The lesson discusses three reasons that there is a glass ceiling for women in leadership especially when it comes to being on the Board of Directors. The glass ceiling is a metaphor that is used represent an invisible barrier to advancement in a profession, especially affecting women and members of minorities. The first reason that women have not risen in management positions is because women have not been in managerial positions long enough for them to naturally progress to the tops of organizations. This is also known as the pipeline theory. The second reason is that women lack general management experience. The third reason is that women are less suited to execute demands, are not qualified for these positions and lack self- consciousness (Pennsylvania State University World Campus, 2020).

The barriers that women face in leadership can be described in three different segments: organizational barriers, interpersonal barriers and personal barriers. Organizational barriers are the conditions and practices that put women at a disadvantage and they include: higher standard of performance, inhospitable corporate culture, preference for gender similarity in promotion decisions, ignorance by male CEOs and male peers and lack of developmental opportunities. Interpersonal barriers are obstacles that occur in working relationships which include: gender prejudice, lack of emotional support, lack of access to informal networks and lack of white male mentors. Personal barriers are elements of women’s personal lives that are obstacles which include: lack of political savvy and work-home conflict (Pennsylvania State University World Campus, 2020).

These barriers are important when looking at why women are struggling to break the corporate glass ceiling in the Board of Directors positions in companies. Most of the time, those who are appointed to be directors are those who have wealth and power. Though women are making progress they are not yet equal with men with respect to power and wealth. There are two types of empowerment of women: economic and political. These are social processes that foster a sense of power within women. Economic empowerment is the process people can control over income opportunities. This has lessened the gender inequality in society. Political empowerment is the process in which women have increased participation and influence in societal decision making (Lewellyn & Muller-Kahle, 2019). Another aspect that hinders women from making moves to the top of leadership is the effects of masculinity. In high masculine cultures there is a clear distinction of the roles men and women have on achievement, control and power. In low masculine societies there are less rigid roles that men and women should perform (Lewellyn & Muller-Kahle, 2019).

The specific barriers that relate to women on Board of Directors include: preference for gender similarity in promotional decisions, lack of developmental opportunities, gender prejudice, lack of political savvy and work-home conflict. Preference for gender similarity in promotional decisions is when people prefer to work with others that are similar to themselves, so white male CEO’s tend to hire and promote other white males. Lack of developmental opportunities is when companies give less challenging assignments to women in order to help them advance within a company but it ends up with women actually achieving less. Gender prejudice is that people believe that a good leader and manager is masculine. Lack of political savvy is that women have said they have less political savvy then men. The work-home is that women have more non-work responsibilities than men leaving less time at work and to do work than men. Work gaps have a negative influence on both men and women but these gaps have more of a negative influence on men’s careers (Pennsylvania State University World Campus, 2020).

To conclude, the glass ceiling affects women in all aspects of leadership especially when it comes to being on the Board of Directors for a company because it takes power and wealth. And women have substantial barriers to gain that power and wealth. Women are making advances but there is still a gap in women in leadership positions.

References:

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2020). PSYCH 485 Lesson 13: Leadership and Diversity https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2040131/modules/items/28001830

Lewellyn, K. B., & Muller-Kahle, M. I. (2019). The Corporate Board Glass Ceiling: The Role of Empowerment and Culture in Shaping Board Gender Diversity. Journal of Business Ethics. doi: 10.1007/s10551-019-04116-9

My entire life I have had some form of team leadership and until now I did not even realize it. I have played sports my entire life but I never really thought about how that leadership has worked. There is so much more that goes on in team leadership that I was not really aware of how important these aspects are in leading a team. One aspect in particular is shared leadership, which involves risks and takes courage for team members to step forward to provide leadership outside of the formal role of a team leader (PSU, WC, 2020, L. 9). Shared leadership opened my eyes to how important team leadership is not only to sports but to the work environment as well. These individuals that step up in sports could be the team captains, but is not limited to just the captains, and in the work environment it could really be anyone that is part of that specific team or anyone working for the company. There are also important components to team leadership that I never realized had so much effect on the team including: clear-evaluating goals, a results-driven structure, competent team members, unified commitment, collaborative climate, standard of excellence, external support and recognition, and principled leadership (PSU, WC, 2020, L. 9). These components can be broken down in both relations to sports and relations to a work environment. But for this particular blog I will discuss my personal experiences through sports.

At the beginning of every Field Hockey season, we would have a meeting that would address goals we wanted to achieve throughout the season. This would be creating clear-evaluating goals. Each player would list personal, such as beating a certain mile time or scoring a certain number of goals or as a goalie achieving a low goals against average, and team goals, such as beating a certain team or winning a number of different championships, they wanted to achieve. As for a results-driven structure, it was all about winning the big games or making a certain mile time to show that you are continually approving throughout the season. Obviously in sports you always want the best players on the field and to do that it is necessary to make cuts to have the most competent team members. In high school, it is also about splitting up the roster into JV and Varsity so that you have the highest level of competition on the field. Every team has a unified commitment to winning but they also have to want the same thing out of the season whether it be to win the championship or to just trying their best no matter what. A collaborative climate is essential in any sports team. Everyone wants to feel like they are doing something for the good of the cause and they also want to make sure that their voices are heard. For a standard of excellence, there is a code of conduct that every player must read and sign to show that they know what is expected of them and what will not be tolerated on the team. The team members have the support from coaches and the support from their families and club team members and coaches. The team also had players of the games which recognized a special player that played exceptional and did above and beyond to help the team. A principled leadership of the team would be the coaches and captains because they are there to help lead the team to be the best team they can be.

For team leadership to work there are critical functions that are needed which include task functions of team performance and maintenance. Task functions of a team performance are getting the job done, making decisions, solving problems, adapting to changes, making plans and achieving goals. Maintenance is developing a positive climate, solving interpersonal problems and developing cohesion (PSU, WC, 2020, L. 9). Task functions of a team performance relation to a sports team, getting the job done would include winning games and championship while achieving the goals that the team set in place. Making decisions includes choosing a roster, who plays where and who starts the game. Solving problems includes game time decisions and throughout the game such as plays and game plans that can help the team win. Adapting to changes includes changing the roster due to injuries and seeing what is working on the field and what is not working. Making plans includes creating the rosters, planning the plays and creating game plans. Achieving goals includes winning and achieving the goals that the team made at the beginning of the season. Maintenance in relation to a sports team, developing a positive climate would include always staying positive even if there is a tough loss, the negativity could be detrimental to the team and cause issues for the rest of the season. Solving interpersonal problems is important because if there are issues between the players it can affect the on-field performance of everyone on the team which is not putting the team’s best foot forward. Developing cohesion would include team bonding both in-season and off-season.

To conclude, team leadership is important and has aspects such as shared leadership and components. These components include: clear-evaluating goals, a results-driven structure, competent team members, unified commitment, collaborative climate, standard of excellence, external support and recognition, and principled leadership. It also has critical functions which include: task functions of a team performance and maintenance (PSU, WC, 2020, L. 9). But team leadership is not just seen in sports it can be seen in a multitude of different work environments as well.

References:

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2020). PSYCH 485 Lesson 9: Team Leadership. Retrieved from

https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2040131/modules/items/28001779

Power is the capacity to produce effects on other or the potential to influence others. Power is valued by many people so people may seek it out but when leaders begin to fear they are going to lose it and its benefits they may begin to show their self-serving behaviors (Wisse, Ruth, Keller & Sleebos, 2019). There are five bases of power including: expert power, referent power, legitimate power, reward power and coercive power (PSUWC, 2020). But one type of power that emphasizes these self-serving behaviors is personalized power. Personalized power is when an individual with high needs for personalized power are selfish, impulsive, uninhibited and lacking self-control. These leaders exercise their power for their own needs, not the good of their subordinates or the organization as a whole (PSUWC, 2020).

Power can be valued by the tangible or intangible benefits that are associated with the leader’s power. These self-serving behaviors or personalized power can be detrimental to an organization and the subordinates because the leader is prioritizing their own needs at the expense of those around them (Wisse, Ruth, Keller & Sleebos, 2019). Once leaders become accustomed to the certain benefits that come with their power they may do anything to keep their benefits. Some of these benefits include: a raise, a nice office, a new division or a bonus. If threatened with the loss of power, the leader can become self-serving. Some examples of this would be to take credit for work or jobs that the leader did not actually do. The leader effectively is prioritizing their own personal gain over the organization (Wisse, Ruth, Keller & Sleebos, 2019).

In my own personal experience as an employee, I have seen how self-serving behavior of can affect workplaces. When I worked at a bridal boutique there was a supervisor who was on track to become a manager to do this she had to sell a certain amount a month to get in the good graces of management. During the slow months, she began to take credit for other people’s sales to make sure that she could continue to hit her goals. This began to cause issues with many of the sales associates because they were losing their commission money because she was taking credit for their sales. She continued to do it because she was nervous that she was going to lose her chance to be manager. This caused many issues over the next few months because none of the sales associates could trust the supervisor anymore and at the end of the day it cost her becoming a manager when the company found out about what she was doing. This is just one example of a real life situation of how a leader begins to fear the loss of power so they begin to perform self-serving behaviors to save their benefits and in my specific case their career.

References:

Wisse, B. and Rus, D. and Keller, A.C. and Sleebos, Ed. (2019) ‘Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it”: the combined effects of leader fear of losing power and competitive climate on leader self-serving behavior.’, European journal of work and organizational psychology., 28 (6). 742-755.

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2020). PSYCH 281 Lesson 7: Power and Influence. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2040131/modules/items/28001757

The situational approach emphasizes the situation and how a leader must change their style to fit the demands of different leadership (PSU, WC, L. 5, p. 7, 2020). There are three main competencies of a situational leader: diagnosing, flexibility and partnering. If a leader would like to have a high level of leadership is desired, flexibility is 100% necessary (Kaifi, Noor, Nguyen, Aslami, & Khanfar, 2013). The situational approach is prescriptive not descriptive (PSU, WC, L. 5, p. 7, 2020). There are two types of behavior that are necessary for the situational approach which are directive and supportive. Directive behavior is the extent of which a leader spells out the responsibilities of an individual or group. Supportive behavior is listening, encouraging, facilitating, clarifying and giving emotional support (PSU, WC, L. 5, p. 9, 2020).

The situational approach breaks down leadership styles into four categories: directing, coaching, supporting and delegating. Style 1 (S1) is directing which is a high directive and low supportive style. Coaching (S2) is a high directive and high supportive style. Supporting (S3) is a low directive and high supportive style. Delegating (S4) is a low directive and low supportive style (PSU, WC, L. 5, p. 9, 2020). There are also four developmental levels in the situational approach. Developmental level 1 (D1) is having low competence and a high commitment. D2 is low to some competence and low commitment. D3 is moderate to high competence and variable commitment. D4 is high competence and high commitment (Book).

At the restaurant that I work at, there is a very intense training program for new servers. There are four training servers, or leaders, that run the training program. The training servers have to use directive behaviors to go over the rules and regulations of the restaurant, the responsibilities of being a server at Redstone American Grill, the knowledge of the food menu, the knowledge of the drink menu and training the new servers how to use the Aloha system for placing orders. The training servers also use the supportive behavior by listening to the concerns and questions of the new servers, encouraging them throughout their training shifts, clarifying the menu, the systems used to place orders and any other concerns they are having, and lastly giving the new servers emotional support.

The new servers come to training at different developmental levels, but most come in at D1, throughout the training the new servers will gain the skills and knowledge needed to advance to D3, where they have moderate to high competence but variable commitment levels. It is not until the new server begins to serve on their own where they get to D4 level, high competence and high commitment. The new servers’ commitment is high because it is their serving skills that will influence how much money they will make and their competence is high because of everything they have learned throughout their training.

The training servers at first take on a directive leadership style because they need to address the rules and regulations as well as menus and ordering system. Then they take on the coaching leadership style because they become highly directive and highly supportive such as showing the new servers how to greet tables or how to give a spiel about the specials and the menu. The training server then allows the new server to try and do their own and then giving them constructive criticism and give them support on how to make it better. Then the training servers step into the supporting leadership style, where they show little direction and just support the new server such as allowing them to take a table start to finish, greeting the table, taking the order, putting the order in and closing the check, while the training server just supports them if they have any questions or concerns that they need clarified. Last would be the delegating leadership style which would be little direction and little support. This would take place when the new server is finished training and doing everything on their own with no security blanket.

To conclude, the situational approach is one of the most popular approaches to leadership (PSU, WC, L. 5, p. 7, 2020). It emphasizes directive and supportive behaviors. I have seen first-hand that these behaviors are necessary to train in a restaurant environment. The directive behaviors are important in stating the rules and regulations along with menu knowledge. The supportive behaviors are important to clarify any questions or concerns as well as encouraging the new servers to be the best that they can be.

 

References:

Kaifi, B. A., Noor, A. O., Nguyen, N.-L., Aslami, W., & Khanfar, N. M. (2013). The Importance of Situational Leadership in the Workforce: A Study Based on Gender, Place of Birth, and Generational Affiliation. Journal of Contemporary Management, 29–40. doi: 10.1107/s0108768107031758/bs5044sup1.cif

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7^th Edition. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2020). PSYCH 281 Lesson 5: Style and Situational Approaches. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2040131/modules

 

Based on Northouse’s Chapter on the Trait Theory, there were many studies done by Stogdill, Mann, Kirkpatrick and Locke and others that have given many different traits and characteristics (Northouse, 2019, p. 22). Through all of those studies there have been five central traits including: intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity and sociability (Northouse, 2019, p. 23).

Intelligence is defined by Northouse as “having strong verbal ability, perceptual ability and reasoning (Northouse, 2019, p. 24).” A leader’s intelligence should not be too different from their followers because that can lead to difficulty communicating and getting the leader’s ideas across due to the ideas being too advanced for the followers to be able to understand (Northouse, 2019, p. 24). There are a few different types of intelligence. In the Triarchic Theory of Intelligence, there are three different types of intelligence: analytic intelligence, practical intelligence, and creative intelligence. Analytic intelligence is mainly problem solving. Practical intelligence is based on the “street smarts” that show how one can adapt to new situations. Creative intelligence is being able to come up with ideas that are new and helpful (PSU WC, 2020, lesson 2). In athletics, these three different types of intelligence are very important. In both games and practices, one needs to be able to solve problems as well as create new ideas to be able to fix these problems. One example in particular is in Field Hockey, if a corner play is continually not working the girls on the field are able reconfigure the play to make it successful and score a goal. This example shows how the leaders on the team, also known as the captains, uses their analytic intelligence, their practical intelligence and their creative intelligence. The captains saw the problem, not being able to score on the corner play, adapted to the problem, and created a new and useful idea and scored on the corner play.

Self-confidence is defined by Northouse as “the ability to be certain about one’s competencies and skills (Northouse, 2019, p. 24).” It includes the leader’s self-esteem, self-assurance as well as the leader’s belief that they can make a difference. Self-esteem is said to be the amount of value that one sees in themselves. There is a recent study has shown that student-athletes have higher self-esteem than none athletes (Galante & Ward, 2017, p. 158). When an athlete does not possess self-confidence, it is hard for them to lead the team because they are already doubting their ability and skills. It causes them to be to question the decisions that they make because of their own personal doubt. When a leader on the team does possess self-confidence, they are 100% sure in their abilities and skills. Self-assurance is when the leader is aware of their self-knowledge and uses that knowledge to understand the effect that they have on the team. When a leader is self-aware they understand the impact, they have on the team and they use it to motivate the team to do the best that can in any and every situation (Bandura & Kavussanu, 2019, p. 1). They also believe that they have the ability to make a difference. Making a difference can mean many things, it can be through solving problems within the team, making decisions in the best interest of the team, and motivating the team. Leaders who are self-confident do not question whether or not they are making the right decision because of their confidence. A self-confident leader does not go back and forth when making a decision they are capable of making the decision that is right for not only them but for the team itself.

Determination is defined by Northouse as “the desire to get the job done and includes characteristics such as initiative, persistence, dominance, and drive (Northouse, 2019, p. 24-25).” When leaders are determined they are proactive and they show their dominant side when the team or followers need to be directed in a certain way (Northouse, 2019, p. 25). Determined leaders in athletics are the ones who set goals for themselves and for their teams. At the beginning of the season a team sets goals, the leader is the one who takes charge when creating goals and throughout the season they are the ones that drive the team to achieve these goals. They take charge throughout workouts whether it is during runs or lifting exercises they are there pushing the team to do better each and every day. When there are issues between team members they take the initiative to solve the problem so that everyone can get on the same page. They show dominance as well. For example, if there is a tough quarter or tough half the determined leader shows dominance by taking control and showing the team that they can come back and win this game and that the team is capable of winning. They are leading by example in a way because if the leader is determined and willing to do anything to win a game or to work harder in practice the team will follow their lead and give everything that they have to achieve the common goal.

Integrity is defined by Northouse as “the quality of honesty and trustworthiness (Northouse, 2019, p. 25).” A leader that shows integrity is one that has a strong set of principles, that takes responsibility for their actions, and inspires confidence. An integrity leader shows that they are worthy of trust and that they are loyal, dependable and not deceptive (Northouse, 2019, p. 25). There was a study done that measured the relationship between authentic leadership and task cohesion in relation to trust. The trust is discovered through a questionnaire which is the Trust in Leader to measure the amount of trust that the athletes have in the leadership of their team (Bandura & Kavussanu, 2019, p. 4). This study showed that trust did indeed mediate the relationship between authentic leadership and task cohesion. The more the leader was authentic the more the team trusted them showed a positive task cohesion (Bandura & Kavussanu, 2019, p. 6). For example, the more authentic the captains are the more the team will trust them and in return the more willing the team would be willing to do the tasks that the captains set out for them. If the captains of a team were to ask the team to set up and clean up the field before and after practice they team would be more willing to do it if they felt as though they could trust the leaders. In the same aspect, at practices during drills the team would be more willing to try their best in the drills if the captains or other leaders had asked them to give it 100%.

Lastly, sociability is defined by Northouse as “a leader’s inclination to seek out pleasant and social relationships (Northouse, 2019, p. 26).” A sociable leader is one who is outgoing, friendly, and diplomatic. They are sensitive to the needs of others needs as well as showing concern for their well-being. There is research that shows that when a leader has an unpleasant display, meaning that they are seen as unhappy, angry or disappointed, they are more likely to not be a great leader and have low ratings of leader effectiveness (Staw, DeCelles & Goey, 2019, p.1547). When leading a team, it is important for the leader to be outgoing and approachable. If they leader is not approachable it can cause many different issues on the team. For example, if the underclassmen are having issues adjusting to be new on the team and they do not see the captains as approachable they could quickly not feel like they are part of the team and slowly start to regret their decision being on the team. But if the leader of the team is sensitive to the needs of the team they are more willing to make the underclassmen feel as though they are part of the team. When the captains of the team are outgoing and approachable the team tends to do more things together as a whole such as: going out to eat together, planning things to do together on the weekends, hosting sleepovers for the whole team, and just hanging out together. When a leader is friendlier the team vibe as a whole is a lot more positive than when the leaders do not seek out interpersonal relationships.

To conclude, there were many leadership traits and characteristics found through studies during the past 70 years but five that have become central are: intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity, and sociability (Northouse, 2019, p. 23). All five of these are very important for sports leaders because the leader shows analytic, practical and creative intelligence, self-confidence when making decisions and leading the team, determination to make the team achieve their goals, integrity through trust that the team has in them, and sociability by being outgoing and pleasant while seeking out social relationships with the team.

 

References:

Bandura, C. T., Kavussanu, M., & Ong, C. W. (2019, August 26). Authentic Leadership and Task Cohesion: The Mediating Role of Trust and Team Sacrifice. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/gdn0000105

Galante, M., & Ward, R. M. (2017). Female student leaders: An examination of transformational leadership, athletics, and self-esteem. Personality and Individual Differences, 106, 157-162. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1016/j.paid.2016.11.017

Northouse, P. G. (2019). Leadership: theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2016). PSYCH 281 Lesson 2: Introduction to Trait Approach. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2040131/modules/items/28001665

Staw, B. M., Decelles, K. A., & Goey, P. D. (2019). Leadership in the locker room: How the intensity of leaders’ unpleasant affective displays shapes team performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 104(12), 1547–1557. doi: 10.1037/apl0000418