Leadership and Behavioral Decision Making: Prof. Bastardoz & Brebels
Introduc)on: books on leadership. Why is not enough to read one (or several) books to become a
great leader?
- There is no universal, one-best way to lead or one enduring/integra7ve theory of leadership.
- There is no such thing as an accepted model or approach (not one-dimensional).
- Organisa7ons are looking for competences and different styles.
“Leadership is the process of influencing other(s) towards the realiza)on of a shared goal.”
- You don’t need to have a posi7on of authority to be a leader.
- Leadership requires some shared goals (between leader and followers), this isn’t the case for
rela7onships based on power.
“Leaders are made, they are not born.”
- Leaders are born: something we’re born with: physical appearance, intelligence, …
- Leaders are made: by gaining experience, developing as individuals, …
- Argyris argues that there are no born leaders (all important abili7es are learned and
developed in interac7on with others).
Some facts about leadership:
1. Leadership is a dynamic influen7al process, not a posi7on or a sta7c label: leadership
requires a social interac7on between people.
2. Everyone exercises some form of leadership (unless no social rela7onship).
3. Leadership can be developed.
4. The effec7ve leader behaviours/styles are context-specific: context is made of many different
facets (task, employees, organisa7on, …).
5. Women and men are equally effec7ve as leaders. (Women even score higher on factors that
predict effec7ve leadership).
6. Many leadership prac7ces are universal, and some are culturally specific. (Integrity, charisma
or team-oriented are universally desirable, but difference in e.g. US or BEL).
7. Being a leader contains certain pi3alls (e.g.: power, ethics, …).
State of leadership research:
- There is no right or wrong leadership theory (Day)
- 66 different leadership theories were published since 2000.
Leadership training vs. development:
Training Development
Focus on knowledges, skills & a]tudes Focus on behaviours, iden7ty & self-views
Short-term (days, weeks) Long-term (months, years)
Highly structured Unstructured & varied
1
,Developing as a leader:
ð Across the en7re lifespan
ð All individuals do not experience or benefit in the same ways from the same experience
Informal rule of ’70-20-10’: (no empirical knowledge backing this rule!)
ð Challenging assignments (70)
ð Developmental rela7onships (20)
ð Coursework and training (10)
Mindful engagement model:
1. Approach: has three components
ð Iden7fy what you need to develop (perform a ‘needs analysis’)
ð You can grow as a leader/person: growth vs fixed mindset.
ð Have a learning orienta7on & set learning goals.
VB. Enkel met twee vingers typen: je kan niet sneller typen, je moet leren met alle vingers te typen.
Maar als je van 2 vingers wilt overschakelen naar 6/8 vingers gaat je niveau even dalen, tot dat je dit
leert & daarna ga je hier beter in worden en groeien.
Changing ‘future of work’: we lose about 40% of our skills about every 3 years.
1. Tech savviness is an absolute needed condi)on to be effec)ve as a leader.
2. Culture of con)nuous learning.
3. Cri)cal to ‘learn to learn’.
2. AcBon:
ð Get out of your comfort zone by gaining some experience in leading challenging assignments.
o Get unfamiliar responsibili7es.
o Create change.
o ….
3. ReflecBon: on what has happened
ð For specific events, conduct an ‘aeer-events review’ or ‘debriefing’:
o VB. US Army spends so much )me on crea)ng leaders, and then debriefing
con)nuously, this is an excellent leadership example.
o Soon aeer the experience
o Consider counterfactuals (= ‘what-if’) & gather lessons learned
2
,Overall: hearing feedback. If you hear some kind of feedback all the 7me and don’t agree with it, it
doesn’t mager what you think. Truth is, you’re being perceived that way.
Toolbox:
ð Leadership is an influen7al process (not a posi7on). Without followers, there are no leaders.
ð Embracing a mindful approach, will help you approach your leadership development
systema7cally.
ð Performing a needs analysis, engaging in challenging experiences, learning mode, support,
feedback -> developing and growing as a leader!
END CLASS 1
Traits & behaviours:
ð (1) Traits are differences among individuals in a typical tendency to behave, think, or feel in
some conceptually related ways, across a variety of relevant situa7ons and across some fairly
long period of 7me” (Ashton).
ð (2) Unlike behaviours – which are malleable and can be changed – our personality is
relaBvely stable (and is partly determined by our genes).
ð (3) Environmental/contextual factors have limited influence, although important life events
(e.g. first roman7c rela7onship or first job), and aging affect our personality
How do traits evolve over-7me?
3
, ð Brief history of trait research:
o Research started in 19th century with ‘great man’ theories that sought to iden7fy the
unique quali7es possessed by heroes or geniuses, arguing that these were inherited.
o Pursued as core ideologies during WW2, the study of innate differences stopped in
the 60s and 70s to focus on groups and situa7ons, to understand how the world has
gone mad (Bennis).
o In the leadership field, two major studies found weak rela7onships between leader
traits and outcomes. Researchers started studying how behaviours and contexts
affect the leadership process.
Resurgence of trait research in leadership:
1. Kenny & Zaccaro found that between 49% and 82% of the variance regarding leadership
emergence was agributed to the leader’s characteris7cs.
2. Lord, DeVader & Alliger reanalysed Mann’s review, using more sta7s7cs. They found strong
links between leader traits and leader emergence.
Today we are moving away from only ½ traits to focus on profiles/paNerns of leadership traits that
are effec7ve in certain situa7ons.
Number of 7mes the traits appear in major reviews or meta-analyses.
- Intelligence
- Divergent/crea7ve thinking
- Extraversion
- = conceptual overlap.
HEXACO-model:
ð Provides one predominant personality typology (the other is the Big Five) and has an
impressive body of research that supports it.
ð Big Five has some flaws, this one adds an extra dimension and more sub-dimension. Lots of
money goes in these tools by private companies, even though these are not scien7fically
proven.
ð The six dimensions (each including 4 sub-dimensions/facets) are:
o Honesty-Humility
o Emo7onality
o Extraversion
o Agreeableness
o Conscien7ousness
o Openness to Experience
1. Honesty-Humility:
- Sincerity: the tendency to be genuine in interpersonal rela7ons
- Fairness: the tendency to avoid fraud/corrup7on
- (Hum.) Greed avoidance: the tendency to be uninterested in possessing lavish wealthy,
luxury goods, and signs of high social status.
- (Hum.) Modesty: the tendency to be modest and unassuming.
ð This dimension predicts many variables in organisa7onal work such as corrup7on, work
performance and abusive supervision. (High in HH: lower corrup7on, beger work perf. , …)
4
Introduc)on: books on leadership. Why is not enough to read one (or several) books to become a
great leader?
- There is no universal, one-best way to lead or one enduring/integra7ve theory of leadership.
- There is no such thing as an accepted model or approach (not one-dimensional).
- Organisa7ons are looking for competences and different styles.
“Leadership is the process of influencing other(s) towards the realiza)on of a shared goal.”
- You don’t need to have a posi7on of authority to be a leader.
- Leadership requires some shared goals (between leader and followers), this isn’t the case for
rela7onships based on power.
“Leaders are made, they are not born.”
- Leaders are born: something we’re born with: physical appearance, intelligence, …
- Leaders are made: by gaining experience, developing as individuals, …
- Argyris argues that there are no born leaders (all important abili7es are learned and
developed in interac7on with others).
Some facts about leadership:
1. Leadership is a dynamic influen7al process, not a posi7on or a sta7c label: leadership
requires a social interac7on between people.
2. Everyone exercises some form of leadership (unless no social rela7onship).
3. Leadership can be developed.
4. The effec7ve leader behaviours/styles are context-specific: context is made of many different
facets (task, employees, organisa7on, …).
5. Women and men are equally effec7ve as leaders. (Women even score higher on factors that
predict effec7ve leadership).
6. Many leadership prac7ces are universal, and some are culturally specific. (Integrity, charisma
or team-oriented are universally desirable, but difference in e.g. US or BEL).
7. Being a leader contains certain pi3alls (e.g.: power, ethics, …).
State of leadership research:
- There is no right or wrong leadership theory (Day)
- 66 different leadership theories were published since 2000.
Leadership training vs. development:
Training Development
Focus on knowledges, skills & a]tudes Focus on behaviours, iden7ty & self-views
Short-term (days, weeks) Long-term (months, years)
Highly structured Unstructured & varied
1
,Developing as a leader:
ð Across the en7re lifespan
ð All individuals do not experience or benefit in the same ways from the same experience
Informal rule of ’70-20-10’: (no empirical knowledge backing this rule!)
ð Challenging assignments (70)
ð Developmental rela7onships (20)
ð Coursework and training (10)
Mindful engagement model:
1. Approach: has three components
ð Iden7fy what you need to develop (perform a ‘needs analysis’)
ð You can grow as a leader/person: growth vs fixed mindset.
ð Have a learning orienta7on & set learning goals.
VB. Enkel met twee vingers typen: je kan niet sneller typen, je moet leren met alle vingers te typen.
Maar als je van 2 vingers wilt overschakelen naar 6/8 vingers gaat je niveau even dalen, tot dat je dit
leert & daarna ga je hier beter in worden en groeien.
Changing ‘future of work’: we lose about 40% of our skills about every 3 years.
1. Tech savviness is an absolute needed condi)on to be effec)ve as a leader.
2. Culture of con)nuous learning.
3. Cri)cal to ‘learn to learn’.
2. AcBon:
ð Get out of your comfort zone by gaining some experience in leading challenging assignments.
o Get unfamiliar responsibili7es.
o Create change.
o ….
3. ReflecBon: on what has happened
ð For specific events, conduct an ‘aeer-events review’ or ‘debriefing’:
o VB. US Army spends so much )me on crea)ng leaders, and then debriefing
con)nuously, this is an excellent leadership example.
o Soon aeer the experience
o Consider counterfactuals (= ‘what-if’) & gather lessons learned
2
,Overall: hearing feedback. If you hear some kind of feedback all the 7me and don’t agree with it, it
doesn’t mager what you think. Truth is, you’re being perceived that way.
Toolbox:
ð Leadership is an influen7al process (not a posi7on). Without followers, there are no leaders.
ð Embracing a mindful approach, will help you approach your leadership development
systema7cally.
ð Performing a needs analysis, engaging in challenging experiences, learning mode, support,
feedback -> developing and growing as a leader!
END CLASS 1
Traits & behaviours:
ð (1) Traits are differences among individuals in a typical tendency to behave, think, or feel in
some conceptually related ways, across a variety of relevant situa7ons and across some fairly
long period of 7me” (Ashton).
ð (2) Unlike behaviours – which are malleable and can be changed – our personality is
relaBvely stable (and is partly determined by our genes).
ð (3) Environmental/contextual factors have limited influence, although important life events
(e.g. first roman7c rela7onship or first job), and aging affect our personality
How do traits evolve over-7me?
3
, ð Brief history of trait research:
o Research started in 19th century with ‘great man’ theories that sought to iden7fy the
unique quali7es possessed by heroes or geniuses, arguing that these were inherited.
o Pursued as core ideologies during WW2, the study of innate differences stopped in
the 60s and 70s to focus on groups and situa7ons, to understand how the world has
gone mad (Bennis).
o In the leadership field, two major studies found weak rela7onships between leader
traits and outcomes. Researchers started studying how behaviours and contexts
affect the leadership process.
Resurgence of trait research in leadership:
1. Kenny & Zaccaro found that between 49% and 82% of the variance regarding leadership
emergence was agributed to the leader’s characteris7cs.
2. Lord, DeVader & Alliger reanalysed Mann’s review, using more sta7s7cs. They found strong
links between leader traits and leader emergence.
Today we are moving away from only ½ traits to focus on profiles/paNerns of leadership traits that
are effec7ve in certain situa7ons.
Number of 7mes the traits appear in major reviews or meta-analyses.
- Intelligence
- Divergent/crea7ve thinking
- Extraversion
- = conceptual overlap.
HEXACO-model:
ð Provides one predominant personality typology (the other is the Big Five) and has an
impressive body of research that supports it.
ð Big Five has some flaws, this one adds an extra dimension and more sub-dimension. Lots of
money goes in these tools by private companies, even though these are not scien7fically
proven.
ð The six dimensions (each including 4 sub-dimensions/facets) are:
o Honesty-Humility
o Emo7onality
o Extraversion
o Agreeableness
o Conscien7ousness
o Openness to Experience
1. Honesty-Humility:
- Sincerity: the tendency to be genuine in interpersonal rela7ons
- Fairness: the tendency to avoid fraud/corrup7on
- (Hum.) Greed avoidance: the tendency to be uninterested in possessing lavish wealthy,
luxury goods, and signs of high social status.
- (Hum.) Modesty: the tendency to be modest and unassuming.
ð This dimension predicts many variables in organisa7onal work such as corrup7on, work
performance and abusive supervision. (High in HH: lower corrup7on, beger work perf. , …)
4
