Last night at my son’s little league baseball game, I witnessed the coach utilize Ginnett’s Team Effectiveness Model to help his team play more effectively and essentially win the game (PSU WC, 2022, L. 9).  The Ginnett’s Team Effectiveness Model suggests that the main job of a leader is to determine and take care of the team’s needs and the model can help them identify what they are to be more effective (2022).  It can do this by looking at the inputs, process, and outputs of the team (2022).

• Inputs – what is available to the team as they go about accomplishing their goals such as ability and individual motivation. Inputs can come from the individual, team, or organizational levels.
• Process – How a team goes about accomplishing their goal.
• Outputs – The results and end product of the team.

-(PSU WC, 2022, L. 9)

At the beginning of the game, the coach exercised the first of three functions according to TELM which is dream (PSU WC, 2022, L. 9).   He got the team together in a huddle in the dugout and laid out his vision for the game and how he wanted everyone to play.  You could hear him telling the team that if they played hard together as a team, listened to the coaches, and had fun they would win the game.  When he was done with the speech, he stood there looking at the team taking into consideration the inputs of each team member in order to set up a line-up he figured to be competitive to start the game.  He needed to consider a player’s speed, arm strength, and who was there to play versus mess around.  Are the coaches motivated to be aggressive when a base-stealing opportunity presents itself or are they complacent and not really into the game?  These are all examples of the inputs the coach has to juggle when designing and redesigning the process to get the team to be more effective.

Throughout the night, he was changing pitchers around, moving people from the outfield to the dugout because they weren’t paying attention, and actually swapped out a coach because of the lack of aggression I mentioned earlier.  This shows the second function of the TELM model which is design (PSU WC. 2022, L. 9).  He was continually changing the design throughout the night to make the team more effective during each situation in the game.

In addition to changing the design of the team on the field, he was also giving instructions to the players during the process of the game to keep helping the team and each player develop and understand the situations they were in so to be more effective.  For example, the coach yelling out to an outfielder to move to the left or letting the second baseman know he needs to keep his glove on the ground, so the ball doesn’t get by them are both examples of the third function of the TELM model which is development (PSU WC. 2022, L. 9).

When the game ended, our team won 9-4 and it showed me how effective the Ginnett Team Effectiveness Model could be while playing baseball.  According to the TELM model, the coach was effective in all three areas of influencing effectiveness because he provided a clear sense of purpose in the team huddle and throughout the game, he designed and re-design the input variables, and continued to coach during the various stages of the game (PSU WC, 2022, L. 9).

References:

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2022). PSYCH 485 Lesson 9: Ginnett’s Team Effectiveness Leadership Model. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2177519/modules/items/33991751

During the national championships held tonight April 3, 2022, on ESPN, Dawn Staley exemplified how path-goal theory works and how the four leadership behaviors were adapted to fit the needs of the players to accomplish the goal of a national championship.

Path-goal theory was first introduced in works by Evan in 1970, House in 1971, House and Dressler in 1974, and House and Mitchell in 1974 (Northouse, 2021, p. 132).  House was ultimately credited with the theory (PSU WC, 2022, L. 6).  The theory was “designed to explain how leaders can help followers along the path to their goals by selecting specific behaviors that are best suited to followers’ needs and to the situation in which followers are working. By choosing the appropriate behaviors, leaders increase followers’ expectations for success and satisfaction” (Northouse, 2021, p. 133, para 3).

Some of the major components of the path-goal theory are the four leadership behaviors that are the foundation for understanding the theory.  The four leadership behaviors are:

• Directive leadership – gives followers directions on how to perform tasks, including the expectation for what is to get done, how it should be done, and the amount of time the goal to take to complete to remove ambiguity.
• Supportive leadership – consist of being friendly and approachable to the team and attending to the well-being and needs of the followers.
• Participative leadership – leadership will allow members to be part of the decision-making process.
• Achievement-oriented leadership – challenges the followers to do their work at the highest level they can do it by establishing high standards for success and continuous improvement.

-(Northouse, 2021, pp. 134-135)

In order to effectively decide on what leadership behavior to implement to effectively motivate the followers there are two groups of follower variables that need to be considered which are:

• Satisfaction of the followers – what leadership behaviors are accepted by followers to lead them to satisfaction.
• The follower’s perception of being able to accomplish the goal with their own skill and abilities.

-(PSU WC, 2022, L. 6)

There are also task characteristics that impact how a leader motivates his followers which are:

• Design of follower tasks
• Formal authority system
• Primary workgroup of follower’s

-(Northouse, 2021, p. 138)

Path-goal theory provides direction for leaders on how to help their followers accomplish their work to the standards set by the leader by providing a set of assumptions about how different leadership styles interact with different follower characteristics as well as the work setting. (Northouse, 2022, p. 139).  For example, if the follower characteristics are dogmatic and authoritarian, and the task characteristics are ambiguous, unclear, and complex, a more directive style is recommended (p. 139). If the follower characteristics are unsatisfied, in need of affiliation, and need for human touch, and the task characteristics are repetitive, unchallenging, and mundane, a more supportive style is recommended and so on (p. 139).  The point is the leader needs to adapt and change their leadership style accordingly to how it is going to motivate the followers.

In the case of Dawn Staley of the South Carolina women’s basketball team and leading them to a college national championship, she needed to adapt her leadership style throughout the game to meet the needs of the players in order to lead them to a national championship.  There were many obstacles on the path to victory against the University of Connecticut and knowing how to lead in different situations aided in winning the championship.

At the beginning of the game, the coach was more directive because the way the game was going to play out was unknown and the complexity of the situation.  She provided the initial structure for how she wanted her team to start the game and provided the plays to make them successful.  She implemented achievement-oriented leadership in that it was clear she was challenging the team at the start to play the best defense of their lives and set a high standard of maintaining it throughout the game.  She was able to do this because of the team’s high expectations from the work they put in all season to get there.

When the going was getting tough and the team was doubting their ability and showing signs of weakness, Dawn was there for support to pick the team back up and get them back on track.  And when the game was on the line, she submitted to participative leadership in that she was allowing the players who were in the game to participate in the play calls when there was a timeout on the floor.

All of the behaviors Dawn promoted in the national championship game were driven by her team’s perceptions of her and the task at hand in the game at those moments.  She really led with her team’s motivation in mind and did what she could to remove the obstacles that were placed in front of them by giving them what was missing in their environment (structure, direction) and helping them overcome their deficiencies (fear).

References:

Northouse, P.G. (2021).  Leadership: Theory and Practice. 9th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2022). PSYCH 485 Lesson 6: Path-goal theory. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2177519/modules/items/33991715

Women’s national championship game (S. Carolina vs. Connecticut. (2022, April 03). ESPN

After clinching their ninth Division I national wrestling team championship under Cael Sanderson in eleven years (Destin, 2022), one might start to think about what it is about the program that makes them such an effective team.  Team effectiveness focuses on team excellence or what is the desired outcome from teamwork based on two critical functions which are performance (task accomplishment) and development (team maintenance) (Northouse, 2021, p. 466).  Looking at the Hill model for team leadership we can analyze the developed standards of effectiveness or criteria of excellence to assess the team by looking at the six enabling conditions that lead to team functioning developed by Hackman in 2012.  In addition, we will look at the eight corresponding characteristics developed by Larson and LaFasto in 1989 that have been consistently associated with team excellence (p. 466), to help us determine why Penn State wrestling is so dominant.

Hackman’s six enabling conditions and the corresponding characteristics developed by Larson and LaFasto are:

1. Is it a real team (enabling condition)?

• Unified commitment (characteristic) – The Penn State wrestling team has been carefully developed to include members that are committed to the team and individual excellence.
• Collaborative climate (characteristic) – In the wrestling room members work together to develop the skills that make the team and individual wrestlers better.

2. Compelling purpose

• Clear, elevating goal – Win national championships and wrestle to potential
• Results-driven structure – The Penn State wrestling team is made up of nationally recognized coaches and highly ranked recruits that wrestle for a school that provides the staff, resources, and code of conduct to drive results.

3. Right people

• Competent team members – Coach Cael Sanderson is a four-time national champion and finished his career with a 159-0 record for starters and has produced over 32 NCAA national champions (Wogenrich, 2022). In addition, the team is consistently getting number one recruits and top ten ranked wrestlers to commit to the program (Wolf, n.d.).

4. Clear norms of conduct

• Standards of excellence – Nine national championships and thirty-two individual championships in eleven years (Destin, 2022)(Wogenrich, 2022).

5. Supportive organizational context

• External support and recognition – The Penn State community is one of the most supportive communities in all of college sports (gopsusports, 2019). The wrestling program not only receives national recognition for its dominance in the sport, but also from the fans.  In 2019, Penn State’s home attendance was ranked 2^nd in the nation with an average of 6551 fans attending home dual meets (2019).

6. Team-focused coaching

• Principled leadership – Leadership is the catalyst for team effectiveness and can influence the team through four processes:

• Cognitive – The coaches help the wrestlers understand the challenges of being a successful Penn State wrestler.
• Motivational – The coaches set high-performance standards and then helps the team to achieve them.
• Affectively – Coaches provide clear goals and strategies to alleviate stress to the wrestlers.
• Coordinately – Coaches put their wrestlers in the best positions to succeed and then provide feedback to make them better.

-(Northouse, 2021, pp. 466-470)

After analyzing the criteria for excellence in team effectiveness, it is easy to see why the Penn State Wrestling team has been so dominant over the years.  The program consists of top-tier coaching and highly recruited wrestlers that are committed to working together to become the best wrestling team in the country. The team has a large national following, and the championships bring added attention to the program making it hard for top-tier talent to not want to go there.  With a disciplined approach to excellence, focused attention on team and individual development, and clear expectations of what the program wants to achieve, it explains why the Penn State wrestling team has been so effective in dominating the sport of college wrestling.

 

References:

Destin, A. (2022, March 19). Penn State wrestling claims 9^th national title in 11 years. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved from https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/psu/2022/03/19/ncaa-wrestling-championships-results-nittany-lions/stories/202203190032

Fans boost Penn State to nation’s best in fall home attendance top 10 rankings. (2019, January 28). Gopsusports.com. Retrieved from https://gopsusports.com/news/2019/1/28/general-fans-boost-penn-state-to-nations-best-in-fall-home-attendance-top-10-rankings

Northouse, P.G. (2021).  Leadership: Theory and Practice. 9th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications

Wogenrich, M. (2022, March 20). Cael Sanderson reflects on Penn State’s latest NCAA wrestling title. FanNation. Retrieved from https://www.si.com/college/pennstate/wrestling/penn-state-coach-cael-sanderson-reflects-on-winning-ncaa-wrestling-title

Wolf, A. (n.d.) Why is Penn State so good at wrestling? Fluentbjj. Retrieved from https://fluentbjj.com/why-is-penn-state-so-good-at-wrestling/

 

To understand pseudo transformational leadership, we must first understand transformational leadership.  In 1978, a sociologist by the name of James Burns came up with the concept of transformational leadership, which attempted to link the roles of leaders and followers (Northouse, 2022, p. 186).  Transformational leadership “engage with followers and create a connection that raises the level of motivation and morality in both the leader and the follower” (PSU WC, 2022, L. 10, p. 2) by focusing on their needs and motives to help them reach their full potential (Northouse, 2021, p. 186).

By looking at the Bass model (1985), an extended, revised version of Burns’ work on transformational leadership, we see a slight difference in definition in that Bass suggests that leaders motivate followers to do more than expected by raising their level of consciousness about the “importance and value of specified and idealized goals”, getting them to transcend their own interest for the betterment of the team or organization, and moving them to address higher needs (Northouse, 2021, p. 190, para 5).  Based on the model, to be effective in motivating followers to act in ways that support the organization versus themselves, transformational leaders “often have a strong set of values and ideals” that are based on four factors which are:

1. Idealized influence (charisma) – This is the emotional element of leadership where the leader acts as a strong role model with high standards of moral and ethical conduct, which followers identify with and try to emulate because of the leader’s ability to provide the vision and mission.
2. Inspiration or inspirational motivation – Leaders inspire motivation by communicating high expectations to the followers.
3. Intellectual stimulation – Leaders encourage an environment where the followers can be creative and innovative to challenge the beliefs of themselves, the leader, and the organization.
4. Individual consideration – Leaders provide a climate that is supportive for the followers and listens carefully to their individual needs.

-(Northouse, 2021, pp. 191-193)

Now that we have a good understanding of what transformational leadership is, we can now focus on why pseudo transformational leadership is considered the destructive side.  Pseudo transformational leadership, a term coined by Bass in 1998, looks at transformational leadership but through the lens of transforming followers in a negative way (Northouse, 2022, p. 187).  Pseudo transformational leadership describes a leader as “self-consumed, exploitive, and power-oriented, with warped moral values” which is considered personalized leadership because the leaders focus on their own interests over the interest of others (Northouse, 2022, p. 187, para 3).  Unlike transformational leadership which highlights four factors that are effective in uplifting followers and motivating them to higher highs, pseudo transformational leadership is self-serving, doesn’t encourage independent thought, and has little caring for others (p.187).  This form of leadership could be considered destructive because it threatens the welfare of followers because of the disregard for the common good (p.187).  Leaders essentially leave the followers worst off than they were because the leader uses leadership for personal gain, violates their basic human rights, and plays off their fears to motivate (p. 431).

An example of a pseudo transformational leader is Adolf Hitler.  Hitler was able to express a clear vision with a great sense of passion and was able to inspire his followers to do great things, but the self-interest in ruling the European empire led to a lot of deaths for his followers (Robertson, 2015).

 

References:

Northouse, P.G. (2021).  Leadership: Theory and Practice. 9th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2022). PSYCH 485 Lesson 10: Transformational leadership. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2177519/modules/items/33991759

Robertson, D. M. (2015, Jan 5). Pseudo-transformational leaders. DMR Publications. Retrieved from https://www.dmrpublications.com/2015/01/pseudo-transformational-leaders/

Emerging in the 1990s, emotional intelligence became an “important area of study in psychology” that allowed researchers the ability to assess the impact of a person’s traits on leadership (Northouse, 2021, p. 38, para 2).  The emotional aspect of the term looks at a person’s ability to understand emotions that resonate within themselves and the people around them, in order to apply what has been learned to complete different tasks in life (p. 38).  The intelligence aspect refers to the ability to learn new information and then apply it to life tasks (p. 38).  Emotional intelligence stems from being able to express and perceive emotions in order to facilitate thinking and to be able to manage internal emotions in accordance with relationships with others (p. 38).  As a leader, it is optimum to understand how your emotions affect others, and how the follower’s emotions affect the leader’s ability to make effective decisions.

Knowing what we know now about emotional intelligence, watching a football game a couple of weeks ago on January 16, 2022, made me think about whether football coaches could benefit from more emotional intelligence training.  After looking at Goleman’s approach to emotional intelligence, which identifies a set of personal and social competencies that include self-awareness, confidence, empathy, conscientiousness, and self-regulation (Northouse, 2021, p. 38); what I witnessed during this game was a clear disconnect with one of these traits and the coach.

During a wild card football game in Tampa Bay, Florida, Bruce Arians struck the helmet of the Bucs safety, Andrew Adams.  As a leader and coach of a national football team, this shouldn’t happen.  Arian’s simple answer to the situation of doing it to get the player’s attention, didn’t satisfy the critics in the NFL world.  The optics of the situation was that Arians lost his cool and took it out on a player (Prasad, 2022).   In the NFL, coaches are expected to lead by example (Buhler, 2022) and have the emotional intelligence to understand the game in order to keep the player’s and coaches’ emotions in check to win the game.  This didn’t happen during this game and Arians was fined $50000 because of it (Buhler, 2022).  The personal competency that lacked in this situation and signaled a clear disconnect for me was the lack of self-regulation.  What self-regulation means to me is that a person can regulate their actions and emotions without the help of someone else, and this clearly isn’t that.  Arians couldn’t understand the moment and regulate his emotions in accordance with the league protocol and was unaware of how his actions were perceived, showing there were clear deficiencies in his emotional intelligence.

I know that there are times when many of us can not keep our emotions in check and understand the emotions of those around us, but at the level of an NFL coach, this is unacceptable.  They are getting paid to manage emotions in order to win games.  One good thing about this situation though is the fact the Arians can learn from this mistake and become a better leader.  It turns out that emotional intelligence is not a fixed trait and “can be improved through training” by enabling leaders to define their emotions and then learn how to regulate them (Northouse, 2021, p. 39, para 2).

With situations like this becoming more prevalent, as with this case and other similar situations, such as Urban Meyer kicking another player just a few weeks ago (Buhler, 2022), I believe that NFL coaches could benefit from more emotional intelligence training.

 

References:

Buhler, J. (2022, January 22). NFL drops the hammer on Bruce Arians for hitting his own player. Fansided. Retrieved from https://fansided.com/2022/01/22/nfl-fines-bruce-arians-hitting-andrew-adams-buccaneers/

Northouse, P.G. (2021).  Leadership: Theory and Practice. 9th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications

Prasad, A. (2022, January 17). Bruce Arians addresses hitting player in the helmet during wild card game. Fansided. Retrieved from https://fansided.com/2022/01/17/bruce-arians-addresses-hitting-player-helmet-wild-card-game/