Introduction to Leadership (Week 1) - Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key leadership concepts from Week 1 notes.

Leadership

A process in which an individual intentionally influences others to guide, structure, and facilitate activities and relationships toward a group or organizational goal; not merely a role.

Formal leader

An individual who holds an official position of authority in an organization and can draw on positional power.

Informal leader

Someone who influences others without formal authority, relying on personal power and social networks.

Leader emergence

The extent to which an individual is perceived as a leader by others within a group.

Leader effectiveness

A leader’s performance in influencing and guiding others to achieve group goals, often measured by follower ratings, group performance, and job satisfaction.

Implicit leadership theory

People’s preconceived ideas about what a leader should look like, which influence who is seen as a leader.

Group prototype

The ideal member representing a group’s identity; those who fit that identity are more likely to emerge as leaders.

Trait approach

An early leadership theory seeking stable personality traits that differentiate leaders from nonleaders; traits are not determinative.

Big Five traits

A model of five core personality traits (e.g., extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism) used to study leadership.

Trait-behavior link

Traits influence leadership outcomes through associated behaviors; traits alone do not guarantee leadership success.

Behavioral approach

A perspective focusing on what leaders do (behaviors) rather than who they are; emphasizes task- and relationship-oriented actions.

Task-oriented leadership

Behaviors focused on tasks, goals, structure, and performance.

Relations-oriented leadership

Behaviors focused on relationships, support, communication, and follower development.

Passive leadership

Hands-off leadership; a lack of active guidance that generally harms group performance.

Change-oriented leadership

Behaviors aimed at guiding organizational or group change and adaptation.

Integrity-oriented leadership

Leadership that emphasizes honesty, ethical conduct, and consistency with moral principles.

Empowerment-oriented leadership

Leadership that enables and develops followers, giving them authority and support to perform well (servant leadership flavor).

Contingent theories

The idea that effective leadership depends on matching the leader’s style to the situation; there is no single best style.

Leader-member relations

The quality of the relationship between a leader and followers; trust and support influence effectiveness.

Task structure

The degree to which tasks are defined, organized, and standardized.

Positional power

The formal authority inherent in a leader’s role within an organization.

Authentic leadership

A contemporary theory emphasizing self-awareness, relational transparency, balanced processing, and an internalized moral perspective to foster positive development.

Internalized moral perspective

An aspect of authentic leadership referring to a stable ethical stance guiding decisions.