This study investigated the effects of personality characteristics on emergent leadership in small group settings. Two instruments were used to assess personality factors: The BASIS-A and the California Personality Inventory (CPI). A sociometric tool was developed to elicit leader ranking of female group members. The BASIS-A, was used to test for Taking Charge and Wanting Recognition lifestyles in women who emerged as leaders. The CPI was used to assess female emergent leaders for Dominance and Leadership Potential. The two instruments and a sociometric form were distributed to 115 female graduate counselor-in-training students the last week of their group counseling experience. This survey resulted in 55 respondents (N=55) from eleven discussion groups. It was expected that women who had the highest averaged leader rank would demonstrate higher test scores in Dominance, Leadership Potential, Taking Charge, and Wanting Recognition than women who received a lower averaged leader rank. It was also thought that these four test factors would be highly related. If so, a case would be made to use the BASIS-A as an emergent leader assessment tool because it is consistently based in one psychological theory. No significant effect was found between the highest leader rank and three of the test measures: Dominance, Leadership Potential, and Taking Charge. Using four one-way ANOVAs, a significant effect was found between highest leader rank and Wanting Recognition. This demonstrated that individuals high in interpersonal caution, empathy, and with a need to succeed emerged as leaders. Possible explanations for this finding were discussed. Significant relationships were found using the Pearson-r correlation statistic between three of the four test variables. From the CPI, the Dominance and Leadership Potential scales were highly correlated to the BASIS-A Taking Charge life-style. The BASIS-A Wanting Recognition lifestyle was not related to either Dominance or Leadership Potential. Unexpectedly, a significant relationship was found in this population between Wanting Recognition and Taking Charge. Perhaps due to the limited inter-correlational analysis and small sample, these research results did not support using the BASIS-A as a sole emergent leader assessment. More research is needed before such a case can be made.

Recent studies (Zaccaro, Foti, and Kenny, 1991; Rueb and Foti, in press) have found a relationship between self-monitoring, a measure of response flexibility, and emergent leadership. The present study re-examined this issue, introducing the hypothesis that psychological type may act as a moderator in the relationship. Subjects completed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the revised Self-Monitoring scale, and four group tasks. After each task, subjects rated each other on perceived leadership. Results indicated that 73% of leadership ratings, and 54% of a rankings measure was stable and due to characteristics of the individual. The relationship between self-monitoring and emergent leadership was not found, thus the interaction between self-monitoring and type with emergent leadership could not be tested. There was a relationship between self-monitoring and agreement in ratings of perceived leadership. Implications of inaccurate ratings are discussed with respect to the emergent leadership/self-monitoring issue. / Master of Science

This study examines leader-member exchange (LMX) theory and presents a framework to better predict work outcomes of job satisfaction and organizational commitment by introducing organizational justice perceptions as a mediating construct and leader active listening as a moderating construct.

Text in English / The field of neuroscience is increasingly gaining exposure in the leadership domain, where it is now beginning to contribute to research and development. In this study an exploratory investigation of leadership development was undertaken with four primary aims. Firstly, to find out whether exposing participants in managerial positions to cognitive neuroscience knowledge contributes to their development as leaders. Secondly, to explore and illuminate the underlying processes that support such behavioural change. Thirdly, to investigate how behaviour changes in leaders exposed to social cognitive neuroscience knowledge are manifested within an organisational setting. Fourthly, to determine what the perceived impact on the leaders and others are regarding such behaviour changes in a specific organisational context, namely a retail environment. In the study, leaders were exposed to a social cognitive neuroscience workshop over a 5-month period. They were provided with foundational knowledge of social cognitive neuroscience in workshops with two objectives. Firstly, the workshops were intended to enhance their understanding of the brain and cognitive systems underlying thinking and behaviour of the self and others. Secondly, in the workshops the complex interaction between brain systems and subsystems such as the executive and emotional systems were shown to mirror, in a metaphorical way, some of the complex interactions between structures in business organisations. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 16 participants, as well as with some their line managers and direct reports. Data were qualitatively analysed by means of content analysis. Findings support the view that gaining social cognitive neuroscience knowledge led to increased self-awareness and an understanding of others. Implicit behavioural change resulted from cognitive and affective changes. Explicit behaviour changes were the result of conscious choice and were supported by both personal and organisational motivational drives. Leaders made behaviour changes at both personal and interactive levels based on their understanding of social cognitive neuroscience. Behaviour changes related to increased emotional regulation, a change in leadership style, an inclusive communication style, cultivating relationships, recognition strategies and strengthening trust. The implemented behaviour changes had a positive impact on participants and their direct reports and related mostly to positive affective changes, growth and development, improved relationships, personal effectiveness and team dynamics. / Psychology / D. Phil. (Consulting Psychology)

In today's era of high stakes testing and accountability, school principals are confronted with many difficult challenges in addition to those traditionally experienced by principals given the advent of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the many mandates each school principal must report on annually. With mandated curriculum standards and widespread demand to improve student achievement, principals face a multitude of administrative tasks. As the school accountability deadline to meet the 2014 federal objective of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 rapidly draws closer for the majority of states, this federal legislation has created increasingly high stress levels, potentially the highest ever, for principals across the country. ... The proposed study is significant to the field of education because this study provides the most current research regarding the mental and physical effects of work-related stress on elementary school principals in an era of increased accountability and the impact stress has on the school climate. Further, this study offers school principals a repertoire of effective coping mechanisms that can be utilized to help reduce their perceived stress levels. Over the time of the study, it was repeatedly reported by the principal participants that their work stress had increased, which was found to have impacted their health as well as the school climate. / by Joyce Krzemienski. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Leaders bring unconscious information into their personal and working relationships. Some of this unconscious material is communicated through language use, and it is argued that one of the bridges between the unconscious and the conscious is language use. It is postulated that insight is possible into leaders’ understanding, meaning-making and leadership experience by exploring their language use, as the vehicle through which they make sense of the world. Hence, the aim of this study was to explore by developing and describing a systems psychodynamic model of language use as manifestation of leadership anxiety dynamics, to refine this theoretical model, and to explore the utility value of the theoretical model. A qualitative and descriptive research method was selected towards reaching this aim. Hermeneutic phenomenology, using the systems psychodynamic perspective allowed for the description, analysis and interpretation of the experiences of participants. Data was collected through a purposive, convenient sample, in the form of three listening posts, which comprised systems psychodynamic practitioners, business leaders and post-modern discourse analysts. Data was analysed by means of critical discourse analysis and systems psychodynamically informed discourse analysis. Manifesting themes were the language of titles, as potential space, and the language of silence versus non-silence; anxiety and its triggers, anxiety and leadership response, and anxiety and language use; the sources of anxiety, language as unconscious defence and offence and towards a language of vulnerability. The findings indicated that leaders use both conscious and unconscious expressions of language simultaneously. Language use manifested as the carrier of conscious messages (between sender and receiver) as well as the unconscious role of language, to attack (accessing the dark side of language use) or defend against anxieties, and to cover leadership vulnerabilities. Language use as container, as well as transitional phenomenon (a potential space) is a carrier of anxieties. Language use thus has the potential to be used for its defensive, regressive and relational value. In a world of uncertainty and increasing attack on and by leadership, the findings further indicated that the defended leaders should be aware of the conscious and unconscious impact and outcome of language. Language use is useful as a lens to explore, diagnose and raise awareness, because the unconscious reveals itself through language as speech and image, and through the language of relations and relatedness and the language of action and omission. Since leaders operate in a colliquated space, both at individual and systemic level (i.e. as collisions), leadership anxiety could be elevated, resulting in the access of the dark side of language use. However, when these collisions occur, leadership anxiety could be reduced when the leader enters the reflective or potential space by accessing the relational value of language use. The utility value of the systems psychodynamic model was subsequently also confirmed. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / D. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Thesis (MA (Industrial Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Constructs in this study are explored from a positive organisational scholarship paradigm, which is largely concerned with the investigation of positive outcomes, processes and attributes of organisations and their employees. The aim of the study is to investigate the respective relationships that exist between the positive organisational psychological constructs, namely servant leadership, emotional intelligence and trust in the immediate supervisor, and the influence of these variables on the meaning in life experienced by individuals. Based on literature, a model depicting a sequential process of interrelationships amongst the constructs is proposed in the study. Both survey and statistical modelling methodologies were employed to guide the investigation. Standardised questionnaires were used for the four different constructs, using the responses of 154 employees on a composite questionnaire. To determine the applicability of the factor structures of these instruments on the current sample, exploratory factor analysis was conducted. The suggested factor structures were confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis with acceptable levels of fit. The revalidated instruments provided better levels of fit than the original instruments. The configurations of the measurement instruments were found to be different in a South African cultural organisational setting for the Servant Leadership Questionnaire, the Emotional Intelligence Index and the Life Regard Index. However, the configuration of measurement on trust in the immediate supervisor, when applied to the respondents in this study, appeared to be similar to those found in different cultural settings. The results of a Pearson correlation analysis, stepwise multiple regression and structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis indicated significant relationships between servant leadership, emotional intelligence and trust. The relationship of these constructs with meaning did not show significant relationships. The contribution of this study to the existing theory and literature is the exploration of the portability of the measurement instruments to a South African context. A further contribution is the findings with regard to the interrelationships between servant leadership, emotional intelligence and trust in the immediate supervisor. Some recommendations for further research and some suggestions regarding servant leadership development interventions are also made.

Thesis (MComm (Industrial Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / A study of the literature revealed that the concept of servant leadership is still in need of further empirical research. It also became clear that the leadership style employed by the supervisors of certain boundary spanning employees may have a pivotal effect on the role stress they experience and the resulting coping mechanisms they are likely to employ. Evidently, further investigation into the relationship between the constructs of servant leadership, role stress and coping could be valuable. An exploratory study to investigate these relationships was therefore planned and executed. A correlative ex post facto study of nonexperimental kind was followed making use of survey research. For this purpose a composite questionnaire was created and used as the means of data gathering. The questionnaires were directly administered by the researcher to the participants of a large national retail organisation where the survey was conducted. A total of 290 respondents from six different stores of this organisation participated in the study. The respondents occupying a specific type of boundary spanning role, known as the subordinate service role (SSR), completed the composite questionnaire which comprised of the rater version of the Servant Leadership Questionnaire of Barbuto and Wheeler (2006), the role stress scale based on the research work of Hartline and Ferrell (1996), and the Ways of Coping Questionnaire developed by Lazarus and Folkman (1984). The SSR incumbents assessed the level of servant leadership of their immediate supervisors, their own level of role stress and the coping mechanisms which they typically employ. Answers were sought to three research questions dealing with the content and configuration of the constructs as well as their interrelations.

Based on the notion that leader behaviors are mutually facilitative on their effects on leader effectiveness, this study tested the hypothesis that Persuasive behaviors enhance the predictive relationship between Strategic behaviors and Leadership Effectiveness. Persuasive was hypothesized to act as an enhancer based on the notion that the leader's ability to influence others and develop followership can enhance the impact of a leader's ability to set strategy, provide direction, make decisions and plan on perceived effectiveness.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between four selected personality categories as measured by Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI) and gender to leader effectiveness and flexibility as measured by Leader Behavior Analysis II Self-A® (LBAII Self-A) and years of experience in school administration. A review of literature traced leadership to the Situational Leadership II model utilized in this study. The model was based on selecting the appropriate leadership style for the individual situation and development level of followers. MBTI® measured sixteen combinations of four personality types which included Extravert® or Introvert, Sensing or iNtuitive®, Thinking or Feeling, and Judging or Perceiving. Four types were selected for this study (ISTJ, ESTJ, INTP, and ESFJ). The LBAII Self-A® instrument measured leader effectiveness and flexibility. The sample was 80 Texas school administrators in eleven school districts. Statistics utilized to test the hypotheses included Hotelling's T2, Multiple Analysis of Variance, Analysis of Variance, and Multiple Regression. Independent variables were gender and personality type. Dependent variables were leader effectiveness, flexibility, and years of experience in school administration. Findings reported a significant difference in leader effectiveness scores of the ESTJ personality type. Additionally, Judging/Perceiving was a significant predictor of years of experience of school administrators. In conclusion, a significant difference was found in leader effectiveness scores which showed that ESTJ personality types had higher scores. Another significant finding was Judging/ Perceiving as a predictor of years of administrative experience. As years of experience increased, Judging (preference for order) increased as a personality variable rather than Perceiving (preference for spontaneity). It was recommended that MBTI® and LBAII® be administered to school administrators as part of pre-service leadership training and for ongoing staff development. These instruments can be utilized as tools to help administrators understand personality type and effective leadership practices.