John Washbush

The two faces of leadership: considering the dark side of leader‐follower dynamics

A number of years ago, David McClelland, in his studies of managerial motivation, identified two types of power: egoistic (using others for personal gain) and social (facilitating group cooperation and effort for the achievement of the general good). Clearly, the power motive is intimately related to the concept of leadership. However, over the last several decades, a school of thought has arisen which equates leadership with “doing the right thing”. Defining leadership in such an ethical light is both misleading and dangerous. At the same time, little has been done to address the role of followers in the influence process, and transformational models of leadership have exacerbated this problem. Failure to acknowledge the role of followers and to examine the “dark side” of leader‐follower dynamics can distort efforts to understand influence processes in an authentic way. This paper provides balance to this discussion and identifies a number of critical implications for leadership education.

An exploration of game-derived learning in total enterprise simulations

This article reports a series of exploratory studies dealing with learning in total enterprise simulations. These studies had three purposes: (a) to examine the validity of simulations as learning tools, (b) to measure any relationships between learning about the simulation and economic performance in the game, (c) to discover if some players learn more than others from the same business gaming experience. For this research, learning emanated from the game’s structure and decision-making requirements. Learning was measured using parallel forms of a multiple-choice, short-essay examination. The results showed that learning occurred from simulation play but did not vary with performance. There was some evidence that participants learned more when they perceived their teams to be well organized.

Defining and assessing competencies for competency‐based, outcome‐focused management development

This paper suggests that competency‐based, outcome‐focused management development and education programs might benefit from redirecting the non‐technical subjects away from emphasis on theories and skills, to emphasis on the decisions which managers have to make. To do this effectively, there is a need for defining the types of decisions, for organizing the knowledge and skills for making these decisions, and for a model that permits a pedagogically sound process for learning the many concepts that have to be mastered. In addition to the paper, the Peernet reviewer’s comments are provided, as well as a response to them.

As Teachers and Researchers, Where Do We Go From Here?

This article does three things. First, it describes and contrasts the teaching styles of its two authors. Second, it proposes dimensions on which simulation teaching style and game administration design might vary. Third, it argues that teaching style and game design has a considerable impact on learning-related outcomes from simulation. From that argument it recommends that the relationship between teacher/administrator behaviors, designs, and decisions on one hand and outcomes on the other ought to be (further) researched. The article is both folksy and scholarly. It describes the mechanics of the authors’ teaching and cites others’ empirical research. It tries to marry what teachers do with what they believe the field ought to be studying.

The two faces of leadership

A number of years ago, the psychologist David McClelland, in his studies of managerial motivation, identified two types of power: egoistic (using others for personal gain) and social (facilitating group cooperation and effort for the achievement of the general good). Clearly, the power motive is intimately related to the concept of leadership. However, over the last two or three decades, a school of thought has arisen which equates leadership with “doing the right thing”. Defining leadership in such an ethical light is both misleading and dangerous. Leadership, as influence skill, possesses the ability to induce both positive and negative results. A failure to acknowledge and examine the “dark side” of leadership can distort efforts to learn about leadership, may encourage development of a blind‐eye approach to examining the results of influence attempts, and might turn well‐intentioned groups into lemmings heading for the sea. Authenticity requires a balanced discussion.

Explaining executive integrity: governance, charisma, personality and agency

The recent significant occurrences of dysfunctional, and perhaps unethical, decision making and actions by a number of highly successful corporate executives suggest that there are systematic explanations for the questionable managerial behaviors that go beyond simple attributions of individual character flaws. This paper draws from four management research streams to identify some enabling conditions that constitute plausible mechanisms that may have exacerbated the present situation. Research traditions include the literature pertaining to the primacy of the rights of shareholders in equity capital financed corporate organizations, the literature describing the mechanisms whereby charisma is socially constructed and institutionalized, the literature attributing the gravitation toward positions of power on the part of individuals with predispositions to act in an unethical manner and the literature describing conditions which limit the ability of principals to fully specify the provisions of contracts with agents who are in positions of control of corporate organizations.

Total Enterprise Simulation Performance and Participant Learning.

Total enterprise simulations are often used and included as graded elements by instructors in business degree capstone “policy courses” under the assumption that their use enriches the learning experience. This suggests a belief that people who perform best in simulations have learned how to play the game better. The studies reported on here attempt to determine and evaluate the relationship between learning and simulation performance. These studies have consistently found that, while simulation‐related learning does occur, there appears to be no direct, positive relationship between the two variables. Suggestions for further research are proposed.

There is no such thing as leadership, revisited

Purpose – This essay reflects a profound sense of frustration with the concept of leadership and the enormous and every increasing body of research and pontification about it. Given the ongoing failure to define leadership as a coherent construct, it aims to argue that continuing along this omni‐directional path is not likely to produce anything truly useful for those who study, teach about or work in organizations; rather, abandoning the concept altogether and emphasizing a focus on improving decision making in organizations may prove more fruitful.Design/methodology/approach – Looks at different concepts of leadership and the enormous and ever‐increasing body of research and pontification about it.Findings – In the end, however, the author believes that we are mostly left with endless discussions and perspectives of a word that simply sounds better. We seem to remain intent on calling almost everything leadership – but, if everything is leadership, then logically nothing is leadership.Originality/value ...

Practical leadership‐in‐management education for effective strategies in a rapidly changing world

To take advantage of the opportunities, and to effectively face the challenges, which the future will present, managers need to enhance their competence for making leadership decisions. These decisions affect all issues in strategy formulation, and implementation, for organizations and organizational units. The resultant relationships will be discussed using several well‐known strategy implementation models. Learners can develop and improve leadership‐in‐management decision making by applying three relatively simple questions, which provide a foundation for adding practical perspective to the findings of leadership research. These three questions serve as reminders of all the issues that should be considered by managers. They address the establishment of direction (vision and goals), development and improvement of individual and stakeholder competence, and the strengthening of an achievement‐oriented climate that is satisfying for all stakeholders.

Total enterprise simulation performance as a function of Myers-Briggs personality type

This article presents a series of studies designed to research the predictive association between scores on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and performance in the total enterprise simulation. In previous studies by Patz, simulation teams with a high composition of individuals who processed information intuitively and made decisions by thinking (Myers-Briggs types N and T) performed better. Patz found this result across 10 industries, and he reported correlations of greater than. 7. This research, from 12 industries with 99 teams, showed that teams composed of individuals who process information intuitively and use thinking to make decisions did not perform better in total enterprise simulations. The present authors propose that differences in population, game administration, and pedagogical factors may explain the differences between Patzs findings and the present results.