Executive Leadership and Organizational Behavior Study Guide

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering fundamental management, personality, ethics, team dynamics, and motivation concepts from executive leadership lectures.

The Contingency Perspective

The management approach stating there is no one best way to manage people, teams, or organizations; the best course of action depends on the interplay of person- and situation-factors, making everything managers do context dependent.

Person * Situation

The concept that people and situations are dynamic: people change, situations change, and the two change each other.

Define the Problem

The first step in problem solving (closing the gap), identified as the difference between what you want (desired outcome) and what you have.

Identify Potential Causes Using Theory

The problem-solving step that involves asking 'why or how does this cause the problem?'

Make Recommendations and Act

The problem-solving step where recommendations are directly mapped to identified causes.

Emotional Intelligence (EI)

A primary driver of leadership success that is $2\times$ greater than hard skills, accounting for $90\%$ of the variance between star and average performers.

Self-Awareness

A component of Emotional Intelligence involving a deep understanding of one's emotions, needs, strengths, weaknesses, and values.

Self-Regulation

A component of Emotional Intelligence on controlling or redirecting impulses and moods, characterized by flexibility and !comfort with ambiguity.!

Motivation (EI Component)

A component of Emotional Intelligence centered on fulfilling inner needs and goals, and experiencing flow.

Empathy

A component of Emotional Intelligence defined as understanding the emotional make-up of people.

Social Skills

A component of Emotional Intelligence focused on managing relationships.

Psychological Safety

A shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking, serving as a core element for team effectiveness.

Context (Team Effectiveness Model)

The environment and support that shape team performance, with the purpose of infusing trust, clarity, leadership, resources, performance evaluation, and rewards.

Composition (Team Effectiveness Model)

Who is on the team (skills, personalities, perspectives), with the purpose of ensuring the right people are in the right roles with shared values.

Work Design (Team Effectiveness Model)

How work is structured (autonomy, meaning, impact), with the purpose of making work engaging and purpose-driven.

Process (Team Effectiveness Model)

How the team works (goals, coordination, conflict-handling, accountability), with the purpose of ensuring alignment, action, and shared ownership.

Problem-Solving Team

A team type where the team makes recommendations and leaders approve the action.

Self-Managed Team

A team type where members control their daily work and choose priorities within shared goals.

Cross-Functional Team

A team type where members from different organizational functions work toward one shared goal.

Virtual Team

A team type where members collaborate across different locations using technology.

Openness

A Big Five personality trait ranging from preferring familiar approaches (low) to seeking new ideas and experiences (high).

Conscientiousness

A Big Five personality trait ranging from less structured (low) to organized and dependable (high).

Extraversion (Big Five)

A Big Five personality trait ranging from reserved (low) to sociable and energetic (high).

Agreeableness

A Big Five personality trait ranging from skeptical and competitive (low) to trusting and cooperative (high).

Neuroticism

A Big Five personality trait ranging from calm under stress (low) to prone to worry and stress (high).

Extraversion vs. Introversion (E vs. I)

An MBTI preference pair contrasting an orientation toward people and activity with an orientation toward inner reflection.

Sensing vs. Intuition (S vs. N)

An MBTI preference pair contrasting a focus on facts and experience with a focus on patterns and ideas.

Thinking vs. Feeling (T vs. F)

An MBTI preference pair contrasting decision-making based on logic and principles with decision-making based on values and people.

Judging vs. Perceiving (J vs. P)

An MBTI preference pair contrasting an approach based on structure and closure with one based on flexibility and options.

Self-Esteem

A self-image concept addressing the question: 'How do I value myself?'

Self-Efficacy

A self-image concept addressing the question: 'Can I do this task?', representing belief in one's ability to succeed.

Emotional Stability

A self-image concept addressing the question: 'How strongly do setbacks shake me?'

Locus of Control

A self-image concept addressing what shapes outcomes, distinguishing between Internal (my actions matter) and External (luck or others matter).

Instrumental Values

Values representing the 'how'—the standards of behavior used to achieve desired ends.

Terminal Values

Values representing the 'what'—the end goals one seeks to achieve.

Tangible Values

Values centered on material things.

Intangible Values

Values centered on ideals that an individual strives for.

Ill-Conceived Goals

A cause of unethical behavior where goals or incentives set to promote a desired behavior inadvertently encourage a negative one.

Motivated Blindness

A cause of unethical behavior where people overlook unethical conduct because it is in their interest to remain ignorant.

Slippery Slope

A cause of unethical behavior where people are less able to notice unethical behavior when it develops gradually over time.

Overvaluing Outcomes

A cause of unethical behavior where unethical behavior is given a pass because the final outcome is good.

Indirect Blindness

A cause of unethical behavior where third-party actions result in holding others less accountable for unethical conduct.

Distributive Justice

A dimension of organizational justice addressing the appropriateness of resource allocation decisions (answering: 'Did you get your fair share?').

Procedural Justice

A dimension of organizational justice addressing the appropriateness of how decisions are made, focusing on consistency and being bias-free.

Interactional Justice

A dimension of organizational justice addressing the appropriateness of how one person treats another, encompassing informational and interpersonal aspects.

Need Hierarchy (Maslow)

A content motivation theory based on the sequential progression: Physiological $\rightarrow$ Safety $\rightarrow$ Belonging $\rightarrow$ Esteem $\rightarrow$ Self-Actualization.

ERG Theory (Alderfer)

A content motivation theory categorizing needs into Existence, Relatedness, and Growth, which do not follow a strict hierarchy and can be pursued simultaneously.

Theory X

A management perspective assuming that employees dislike work and can only be motivated through rewards and punishments.

Theory Y

A management perspective assuming that employees are self-motivated, creative, and take ownership, with autonomy mattering more than external control.

Acquired Needs Theory (McClelland)

A content theory stating that motivation is driven by three learned needs: nAch (Achievement), nAff (Affiliation), and nPow (Power).

Motivators (Herzberg)

Factors in Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene theory that make employees 'love job,' including recognition, getting better, enjoying tasks, and growing.

Hygiene Factors (Herzberg)

Factors in Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene theory that help employees 'stop hating job,' including fair pay, good relationships, clear rules, and a comfortable environment.

Goal-Setting Theory

A process motivation theory stating that goals motivate best when they are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Expectancy Theory

A process motivation theory stating that motivation occurs when three conditions align: Expectancy (Can I achieve it?), Instrumentality (Will I get the reward?), and Valence (Do I care about the reward?).

Equity Theory

A process theory where employees evaluate fairness by comparing their inputs (effort, skills, experience) and outcomes (salary, bonuses, recognition) to those of others, with inequality causing perceived inequity.

Skill Variety

A job design characteristic referring to the variety of skills used to carry out work.

Feedback

A core job characteristic providing information on performance; it is considered necessary for performance, whereas coaching is optional.

Effective Feedback Criteria

The three conditions required for feedback to work: the recipient must 1) Understand it, 2) Accept it, and 3) Be able to do something about it.

Extrinsic Rewards

External, tangible rewards provided to employees, such as pay, promotions, bonuses, and praise.

Intrinsic Rewards

Internal rewards derived from personal satisfaction, including feelings of accomplishment and pride.