Leadership Principles & Styles Flashcards

An executive's ability to remain calm, adapt quickly, and maintain clear judgment during organizational disruption is best described as:

Answer: Leadership resilience

Leadership resilience refers to a leader's capacity to maintain effectiveness, composure, and adaptability when facing significant organizational challenges or disruptions.

In the context of leadership, 'span of control' refers to:

Answer: The number of subordinates a manager can effectively supervise

Span of control describes how many direct reports a leader can manage effectively, which influences organizational structure and leadership approach.

A department head delegates a high-priority project to an experienced subordinate with full authority to make all related decisions. This best demonstrates which leadership concept?

Answer: Empowerment through delegation

Empowerment through delegation involves granting subordinates both responsibility and authority to make decisions, developing their capability and ownership.

Which leadership framework distinguishes between 'leadership' as influencing change and direction, and 'management' as maintaining order and consistency?

Answer: Kotter's distinction between leadership and management

John Kotter famously differentiated leadership (setting direction, aligning people, motivating change) from management (planning, budgeting, controlling).

A leader who frames challenges as opportunities, communicates optimism about overcoming obstacles, and helps the team see meaning in difficult work is demonstrating:

Answer: Inspirational motivation (transformational leadership)

Inspirational motivation—one of Bass's four I's of transformational leadership—involves energizing followers by communicating an optimistic vision and finding meaning in challenges.

Which of the following leadership behaviors is most closely associated with building a culture of psychological safety on a team?

Answer: Encouraging team members to speak up without fear of ridicule or punishment

Psychological safety—where team members feel safe taking interpersonal risks—is built by leaders who actively encourage open dialogue and respond constructively to input.

When a leader allows each situation to dictate their leadership approach—being directive with novices, collaborative with experienced peers, and delegating to experts—they are practicing:

Answer: Adaptive (flexible) leadership

Adaptive or flexible leadership involves consciously adjusting one's style to fit the specific demands of each situation and the needs of each individual.