This document provides guidance for students in Week 2 of an online leadership course. It outlines the learning objectives, activities and assignments for the week. Students will learn about contingency and situational leadership theories, and how to evaluate leadership styles based on individual personality traits and situational context. They will complete discussions on leadership case studies and a written self-reflection on personal leadership qualities. The document provides details on the assessments, resources and expectations for students' work.

1. MGT321
Week 2

2. WEEK 2 INSTRUCTOR GUIDANCE
MGT321: Assessing
Leadership Skills
MGT321
Week 2

3. MGT321 COURSE LEARNING MAP
 Week 1: Introduction to Leadership
 Building a practical foundation for assessing leader
effectiveness.
 Week 2: Leadership Perspectives
 Understanding individual and situational approaches.
 Week 3: Personal Dimensions of Leadership
 Internalizing leadership qualities.
 Week 4: From Followership to Leadership
 Understanding leader-follower dynamics.
 Week 5: Leadership for Performance
 Communication and teamwork for excellence.

4. WEEK 2 LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Task Description Due
Discussion #1 Alvis Corporation Thu, Day 3
Discussion #2 Empathy Thu, Day 3
Written Assignment Leader’s Self-Insight Mon, Day 7
Assigned Reading Description Source
Announcements Review course announcements for week. Course Home
Week 1 Feedback Review instructor feedback for
discussions and written assignment.
Waypoint
Text: Chapter 3 Contingency Approaches to Leadership (Daft, 5e)
Text: Chapter 4 The Leader as an Individual (Daft, 5e)
Online Article In a Rapidly Changing Workplace, One
Surprising Skill Helps You Stay Adaptable
(Katona,
2014)

5. WEEK 2: IMPORTANT NOTES
 Discussions:
 Be substantive – 200-250 words for initial post.
 Be scholarly – provide references and citations for
information taken from other sources.
 Written Assignment:
 Carefully review and follow assignment instructions.
 Review rubric to see how your work will be graded.
 Writing Resources:
 Ashford Writing Center & Library
 FSB APA Style Standards

6. This week you will learn to:
1. Analyze leadership approaches using decision
models.
2. Evaluate the dynamics of how to lead and work
with people with varied personality traits.
3. Identify personal values, cognitive style, and
personality style.
WEEK 2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

7. WEEK 2 INSTRUCTOR GUIDANCE
 Orientation of leadership styles and behaviors
 Task-oriented leadership
 Relation-oriented leadership
 Situational leadership theories
 Seek to match leader styles and behaviors with
situational context.
 Effectiveness dependent on knowledge of situational
variables.
(Daft, 2011; Graef, 1997; Pierce & Newstrom, 2008; Vecchio, 1987; Weiss, 2011)

8. INTEGRATIVE MODEL OF
SITUATIONAL CHANGE
(Palmer, Dunford & Akin, 2009, Gilley, 2006; Spight 2012)

9. DYSFUNCTIONAL LEADERSHIP
BEHAVIORS
 Principles of leadership often idealized.
 In practice, not all leaders exhibit ideal styles
and behaviors.
 Dysfunctional leadership occur when a
leader’s behaviors become:
 Exaggerated
 Lose touch with reality
 Become vehicles for personal gain
(Diana, 2005; Harvey, Martinko, & Douglas, 2006; Hogan & Hogan, 2001; Pearce
& Sims, 2002; Rosenthal & Pittinsky, 2006; Schwarzkopf, n.d.; Thoroughgood,
Hunter, & Sawyer, 2011; Vecchio, 2007)

10. GROUPTHINK
 Groupthink:
 Concurrence-seeking becomes so dominant in a
cohesive group that it tends to override realistic
appraisal of alternative courses of action.
(Bénabou, 2013; Janis, 2007; Thompson, 2008; Vecchio, 2007)
 Symptoms of Groupthink:
 Invulnerability
 Rationale
 Morality
 Stereotypes
 Pressures
 Self-censorship
 Unanimity
 Mindguards

11. DESTRUCTIVE NARCISSISM
 Destructive Narcissism
 Limits ability of leaders to work effectively with
colleagues and subordinates.
 Motivated by own egomaniacal needs and beliefs.
 Defined by sense of:
 Self-importance, Arrogance
 Preoccupation with power and wealth
 Excessive seeking of admiration
 Entitlement to have whatever is wanted
 Lack of concern for and devaluation of others
(Humphreys, Zhao, Ingram, Gladstone & Basham, 2010; Maccoby,
2004; Rosenthal & Pittinsky, 2006; Vecchio, 2007)

12. AVERSIVE BEHAVIORS
 Aversive leadership:
 A brand of leadership relying on coercive power
through specific use of intimidation tactics and
reprimands.
 Arises from mutual reinforcement of biased
perceptions of both follower and leader intent.
 Negatively related to:
 Team performance.
 Effectiveness of empowerment.
(Bligh, Kohles, Pearce, Justin, & Stovall, 2007; Harvey, Martinko, & Douglas,
2006; Hogan & Hogan, 2001; Pearce & Sims, 2002; Vecchio, 2007)

13. RECOMMENDED
READINGS
Belasen, A., & Frank, N. (2008). Competing values leadership: Quadrant roles and personality
traits. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 29(2), 127-143.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01437730810852489
Hersey, P., Blanchard, K., & Natemeyer, W. (1979). Situational leadership, perceptions, and the
impact of power. Group & Organization Studies (pre-1986), 4(4), 418.
Houghton, J. D., & Yoho, S. K. (2005). Toward a contingency model of leadership and
psychological empowerment: When should self-leadership be encouraged? Journal of
Leadership & Organizational Studies, 11(4), 65-83.
House, R. J. (1996, Fall96). Path-goal theory of leadership: Lessons, legacy, and a reformulated
theory. Leadership Quarterly. 323.
McLaurin, J. R. (2006). The role of situation in the leadership process: A review and
application. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 5, 97-114.

14. ANY
QUESTIONS?
Please post
your
questions
in the Ask
the
Instructor
thread.

15. REFERENCES
15
Bénabou, R. (2013). Groupthink: Collective delusions in organizations and markets. Review Of Economic Studies, 80(2), 429-462.
Bligh, M. C., Kohles, J. C., Pearce, C. L., Justin, J., & Stovall, J. F. (2007). When the romance is over: Follower perspectives of aversive
leadership. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 56(4), 528-557. doi:10.1111/j.1464-0597.2007.00303.x
Daft, R. (2015). The leadership experience (6th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western.
Diana, T. (2005). Corporate executives and auditors try on SOX. Business Credit, 107(5), 24-30.
Ferrell, O.C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2008). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases (7th ed.). New York, NY: Houghton
Mifflin.
Gilley, J. (2006). The manager as politician. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.
Graeff, C. (1997). Evolution of situational leadership theory: A critical review. Leadership Quarterly, 8(2), 153.
Harvey, P., Martinko, M., & Douglas, S. (2006). Causal reasoning in dysfunctional leader-member interactions. Journal of Managerial
Psychology 21(8), 747. doi:10.1108/02683940610713271
Hersey, P., Blanchard, K., & Natemeyer (1979). Situational leadership, perceptions, and the impact of power. Group & Organization
Studies (pre-1986), 4(4), 418.
Hogan, R., & Hogan, J. (2001). Assessing leadership: A view from the dark side. International Journal Of Selection & Assessment,
9(1/2), 40.
Humphreys, J., Zhao, D., Ingram, K., Gladstone, J., & Basham, L. (2010, January). Situational narcissism and charismatic leadership: A
conceptual framework. Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management, 11(2), 118-136.

16. REFERENCES (CONT.)
16
Janis, I. L. (2007). Groupthink. In R.P. Vecchio [Ed.), Leadership: Understanding the dynamics of power and influence in
organizations (pp. 157-169). Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.
Kroeger, O., Thuesen, J., & Rutledge, H. (2002). Type talk at work: How the 16 personality types determine your success on the job.
New York, NY: Random House.
Lubit, R. (2007). The long-term organizational impact of destructively narcissistic managers. In R.P. Vecchio [Ed.), Leadership:
Understanding the dynamics of power and influence in organizations (pp. 177-198). Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame
Press.
Maccoby, M. (2004, January). Narcissist leaders: The incredible pros, the inevitable cons. Harvard Business Review, 82(1), 92-101.
McClenahen, J. (2005). Defining social responsibility. Industry Week, 254(3), 64-65.
Norman Schwarzkopf. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved November 3, 2015, from BrainyQuote.com Web site:
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/n/normanschw398746.html
Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Akin, G. (2009). Managing organizational change: A multiple perspectives approach (2nd ed.). New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Pierce, J., & Newstrom, J. (2008). Leaders & the leadership process: Readings, self-assessments & applications (5th ed.). New York,
NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Pearce, C. L., & Sims, H. J. (2002). Vertical versus shared leadership as predictors of the effectiveness of change management teams: An
examination of aversive, directive, transactional, transformational, and empowering leader behaviors. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research,
And Practice, 6(2), 172-197. doi:10.1037/1089-2699.6.2.172
Rosenthal, S., & Pittinsky, T. (2006). Narcissistic leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(6), 617-633.
Spight, J. (2012). Integrative model of situational change. Unpublished manuscript.

17. REFERENCES (CONT.)
17
Thompson, L. (2008). Making the team: A guide for managers (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Thoroughgood, C., Hunter, S., & Sawyer, K. (2011, June). Bad apples, bad barrels, and broken followers? An empirical examination of
contextual influences on follower perceptions and reactions to aversive leadership. Journal of Business Ethics, 100(4), 647-672.
doi:10.1007/s10551-010-0702-z
Vecchio, R. (Ed.). (2007). Leadership: Understanding the dynamics of power and influence in organizations (2nd ed.). Notre Dame, IN:
University of Notre Dame Press.
Vecchio, R. P. (1987). Situational leadership theory: An examination of a prescriptive theory. Journal Of Applied Psychology, 72(3), 444-
451. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.72.3.444
Weiss, J. W. (2011). An introduction to leadership. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.