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1. What do you want from your leader?
People want leaders who will:
• Help them accomplish their goals by providing training and resources, clarifying a plan or goal, keep-
2. Is there a difference between effective management and effective leadership? Explain your
views and learn from others’ views.
Effective management and effective leadership can be quite different.
3. Identify someone you think is an effective leader. What traits and skills does this individual pos-
sess that makes him or her effective?
Each student will have his or her own “candidates” as effective managers. One way of approaching
this question, is to have students make a list of these individuals and then have them attempt to identi-
4. Do you think most managers can be transformational leaders? Why or why not?
Transformational leaders are ones who transform visions into reality. As the text points out, they get
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
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5. In your own words, define courage. What is the role of courage in leadership? Give examples of
acts of leadership, which you consider courageous.
Courage is the attitude of facing and dealing with anything recognized as dangerous, difficult, or
painful, instead of withdrawing from it. Leadership certainly includes elements of courage. As the
6. Do you think men and women differ in their leadership styles? If so, how? Do men and/or wom-
en prefer styles different from those exhibited by their bosses? What evidence do you have for
your answers?
The current thinking, influenced largely by Judy Rosener’s study, is that men and women do have
somewhat different leadership styles. While men tend to rely more on their formal authority and on
7. Who are your heroes? What makes them heroes, and what can you learn from them?
Heroes are as individual as your students. Expect to get a wide variety of responses here, from busi-
8. Assess yourself as a leader based on what you have read in this chapter. What are your
strengths and weaknesses?
One way of approaching this question is to have each student go through the chapter and make a list
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9. Identify the developmental experiences you have had that may have strengthened your ability
to lead. What did those experiences teach you? Also, identify some developmental experiences
that you need to acquire, and how you will seek them. Be specific.
Most students will have had some developmental experiences ranging from being asked to head up a
group to perform a task or being elected as a class officer to being appointed to a position in an organ-
10. Consider a couple of decisions you are facing that could involve other people. Use the Vroom
model to decide what approach to use to make the decisions.
Students may choose scenarios from their personal or professional lives. For example, imagine there
is a group of six students attempting to choose a location for spring break trip together. They have
➢ How important is the quality of the decision? (high)
➢ How important is group commitment to the decision? (high)
The decision-making style indicated by the Vroom model is “G”. The problem should be shared with
11. Consider a job you hold or have held in the past. Consider how your boss managed you. How
would you describe him or her as a leader? What substitutes for leadership would you have en-
joyed being put into place?
Certain follower, tasks and organizational factors are substitutes for some leader behaviors. For ex-
ample, group maintenance behaviors are less important if the group is closely knit, if there is a profes-
Chapter 12 – Leadership
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sional orientation, or if the job is intrinsically satisfying. Task leadership behavior is less important if
people have a lot of experience and ability, feedback is supplied to them directly from the task, or if
the rule and procedures are rigid.
12. Consider an organization of which you are a leader or a member. What could great transfor-
mational leadership accomplish in the organization?
Great transformational leaders generate excitement in three primary ways:
The skills or strategies that transformational leaders have are:
13. Name some prominent leaders whom you would describe as authentic and inauthentic and dis-
cuss.
This is a tricky question to handle in class, and it can lead to a valuable discussion about respecting
14. Name some leaders you consider servant leaders and discuss.
Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa are two examples of servant leaders. Both are people who were
willing to give up their own self-interests for the good of others – in the case of Nelson Mandela, he
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15. Identify some opportunities for you to exhibit shared leadership and lateral leadership.
The most obvious answer to this question is for students to discuss the possibility of leadership in
Chapter 12 – Leadership
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EXERCISE 12.1 – USING THE FIVE SOURCES OF POWER AT WORK
Objective
Instructions
Read each of the scenarios (below) and choose one of the five sources of power to resolve the challenge
in each scenario.
Five Sources of Power Worksheet
Five Sources of power:
1. Authority
Scenario #1:
Assume you are a supervisor of an IT department at a website hosting company. You want your staff to
As the supervisor, you are using ______________________ power to motivate your staff.
Scenario #2:
Assume you work at a local retail store. As a part-time employee working your way through college, you
are not interested in becoming a manager. Even so, sometimes you wish you were in charge. Just yester-
Scenario #3:
Assume you were recently promoted to assistant manager of the bank in your hometown. You are friends
with the employees who now report to you. You notice that the employees still treat you like a buddy and
EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES
Chapter 12 – Leadership
Scenario #4:
Assume you are an experienced marketer of outdoor adventure trips. You recently changed jobs. While
working for your previous employer, Outdoor Adventures, you created several successful marketing pro-
Scenario #5:
Assume you are a salesperson and just found out that your organization’s largest client is thinking about
moving its business to one of your competitors. If this happens, you will lose about thirty percent of your
commission this year not to mention the loss of revenue to your company. You decide to rush over to see
EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISE 12.2 – EVALUATING YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE
Objectives
1. To examine your personal style of leadership.
Suggested responses
Student responses will vary.
1.
I would allow team members the freedom to do their jobs in their own way.
3
2.
I would make important decision on my own initiative without consulting the workers.
2
3.
I would allow the team members to make their own decisions.
4
4.
I would not try to socialize with the workers.
2
5.
I would allow team members to do their jobs as they see fit.
4
6.
I would consider myself to be the group’s spokesperson.
4
7.
I would be warm, friendly, and approachable.
5
8.
I would be sure that the workers understand and follow all the rules and regulations.
3
9.
5
I would be the one to decide what is to be done and how it is to be done.
1
I would delegate authority to the workers.
4
I would urge the workers to meet production quotas.
5
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14.
I would assign specific tasks to specific people.
3
15.
I would let the workers establish their own work pace.
3
16.
I would not feel that I have to explain my decision to workers.
3
17.
I would not try to make each worker feel that his or her contribution is important.
5
18.
I would establish the work schedules.
3
19.
I would encourage workers to get involved in setting work goals.
5
20.
I would be action oriented and results oriented.
4
21.
I would get the workers involved in making decisions.
5
22.
I would outline needed changes and monitor action closely.
3
23.
I would help the group achieve consensus on important changes.
5
24.
I would supervise closely to ensure that standards are met.
3
25.
I would consistently reinforce good work.
4
26.
I would nip problems in the bud.
3
27.
I would consult the group before making decisions.
5
Suggested Responses to Discussion Questions
1. In what ways did your experience or lack of experience influence your responses to the
survey?
2. In what ways did student scores and student responses to survey test items agree? In
what ways did they disagree?
3. What do you think accounts for differences in student leadership attitudes.
Leadership attitudes will vary based on their learned experiences and knowledge of leadership.
4. How can students make constructive use of the survey results?
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Breitt, Starr & Diamond LLC
Case Summary:
Josh Breitt, Rachel Starr, and Justin Diamond started an advertising agency to serve the needs of small
businesses in their metropolitan area. Each brings different assets: Breitt is the creative genius, Starr has
Chapter Topics Related to the Case:
• Discuss the concept of leadership
• Identify and discuss the personal skills and traits of effective leaders
Case Discussion Questions:
1. Assume that hiring a general manager of operations was a good idea. What leadership style would be
most effective in this position? Why?
Suggested Response:
Students should apply the contingency models of leadership to the information from the case study. De-
2. What leader traits and behaviors did Brad Howser exhibit? How well do they fit the needs of the ad
agency?
Suggested Response:
Howser observed operations and announced changes, rather than consulting and discussing ideas. He was
CONCLUDING CASE
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3. Consider your own leadership style. What types of positions and situations should you seek out?
What types of positions and situations should you seek to avoid? Why?
Suggested Response:
Responses provided by the individual students will reflect their personal points of view. As an example,
Chapter 12 – Leadership
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Example 12.1 – Leadership: Use student examples from Discussion Questions 12, 13, and 14 as-
signment to illustrate leadership.
Example 12.2 – Leadership actions: In “The Leadership Challenge”, Kouzes and Posner tell the
story of White’s, a car dealership in London. Faced with declining sales, Lindsey Levin had a vi-
sion – that every customer would have an amazing experience every time they interacted with the
company. She inspired employees to share her vision by showing them videotaped focus groups
Example 12.3 – Vision: On October 8, 2007, PRWeek published an article entitled, “When it
comes to persuasion, leaders should follow Moses.”5 Now this may seem odd for a modern busi-
ness magazine, but as Fred Bratman points out, “But Moses successfully demonstrates the key
skills of persuasion. His primary tools are words – though that staff he carries around is impres-
Example 12.4 – Types of leadership power: Toronto Mayor, Rob Ford made media headlines
throughout 2013 for allegations of drug and alcohol abuse and other bizarre behaviors. Ford’s
pertaining to his ability to appoint and dismiss his senior staff6
Example 12.5 – Leadership traits: Dell CEO Kevin Rollins says that most leadership biog-
raphies are either “How I Made Money” or “How I Became a Leader.” Rollins found that he
5 Bratman, Fred. “When it comes to persuasion, leaders should follow Moses.” “PRweek. (U.S. ed.). New York: Oct 8,
EXAMPLES
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George Washington who had the style Rollins hoped to mimic. “Washington would often tell
people something about themselves they didn’t know, and would inspire them to greatness in a
Example 12.6 – Authentic leaders (Answer to Student Discussion Question 13): The April,
2012, issue of Forbes Magazine lists the best and worst CEOs in terms of a pay/performance
comparison. The best performing bosses (authentic leaders) include Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com,
Example 12.7 – Servant leaders (Answer to Student Discussion Question 14 above): Nelson
Mandela and Mother Teresa are two examples of servant leaders. Both are people who were will-
ing to give up their own self interests for the good of others – in the case of Nelson Mandela, he
fought to end apartheid for the people of South Africa, and in the case of Mother Teresa, she gave
up everything to help the impoverished street people of India. A more business oriented example
of a servant leader is Jim Sinegal, the CEO of Costco. Sinegal’s philosophy is that by treating
employees and customers right, he increases both customer and employee loyalty, making the
business more stable in the long run. As Sinegal says, “This is not altruistic – this is good busi-
ness.” 8
Chapter 12 – Leadership
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Please see the following additional materials in Connect.
• Are US CEOs Worth Their Salaries?
What accounts for these differences in the wide range of compensation paid to CEOs in Europe,
the United Kingdom, and the United States?
CEOs in the U.S. earn about ten times more ($7-8 million dollars) than those in the Europe. How-
Leadership and Credibility
I. Introduction
Teams are at the forefront of most business and organizational settings. This scenario explores
what happens when a new leader wants to introduce change and the team is resistant to that
change. The case will spark good discussion about leadership and effective and ineffective traits
in teams.
II. Learning Objectives
1) To recognize that teams go through development stages before they function at their best.
III. Scenario Description
Overview: Malcolm Price has recently transitioned from an IT coordinator with low-level mana-
CHAPTER VIDEO
SUPPLEMENTAL FEATURES
MANAGER’S HOT SEAT (MHS)
Chapter 12 – Leadership
12–31
or comfortable following his lead as the person in charge. During a small group meeting about
revising the company website, the group ignores his direction, and looks to another coworker,
Samantha, for guidance.
Profile:
▪ Malcolm Price, Technical Director, joined Schumacker’s IT department a year and a
half ago, in which time he showed himself to be an innovative, creative thinker as
well as competent technician, prompting the Schumacker’s to promote him to Tech-
nical Director.
▪ Samantha Kasparoff, Finance Manager and In-house Legal Advisor, came to the
Backstory: The team all know each other well, as they have been working on various projects to-
gether for the best part of two years. The only outlier is Malcom, who has come to the team late
and whose leadership they don’t trust. Instead, they rely on Samantha, who’s been with the com-
pany longest and continue to defer to her and solicit her opinion.
Scene Setup:Malcom, promoted to supervisor role one-month prior, has a small group meeting
with team leaders to discuss the revision of Schumacker’s company website.
On the agenda:
▪ The “look and feel” of the website, including changes to design and navigation.
Chapter 12 – Leadership
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At the last meeting for a similar project, the updating of the website in 2009, Samantha
proposed “The Legal Forum”, a separate page offering clients legal news, updates, and
FAQs. This offered more comprehensive legal information than would be available if
company law were to be condensed to part of the Company News Hotspot.
Scene Location: Conference room at Schumacker’s.
The Meeting—Summary: Malcom begins the meeting by outlining some mandated changes for
the website from the CEO, Investors, and the Board of Directors. The team, who helped build the
current website, lashes out at the suggested changes and immediately dismisses them. In the pro-
cess, they defer to Samantha for guidance.
weeks to discuss their findings.
Afterthoughts—Summary: Malcom believes the meeting went well and that it was productive.
He recognizes that it was the first meeting they have had together under his leadership and that
IV. Discussion Questions
Leaning Objective #1 To recognize that teams go through development stages before they function at
their best.
1. Teams typically go through three stages—formation, coordination, and formalization—on
any given project. Which of these stages is the Schumacker’s team on in the meeting?
During the formation stage, members meet and begin to define their tasks, develop some social
cohesiveness, and develop procedures for acting. Typically in this stage, conflicts are likely to
Chapter 12 – Leadership
Leaning Objective #2 To identify characteristics of ineffective teams.
2. What were some of the negative characteristics of the team you watched?
Negative roles and actions can hurt a team’s process and product. During the meeting, some
Leaning Objective #3 To analyze the dangers of groupthink in team settings.
3. Groupthink is the tendency for teams to put such a high premium on agreement that directly
(or indirectly) punish dissent. Was the Schumacker’s team guilty of groupthink? Why or why
not?
Answers will vary by student discussion; however, in general, the team was somewhat guilty of
Leaning Objective #4 To identify traits of procedural leaders.
4. A procedural leader sets an agenda, makes sure that everyone knows what’s due for the next
meeting, and checks to be sure that tasks are carried out. Does Malcom fulfill the role of an
effective procedural leader? Why or why not?
Answers will vary by student discussion; however, in general, yes, Malcom is a procedural lead-
• Do You Have What it Takes to Be a Leader?
SELF-ASSESSMENTS