Summary
For this project, you will study “leadership” as opposed to the “leader” you studied in the Project
1. In other words, you will explore the characteristics of the followers and the characteristics of the situation that complete the picture of the leader you studied in Project 1. Your task in Project
2 is to study the followers, the situation, and the process by which the leader negotiated the relationships between these factors.
Topics to Cover
Motivating and satisfying followers
a. How does the leader motivate his or her followers? Does the leader try to meet specific needs of followers? Does the leader surround herself with people high in achievement motivation or intrinsic motivation? Does the leader set goals and provide a link between effort and rewards? Does the leader modify the task to make it more motivating?
b. Is there any evidence that followers’ satisfaction is a consequence of their success rather than a cause of their success?
c. Has the leader done something that was likely to make followers unhappy, but was ultimately good for the group’s success?
Leading groups and teams
a. How does the leader coordinate the balance between influencing individuals and influencing groups?
b. Does the leader refer to groups as teams?
c. Is there any evidence that the leader specifically avoids the above?
Situational characteristics
a. What are the characteristics of the task in terms of skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback? Is the task structured or unstructured? How much interdependence is required among organizational members? How do these characteristics influence the leader’s behavior? How does the leader influence these characteristics?
b. What are the skills, experiences, needs, and preferences of the followers? How do these characteristics influence the leader’s behavior? How does the leader influence these characteristics?
c. What is the leader’s level of authority? Is the organization complex? Formalized? Centralized? How do these characteristics influence the leader’s behavior? How does the leader influence these characteristics?
d. What is the culture of the organization? How do these characteristics influence the leader’s behavior? How does the leader influence these characteristics?
e. What are the technological, economic, political, social, and legal forces that influence the organization and the leader? How do these characteristics influence the leader’s behavior? How does the leader influence these characteristics?
Contingency theories
a. Is there any evidence that your leader acted according to the Normative Decision Model when making decisions? Did they seek input according to the model? Did they make decisions autocratically according to the model?
b. Is there any evidence that your leader adjusts his or her behavior according the the maturity of the followers as prescribed by Situational Leadership Theory?
c. Is there any evidence that your leader adjusts his or her behavior according to the leader-member relations, task structure, and position power as prescribed by Fiedler’s Contingency Theory? Also, is there any evidence that the leader attempted to bring
the situation into alignment with their preferred leadership style?
d. Which type of leader behavior in path-goal theory best describes your leader and why?
Leading change
a. What kind of crisis or change has the leader led his or her group through?
b. Does the leader show charismatic characteristics such as the ability to communicate a vision, etc.?
c. How did the followers’ behaviors enable the leader to succeed (or fail)?
As in Project 1, you shouldn’t simply rely on your “impressions” as you answer these questions.
You should have evidence or specific examples whenever possible.