Northouse, Leadership 8e
SAGE Publications, 2019
Test Bank
Chapter 11: Adaptive Leadership
Multiple Choice
1. Adaptive leaders ______.
A. prepare people to deal with change
B. adapt their style based on follower competence
C. adapt their style based on follower commitment
D. prepare people to assess other’s behaviors
2. The type of leadership that focuses on the adaptations required of people in response
to changing environments is ______.
A. transformational
B. transactional
C. servant
D. adaptive
3. Which leadership scholar developed the main framework of adaptive leadership?
A. House
B. Bass
C. Kouzes
D. Heifetz
4. Which theory focuses predominantly on how the leader’s activities relate to the
followers and the context in which followers find themselves?
A. trait
B. LMX
C. adaptive
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D. authentic
5. The leader in adaptive leadership is conceptualized as ______.
A. one who saves the followers
B. one who gently persuades followers
C. one who is defined by his or her personal characteristics
D. one who uses primarily directive behaviors to support followers
6. Adaptive leadership is ______.
A. leader centered
B. authority based
C. follower centered
D. organization centered
7. The process definition of adaptive leadership states that this type of leadership is
about ______.
A. the position the leader holds
B. characteristics of the leader
C. skills of the leader
D. behaviors of the leader
8. The overall goal of adaptive leadership is to ______.
A. encourage people to change
B. support leadership roles
C. adapt to the subordinate characteristics
D. encourage people to adapt to their leader
Northouse, Leadership 8e
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9. Which of the following sets of activities are adaptive leaders said to engage in with
others?
A. motivate, crystallize, delegate
B. mobilize, motivate, orient
C. organize, direct, manage
D. conceptualize, heal, serve
10. Which of the following is not one of the conceptual viewpoints of adaptive
leadership?
A. situational perspective
B. systems perspective
C. biological perspective
D. service orientation
11. The systems perspective in adaptive leadership involves looking at problems that
______.
A. require people to adapt to both their internal cues and external environments
B. are complex and interconnected in a web of relationships
C. require service through using expertise in diagnosing and prescribing solutions
D. are focused on psychological parameters for adapting to difficult problems
12. In which adaptive leadership viewpoint do leaders provide a supportive environment
for followers in which they help followers resolve internal conflicts and distinguish
between reality and fantasy?
A. service orientation
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B. biological perspective
C. psychotherapy perspective
D. systems perspective
13. Which leadership theory includes administrative, adaptive, and enabling leadership?
A. Transformational Leadership Theory
B. Adaptive Leadership Theory
C. Servant Leadership Theory
D. Complexity Leadership Theory
14. Complexity Leadership Theory when used in organizations focuses on ______.
A. behaviors that inhibit psychodynamic subconscious emotional reactions
B. strategies to enhance the skill level of employees
C. strategies that encourage learning, creativity, and adaptation
D. a biological perspective of adaptive leadership
15. Adaptive leadership is a unique kind of leadership in that ______.
A. it focuses on the leader’s behaviors as a reflection of the followers
B. it focuses on the dynamics of mobilizing people to address change
C. it describes the process of rewards and punishments used in leadership
D. it describes the transformational processes in complex organizations
16. Workplace problems with clearly defined and known solutions are ______.
A. biological challenges
B. adaptive challenges
C. technical challenges
Northouse, Leadership 8e
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D. psychodynamic challenges
17. Workplace problems that are clearly defined but do not have straightforward
solutions are ______.
A. regulatory challenges
B. adaptive challenges
C. technical challenges
D. combined technical and adaptive challenges
18. Workplace problems that lack clarity and cannot be solved by leader expertise or
normal organizational structures are ______.
A. regulatory challenges
B. adaptive challenges
C. technical challenges
D. combined technical and adaptive challenges
19. Our organization recently adopted a new website design interface. Some of our
employees are having difficulty navigating the new system. This is an example of
______.
A. an adaptive challenge
B. a technical challenge
C. a technical and adaptive challenge
D. a non-challenge
20. What type of challenge occurred when the problem employees encountered was
identified and the leader selected a workable solution?
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A. an adaptive challenge
B. a technical challenge
C. a technical and adaptive challenge
D. a non-challenge
21. According to adaptive leadership theory, who solves technical challenges?
A. employees
B. leaders and followers
C. leaders
D. the organization
22. According to adaptive leadership theory, who solves technical and adaptive
challenges?
A. employees
B. leaders and followers
C. leaders
D. the organization
23. According to adaptive leadership theory, who solves adaptive challenges?
A. employees
B. leaders and followers
C. leaders
D. the organization
24. What type of challenge occurred when the problem employees encountered was
clearly defined but difficult to solve?
Northouse, Leadership 8e
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A. an adaptive challenge
B. a technical challenge
C. a technical and adaptive challenge
D. a non-challenge
25. A football team decides to completely restructure its offense and use many different
players in the process. The players, coaches, and even the fans could have a hard time
figuring out the new system and implementing this completely new structure. This is an
example of ______.
A. an adaptive challenge
B. a technical challenge
C. a technical and adaptive challenge
D. a non-challenge
26. What type of problem is occurring when identification of issues surrounding the
problem and solutions to the problem both are unclear?
A. an adaptive challenge
B. a technical challenge
C. a technical and adaptive challenge
D. a non-challenge
27. You are tasked with creating a brand new food product using a team of people who
are unfamiliar with the product and do not know one another. The organizational
structure of this group is very loosely defined. This is an example of ______.
A. an adaptive challenge
B. a technical challenge
C. a technical and adaptive challenge
D. a non-challenge
28. There are how many leader behaviors in the adaptive leadership model?
A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 6
29. The prescriptive nature of the adaptive leadership approach is found in the ______.
A. types of challenges
B. actions of the followers
C. response of the organization
D. leader behaviors
30. Which of the following is not one of the named adaptive leader behaviors in the
model?
A. get on the balcony
B. provide a holding environment
C. identify adaptive challenges
D. regulate distress
31. Which leader behavior is a prerequisite for the other adaptive leader behaviors?
A. regulate distress
B. identify adaptive challenges
C. maintain disciplined attention
D. get on the balcony
32. I have been working with the staff on a difficult problem for 3 days. Everyone is
stressed and bickering and losing focus. I decide to go for a run, which is a time when I
typically can quietly think and gain perspective on problems. This is an example of
which adaptive leader behavior?
A. identify adaptive challenges
B. get on the balcony
C. protect leadership voices from below
D. speaking the unspeakable
33. I focus on the big picture and observe the problems as a whole but always stay fully
engaged in the challenge with our employees. This is an example of which adaptive
leader behavior?
A. identify adaptive challenges
B. competing commitments
C. protect leadership voices from below
D. get on the balcony
34. Which behavior am I using when I analyze and diagnose a new challenge?
A. identify adaptive challenges
B. get on the balcony
C. protect leadership voices from below
D. work avoidance
35. I am the leader in the manufacturing division of an auto manufacturing company and
just found a technical problem with one part of how the line places the engine block in
the car. I figured out the problem and fixed it right away. Which type of leader behavior
was I using during this process?
A. identify adaptive challenges
B. create a holding environment
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C. protect leadership voices from below
D. regulate distress
36. I am a leader of employees in an auto manufacturing company that just merged with
another company after a difficult buyout process. Employees will keep their jobs but will
have to learn new systems and work with new people and supervisors, which makes
them nervous and anxious about their work. This is an example of ______.
A. a capacity challenge
B. a technical challenge
C. a technical and adaptive challenge
D. an adaptive challenge
37. I am a leader who has identified an adaptive challenge. What do I need to do now?
A. focus attention on the problem and establish collaboration between myself and my
followers
B. provide followers with a solution that fits the problem
C. provide followers with a solution that fits the problem and ask them for input
D. focus attention on the solution then share it will the followers
38. How many archetypes are used in adaptive leadership to help determine the
difference between adaptive and technical challenges?
A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 6
39. My company states integrity as a core commitment on its website. I see fraud
occurring often in my division of the company. Which archetype describes this
company?
A. gap between espoused values and behaviors
B. competing commitments
C. work avoidance
D. speaking the unspeakable
40. My company decides to merge with another to be more financially stable, but in the
process it appears best to downsize our current staff. This is an adaptive challenge
identified by which archetype?
A. gap between espoused values and behaviors
B. competing commitments
C. work avoidance
D. speaking the unspeakable
41. A longtime leader of a technology firm hires primarily males even when females in
the hiring pool are far more qualified. No one wants to point out this behavior to the
leader. This is an adaptive challenge identified by which archetype?
A. gap between espoused values and behaviors
B. competing commitments
C. work avoidance
D. speaking the unspeakable
42. We avoid talking about the conflict that occurs when our leader lets one employee
get away with coming in late to work every day. We all think it’s because this employee
is the only minority on the staff. This is an adaptive challenge identified by which
archetype?
A. gap between espoused values and behaviors
B. competing commitments
C. work avoidance
Northouse, Leadership 8e
SAGE Publications, 2019
D. speaking the unspeakable
43. I provided a solution to a challenging problem that just made things worse. What did
I do wrong according to adaptive leadership principles?
A. I tried to take over the situation
B. I tried to solve an adaptive problem using technical leadership
C. I tried to solve a technical problem with adaptive leadership
D. I did not put myself in a holding environment
44. When we create a holding environment for employees we are using which adaptive
leader behavior?
A. identify adaptive challenges
B. get on the balcony
C. protect leadership voices from below
D. regulate distress
45. When I establish a workplace environment that is open and safe while also being
available and encouraging to employees to solve demanding problems, I am ______.
A. on the balcony
B. creating a holding environment
C. establishing protective norms
D. maintaining disciplined action
46. Creating a holding environment helps regulate distress because ______.
A. it is a space where conflict gets out of control and leaders support this process
B. it provides an optimal balance of both safety and tension to allow work to happen
Northouse, Leadership 8e
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C. negotiations are heated up on purpose to create overwhelming tension and people
pick sides
D. there is no pressure to create new contractual relationships while negotiations occur
in the holding space
47. Which regulating distress behavior maintains that it is the leader’s responsibility to
manage the rate of adaptive change for people?
A. providing direction
B. conflict management
C. protection
D. orientation
48. Which leader behavior in the adaptive leadership model means the leader needs to
encourage people to focus on the tough work that needs to be done?
A. identify adaptive challenges
B. regulate distress
C. give the work back to the people
D. maintain disciplined attention
49. The maintaining disciplined action behavior in adaptive leadership is ______.
A. easy because most people naturally want to confront change
B. difficult because most people do not accept leaders who use adaptive behaviors
C. difficult because most people do not naturally want to confront change
D. easy because most people have dealt effectively with adaptive changes before
50. A leader needs to use the maintain disciplined attention behavior when ______.