Question 1

Which of the following is true of a leader with socialized power motives?

Accepted Answer

Leaders with a socialized power motive use power primarily to achieve organizational goals or a vision. Leaders with socialized power motives tend to be more emotionally mature than leaders with personalized power motives. They exercise power more for the benefit of the entire organization and are less likely to manipulate others through the use of power. See "Leadership Motives."

Question 2

Emotional intelligence tends to:

Accepted Answer

Experience is important for emotional intelligence because it increases with age, and a person usually becomes better at managing relationships with practice. See "The Influence of Heredity and Environment on Leadership."

Question 3

Walker is a supervisor at an exporting unit. He has a cheerful disposition, and encourages and appreciates his team members who suggest ideas or accomplish tasks. Which of the following traits best describes Walker's behavior?

Accepted Answer

Extraversion has been recognized for its contribution to leadership effectiveness because it is helpful for leaders to be gregarious, outgoing, and upbeat in most situations. Also, extraverts are more likely to want to assume a leadership role and participate in group activities. See "Personality Traits of Effective Leaders."

Question 4

Edwards is the head of the procurement department at FreshDelights, a frozen yoghurt chain. Anticipating a reduction in the demand for frozen yoghurt in the upcoming winter season, Edwards decides to reduce the dairy procurement. Edwards is:

Accepted Answer

To develop visions and corporate strategy, a leader needs farsightedness, the ability to understand the long-range implications of actions and policies. Conceptual thinking refers to the ability to see the overall perspective, and it makes farsightedness possible. A conceptual thinker understands how the external environment influences the organization. See "Cognitive Factors and Leadership."

Question 5

Grace, the CEO of an oil and gas exploration company, decides to buy an oil block, even though experts have warned her of security risks and uncertainty with regard to oil presence. Grace completes the oil deal, and exploration in the block confirms oil presence. Which of the following traits best describes Grace's actions?

Accepted Answer

Leaders need courage to face the challenges of taking prudent risks and taking initiative in general. Courage comes from the heart. It takes courage for a leader to suggest a new undertaking, because if the undertaking fails, the leader is often seen as having failed. Courageous leadership has also been described as gutsy.

Question 6

An important strength of the trait approach to leadership is that it:

Accepted Answer

The current emphasis on emotional intelligence, charisma, innovative thinking, and ethical conduct, which are really traits, attitudes, and behaviors, reinforces the importance of the trait approach. Understanding the traits of effective leaders serves as an important guide to leadership selection. See "The Strengths and Limitations of The Trait Approach."

Question 7

Simon, the CEO of a consumer electronics firm, received a huge positive response from the industry experts and consumers for introducing breakthrough technologies in the company's products. Simon is a _____ leader.

Accepted Answer

Many effective leaders are creative in the sense that they arrive at imaginative and original solutions to complex problems. Creative ability lies on a continuum, with some leaders being more creative than others. At one end of the creative continuum are business leaders who think of innovative products and services. See "Cognitive Factors and Leadership."

Question 8

Derek, who was earlier a manager at a multinational firm, has been recently appointed the head of the marketing department in the same company. Despite several other contenders for the post of marketing head possessing the same technical skills, Derek clearly had an edge over the others in terms of emotional intelligence. Parker, one of the contenders, approaches the regional head to seek his advice on improving his leadership skills. If you were the regional head, what advice would you give to Parker?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Derek, who was earlier a manager at...

Question 9

Jane is a farsighted leader, so she:

Accepted Answer

To develop visions and corporate strategy, a leader needs farsightedness, the ability to understand the long-range implications of actions and policies. The farsighted leader/manager is not oblivious to short-range needs but will devise an intermediate solution. See "Cognitive Factors and Leadership."

Question 10

Clark is an enthusiastic leader who has the ability to clearly communicate his team plans and goals. He is also known for his ability to resolve disputes quickly, taking into consideration the interests of all the parties involved. Clark is likely to score high on:

Accepted Answer

Relationship management includes the interpersonal skills of being able to communicate clearly and convincingly, disarm conflicts, and build strong personal bonds. Resonant leaders use relationship management skills to spread their enthusiasm and solve disagreements, often with kindness and humor. See "Personality Traits of Effective Leaders."

Question 11

Mike is the head of a research team at a technology firm. In spite of constant rejection of Mike's ideas by the senior officials, he consistently pursued his ideas without losing confidence. This shows that Mike is a(n) _____ leader.

Accepted Answer

One of the motivational characteristics of organizational leaders is that they are tenacious. Tenacity multiplies in importance for organizational leaders because it takes a long time to implement a new program or to consummate a business deal. Resilience is part of tenacity because the tenacious person will bounce back from a setback through continuous effort. See "Leadership Motives."

Question 12

A systems thinker would be especially good at:

Accepted Answer

Conceptual thinking refers to the ability to see the overall perspective, and it makes farsightedness possible. A conceptual thinker is also a systems thinker, because he or she understands how the external environment influences the organization and how different parts of the organization influence each other. See "Cognitive Factors and Leadership."

Question 13

Torres was recently appointed the marketing head of a cosmetics company. He has a keen interest in the cosmetics industry and has extensively studied the company's past growth and marketing strategies. This reveals that Torres:

Accepted Answer

Intellectual ability is closely related to having knowledge of the business or the key task the group is performing. An effective leader has to be technically competent in some discipline, particularly when leading a group of specialists. See "Cognitive Factors and Leadership."

Question 14

Clara is the CEO of an online retail store. Her business saw a 40 per cent increase in profits in the current year owing to her instant adaptation to the current and upcoming trends. This shows that:

Accepted Answer

A leader is someone who facilitates change. It therefore follows that a leader must be flexible enough to cope with such changes as technological advances, downsizings, global outsourcing, a shifting customer base, and a changing work force. Flexibility, or the ability to adjust to different situations, has long been recognized as an important leadership characteristic. See "Personality Traits of Effective Leaders."

Question 15

Clarke, the CEO of Abbott Corp., owns several businesses. He enjoys dominating others and prefers subordinates who are submissive and passive. Which of the following power motives explains Clarke's behavior?

Accepted Answer

Some leaders with strong personalized power motives typically enjoy dominating others. Their need for dominance can lead to submissive subordinates who are frequently sycophants and yes-persons. See "Leadership Motives."

Question 16

Lindsey, a market research analyst, is known for her almost accurate predictions regarding the market trends in the medium to long term. This depicts that Lindsey:

Accepted Answer

An important cognitive trait of leaders is insight, a depth of understanding that requires considerable intuition and common sense. Intuition is often the mental process used to provide the understanding of a problem. Insight helps speed decision making. You can gauge your insight by charting the accuracy of your hunches and predictions about people and business situations. See "Cognitive Factors and Leadership."

Question 17

With respect to heredity and environment, leadership effectiveness appears to be:

Accepted Answer

The traits, motives, and characteristics required for leadership effectiveness are caused by a combination of heredity and environment. Leaders are both born and made. See "The Influence of Heredity and Environment on Leadership."

Question 18

Lewis is a team leader at a multinational corporation. Before assigning tasks to his team members, he asks for their preferences and suggestions, to not only enhance project delivery efficiency, but also increase team members' satisfaction. Which of the following traits best describes Lewis' approach?

Accepted Answer

Social awareness includes having empathy for others and intuition about organizational problems. Socially aware leaders go beyond sensing the emotions of others by showing they care. In addition, they accurately size up political forces in the office. See "Personality Traits of Effective Leaders."

Question 19

William heads the marketing department of an apparel company. He is an enthusiastic leader who puts in extra work hours to increase the productivity of his team. He is so engaged and passionate about his work that he willingly contributes to his team even during his vacation. Which of the following could possibly be a consequence of William's behaviour?

Accepted Answer

A dominant characteristic of effective leaders is their passion for their work and to some extent for the people who help them accomplish the work. The passion goes beyond enthusiasm and often expresses itself as an obsession for achieving company goals. The downside to extreme passion for work is that it can lead to work addiction, thereby interfering with other joys in life. See "Personality Traits of Effective Leaders."

Question 20

The balance of opinion suggests that the contributors to leadership effectiveness are:

Accepted Answer

A person's genes influence the emotional intelligence necessary for leadership. However, experience is important for emotional intelligence because it increases with age, and a person usually becomes better at managing relationships with practice. See "The Influence of Heredity and Environment on Leadership."

Quiz 2: Traits Motives and Characteristics of Leaders