Deck 16: The Dark Side of Leadership

Question 1

The increasing pressure on organizations to find good leaders quickly has a tendency to cause leaders to fail because of inadequate preparation for promotion.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Destructive leadership is very clear-cut and easily identified.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The Dr.Gordy test is used to determine the level of incompetence among persons in positions of authority.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

One of the reasons a leader is unable to build teams is because of dark-side personality traits.

Question 5

Dark-side personality traits are a cause of managerial incompetence and involve irritating,counterproductive behavioral tendencies that interfere with a leader's ability to build cohesive teams and cause followers to exert less effort toward goal accomplishment.

Question 6

Dark-side traits are usually apparent when leaders are attending to their public image.

Question 7

People who possess bold,mischievous,colorful,and imaginative dark-side traits often do well in interviews and get hired as a result.

Question 8

The base rate of managerial incompetence is estimated at 25 to 30 percent.

Question 9

The root cause of most major industrial accidents and incidents can be traced back to management cost-cutting initiatives.

Question 10

A vast majority of people in positions of authority are competent.

Question 11

A manager's intelligence is directly related to his or her ability to make decisions as well as his or her ability to build cohesive teams and get results.

Question 12

A derailed manager exhibiting an inability to build relationships with co-workers is insensitive to the needs and plights of followers and is often overly competitive,demanding,and domineering.

Question 13

A single derailment pattern of behavior is typically enough to cause a manager to fail.

Question 14

Everyone has at least one dark-side personality trait.

Question 15

Competent managers have a highly active reality distortion field,where they only take in information that is aligned with their self-perceptions and discount any evidence to the contrary.

Question 16

In the context of the root causes of managerial incompetence and derailment,dark-side traits have a lower influence on performance for people in leadership versus followership roles.

Question 17

Criticizers tend to complain and do all they can to get out of work.

Question 18

People in positions of authority can leverage the intelligence and experience of their staffs to develop solutions that help their teams succeed.

Question 19

Destructive leadership can occur at a variety of levels in organizations.

Question 20

Episodic managerial incompetence occurs when taxing situational or follower events permanently disrupt a person's ability to build teams or get results.

Question 21

Which of the following managerial types have most likely gained insight into their dark-side traits and found ways to negate the debilitating effects of these traits on followers?

A)competent managers
B)taskmasters
C)cheerleaders
D)figureheads

Question 22

Which of the following individuals are good at building teams and getting results through others?

A)cheerleaders
B)taskmasters
C)competent managers
D)figurehead managers

Question 23

In the context of leadership motivation,which of the following statements is true of successful leaders?

A)They spend a lot of time managing their people,teams,and business results.
B)They move through the ranks quickly and are motivated by promotion.
C)They spend relatively little time networking and stay away from office politics.
D)They engage in securing needed resources,building high-performing teams,and driving results.

Question 24

In the context of the dark side of leadership,which of the following describes the common reasons why people in positions of authority have difficulty engaging followers,building teams,or getting results through others?

A)situational awareness
B)managerial derailment
C)narcissism
D)reality distortion field

Question 25

Which of the following most likely underlies the management derailment pattern of being unable to lead and build a team?

A)the presence of dark-side traits
B)inadequate distribution channels
C)poor product development decisions
D)lying about business and financial results

Question 26

In the context of the root causes of managerial incompetence and derailment,which of the following occurs when taxing situational or follower events permanently disrupt a person's ability to build teams or get results?

A)episodic managerial incompetence
B)managerial derailment
C)moronization of management
D)chronic managerial incompetence

Question 27

In the context of managerial incompetence,which of the following is used to determine the level of incompetence among people in positions of authority?

A)the least preferred co-worker scale
B)the balanced scorecard
C)the Dr.Gordy test
D)the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire

Question 28

When people in positions of authority face extremely tough situational or follower events that temporarily interfere with their ability to build teams and get results,the situation is known as

A)chronic managerial incompetence.
B)authoritarian management.
C)impoverished management.
D)episodic managerial incompetence.

Question 29

Which of the following is a root cause of managerial incompetence and involves irritating,counterproductive behavioral tendencies that interfere with a leader's ability to build cohesive teams and cause followers to exert less effort toward goal accomplishment?

A)low levels of situational awareness
B)poor followership
C)dark-side personality traits
D)highly active reality distortion field

Question 30

In the context of dark-side personality traits in leaders,which trait is associated with an unhealthy mistrust of others,constant questioning of the motives and integrity of followers,and vigilance for signs of disloyalty?

A)diligent
B)reserved
C)skeptical
D)cautious

Question 31

According to research,between 50 and 90 percent of all new businesses fail within five years because of

A)insufficient investment capital.
B)managerial incompetence.
C)unethical business practices.
D)poor target marketing.

Question 32

________ is defined as the relevant knowledge a person can leverage to solve a problem.

A)Managerial competence
B)Technical expertise
C)Subject matter expertise
D)Team-building know-how

Question 33

In the context of the root causes of management incompetence and derailment,which of the following is most likely true of leaders with a reserved dark-side personality trait?

A)These leaders have difficulties building teams because of their dramatic mood swings.
B)These leaders deal with stress by becoming extremely withdrawn and uncommunicative.
C)These leaders have an unhealthy mistrust of others and are vigilant for signs of disloyalty.
D)These leaders deal with stress by showing ingratiating behavior to superiors.

Question 34

Jim Collins' study of highly successful companies that subsequently failed indicated that these firms went through a five-stage process toward failure.What is the first stage of the process?

A)Leaders focus on succession planning initiatives,and firms expand globally.
B)Firms focus on external factors such as competitors and changing technologies.
C)Leaders strive to merge with successful companies to gain more market share.
D)Firms become insulated by success,and leaders adopt an entitlement mentality.

Question 35

In the context of the root causes of management incompetence and derailment,identify a true statement about dark-side traits?

A)They are easy to detect in interviews or assessment centers or with bright-side personality inventories.
B)They have a bigger influence on performance for people in followership versus leadership roles.
C)They are usually apparent only when leaders are attending to their public image.
D)They usually emerge during crises or periods of high stress and serve as coping mechanisms.

Question 36

In the context of dark-side personality traits,which of the following is most likely true of leaders who are dutiful?

A)These leaders become extremely withdrawn and are uncommunicative during times of stress.
B)These leaders are constantly questioning the motives and challenging the integrity of their followers.
C)These leaders lack spines and are unwilling to refuse unrealistic requests.
D)These leaders think in eccentric ways and make strange or odd decisions.

Question 37

Diligent leaders are most likely to

A)blame others for their mistakes.
B)deal with stress by trying to gain favors from superiors.
C)frustrate their staffs through micromanagement.
D)be unconcerned about the welfare of their staff.

Question 38

________ are followers who seek forgiveness rather than permission and offer alternative solutions.

A)Slackers
B)Brown-nosers
C)Criticizers
D)Self-starters

Question 39

In the context of the root causes of management incompetence and derailment,which of the following is most likely true of leaders with a bold dark-side personality trait?

A)These leaders think in eccentric ways,often change their minds,and make strange or odd decisions.
B)These leaders have a tendency to blame their mistakes on others,and they are unable to learn from experience.
C)These leaders tend to be quite charming but take pleasure in seeing if they can get away with breaking commitments.
D)These leaders frustrate and disempower their staffs through micromanagement.

Question 40

Managers who derail because of an inability to build relationships with co-workers are most likely

A)overly sensitive.
B)domineering.
C)self-conscious.
D)lazy.