Laura Guillen

Team Diversity and Categorization Salience: Capturing Diversity-Blind, Intergroup-Biased, and Multicultural Perceptions

It is increasingly recognized that team diversity with respect to various social categories (e.g., gender, race) does not automatically result in the cognitive activation of these categories (i.e., categorization salience), and that factors influencing this relationship are important for the effects of diversity. Thus, it is a methodological problem that no measurement technique is available to measure categorization salience in a way that efficiently applies to multiple dimensions of diversity in multiple combinations. Based on insights from artificial intelligence research, we propose a technique to capture the salience of different social categorizations in teams that does not prime the salience of these categories. We illustrate the importance of such measurement by showing how it may be used to distinguish among diversity-blind responses (low categorization salience), multicultural responses (positive responses to categorization salience), and intergroup-biased responses (negative responses to categorization salience) in a study of gender and race diversity and the gender by race faultline in 38 manufacturing teams comprising 239 members.

Competencies, Personality Traits, and Organizational Rewards of Middle Managers: A Motive-Based Approach

People are rewarded for how they behave, but what do middle managers get for their behavior at work? In this article, we draw upon socioanalytic and role theories to linking competencies, personality, and organizational rewards among a sample of middle managers. The goals of this study were (a) to identify a motive-based competency structure and (b) to understand the antecedents and consequences of these motive-based dimensions. We found that a three-factor structure formed by “achievement,” “power,” and “affiliation” fit our data well. Each of the three dimensions showed a distinct pattern of personality correlates. Power was found to have the strongest impact on organizational rewards. Our results further suggested that personality impacts organizational rewards mainly through the motive-based dimensions. Theoretical and practical contributions are discussed.

Design and Evaluation Process of a Personal and Motive-Based Competencies Questionnaire in Spanish-Speaking Contexts

Most questionnaires used for managerial purposes have been developed in Anglo-Saxon countries and then adapted for other cultures. However, this process is controversial. This paper fills the gap for more culturally sensitive assessment instruments in the specific field of human resources while also addressing the methodological issues that scientists and practitioners face in the development of questionnaires. First, we present the development process of a Personal and Motive-based competencies questionnaire targeted to Spanish-speaking countries. Second, we address the validation process by guiding the reader through testing the questionnaire construct validity. We performed two studies: a first study with 274 experts and practitioners of competency development and a definitive study with 482 members of the general public. Our results support a model of nineteen competencies grouped into four higher-order factors. To assure valid construct comparisons we have tested the factorial invariance of gender and work experience. Subsequent analysis have found that women self-rate themselves significantly higher than men on only two of the nineteen competencies, empathy (p < .001) and service orientation (p < .05). The effect of work experience was significant in twelve competencies (p < .001), in which less experienced workers self-rate higher than experienced workers. Finally, we derive theoretical and practical implications.

When Opposites Hurt: Similarity in Getting Ahead in Leader-Follower Dyads as a Predictor of Job Performance Evaluations

Status-seeking behaviors are linked to executive career progression, but do leaders appreciate being surrounded by followers eager to move up in the organizational hierarchy? Building on the self-enhancement theory, we propose that leaders with high self-assessed getting-ahead behaviors give better performance evaluations to subordinates who also have willingness to get ahead behaviors. In contrast, leaders with low self-assessed getting-ahead behaviors are quite reserved about the performance of subordinates high in the getting-ahead dimension. We also propose that overall, ambitious leaders evaluate more positively their followers’ performance than leaders with more modest desire to get ahead. We suggest that this effect is magnified when the status differential between the leader and the follower is reduced due to differences in age or hierarchical level (i.e., a younger leader or too few hierarchical levels between the leader and the subordinate). The results obtained by using polynomial regression and response surface techniques to analyze a sample of 138 leader-follower dyads supported our hypotheses showing a supervisor’s contextual performance ratings skew rooted in leaders’ desire to get ahead. We conclude by deriving the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

Conclusion: Turning the Coaching Kaleidoscope

A young Zen student approached his teacher, and asked, “If I work very hard and conscientiously, how long will it take for me to find Zen?” The master thought hard, then replied, “Ten years.” The student said, “But what if I work very, very hard and really apply myself to learn fast—how long will it then take?” “Well, in that case,” said the master, “it will take 20 years.” “But, if I really, really work at it. How long would it take then?” “Thirty years,” replied the master. “But, master, I do not understand,” said the confused student. “Each time I say I will work harder, you say it will take me longer. Why is that?” “Because,” replied the Zen master, “when you have one eye on the goal, you only have one eye on the path.”