITS, NEEDS, and ORIENTATION.
TRAITS

• As shown in Table 12.1, a meta-analysis by Judge et al. (2002) found

that extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were
positively related to leader performance and that neuroticism was
negatively related to leader performance.
• A meta-analysis by Youngjohn and Woehr (2001) also found that
management, decision-making, and oral-communication skills were
highly correlated with leadership effectiveness.
• SELF-MONITORING - A personality trait characterized by the
tendency to adapt one’s behavior to fit a particular social situation.
• An interesting extension of the trait theory of leader performance
suggests that certain traits are necessary requirements for leadership
excellence but that they do not guarantee it (Simonton, 1987).
COGNITIVE ABILITY

• The meta-analysis further discovered that cognitive

ability is most important when the leader is not
distracted by stressful situations and when the leader
uses a more directive leadership style.

• Sternberg (2007) has expanded on the importance of

cognitive ability by theorizing that the key toeffective
leadership is the synthesis of three variables: wisdom,
intelligence (academic and practical), and creativity.
NEEDS

A personal characteristic that has received some support pertains to a

leader’s need for power, need for achievement, and need for affiliation.

• NEED FOR POWER - according to trait theory, the extent to which a

person desires to be in control of other people.
• NEED FOR ACHIEVEMENT - according to trait theory, the extent to
which a person desires to be successful.
• NEED FOR AFFILIATION – the extent to which a person desires to be
around other people.
NEEDS

• Research by McClelland and Burnham (1976) and McClelland and

Boyatzis (1982) demonstrates that high performance managers have a
leadership motive pattern, which is a high need for power and a low
need for affiliation. The need is not for personal power but for
organizational power.

• NOTE: This pattern of needs is thought to be important because it

implies that an effective leader should be concerned more with results
than with being liked.
NEEDS

Needs for power, achievement, and affiliation can be

measured through various psychological tests:

1. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) - A projective

personality test in which test takers are shown pictures
and asked to tell stories. It is designed to measure
various need levels.
2. Job Choice Exercise (JCE) - An objective test used to
measure various need levels.
GENDER

• When all studies are combined, men and

women appear not to differ in leadership
effectiveness (Eagly, Karau, & Makhijani,
1995).
• However, men were more effective as leaders
in situations traditionally defined in masculine
terms and in situations in which the majority of
subordinates were men. Women were more
effective as leaders in situations traditionally
defined in less masculine terms.