Do leaders exert power and influence in similar ways with all their group members or is there evidence for individualized power assertions targeting individuals in unique dyads?

At professional conferences, blocks of time may be set aside for what are termed “poster sessions.” A hotel ballroom or large open area will be ringed with individuals who use displays such as posters or electronic presentations displayed via projectors. These sessions provide an opportunity to share one’s research in an intimate setting, with a small group gathered around who share a similar interest. The seminar format of this course is very similar to this academic exchange.

 

Your presentation should present analysis and synthesis of prior research and will begin the interaction with your colleagues. You will prepare an academic paper of 5–7 pages in APA format. This analysis will be an open-ended introduction to explaining how leadership and power can be modeled and implemented in occupational settings. Your goal, as the presenter, should be to persuade your discussants that the approach(es) you have analyzed and synthesized is/are a sound means for discovering new meaning in influence attempts in organizations. You should acknowledge that there are other models or means to study leaders and their use of power, but you should strive to be as persuasive as possible that the specific concepts and operationalization’s you have reviewed are exciting research avenues and that they are potentially breakthrough areas for advancing the understanding of leaders and group effectiveness.

 

Your paper and presentation should contain the following elements:

• An incorporation and analysis of at least 5 of the required resources from this pair of weeks
• The incorporation and analysis of 5 additional resources from the Walden Library
• An identification of principal schools of thought, tendencies in the academic literature, or commonalities that define the academic scholarship regarding your topic
• An evaluation of the main concepts with a focus on their application to management practice and their impact on positive social change
• Direct evidence of addressing the Learning Outcomes from this pair of weeks

 

In addition to the above elements, for this week you will focus thematically on:

• What is leadership?
• What is the nature of management and is that different from leadership or are both a part of the same process?
• What is followership?
• Do leaders exert power and influence in similar ways with all their group members or is there evidence for individualized power assertions targeting individuals in unique dyads?

Please refer to the “Group Leader Presentation Rubric” and “Group Leader Presentation Format” handout for additional guidelines on developing the paper.

 

 

 

 

Required Resources

Articles

• Agho, A. O. (2009). Perspectives of senior-level executives on effective followership and leadership. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 16(2), 159-166.
Retrieved from the SAGE Premier database.

This article looks at perceptions that a sample group of senior-level executives have on distinguishing characteristics of effective leaders.

• Conger, J. A., & Lawler, E. E. (2009). Sharing leadership on corporate boards: A critical requirement for teamwork at the top. Organizational Dynamics, 38(3), 183-191.
Retrieved from the ScienceDirect database.

This article explores the various steps boards can take to improve their effectiveness as an overall operating team.

• Kotter, J. P. (2001). What leaders really do. Harvard Business Review, 79(11), 85-96.
Retrieved from the Business Source Complete database.

In this article, Kotter differentiates between leadership and management while explaining why these two roles are complementary.

• Lam, W., Huang, X., & Snape, E. (2007). Feedback-seeking behavior and leader-member exchange: Do supervisor-attributed motives matter? Academy of Management Journal, 50(2), 348-363.
Retrieved from the Business Source Complete database.

In this article, Lam, Huang, and Snape look at how subordinates seeking feedback from their supervisors may impact the working relationship.

• Martinko, M. J., Harvey, P., & Douglas, S. C. (2007). The role, function, and contribution of attribution theory to leadership: A review. Leadership Quarterly, 18(6), 561-585.
Retrieved from the ScienceDirect database.

This article reviews literature that highlights the role of attributions in leadership and how this can add to the way we appreciate the dynamics of leadership.

• Mumford, M. D., Friedrich, T. L., Caughron, J. J., & Byrne, C. L. (2007). Leader cognition in real-world settings: How do leaders think about crises? Leadership Quarterly, 18(6), 515-543.
Retrieved from the ScienceDirect database.

This article explores approaches used to understand leader cognition.

• Scandura, T. A., & Pellegrini, E. K. (2008). Trust and leader-member exchange: A closer look at relational vulnerability. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 15(2), 101-110.
Retrieved from the SAGE Premier 2010 database.

This article examines trust and the impact this has on leader-member exchange relationships.

• Schriesheim, C., & Kerr, S. (1974). Psychometric properties of the Ohio State leadership scales. Psychological Bulletin, 81(11), 756-765.
Retrieved from the PsycARTICLES database.

This article examines the results of the Ohio State leadership scales for validity and adequacy.

• Tangirala, S., Green, S. G., & Ramanujam, R. (2007). In the shadow of the boss’s boss: Effects of supervisors’ upward exchange relationships on employees. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(2), 309-320.
Retrieved from the Business Source Complete database.

In this article, Tangirala, Green, and Ramanujam explain why they believe that the relationship supervisors have with their boss has an impact on the relationship they may have with their subordinates.

• Wilson, K. S., Sin, H., & Conlon, D. E. (2010). What about the leader in leader-member exchange? The impact of resource exchanges and substitutability on the leader. Academy of Management Review, 35(5), 358-372.
Retrieved from the Business Source Complete database.

This article focuses specifically on the leader in regard to LMX research.

• Wu, J. B., Tsui, A. S., & Kinicki, A. J. (2010). Consequences of differentiated leadership in groups. Academy of Management Journal, 53(1), 90-106.
Retrieved from the Business Source Complete database.

This article looks at how differential treatment of individuals within a group by a leader could impact the overall effectiveness of the group