{"id":699,"date":"2019-04-17T20:03:07","date_gmt":"2019-04-17T20:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=699"},"modified":"2024-04-24T22:46:10","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T22:46:10","slug":"challenges-to-leadership","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/chapter\/challenges-to-leadership\/","title":{"raw":"Challenges to Leadership","rendered":"Challenges to Leadership"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Identify challenges to the concept of leadership<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nCompanies need leaders\u2014or, do they really?\r\n\r\nWhen a company succeeds, people need to give someone credit for that. It\u2019s usually that company\u2019s leader, the CEO, who takes the credit. If the company fails, people need someone to blame. Trundle out the CEO again! The figurehead of the organization is the figurehead of all successes and failures that come to that organization.\r\n\r\nIn reality, organizations\u2019 successes and failures come from a wide variety of internal and external influences, some in which the CEO played a part, and some in which he or she didn\u2019t. But when things go wrong, the people, the media, even the board of directors, don\u2019t usually ask, \u201cHow is ousting the CEO going to solve our current problems?\u201d Often times, the answer is, \u201cIt won\u2019t.\u201d\r\n\r\nSo, is leadership more about appearances than reality?\r\n<h2>Leadership Attribution Bias<\/h2>\r\nAttribution is the way people make sense out of cause and effect relationships. If a person wakes up with heartburn in the middle of the night, they may attribute it to the pizza they ate for dinner earlier. If a person is offered a promotion at their job, they may attribute it to the successful completion of a high-profile project earlier in the year.\r\n\r\nThe attribution framework shows that people characterize those with traits such as intelligence, outgoing personalities, aggressiveness, strong verbal skills and the like as leaders, or at least as leadership material. Similarly, individuals who score highly on task performance and relationship performance are seen to be good leaders. Situation doesn\u2019t really get calculated into this point of view. They just have these traits and skills, so they are, without question, good leaders.\r\n\r\nWhen an organization has extremely poor (or extremely good) performance, people are going to reach to make a leadership attribution to explain that performance. Humans have a tendency to overvalue a leader\u2019s impact on performance. And this is why CEOs are either celebrated or take the fall, regardless of how much they\u2019re actually responsible for the results.\r\n\r\nWhen a leader is replaced, a new leader is likely to benefit from a phenomenon called regression to the mean. That is, most teams or people who are underperforming will naturally improve, without intervention, by reverting to their historical average performance. This will lead observers to come to the conclusion that the new leader is responsible for the improved performance.\r\n\r\nSo, in keeping with this attribution bias and theory, it would seem that having the appearance of being a leader is actually more important than actual accomplishments. People who aspire to leadership roles can attempt to shape the perception that they\u2019re intelligent, have outgoing personalities, are aggressive, have strong verbal skills, and so on, and they\u2019re likely to increase the probability that their managers, colleagues and employees will view them as an effective leader.\r\n<h2>Substitutes and Neutralizers<\/h2>\r\nJust as people can place too much value on the leader\u2019s contributions to the success or failure of an organization, in some situations, a leader\u2019s contribution can be completely irrelevant.\r\n\r\nIn 1978, Steven Kerr and John Jamier developed the substitutes for leadership theory suggesting that different situational factors can substitute or neutralize the effects of a leader\u2019s efforts.[footnote]Kerr, S. and J. M. Jermier, \u201cSubstitutes for Leadership: Their Meaning and Measurement,\u201d <em>Organizational Behavior and Human Performance.<\/em> 1978[\/footnote] While there were methodological issues with their findings, the study has held up and is worth considering here.\r\n\r\nSituations that are neutralizers make it impossible for the leader behavior to make any difference to follower outcomes. Substitutes act as a replacement for leader influence. The impact of these different substitutes and neutralizers depends on whether leadership is relationship-based or task-based.\r\n\r\nFor instance, if an individual is intrinsically satisfied in their job, this can be a substitution for the contributions of a relationship-based leader. If an organization has very explicit formalized goals and rigid rules and procedures, this can be a substitute for task-oriented leadership.\r\n\r\nThere is some application for this theory. For example, autonomous work groups have been considered a substitution for formal leadership. In autonomous work groups, employees are divided into groups that are responsible for managing their own day-to-day work, including recruiting, hiring, distribution of tasks, etc.\r\n\r\nSelf-leadership is also an application for this theory. In self-leadership, the individual controls his or her own behavior through a set of processes. The underlying assumptions behind self-leadership are that people are able to exercise initiative without the external constraints of management, rules or regulations.\r\n\r\nThis concept has increased with the popularity of teams, as empowered, self-managed teams need team members who are, themselves, self-directed.\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Practice Question<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/38c37556-f74a-4523-9aab-139264bd7934\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify challenges to the concept of leadership<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Companies need leaders\u2014or, do they really?<\/p>\n<p>When a company succeeds, people need to give someone credit for that. It\u2019s usually that company\u2019s leader, the CEO, who takes the credit. If the company fails, people need someone to blame. Trundle out the CEO again! The figurehead of the organization is the figurehead of all successes and failures that come to that organization.<\/p>\n<p>In reality, organizations\u2019 successes and failures come from a wide variety of internal and external influences, some in which the CEO played a part, and some in which he or she didn\u2019t. But when things go wrong, the people, the media, even the board of directors, don\u2019t usually ask, \u201cHow is ousting the CEO going to solve our current problems?\u201d Often times, the answer is, \u201cIt won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So, is leadership more about appearances than reality?<\/p>\n<h2>Leadership Attribution Bias<\/h2>\n<p>Attribution is the way people make sense out of cause and effect relationships. If a person wakes up with heartburn in the middle of the night, they may attribute it to the pizza they ate for dinner earlier. If a person is offered a promotion at their job, they may attribute it to the successful completion of a high-profile project earlier in the year.<\/p>\n<p>The attribution framework shows that people characterize those with traits such as intelligence, outgoing personalities, aggressiveness, strong verbal skills and the like as leaders, or at least as leadership material. Similarly, individuals who score highly on task performance and relationship performance are seen to be good leaders. Situation doesn\u2019t really get calculated into this point of view. They just have these traits and skills, so they are, without question, good leaders.<\/p>\n<p>When an organization has extremely poor (or extremely good) performance, people are going to reach to make a leadership attribution to explain that performance. Humans have a tendency to overvalue a leader\u2019s impact on performance. And this is why CEOs are either celebrated or take the fall, regardless of how much they\u2019re actually responsible for the results.<\/p>\n<p>When a leader is replaced, a new leader is likely to benefit from a phenomenon called regression to the mean. That is, most teams or people who are underperforming will naturally improve, without intervention, by reverting to their historical average performance. This will lead observers to come to the conclusion that the new leader is responsible for the improved performance.<\/p>\n<p>So, in keeping with this attribution bias and theory, it would seem that having the appearance of being a leader is actually more important than actual accomplishments. People who aspire to leadership roles can attempt to shape the perception that they\u2019re intelligent, have outgoing personalities, are aggressive, have strong verbal skills, and so on, and they\u2019re likely to increase the probability that their managers, colleagues and employees will view them as an effective leader.<\/p>\n<h2>Substitutes and Neutralizers<\/h2>\n<p>Just as people can place too much value on the leader\u2019s contributions to the success or failure of an organization, in some situations, a leader\u2019s contribution can be completely irrelevant.<\/p>\n<p>In 1978, Steven Kerr and John Jamier developed the substitutes for leadership theory suggesting that different situational factors can substitute or neutralize the effects of a leader\u2019s efforts.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Kerr, S. and J. M. Jermier, \u201cSubstitutes for Leadership: Their Meaning and Measurement,\u201d Organizational Behavior and Human Performance. 1978\" id=\"return-footnote-699-1\" href=\"#footnote-699-1\" aria-label=\"Footnote 1\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[1]<\/sup><\/a> While there were methodological issues with their findings, the study has held up and is worth considering here.<\/p>\n<p>Situations that are neutralizers make it impossible for the leader behavior to make any difference to follower outcomes. Substitutes act as a replacement for leader influence. The impact of these different substitutes and neutralizers depends on whether leadership is relationship-based or task-based.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, if an individual is intrinsically satisfied in their job, this can be a substitution for the contributions of a relationship-based leader. If an organization has very explicit formalized goals and rigid rules and procedures, this can be a substitute for task-oriented leadership.<\/p>\n<p>There is some application for this theory. For example, autonomous work groups have been considered a substitution for formal leadership. In autonomous work groups, employees are divided into groups that are responsible for managing their own day-to-day work, including recruiting, hiring, distribution of tasks, etc.<\/p>\n<p>Self-leadership is also an application for this theory. In self-leadership, the individual controls his or her own behavior through a set of processes. The underlying assumptions behind self-leadership are that people are able to exercise initiative without the external constraints of management, rules or regulations.<\/p>\n<p>This concept has increased with the popularity of teams, as empowered, self-managed teams need team members who are, themselves, self-directed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Practice Question<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_38c37556-f74a-4523-9aab-139264bd7934\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/38c37556-f74a-4523-9aab-139264bd7934?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_38c37556-f74a-4523-9aab-139264bd7934\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-699\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Challenges to Leadership. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Freedom Learning Group. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section><hr class=\"before-footnotes clear\" \/><div class=\"footnotes\"><ol><li id=\"footnote-699-1\">Kerr, S. and J. M. Jermier, \u201cSubstitutes for Leadership: Their Meaning and Measurement,\u201d <em>Organizational Behavior and Human Performance.<\/em> 1978 <a href=\"#return-footnote-699-1\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":17,"menu_order":11,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Challenges to Leadership\",\"author\":\"Freedom Learning Group\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"3a747e44-a951-491e-84e2-e893974c82ba, a34141a1-de37-4f31-916c-da261d94a6e2","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-699","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":34,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2157,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/699\/revisions\/2157"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/34"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/699\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=699"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=699"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}