1 Course Learning Outcomes for Unit I Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to: 1. Summarize the major psychological foundations of leadership. 1.1 Apply the four foundations of leadership to a scenario. 1.2 Determine leadership traits that aid in empowerment. 1.3 Summarize how emotional intelligence contributes to leadership effectiveness. Course/Unit Learning Outcomes Learning Activity 1.1, 1.3 Unit Lesson Chapter 2 Unit I Case Study 1.2 Unit Lesson Chapter 2 Chapter 7 Unit I Case Study Required Unit Resources Chapter 2: Traits, Motives, and Characteristics of Leaders Chapter 7: Power, Politics, and Leadership Unit Lesson The Four Psychological Foundations of Leadership Welcome to Unit I! As we begin our journey to explore the psychological foundations of leadership, it is critically essential for us first to define the four foundations of leadership. They are social, cognitive, organizational, and industrial. While there are many types of leaders with diverse styles that follow and align with different models, these four foundational elements remain as critical measures for not only assessing capability, but also identifying traits and characteristics essential for leadership success. First, we will examine the social foundation of leadership, and we will explore how and why the ability to interact positively and form enduring relationships is mandatory for success. Second, we will investigate the cognitive foundation of leadership that encompasses the ability to receive, process, and store information and use it to execute decision-making. Third, the organizational foundation will be discussed, where we will gain a better understanding of how the setting and business structure can and will influence leadership efficacy. Finally, the industrial foundation provides a basis for examining how key competencies are critical for leadership success, according to needs related to the well-being and performance of employees. UNIT I STUDY GUIDE The Psychological Foundations of Leadership 2 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title The Social Foundation The social foundation of leadership is a critical element, where the abilities to interact, foster, and build long- term beneficial relationships are critical. As a key component, soft skills via the ability to speak with clarity and listen effectively contribute to the effectiveness of the leader. As Kouzes and Posner (2017) posit, leaders must encourage the heart, which further requires the ability to develop and enhance skills of socialization, where trust emerges and remains. Within this effort, relationships are formed and developed that build loyalty not only to the leader but also to the organization. Further, the social foundation promotes the cultivation of harmony, as trust acts as a layer of security. Visible and observable leaders reside at the helm of the organization but maintain approachability to consistently secure and ...

1. 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit I
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. Summarize the major psychological foundations of
leadership.
1.1 Apply the four foundations of leadership to a scenario.
1.2 Determine leadership traits that aid in empowerment.
1.3 Summarize how emotional intelligence contributes to
leadership effectiveness.
Course/Unit
Learning Outcomes
Learning Activity
1.1, 1.3
Unit Lesson
Chapter 2
Unit I Case Study
1.2
Unit Lesson
Chapter 2
Chapter 7
Unit I Case Study
Required Unit Resources

2. Chapter 2: Traits, Motives, and Characteristics of Leaders
Chapter 7: Power, Politics, and Leadership
Unit Lesson
The Four Psychological Foundations of Leadership
Welcome to Unit I! As we begin our journey to explore the
psychological foundations of leadership, it is
critically essential for us first to define the four foundations of
leadership. They are social, cognitive,
organizational, and industrial. While there are many types of
leaders with diverse styles that follow and align
with different models, these four foundational elements remain
as critical measures for not only assessing
capability, but also identifying traits and characteristics
essential for leadership success.
First, we will examine the social foundation of leadership, and
we will explore how and why the ability to
interact positively and form enduring relationships is mandatory
for success. Second, we will investigate the
cognitive foundation of leadership that encompasses the ability
to receive, process, and store information and
use it to execute decision-making. Third, the organizational
foundation will be discussed, where we will gain a
better understanding of how the setting and business structure
can and will influence leadership efficacy.
Finally, the industrial foundation provides a basis for examining
how key competencies are critical for
leadership success, according to needs related to the well -being
and performance of employees.
UNIT I STUDY GUIDE
The Psychological Foundations

3. of Leadership
2
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
The Social Foundation
The social foundation of leadership is a critical element, where
the abilities to interact, foster, and build long-
term beneficial relationships are critical. As a key component,
soft skills via the ability to speak with clarity and
listen effectively contribute to the effectiveness of the leader.
As Kouzes and Posner (2017) posit, leaders
must encourage the heart, which further requires the ability to
develop and enhance skills of socialization,
where trust emerges and remains. Within this effort,
relationships are formed and developed that build loyalty
not only to the leader but also to the organization. Further, the
social foundation promotes the cultivation of
harmony, as trust acts as a layer of security. Visible and
observable leaders reside at the helm of the
organization but maintain approachability to consistently secure
and promote a culture of well-being. Zaccaro
et al. (2000) posited that social judgment of the leader involves
perspective taking, social perceptiveness,
behavioral flexibility, and social performance, which are skills
that enable the leader to harvest and perpetuate
working relationships. This will now lead us to the cogniti ve
foundation where the skills that we examine
clearly connect to and integrate with the social foundation.
The Cognitive Foundation

4. The cognitive foundation of leadership encompasses mental
capacity, where the leader must possess
requisite skills inclusive of problem-solving and issue
identification as well as keen negotiation skills. Of
critical note, emotional intelligence falls into the cognitive
foundation and builds on the social dimension,
requiring a leader to have the ability to not only relate to people
but also to possess empathy to better
understand circumstances that affect followers. Sparks (2019)
cites that self-actualization is a driving force of
the leader in quest of both personal and organizational success,
certainly enabled by cognitive skills to
receive information, process, relate, and execute appropriate
responses.
Emotional intelligence consequently enables the leader to sense
the perspective of the follower, act with
concern, and demonstrate sincere personal interest in quest of
building the guiding coalition aimed toward
achieving unilateral success. Moreover, emotional intelligence
enables a leader to show empathy and further
advance trust. Northouse (2016) defines cognitive ability as
intelligence that develops over time through
experience and education, enabling a leader to assemble a
repository of knowledge to consistently meet
problems with viable solutions. In addition, this can foster
creativity and conceptual thinking, which emerge
from the capability of the leader. Now, we proceed to the
organizational foundation that encompasses both
cognitive and social aspects.
3

5. UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
The Organizational Foundation
The organizational foundation of leadership builds upon the
connection between social and cognitive,
illuminating how the leader must attain mastery of the setting,
consistently surveying opportunities for
improvement. Further within this foundation rests the need for a
leader to develop and craft a vision. Kouzes
and Posner (2017) cite the need for leaders to create a shared
vision that involves both social and cognitive
skills to operate with trust that supports effective influence
toward the attainment of common goals. Leaders
need to be able to understand the employee in the context of the
organization with a focus upon building
strengths and identifying weaknesses for development. As a
cyclical, iterative approach with the
organizational foundation, the leader regularly seeks
opportunities for process improvement, realizing the
strength of the least capable employee is the constant focus
point. Next, we will relate the organizational
foundation supported by cognitive and social dimensions to the
larger picture of the industrial foundation.
The Industrial Foundation
The industrial foundation inextricably relates to social,
cognitive, and organizational as the channel for
developing strategy to achieve not only the vision but the
mission of the organization. Among the many key
competencies within this foundation, the leader must have the
big picture understanding of the place and
function of the organization in the past, present, and future. It

6. further requires a keen ability to seek out
opportunities not only for improvement in the short-term but
also in quest of business sustainability. At the
basis, the leader must understand employee behavior and fully
understand what conduct is essential and
aligned to organizational expectations for performance. This
will differentiate between the success and failure
of the leader.
Next, by establishing a keen understanding of employee
behavior, the leader will foster trust in the
relationship, and speaking with clarity will lead to successful
empowerment. This will facilitate needed
inspiration to spurn follower initiative, and followers will feel
empowered to boldly progress with integrity
and empathy.
Summary
As we continue our journey in exploring these foundations in
the larger context of the wealth of knowledge to
be gained in this course, please consider how you personally
assess your leadership ability across these
foundational domains. Chapter 2 explores traits, motives, and
characteristics of leaders; please keep the four
foundations in mind as you read the chapter and contemplate
how self-confidence, humility, trustworthiness,
authenticity, extraversion, and assertiveness apply to each.
Chapter 7 examines power, politics, and
leadership. Given the foundations of organizational and
industrial are most closely aligned to these topics,
please do not look past the root and basis of social and
cognitive aspects, which are guiding beacons in
navigating turbulence that can and will occur. A leader is
charged with the responsibility and authority to
skillfully guide the organization in the right direction to fulfill

7. the vision and achieve the mission; it is important
to realize how each of the examined foundations serve as the
cornerstone for leadership efficacy in quest of
successful outcomes.
References
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2017). The leadership challenge
(6th ed.). Wiley.
Northouse, P. G. (2015). Leadership: Theory and practice.
SAGE.
Sparks, W. L. (2019, June 1). Actualized leadership: Meeting
your shadow and maximizing your potential.
Society for Human Resource Management.
Zaccaro, S. J., Mumford, M. D., Connelly, M. S., Marks, M. A.,
& Gilbert, J. A. (2000). Assessment of leader
problem-solving capabilities. The Leadership Quarterly, 11(1),
37–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1048-
9843(99)00042-9
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit ILearning ActivityRequired
Unit ResourcesUnit LessonThe Four Psychological Foundations
of LeadershipThe Social FoundationThe Cognitive
FoundationThe Organizational FoundationThe Industrial
FoundationSummaryReferences
LEADERSHIP CASE PROBLEM B
Blunt Brittany
Brittany is the director of merchandising for Auto Pal, a large
chain of automotive supply stores in the United States and
Canada. The company has continued to grow in terms of stores
and income, as so many more people keep their vehicles longer,
and also perform more maintenance, such as oil changes, by
themselves. Merchandising is a core function of Auto Pal

8. because the chain distributes thousands of products in its stores,
from floor mats to transmissions.
With profit margins thin, and heavy competition, the pace
of conducting business at Auto Pal is hectic. Brittany moves
quickly when dealing with her direct reports, sometimes to their
surprise.
Sid, a merchandise specialist for vehicle cleaning and
polishing supplies, recently requested a two-week paternity
leave because he and his wife were expecting a baby any
moment now. Brittany replied that such a request was kind of
wimpy, and a little bit out of the ordinary. “Don’t you have a
mother-in-law who can help with the new baby? Or, are you so
poor that you can’t hire a nanny for two weeks?”
Katie, a merchandising specialist for batteries, regulators,
and radiators, sent Brittany a detailed report about new
procurement software that might save thousands of dollars for
Auto Pal in the long run. Brittany sent back an e-mail stating in
part, “Does this great new software come from a company that
employs a relative of yours? We are already using state-of-the
art software.”
Jeff, the office manager, and one of Auto Pal’s most senior
employees, sent Brittany an e-mail asking if he could take his
ten days of vacation in five two-day pieces next year instead of
ten consecutive working days. The next day, Brittany wrote
back, “I like your idea Jeff. In this way your work flow would
be less disrupted. And besides, an old-timer like you needs a
few more long weekends than the rest of us do.” One day, Auto
Pal CEO Derek asked Brittany how well she was proceeding
with her strategic plan for next year. Brittany replied, “Not
much progress yet. I’m running around putting out fires and
dealing with the realities of making sure my team gets the right
merchandise into the stores. Maybe you could have one of those
overpaid marketing specialists dream up a strategic plan that I
could sign off on.”
Questions

9. 1. In which leadership trait or characteristic does Brittany seem
to need the most development?
2. How would you rate Brittany’s warmth and enthusiasm as a
leader?
3. What action would you recommend that Derek take to
improve Brittany’s leadership effectiveness?
Unit I Case Study
Instructions
In Chapter 2 of the textbook, locate and read Leadership Case
Problem B. In a two-page essay, address the prompts below.
· Analyze Brittany’s performance as a leader, and explain how
well she demonstrated ability with the four foundations of
leadership. Why is the cognition foundation critically important
to the organization?
· Critique Brittany’s leadership traits. Explain whether they aid
in empowerment or not. Determine recommendations for
Brittany to increase her empowerment of employees.
· Determine Brittany’s level of emotional intelligence, and
summarize how emotional intelligence contributes to leadership
effectiveness.
Please provide a meaningful introduction stating the purpose of
the paper and key points to be addressed. Also, ensure you
include a synthesizing conclusion. At a minimum, please
include the textbook as a source. The required title page and
reference page do not count toward the page requirement.
Adhere to APA Style when constructing this assignment,
including in-text citations and references for all sources that are
used. Please note that no abstract is needed.
Resources
The following resource(s) may help you with this assignment.