3.10 Key Terms

Achievement-oriented leaders set goals for employees and encourage them to reach their goals.

Authoritarian decision-making occurs when leaders make the decision alone without involving employees in the process.

Coercive power is the ability a person has through their formal role in the organization to bestow punishment by withholding or taking away something that they value.

Context refers to the situation that surrounds the leader and the followers.

Democratic decision-making occurs when employees participate in the process of decision making.

Directive leaders provide specific directions to their employees.

Emergent leaders arise from the dynamics and processes that unfold within and among a group of individuals as they endeavor to achieve a collective goal.

Expert power is personal power bestowed by those who believe an individual has the knowledge and skill sets that they themselves need.

Followers actively support and accept a leader’s influence.

Formal leader is an individual who is recognized by those outside the group as the official leader of the group.

Formal leaders hold a position of authority and may use the power that comes from their position, as well as their personal power, to influence others.

Informal leader is not chosen by the organization but whom members of the group acknowledge as their leader.

Informal leaders are without a formal position of authority within the organization but demonstrate leadership by influencing others through personal forms of power.

Laissez-faire decision-making occurs when employees are left alone to make decisions with minimal guidance and involvement from the leader.

Leaders are people who influence the actions of others.

Leadership may be defined as the act of influencing others to work toward a goal.

Legitimate power is formally bestowed by the organization and gives an individual the “right” to influence them through a title which followers ought to obey.

Neutralizers of leadership can negate the influence a leader has by preventing them from acting as they wish.

Participative leaders make sure that employees are involved in making important decisions.

People-oriented leader behaviors focus on relationships and include showing concern for employee feelings and treating employees with respect.

Process of leadership is a complex, interactive, and dynamic working relationship between leader and followers that is built over time and is directed toward fulfilling the group’s maintenance and task needs.

Referent power is not formally bestowed by the organization but rather by colleagues who want to associate and be accepted by an individual due to their admiration and respect for them.

Reward power is the ability a person has through their formal role in the organization to bestow rewards or outcomes.

Self-esteem the degree to which people are at peace with themselves and have an overall positive assessment of their self-worth and capabilities.

Self-monitoring refers to an individual’s ability and willingness to read social cues and regulate their self-presentation to fit a particular situation.

Situational Leadership Theory (SLT) suggests the use of different leadership styles depending on the competence and commitment levels of followers.

Supportive leaders provide emotional support to employees.

Task-oriented leader behaviors involve structuring the roles of subordinates, providing them with instructions, and behaving in ways that will increase the performance of the group.