OBE 8

Why is leadership "more than commonsense' ?Check all that apply

• A. It often leads to a distorted picture of reality, in which leaders are heroes guiding lesser mortals through the travails of organisational strategy and execution

• B. The common sense view of leadership tends over-emphasise charisma, willpower and a clear and rational thought process

• C. Most of the long-term ideas about leadership have scientifically been proven to be wrong

• D. It can result in passivity in followers - an interpretation of a world in which some are born to lead and others born to follow

Why can it be difficult to pursue Evidence-Based Leadership?Check all that apply

• A. Leadership is the natural preserve of great people, not something that can be taught or developed

• B. Research evidence is not the central focus of study for many business students, MBAs, or executive education programs

• C. Businesses are characterized by the belief that the particulars of their organization are special and unique

• D. It can threaten managers' personal freedom to run their organizations as they see fit.

If you were to design a perfect leader, what qualities would they have?Check only one option

• A. High cognitive ability and deep integrity

• B. A high need for power, a moderate need for achievement and a low need for affiliation

• C. High extraversion, moderate agreeableness, openness to experience and conscientiousness

• D. There are too many contradictory models of leadership qualities to be able to pursue such a task

If you had a colleague exhibiting counter-productive emotionality in the workplace, what could you do in response?Check only one option

• A. Use EQ skills to understand and manage my own reactions to the emotionality and help the person better manage it him or herself

• B. Confront them and tell them such emotional behaviours are letting the team down and failing to support my leadership

• C. Tell the person to take an extended break from work to recover

• D. Nothing - I have a task-orientated leadership style and such emotionality is indicative of somebody who is the wrong fit

What best defines people with a high Need for Achievement?Check only one option

• A. They seek close relationships, desire to be like others, enjoy social activities and seek to belong

• B. They like influencing others and seek positions of authority

• C. They are reluctant to play the bad-guy role

• D. They are goal oriented, take moderate risks, desire concrete feedback and work hard

Henry Mintzberg was the first person to empirically research the day-to-day activities undertaken by a CEO. What best defines his findings?Check only one option

• A. CEOs have to perform a multiplicity of interdependent roles in fast-paced, fragmented, regularly interrupted environments

• B. High cognitive ability and deep integrity

• C. Although there were many CEOS, very few actually displayed the styles and qualities of leadership identified in academic literature

• D. CEOs were special people who are able to strategically plan years into the future and deal with long-term time horizons despite short-term pressures

• E. CEOs were the source of the organisational vision, entrusted with the provision of purpose, values and motivation in the workers

What types of leadership does behavioural research ultimately support?Check all that apply

• A. It doesn't support any single leadership style, suggesting there is no one best leadership style in all situations

• B. Democratic, people-centered, consideration and concern for people

• C. Autocratic, job-centred, initiating structures and concern for production

• D. Co-leadership, in which one leader is production-oriented and one is people-oriented

If the Pygmalion Effect is accurate, which leadership attitude becomes problematic?Check only one option

• A. Theory Y as they will become so content at being treated well they'll lose the motivation to work hard

• B. Theory Z as people will become too attached to their teammates to focus on work

• C. Theory X, as treating people like they are lazy and dislike work will result in them becoming lazy, disliking work and performing less effectively

• D. Self-efficacy as people will stop believing in their capacity to do the tasks

Why do so many extroverts seem to get into leadership positions?Check all that apply

• A. It's a trait culturally celebrated in the USA and American theorists have long dominated the leadership field

• B. It's associated with assertiveness, self-confidence and high energy, all of which seem "obvious" leadership traits at lay levels.

• C. Because extroversion was the trait that most seemed to correlate with leadership (i.e.many leaders studied possessed it) in the first scientific studies of the subject

• D. They are scientifically proven to be good leaders

General Mental Ability and integrity are the best way to predict future performance. How might this be applied to predictions of leadership ability?Check all that apply

• A. It doesn't test for extraversion, which is proven to be the best indicator of leadership. Therefore, it cannot predict who will be good leaders.

• B. It should be applicable as they were testing for white collar management positions which is covalent with leadership in the contemporary sense, so should thus have the same efficacy

• C. While it seems to have predictive validity, the concept of GMA is arguably too narrow to be applied to the demands of contemporary interdependent work practice and integrity often predicts compliance, which might not be a useful trait for a leader to have.

• D. While it might make sense, there is little established research linking GMA and integrity to effective leadership performance