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Charismatic leadership : effects of leadership style and group productivity on individual adjustment and performance

University of British Columbia

The present study examined the effects of three leadership styles (charismatic, structuring, and considerate) and two levels of group productivity (high and low) on individuals' adjustment to and performance on an ambiguous decision making task. One hundred and forty-four Commerce undergraduates participated in a simulated organization (The Mackenzie Institute) which was obstensibly designed to assess their practical business skills. They completed an in-basket exercise directed by a manager (an experimental confederate) who portrayed a charismatic, structuring, or considerate leadership style. Participants individually worked on the exercise in the presence of two other Commerce students (also experimental confederates) who advocated to them either high or low productivity on the task. The participants subsequently completed a questionnaire measuring their adjustment to the task, the manager, and the two student confederates. Univariate analyses of variance generally indicated that individuals with charismatic leaders had significantly higher task performance, task adjustment, and adjustment to the leader when compared to individuals with considerate or structuring leaders. The group productivity data indicated that individuals in the high productivity group reported a significantly greater task satisfaction, lower role conflict and higher adjustment to the group than individuals in the low productivity group. Croup productivity norms had no significant effect on individual task performance. The interaction between leadership style and group productivity revealed that charismatic leadership, regardless of the directionality of group productivity norms, produced high individual task performance, task adjustment, and adjustment to the leader and to the group. In contrast, the impact of structuring leadership on individuals' task adjustment was modified by group productivity norms: individuals who worked with a structuring leader and in a high productivity group reported higher task satisfaction and lower role conflict than individuals who worked with a structuring leader and in a low productivity group. Individuals with a considerate leader and in a high productivity group had significantly higher task satisfaction than those with a considerate leader and in a low productivity group. Multivariate analyses of the data revealed a similar pattern of results. Explanations and implications of the results are discussed and directions for future research are presented.

Text

2010-08-06

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/27111

Business Administration

University of British Columbia

Graduate