EXAM 2 LEADERSHIP STUDY GUIDE from Test 1

Dan believes that his employees need someone with a firm hand to guide them or else his business will falter under their lackadaisical attitudes. To make things crystal clear, he has shop rules posted prominently on each employee locker and in the break room and he spends a great deal of time during the day on the production floor making sure that everything is ship shape. Anyone who is caught slacking is written up and brought into his office for talk to make sure they understand where he is coming from. This is an example of someone who engages in __________________________ communicative behavior.

. Authoritarian

When you are focusing on the iterative, improvisational, and innovative nature of the work you are doing, you are in a _______________________ mindset.

. Experimental

When doing the work of leadership, assigning tasks to various stakeholders is the best way to "give the work back."

. False, because stakeholders must have ownership in doing the work

Emma realized that fining members or limiting attendance at social events was no longer working to ensure attendance at chapter meetings. To address dwindling attendance and member excuses, she opted to collect information about member's goals, schedules, and meeting preferences and hold several open "listening sessions." This is an example of treating meeting attendance as a(n):

ADAPTIVE CHALLENGE

The conflictual and systemic nature of adaptive work demands that we closely consider the role of ethics in our actions.

Absolutely

"Practice" is an important component of our definition of adaptive leadership because:

Adaptive leadership engages in the process of experimentation to arrive at the best way to address challenging issues

The most important act of leadership for the transformational approach is:

Articulating a visioN

While __________________________ groups exhibited the highest level of productivity, task completion for ____________________________ groups achieved at only a slightly lower level.

Authoritarian-led; Democratic-led

Creating a holding environment in the process of doing adaptive work is important when:

Conflict is ripe in the system

As a response to the traits approach to leadership, situational approaches focused on _________________________ as opposed to ______________________.

Context; characteristics

Heifetz, Grashow, and Linsky urge those doing the work of leadership to "display their own incompetence." This strategy benefits progress toward an issue by:

Creating a culture within the system that values learning b. Demonstrating openness and courage c. Fostering a spirit of experimentation Correctd. All of the above XXX

An important conclusion we can take away from all of the research on culture and diversity is:

Cultural learning influences the way we engage, interpret, and respond to our environment

In her first council meeting as President, Poppy told the group, "We're going to work through these issues together. I'm new in this role and we are all rather new to these issues, so we have a great opportunity to learn and grow. I have no doubt that we will have a stronger organization as a result." From the standpoint of adaptive leadership, this is an example of:

Displaying your own incompetence

As an individual doing the work of leadership, if you are looking to build better decision-making and greater innovation within your system, you should consider:

Encouraging diversity within your group

According to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, once we have solidified our reputations and have developed self-approval we are ready to focus on our security and life structure.

FALSE

According to Rest, moral judgment is often a barrier to ethical action.

FALSE

According to the research on leadership traits, physical and psychological characteristics are more predicative of one's leadership success than such attributes as honesty, conflict management, problem-solving and critical thinking abilities, organizational skills and interpersonal skills.

FALSE

According to Heifetz, Grashow, and Linsky, adaptive leadership avoids change when possible.

False

The best way to avoid risk when doing adaptive work is to run smart experiments.

False

Historically, the ____________________________ refers to impenetrable barrier that women faced in pursuing top-level leadership positions. However, researchers argue that the ___________________________________ is a more appropriate term for describing the circuitous path they face to achieving success

Glass ceiling; Labyrinth

Stakeholders may be more inclined to accept an intervention if:

It is presented as an experiment to try

The belief that those in leadership positions should do what is morally right regardless of the consequences is central to which ethical perspective?

Kant's Categorical Imperative

When doing adaptive work, reaching the productive zone of disequilibrium allows you to:

Make progress on your challenge

One way to enhance objectivity in observation work is to:

Move from the dance floor to the balcony

Leaders are born, not made.

OF COURSE NOT

Engaging in the process of leadership involves

Observation, interpretation, and intervention

During the weekly staff meeting, rather than jumping into the usual back and forth among co-workers, Naima made note of how the conversation flowed from person to person, how individuals reacted to what was being said, and how long those in charge let the exchange go on. This is an example of:

Observing events and patterns

You and the other members of your organization's executive board meet early in the morning following a serious situation at a social event the night before. Everyone is on edge, but you are relieved that your president is authorized to address the issue and that your bylaws spell out, in detail, how the situation should be addressed and how those involved should be dealt with. All you will need to do today is be sure everyone is on the same page, the plan can move forward, and the damage can be contained. Your organization is addressing this challenge as a(n):

TECHNICAL PROBLEM

According to Heifetz, Grashow, and Linsky, when practicing adaptive leadership, it is your responsibility to help the stakeholders deal with the discomfort they naturally experience as a result of the process of change.

TRUE

According to the research on gender and leadership, communication styles or patterns contribute to the difficulty women have in receiving full recognition and achieving top-level leadership positions within organizations.

TRUE

Most often, individuals in positions of power and authority seek to preserve the status quo because it preserves their positions and requires less work on their part.

TRUE

Research has demonstrated that transformational leadership behavior may be directly related to communication skills.

TRUE

When we talk about adaptive work taking place "above and below the neck" we mean that you will need to rely on your whole self (heart, mind, body) as a resource to connect with other stakeholders and make progress on issues you care about.

TRUE

A supervisor who believes that work is as natural and satisfying part of human life and that workers seek responsibility as an outlet for imagination and creativity, so that direct supervision, threats, and punishment are not necessary to ensure productivity in the workplace would be a proponent of which leadership model?

Theory Y

Reward and recognition-based influence is characteristic of which leadership style?

Transactional

According to Heifetz, Grashow, and Linsky, "the most common cause of failure in leadership" is:

Treating adaptive challenges as if they are technical problems

Adaptive work can be very challenging and uncomfortable.

True because it involves risk, uncertainty, and experimentation

Technical work does not require you to engage the larger system in which you are involved.

True because it is individual and benign

Heifetz, Grashow, and Linsky say that interpretation is risky because:

We are likely to encounter others who will want us to embrace their point of view

Being mindful involves:

a. Remaining open to differing points of view b. Welcoming new information c. Creating new categories D. ALL OF THE ABOVE XXXX

Culture is another word for ethnic background.

b. False, culture is a multifaceted construct

Kai watched his club's male president repeatedly interrupt the group's secretary when she tried to weigh in on a conversation. In considering what he had observed, rather than assuming that the president was being chauvinistic, he held open the possibility that the president was just so eager to reach a consensus that he was afraid of inviting conflict. This is an example of:

b. Holding multiple interpretations

One of the leadership theories covered hypothesizes that the quality of the relationship between individual "leaders" and "followers" is predicative of individuals' productivity and job satisfaction. This theory is:

b. Leader Member Exchange Theory

By saying that positions of leadership are privileged, we mean:

b. Leadership positions are associated with a set of social and material benefits

"The song beneath the words" refers to

b. Subtle cues to what people are thinking, such as body language, tone of voice, and emotion

Research on generational differences in leadership style suggest that GenX'ers tend towards a _______________________ leadership style while the Baby Boomers tend towards a ____________________________ style.

c. Supportive; collegial

Ethnocentrism is:

c. The attitude that one's culture is the measure by which all other cultures should be judged.

Mr. Williamson, the principal of Sunnyvale Junior High, is concerned about a sharp increase in student absences during the winter months. Despite a strict district-wide attendance policy that punishes poor attendance by revoking student activity privileges and the hiring of three additional school resource officers to address cases of habitual absences, the number of students who miss school daily continues to increase. Knowing your understanding of adaptive leadership, Mr. Williamson turns to you for advice. What steps might you recommend he undertake?

d. All of the above XXX Answers: a. Spend some time gathering data through observing and engaging the other stakeholders in the system b. Thoughtfully consider the information gathered, allowing space for multiple, and even conflicting, interpretations c. Experiment with interventions that push limits of authority and stretch comfort zones

Meeting attendance is, historically, a challenge for student organizations on campus. Executive boards regularly struggle with low attendance and members who find excuses to not attend regularly. To try to avoid this issue, the Marketing Club's executive board elected to impose a fine system on members, increasing the amount they would have to pay with each meeting they missed. This is an example of treating attendance as a(n):

d. Technical problem

According to Hofstede, analyzing cultures requires examining:

power distance, individualism-collectivism, masculinity-femininity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term vs. short-term orientation