Leadership Reflections: Aspects of Dysfunctional Leadership
Based on assigned readings (ORG515 Module 3), this journal entry reflects on three prevalent forms of dysfunctional leadership (Vecchio, 2007) that potentially impact the author’s effectiveness as a leader – groupthink, aversive behavior, and destructive narcissism. Proceeding from a definitional overview, the discussion identifies aspects of these dysfunctional behaviors that are relevant to the author. This entry then considers appropriate remedial actions, including consideration of the relative effectiveness of a study partner’s strategies, for ameliorating deficiencies in the author’s leadership behaviors.
Definitional Overview of Dysfunctional Behaviors
Groupthink, aversive leadership, and destructive narcissism represent predominant forms of dysfunctional leadership behaviors, each of which can seriously compromise the efficacy of leader-member relationships and organizational performance behaviors (Harvey, Martinko, & Douglas, 2006, p. 748). These behaviors manifest from the “confluence of destructive leaders interacting with susceptible followers and conducive environments” (Thoroughgood, Hunter, & Sawyer, 2010, p.648), as well as from a leader’s personality traits and styles (Rosenthal & Pittinsky, 2006). Effective leadership depends greatly on understanding the meaning, causes, and consequences of these behaviors.
Groupthink
Groupthink occurs when individual critical thinking and appraisal of alternatives is held subordinate to group desires for consensus in decision-making (Janis, 2007). Symptoms of groupthink behaviors emerge when group members begin to consider themselves as being invulnerable and above moral standards, engage in self-serving collect...
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Quiz: Are You a Narcissist? (n.d.). Retrieved from BeliefNet Website, http://www.beliefnet.com/section/quiz/index.asp?sectionID=&surveyID=74 Narcissist?
Rosenthal, S., & Pittinsky, T. (2006). Narcissistic leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(6), 617-633.
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.
Pierce, Jon L. and John W. Newstrom (2011) 6th edition. Leaders and the Leadership Process.
In 1972, Irving Janis presented a set of hypothesis that he extracted from observing small groups performing problem solving tasks; he collectively referred to these hypotheses as groupthink¹. He defined groupthink as “a quick and easy way to refer to a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members’ striving for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action²” A successful group brings varied ideas, collective knowledge, and focus on the task at hand. The importance of groups is to accomplish tasks that individuals can not do on their own. The Bay of Pigs, Watergate, and the Challenger disaster are all forms of failure within a group. Specifically, you can see the effect of groupthink of Americans before September 11, 2001. The thought of harm to the United States was unfathomable, but only after the attacks did they realize they were not invincible. When a solid, highly cohesive group is only concerned with maintaining agreement, they fail to see their alternatives and any other available options. When a group experiences groupthink, they may feel uninterested about a task, don't feel like they will be successful, and the group members do not challenge ideas. Stress is also a factor in the failure of groupthink. An effective group needs to have clear goals, trust, accountability, support, and training. Some indicators that groupthink may be happening are; making unethical decisions, they think they are never wrong, close-minded about situations, and ignore important information. Many things can be done to prevent groupthink from happening. One way is to make each person in the group a “critical evaluator”. The leader must ...
Lord, R. (2000). Leadership. In A. E. Kazdin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of psychology, vol. 4. (pp. 499-505). Doi:10.1037/10519-216
Vecchio, R. (Ed.). (2007). Leadership: Understanding the dynamics of power and influence in organizations (2nd ed.). Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.
Yukl, G. (2010). Leadership in organizations. (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Groupthink is the psychological phenomenon in which groups working on a task think along the same lines which could have drastic results. It is the result of group polarization where discussions are enhance or exaggerate the initial leanings of the group. Therefore, if a group leans towards risky situation at the beginning of the discussion on average they will move toward an even riskier position. (Marks, 2015). The idea when everyone think the same no one is really thinking. The drastic outcomes result from people trying to avoid conflict with one another, being highly cohesive, and results is questionable decision making (Oliver, 2013). Houghton Mifflin publication of Victims of Groupthink: A Psychological Study of Foreign-Policy Decisions
There are eight symptoms of groupthink. The first symptom is when all or most of the group view themselves as invincible which causes them to make decisions that may be risky. The group has an enormous amount of confidence and authority in their decisions as well as in themselves. They see themselves collectively better in all ways than any other group and they believe the event will go well not because of what it is, but because they are involved. The second symptom is the belief of the group that they are moral and upstanding, which leads the group to ignore the ethical or moral consequences of the decisions. The group engages in a total overestimation of its morality. There is never any question that the group is not doing the right thing, they just act. The disregarding of information or warnings that may lead to changes in past policy is the third symptom. Even if there is considerable evidence against their standpoint, they see no problems with their plan. Stereotyping of enemy leaders or others as weak or stupid is the fourth symptom. This symptom leads to close-mindedness to other individuals and their opinions. The fifth symptom is the self-censorship of an individual causing him to overlook his doubts. A group member basically keeps his mouth shut so the group can continue in harmony. Symptom number six refers to the illusion of unanimity; going along with the majority, and the assumption that silence signifies consent. Sometimes a group member who questions the rightness of the goals is pressured by others into concurring or agreeing, this is symptom number seven. The last symptom is the members that set themselves up as a buffer to protect the group from adverse information that may destroy their shared contentment regarding the group’s ...
Larson, C. and LaFasto, F. (1989), Teamwork: What Must Go Right/What Can Go Wrong. Newberry Park, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Leaders develop close relationships with in-group members and assign considerable responsibility to perform tasks. Whereas, leaders develop distant or formal relations with out-group members. These low quality interactions and formal supervisions lead to dissatisfaction among the group.
A leader sets the tone for those they supervise. Having a weak or ineffective leadership style turns what could be a productive organization into one that lacks direction, is chaotic, and fails to live up to its potential. Incompetent central leadership can also cause a power struggle amongst the other remaining team members. Groups seek leadership; when leaders fail to use their powers others will maneuver to use the power left in the void. This can lead to a power-struggle and backstabbing (Morgan, 2007).
Thompson, L. (2014). Making the team: A guide for managers. (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
(2007) describes the essence of leadership as “the process for achieving worthwhile results while acting with respect, care, and fairness for the well-being of all involved (p.xx). The culture that is created within an organization may promote or inhibit mutual respect (Josephson, 2010). The leader sets the tone and direction for what will be accepted, as followers observe the manner in which their leader carries him or herself. An employee may make several observations about their leader that informs them about the level of acceptance the organization may have toward bad behavior. Does the leader make excuses for showing disrespect toward others? Does the leader conduct themselves with honesty and integrity only when situations are not difficult? Does the leader care only about themselves and their own success? Does a leader make excuses for these activities? When a leader engages in these types of behaviors,
Narcissist tend to think that they are better leaders than what they actually are according to their peers and coworkers. Proverbs 29:2 says "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn" (King James Bible Online, 2015). Robbins & Judge (2009) describe narcissism as an individual “who has a grandiose sense of self-importance, requires excessive admiration, has a sense of entitlement, and is arrogant.” Poet Tony Hoagland brought up a valid observation in the textbook about the American culture When there came time for a big project, I noticed that he was always the one to be congratulated and rewarded by the management team for the work that the members of his team actually did. He really believed that he had done all of the work and only he should be credited for it, just because he was the team lead and senior member of the team.
Northouse, P. (2010). Leadership: Theory and practice (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Organizational leaders across the world need to be self aware of their own negative leadership behavior in order to improve and combat the issue. Most leaders have been promoted or hired into their management roles because they are highly competent and have proven themselves to be successful (Brusman, 2011). In general, negative leadership behavior is the result of poor communication skills and lack of emotional intelligence on the part of the leader (Brusman, 2011). In order for a leader to improve their negative leadership behavior they need to realize when they have made a mistake and strive to not make the same mistake twice.