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Exercise 3-1: The Effective Leader
Step 1: Identify a leader and describe your job, how long you held the position or was engaged in the activity, and your age at the time.
Think of a person who was your supervisor, boss, or leader in a situation that you can recall fairly well. Preferably, the person should be from an organizational setting, but he or she doesn’t have to be your own boss. For example, a politician with whom you had regular contact on a particular project could be selected so long as the politician was acting in a leadership or authoritative role. Also acceptable would be the chairperson of a committee on which you functioned for a lengthy period of time.
He or she should have been what you would consider a “good” or even “great” leader. What’s important here is for you to judge his or her effectiveness by your personal reactions to his or her leadership behaviour. For whatever reasons, you were affected positively.
If you have never been under the wing of someone you would consider good or great, then select the best of the leaders you have had.
Now, briefly outline the job you held when this person was your leader.
Step 1: Describe your job, how long you held the position or was engaged in the activity, and your age at the time.
Step 2: Describe the leader’s strengths.
On the next page, describe up to five specific strengths: things that the leader did or said that made him or her a good leader, in your opinion.
When you do this, avoid general statements such as “he was a nice guy” or “she got the job done.” For example, if you thought of the leader as “considerate,” cite specific things that were said or done that made you see him or her as “considerate.” Did he say “hello” every morning? Or did she inform you about what was going on in your organization?
Step 3: Describe the leader’s weaknesses.
No leader is perfect. On the next page, describe up to five specific weaknesses: things that the leader did or said that were not as effective as the other behaviours. Again, be sure not to write general descriptions such as “He didn’t respect his employees.” Instead, say specifically what he or she said or did that made you feel that way (e.g., “he spent a lot of time looking over our shoulders when he didn’t have to”).
Exercise 3-2: The Ineffective Leader
Step 1: Identify an ineffective leader.
Think of a person who was, in your opinion, a poor or ineffective leader and who was your supervisor, boss, or leader in a situation that you can recall fairly well.
What’s important here is for you to judge his or her lack of effectiveness by your personal reactions to his or her leadership behaviour. For whatever reasons, you were affected negatively.
If you have never been under the wing of someone you would call poor, then use the worst of the leaders you have had even though the “worst” one might have done quite well.
In the space provided, briefly outline the situation.
Step 2: Describe five of the leader’s weaknesses.
Describe up to five specific things that the person did or said that made you see him or her an ineffective leader, in your opinion.
Step 3: Describe five of the leader’s strengths.
Few persons in leadership positions do everything badly. In the space provided on the next page, describe up to five specific things that the person did well.
Exercise 3-3: Using the Four Factors to Assess Good and Poor Leader Behaviours
The purpose of this exercise is for you to gain an understanding of the four leadership factors by applying them to your descriptions of good and poor leaders in Exercises 3-1 and 3-2. It will enable you to see which of the four leadership factors you recall best and tend to emphasize when you are describing the strengths and weaknesses of leaders you have experienced.
This exercise also provides you with a practical test of Bowers and Seashore’s ideas. For example, if Bowers and Seashore are right, your good leader should have engaged in all four sets of leader behaviours and you should have identified more of these behaviours for the good leader than for the poor leader.
Step 1: Categorize the strengths and weaknesses.
Return to the list of characteristics of the good leaders and poor leaders from Exercises 3-1 and 3-2. In the space provided on the next page, put the number of each of the five strengths and weaknesses in the space next to the factor that it fits best.
There are two columns for each of the four behaviours. The first indicates strengths (positive behaviours in which your good or poor leader engaged). For example, if as strength 3 you listed that your leader was friendly, you should put the number 3 in the first column next to the “supportiveness” factor. If as weakness 2 you listed that your leader wasn’t very good at transmitting the mission of your unit, you would put the number 2 under the weaknesses column next to Goal Emphasis.
If one of the leader’s characteristics you identified doesn’t seem to fit any of the four factors, then list its number in the “can’t classify” space.
If a characteristic seems to fit more than one category, put its number next to each factor that it seems to fit.
Step 2: Analyze the presence or absence of the four pillars.
Look over the resulting information and determine which of Bowers and Seashore’s four factors were most prevalent for the effective leader and for the ineffective leaders. Were there any factors that were hardly mentioned by you in your original analysis of the good and poor leaders’ behaviours?
Characteristics of the Good Leader (from Exercise 3-1)
Four Factors STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
Supportiveness
Interaction Facilitation
Goal Emphasis
Work Facilitation
Can’t Classify
Characteristics of the Poor Leader (from Exercise 3-2)
Four Factors STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
Supportiveness
Interaction Facilitation
Goal Emphasis
Work Facilitation
Can’t Classify
Step 2: Do the results conform to the Bowers-Seashore Model?
Exercise 3-4: Using the Survey of Leadership
Bowers and Seashore adapted a survey (called the Survey of Leadership) which can be used to assess leader behaviours in the context of the four leadership factors (adapted from Taylor and Bowers, 1972. Reprinted with permission).
This exercise will familiarize you with the survey and help you gain a greater understanding of the four factors in the leadership model.
In filling out the survey, you are to use as examples the effective and ineffective leaders you identified in Exercises 3-1 and 3-2. However, if for any reason, these leaders do not seem appropriate, you should feel free to select two other leaders with whom you have had a reasonable degree of experience.
Step 1: Complete Survey of Leadership.
Fill out the “Survey of Leadership” forms found on the following pages for both good and poor leaders.
Step 2: Make calculations.
Calculate the Support, Interaction Facilitation, Goal Emphasis, and Work Facilitation Scores from the Survey of Leadership. Instructions for doing so are found on the page following the surveys. Make the calculations and summarize the information from the survey on the next page.
Step 3: Analyze leadership success.
Discuss whether the poor or good leader was an ideal leader according to the Four-Factor Theory, using the Support, Interaction Facilitation, Goal Emphasis, and Work Facilitation scores.
Step 4: Relate Bowers-Seashore theory to your situation.
Discuss whether the theory explains, in part, your reaction to both situations and your levels of motivation and morale in both situations.
Leadership Survey for the Good Leader
The following ten questions ask about your supervisor’s leadership behaviour and practices at a time when you had a good leader (the one identified in Exercise 3-1). Try to respond on the basis of your actual observations of your supervisor’s actions. Circle the appropriate choice.
To a Great Extent
To a Considerable Extent
To a Moderate Extent
To a Slight Extent
Not at all
To what extent…
1….was your supervisor friendly and easy to approach?
5
4
3
2
1
2.. . . did your supervisor encourage people to give their best effort?
5
4
3
2
1
3. . . did your supervisor show you how to improve your performance?
5
4
3
2
1
4. . . . did your supervisor encourage people to work as a team?
5
4
3
2
1
5. . . . did your supervisor pay attention to what you had to say?
5
4
3
2
1
6. . . . did your supervisor maintain high standards of performance
5
4
3
2
1
7. . . did your supervisor provide the help you needed so you could schedule your work ahead of time
5
4
3
2
1
8. . . did your supervisor encourage people to exchange opinions and ideas?
5
4
3
2
1
9. . . was your supervisor willing to listen to your work-related problems
5
4
3
2
1
10. . . did your supervisor offer new ideas for solving job-related problems?
5
4
3
2
1
Leadership Survey for the Poor Leader
The following questions ask about your supervisor’s behaviour and practices during a time when you had an ineffective leader (the one identified in Exercise 3-2). Try to respond on the basis of your actual observations of your supervisor’s actions.
To a Great Extent
To a Considerable Extent
To a Moderate Extent
To a Slight Extent
Not at all
To what extent…
1….was your supervisor friendly and easy to approach?
5
4
3
2
1
2.. . . did your supervisor encourage people to give their best effort?
5
4
3
2
1
3. . . did your supervisor show you how to improve your performance?
5
4
3
2
1
4. . . . did your supervisor encourage people to work as a team?
5
4
3
2
1
5. . . . did your supervisor pay attention to what you had to say?
5
4
3
2
1
6. . . . did your supervisor maintain high standards of performance
5
4
3
2
1
7. . . did your supervisor provide the help you needed so you could schedule your work ahead of time
5
4
3
2
1
8. . . did your supervisor encourage people to exchange opinions and ideas?
5
4
3
2
1
9. . . was your supervisor willing to listen to your work-related problems
5
4
3
2
1
10. . . did your supervisor offer new ideas for solving job-related problems?
5
4
3
2
1
Scoring the Leader’s Style
The survey consisted of ten questions (Q1 through Q10). Use the numbers circled for each of the ten questions on the Survey of Leadership in the spaces provided below to calculate the scores for the four leadership behaviours. Then post the results on the form found in Step 2.
Good Leader
Support Score = (Q1 ___ + Q5 ___ + Q9 ___)/3 = ___
Interactive Facilitation = (Q4 ___ + Q8 ___)/2 = ___
Work Facilitation = (Q3 ___ + Q7 ___ + Q10 ___)/3 = ___
Goal Emphasis = (Q2 + Q6)/2 = ___
Poor Leader
Support Score = (Q1 ___ + Q5 ___ + Q9 ___)/3 = ___
Interactive Facilitation = (Q4 ___ + Q8 ___)/2 = ___
Work Facilitation = (Q3 ___ + Q7 ___ + Q10 ___)/3 = ___
Goal Emphasis = (Q2 + Q6)/2 = ___
Step 2: Calculations
Good Leader Poor Leader
Support Score =
Interactive Facilitation =
Goal Emphasis =
Work Facilitation =
Step 3: Analyze leadership success.
Step 4: Relate Bowers-Seashore theory to your situation.
Exercise 3-5: The Leadership Style Survey
On the next pages you will find a Leadership Style Survey that is similar to one that is widely used in the training of managers in North America (adapted from Hersey and Blanchard, 1974).
While it was designed to help managers diagnose their own leadership behaviour, it is introduced here mainly to help you gain insight into the Leadership Theory that is the main focus of this Workbook.
If you do not at the moment hold a position of leadership in your work organization or in any other nonwork organization (e.g., leading a Sunday School group is considered a leadership position) and if you have never held such a position, you should still fill out the survey as best you can based on what you think you would do in the circumstances described in the survey.
The survey is not an easy one to respond to. However, the experience of managers who have pursued this survey previously in training seminars suggests that if you answer each item as best you can, you will gain a deeper appreciation of the leadership theory upon which it is based and some thought-provoking ideas about your own approach to leadership.
Leadership Style Survey
Copyright © February 1974 from “So You Want to Know Your Leadership Style” by Ken Blanchard and Paul Hersey and published in Training & Development Journal.
Adapted with permission of American Society for Training & Development.
ASSUME you are involved in each of the following 12 situations.
READ each item carefully and THINK about what you would do in each circumstance.
Then CIRCLE the letter of the alternative that you think would most closely describe your behaviour in the situation presented. Circle only one choice.
For each situation, interpret key concepts in a situation in which you have assumed a leadership role. Say, for example, an item mentions subordinates. If you engage in leadership behaviour as an industrial manager, then think about your staff as subordinates. If, however, you assume a leadership role primarily as a teacher, think about your students as subordinates. Whatever the perspective you take, do not change it from one item to another. If you started with your children as your subordinates, keep that frame of reference throughout the 12 situations.
Describe the frame of reference you will use in the survey:
Circle the one answer that fits best what you think you would do in the situation:
1. One of your newly hired subordinates isn’t performing well. He seems to lack the drive to take charge of things on his own.
A. Bring him in and outline what must be done to correct the situation.
B. Bring him in and seek a shared understanding of the situation and reach a jointly determined agreement as to what should be done to correct it.
C. Bring him in, solicit his perspective, and with that perspective in mind outline what must be done to correct the situation.
D. Give him a reasonable amount of time to work it out on his own.
2. The observable performance of one of your subordinates is increasing on the new task she has been assigned, but it is not yet very high. She demonstrates an eagerness to learn the new task.
A. Discuss the situation with her, carefully seeking her perspective. Then, taking her perspective into account, tell her how you think she should proceed with the task.
B. Give her a reasonable amount of time to work it out on her own.
C. Discuss the situation with her, and together, without imposing your views, develop a way of proceeding with the task.
D. Meet with her and inform her as to how she should proceed with the task.
3. You supervise one of the best analysts in the organization. However, you are aware that he is experiencing difficulty on one of his projects.
A. Get together with him for a joint problem solving session.
B. Within a reasonable time frame, allow him the time necessary to work the problem out on his own.
C. Bring him in and outline what he should do to solve the problem.
D. Solicit his opinions and then suggest a solution the problem.
4. Members of your work unit have a fine work record, demonstrating time and again a high degree of skill in the jobs assigned to them. However, as of yet they haven’t demonstrated a willingness to take the bull by the horns.
A. Involve the group and attempt to reach consensus on changes.
B. Inform the group of the changes you feel are necessary.
C. Within a reasonable time frame, allow the group the time necessary to formulate its own changes.
D. Incorporate group recommendations, but direct the change.
5. The performance of a three-month old task group has been dropping. The members seem unconcerned.
A. Within a reasonable time frame, allow the group the time necessary to work it out on its own.
B. Solicit group recommendations and then redirect it.
C. Bring the group in and redirect it.
D. Bring the group in, openly discuss the issues, and seek consensus on redirection.
6. Recently you stepped into a new job. The previous administrator ran a tight ship and consequently his subordinates have not developed the skills necessary to do their jobs on their own. However, they obviously care a lot about their work.
A. Discuss the situation with the members, then suggest a remedy.
B. Implement a remedy that will solve the problem.
C. Within a reasonable time frame, allow the members to work it out on their own.
D. Meet with the group and together agree on a remedy.
7. You have just made a major change in the organization. Members of your group obviously have the skills to do things the new way, but are dragging their heels.
A. Carefully define the necessary changes for the group.
B. Meet with the group and together decide on the necessary changes.
C. Be open to group’s recommendations regarding necessary changes, but make the decision yourself.
D. Within a reasonable time frame, allow the group the time necessary to correct the problem on its own.
8. Six months ago you stepped into a position as director of operations. Your staff is composed of very competent professionals. However, one team seems to be having difficulty completing a task in which you have great expertise.
A. Within a reasonable time frame, allow the group the time necessary to correct the problem on its own.
B. Discuss the situation with the group and then initiate the necessary changes to correct the problem.
C. Suggest the changes necessary to correct the problem.
D. Call a meeting and together reach agreement on the changes necessary to correct the problem.
9. Your superior has appointed you to head a task force whose report is long overdue. The group has been unable to properly define its task and attendance at meetings has been sporadic.
A. Within a reasonable time frame, allow the group the time necessary to work the problem out on its own.
B. Solicit ideas from members of the group and then implement corrective action.
C. Specify corrective action to the group.
D. Involve the group in discussing the problems and seek a consensus on corrective action.
10. One of your subordinates has demonstrated a willingness to work hard, but he hasn’t yet come to grips with the nature of the work he is doing.
A. Get together with him to jointly discuss the problem and jointly figure out a solution.
B. Meet with him and lay out a solution to the problem.
C. Give him a reasonable amount of time to work it out on his own.
D. Talk to him and to the greatest degree possible, incorporate his ideas into a solution to the problem.
11. The members of your unit clearly are able to do a good job, but performance is not where it should be. They have not taken the unit objectives seriously.
A. Redefine goals for the group and instil a sense of the importance of their tasks.
B. Consult members about their feelings about objectives and performance, then redirect them.
C. Meet with group and seek a consensus on objectives and tasks.
D. Within a reasonable time frame, allow the group the time necessary to work the problem out on their own.
12. Recent information indicates that one of your subordinates is having difficulty with an assigned task. He has a remarkable record of accomplishment, but has not solicited your help.
A. Solicit his ideas about the difficulty and, based on your expertise, recommend a solution.
B. Within a reasonable time frame, allow him the time necessary to work it out for himself.
C. Based on your expertise, recommend a solution.
D. Discuss the situation with him, seeking a mutually acceptable resolution of the difficulty.
Summarize your survey on this page. This will make the scoring that you will do later more convenient. Later, you will be provided with information as to how public- and private-sector managers performed on the survey.
Circle the choices you made on the Leadership Survey.
SITUATION CHOICE THAT YOU CIRCLED
1. A B C D
2. A B C D
3. A B C D
4. A B C D
5. A B C D
6. A B C D
7. A B C D
8. A B C D
9. A B C D
10. A B C D
11. A B C D
12. A B C D
Exercise 3-6: Assessing your Leadership Style
At this point, you should understand the system used to select one of the four leadership styles for a given situation. While you may or may not agree with this system, the following exercise will enable you to determine which of the four styles you selected on the Exercise 3-5 Questionnaire for each situation. To do so, use the table shown below and do the following:
1. Circle the option you selected in Exercise 3-5 for each of the twelve situations.
2. Add up the number of circled items in each column. The column with the most items circled is your dominant style. Your style range includes all columns with two or more items circled. Write these in the spaces below. You may have up to three other styles indicated in your style range.
Situation Leadership Style Choices
1 A C B D
2 D A C B
3 C D A B
4 B D A C
5 C B D A
6 B A D C
7 A C B D
8 C B D A
9 C B D A
10 B D A C
11 A B C D
12 C A D B
TOTAL CIRCLED = ___ ___ ___ ___
LEADER STYLE = DIR CON PAR DEL
My Dominant Style = _________
My Other Style = __________
My Other Style = __________
My Other Style = __________
Exercise 3-7: Applying the Situational Model to the Good Leader’s Behaviour
This exercise applies the Situational Leadership Model to the good leader you identified in Exercise 3-1. Your goal is to determine whether the Situational Leadership Model explains why that leader was effective.
A word of warning is in order before you begin this exercise. In almost all cases you will be dealing with grey-area judgments. Don’t be alarmed when you can’t be mathematically precise in making assessments of factors such as worker skill and motivation, even when it’s your own maturity that is being assessed.
You will learn most on this exercise if you do your best to work within the grey areas that exist. Then you can determine what you have learned from the theory and its applications.
Step 1: Assess the level of your maturity for the job you were doing. Use the same “good” leader situation as you used in Exercise 3-1.
· Rate your skill level (circle one): Low High
· Rate your motivation (circle one): Low High
Step 2: Characterize the decision-making style that would be indicated for a person of your level of maturity for the particular job you held at the time. Note: you are not being asked to describe the leader’s actual behaviour and practices. Instead, indicate what the model would prescribe for someone at your maturity level.
DIR CON PAR DEL
Step 3: Indicate the actual style the leader in Exercise 3-1 used most of the time in making decisions that affected you and your job.
DIR CON PAR DEL
Step 4: Discuss whether the Situational Leadership Model fits the situation as you have described it. For example, did the good leader you identified lead in a way that the theory indicates was appropriate to your maturity level?
Exercise 3-8: Analyzing the Match Between a Poor Leader’s Style and the Follower’s Maturity
Apply the Situational Model to the behaviour of the poor leader in Exercise 3-2.
Step 1: Indicate your maturity level for the job you were doing.
· Rate your skill level (circle one): Low High
· Rate your motivation (circle one): Low High
Step 2: Indicate the leader style called for by your level of maturity:
DIR CON PAR DEL
Step 3: Indicate the dominant style the leader actually used:
DIR CON PAR DEL
Step 4: Discuss the degree to which the Situational Leadership Model held true in this situation.
Exercise 3-9: Survey of Characteristics of Organization Membership
On the next page you will find a number of common characteristics or traits of people in the workplace. We would like your opinion of the relative degree to which the traits are possessed by members of three groups in the present, or most recent, organization in which you are or were a working member.
Group 1 = BOSS = Persons at the level of your own superior
Group 2 = OWN = Persons at your own level
Group 3 = SUB = Your own immediate subordinates
With respect to each trait or characteristic, consider the typical or average member of each of the three groups and then indicate the degree to which you feel that person in that group possesses that particular trait or characteristic. The point at which you place each group on the scale indicates your perception of how much of that characteristic the average member of each group possesses.
For example, with respect to formal status, you might place the groups as follows:
FORMAL STATUS: How much does the average person have?
SUB
OWN
BOSS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Minimum
Maximum
If you think the typical member of a group has “very little” or “none” of the characteristic, you should place the group at number 1 on the scale. If you think the average group member possesses “just a little” of the characteristic, you would place that group in the second interval on the scale, and so on. If you think the typical member of a group possesses “a great deal, but not a maximum amount,” you would place that group in the space above number 6 on the scale.
You may wish, with respect to certain characteristics, to indicate that no differences exist in the degree to which two or more of the groups possess the characteristic. To do so, merely place “tie” groups all on the same interval on the scale, as shown here:
Boss
Own
Sub
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Minimum
Maximum
Summary of Characteristics of Organization Membership
1. Judgment: How much judgment does a typical person in each group exercise?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Minimum
Maximum
2. Creativity: How much creativity does a typical person in each group have?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Minimum
Maximum
3. Responsibility: How much responsibility will the typical person accept?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Minimum
Maximum
4. Dependability: How dependable is the typical person in each group?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Minimum
Maximum
5. Pride in Performance: How much pride does the typical person have in his or her performance?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Minimum
Maximum
6. Alertness: How alert and responsive to problems is the typical person?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Minimum
Maximum
7. Initiative: How much initiative does a typical person have?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Minimum
Maximum
8. Self-Confidence: How much self-confidence does a typical person have?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Minimum
Maximum
9. Long-Range Perspective: How much of a long-range perspective does the typical person have?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Minimum
Maximum
10. Willingness to Change: How much does the typical person exhibit a willingness to accept change.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Minimum
Maximum
Exercise 3-10: Behaviours of Leaders Who Reveal X or Y Assumptions
The purpose of this exercise is for you to identify specific leader behaviours that convey X or Y assumptions about the leader’s subordinates.
In this exercise, assume that all leaders fall somewhere on a continuum between X assumptions and the corresponding (coercive or coaxing) behaviours and Y assumptions and the corresponding emphasis on problem-solving and enriched work. Thus, you should not be surprised to discover that leaders sometimes behave as if they have X attitudes and other times as if they have Y attitudes.
Step 1: For purposes of this exercise, think in terms of leaders you have had in the recent past.
Step 2: List five specific things that your leaders have said or done that indicates that they hold X assumptions about you and/or your co-workers. That is, they convey through their actions that you have to be driven to work hard, that you aren’t very capable, that you wouldn’t be working if you didn’t have to, that you don’t really care about your work.
Step 3: List five specific things that your leaders have said or done that indicates that they hold Y assumptions about you and your co-workers. That is, they convey through their actions that you are bright, capable, and willing to work hard.
Exercise 3-11: Testing the Managerial Myopia Hypothesis
This exercise is designed to help you determine whether the responses to the Survey of Organizational Membership Characteristics (Exercise 3-9) conform to Miles’ findings as stated in the article “Conflicting Elements in Managerial Ideologies.”
Step 1: Compute the averages of the responses given in the survey for all characteristics (judgment, etc.) and for each of the three categories BOSS, OWN, and SUB. Post these averages below.
BOSS = ________
OWN = ________
SUB = ________
Step 2: Calculate the differences between the averages of the following pairs:
BOSS – OWN = ________
OWN – SUB = ________
Step 3: State which of these differences Miles would suggest would be the smallest/biggest.
BOSS – OWN = ________
OWN – SUB = ________
Step 4: State whether your results conform to Miles’ findings.
Step 5: If the results do conform to Miles’ findings (and they usually do) state what this implies with respect to your own management style. Are you, as Miles and McGregor suggest, a Theory X manager?
