Günter F. Müller

Leadership, mood, atmosphere, and cooperative support in project groups

Purpose – To analyze the particular influence of leadership styles on voluntary collaboration between members of project groups.Design/methodology/approach – Uses a field‐study approach to gather data of 24 project groups in an academic learning context. Takes measures of different leadership styles, affective variables (mood, group atmosphere), and pro‐social work behavior.Findings – Supports theoretical assumptions about mediating influences of mood and group atmosphere. Shows that leaders of project groups may enhance cooperative support by considering the emotional impact of their behavior.Research limitations/implications – The field context (academic learning setting, students as project group members) may set limitations to the generalizability of obtained findings.Practical implications – Helps personnel managers to look at project group leadership from a different point of view.Originality/value – Provides evidence about an emotionality link between leadership and cooperation.

Positive feelings and cooperative support in project groups

This study examined the question how feelings mediate cooperative support in temporary work units, i.e. project groups. Tests and questionnaires were administered on three occasions during projects. Data were gathered from 150 undergraduate students who worked together in 39 project groups. Required tasks were to plan, conduct, analyze, and report an empirical study within a period of 3 to 4 months. The groups were led by members of the educational staff who monitored the progress of task accomplishment. It was established that cooperative support within the groups was strongly influenced by positive mood and group atmosphere, thus confirming the conceptual framework of organizational spontaneity. Implications for research and application are discussed.

Dimensions of Self-Leadership: A German Replication and Extension

In a sample of 167 German students three dimensions of self-leadership, i.e., constructive thoughts, natural reward creation, and proactive behavior, were replicated as when scale values of a German self-leadership questionnaire were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis very satisfactory fit-indices were obtained. In addition, dimensions of self-leadership correlated with entrepreneurial trait disposition (multiple R = 0.46, p <.01), and entrepreneurial job orientation (multiple R = 0.23, p < .05). Conclusions for further research and practical applications are discussed.

Self-Leadership and Physical Vitality:

The current study examined the extension of an approach to self-leadership using strategies which focus on (1) constructive thoughts, (2) natural rewards, and (3) effective behavior. The suggested extension refers to strategies which improve physical vitality, fitness, and well-being. A sample of 163 students answered scale items selected and composed to measure the four categories of self-leadership strategies. Confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modelling indicated that strategies focusing on physical vitality, fitness, and well-being represent an independent category of self-leadership strategies. Implications for research and application were discussed.