Performance implications of leader briefings and team-interaction training for team adaptation to novel environments.

The authors examined how leader briefings and team-interaction training influence team members' knowledge structures concerning processes related to effective performance in both routine and novel environments. Two-hundred thirty-seven undergraduates from a large mid-Atlantic university formed 79 three-member tank platoon teams and participated in a low-fidelity tank simulation. Team-interaction training, leader briefings, and novelty of performance environment were manipulated. Findings indicated that both leader briefings and team-interaction training affected the development of mental models, which in turn positively influenced team communication processes and team performance. Mental models and communication processes predicted performance more strongly in novel than in routine environments. Implications for the role of team-interaction training, leader briefings, and mental models as mechanisms for team adaptation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leader vision and the development of adaptive and proactive performance: A longitudinal study.

In this study, the authors investigated how leader vision influences the change-oriented behaviors of adaptivity and proactivity in the workplace. The authors proposed that leader vision would lead to an increase in adaptivity for employees who were high in openness to work role change. In contrast, they proposed leader vision would be associated with an increase in proactivity when employees were high in role breadth self-efficacy. These propositions were supported in a longitudinal survey of 102 employees who provided self-report data about their leader and their work behaviors. The findings provide insight into the interaction between leaders and followers in responding to a change imperative. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of social and emotional communication skills in leader emergence and effectiveness.

Three studies explored the role that basic social/communication skills play in leader emergence and effectiveness. In Study 1, 218 undergraduate students were administered self-report measures of social/communication skills and extraversion, worked in small groups on a problem-solving task, and elected leaders at task midpoint. Coders measured leaders' verbal communication. Groups elected leaders who spoke most and were extraverted but were not more socially skilled. In Study 2, leaders were selected on the basis of their possession of communication skills and led small groups in 2 tasks. More skilled communicators were rated as more effective leaders, but they did not lead more productive groups. Study 3 examined fire service leaders. Social skills were related to satisfaction with the leader but related to leader performance only for higher level leaders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Complementary nursing--an acute care case management model. Part I--development and implementation

Complementary nursing was developed in response to the need for maintaining high quality care while controlling health care costs. The complementary nurse provides comprehensive management of complex patients through an entire episode of an acute illness, to transition them back to a prehospital state through interdisciplinary discharge planning. In this article, the authors describe the process used in developing and implementing this new integrated role of acute care case management. The article contains role responsibilities, communication tools, and lessons learned from experience.     

What breaks a leader: The curvilinear relation between assertiveness and leadership.

The authors propose that individual differences in assertiveness play a critical role in perceptions about leaders. In contrast to prior work that focused on linear effects, the authors argue that individuals seen either as markedly low in assertiveness or as high in assertiveness are generally appraised as less effective leaders. Moreover, the authors claim that observers' perceptions of leaders as having too much or too little assertiveness are widespread. The authors linked the curvilinear effects of assertiveness to underlying tradeoffs between social outcomes (a high level of assertiveness worsens relationships) and instrumental outcomes (a low level of assertiveness limits goal achievement). In 3 studies, the authors used qualitative and quantitative approaches and found support for their account. The results suggest that assertiveness (and other constructs with nonlinear effects) might have been overlooked in research that has been focused on identifying what makes a leader rather than on identifying what breaks a leader. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Agentic women and communal leadership: How role prescriptions confer advantage to top women leaders.

The authors contribute to the ongoing debate about the existence of a female leadership advantage by specifying contextual factors that moderate the likelihood of the emergence of such an advantage. The investigation considered whether the perceived role incongruence between the female gender role and the leader role led to a female leader disadvantage (as predicted by role congruity theory) or whether instead a female leader advantage would emerge (as predicted by double standards and stereotype content research). In Study 1, it was only when success was internally attributed that women top leaders were evaluated as more agentic and more communal than men top leaders. Study 2 showed that the favorable ratings were unique to top-level positions and further showed that the effect on agentic traits was mediated by perceptions of double standards, while the effect on communal traits was mediated by expectations of feminized management skills. Finally, Study 2 showed that top women leaders were evaluated most favorably on overall leader effectiveness, and this effect was mediated by both mediators. Our results support the existence of a qualified female leadership advantage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teaching communication in the nursing graduation course at the nursing school of the Minas Gerais Federal University

Facing the importance of the communication in all nursing activities, in this paper the authors try to verify how has been occurring the teaching-learning process related to the communication subject during the undergraduate nursing course in the Nursing School at Federal University of Minas Gerais. The data were collected by interviewing professors and students from the undergraduate course. The results showed that the basic problem in this process is not "what" to teach but "how" to teach the subject.     

Values, exchange relationships, group composition, and leader–member differences: A potpourri of reactions to Dose (1999).

This article is in response to J. J. Dose's (see record 1999-08068-003) article examining the role of values similarity in group composition. The themes of leader–member and team–member exchange, group composition, values similarity, and leader–member differences serve as the focus. Specifically, the authors suggest how themes from the organizational and group therapy literatures can serve to enrich theory and research in each domain. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An examination of "nonleadership": From laissez-faire leadership to leader reward omission and punishment omission.

Laissez-faire leadership has received much less attention than have the 3 transactional leadership dimensions of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ). However, laissez-faire leadership has shown strong negative relationships with various leadership criteria, and the absence of leadership (laissez-faire leadership) may be just as important as is the presence of other types of leadership. This article focuses on a single type of laissez-faire leadership (i.e., the lack of response to subordinate performance). Using a reinforcement perspective, the authors developed measures and examined the effects of the lack of performance-contingent reinforcement in 2 forms: reward omission (leader nonreinforcement of good subordinate performance) and punishment omission (leader nonreinforcement of poor subordinate performance). They found strong evidence in support of the construct validity of the new measures and found that omission was related to follower satisfaction with the leader, subordinate-rated leader effectiveness, subordinate-perceived role clarity, and supervisor-rated subordinate performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rats with partial striatal dopamine depletions exhibit robust and long-lasting behavioral deficits in a simple fixed-ratio bar-pressing task

This study compares the perceived influence of several factors, each representing a popular perspective, on priority setting in hospital social work departments: (1) leader characteristics of the director; (2) organizational characteristics of the department and hospital; and (3) the preferences of constituency groups. The authors surveyed the views of directors to ascertain influences on their allocation of resources. We find that organizational factors and the preferences of constituents are the strongest determinants of departmental priorities, with leader attributes playing a less influential role. An interesting discovery is that each factor's influence varies depending on the nature of the priority area. We conclude that all three explanations for how performance priorities are shaped-a political model, a leader influence model and an institutional model-find support. The authors interpret and assess the significance of these findings to the practice of social work administration in hospitals.     

The role of leaders' working alliance in premarital education.

Premarital (and general relationship) education programs, as a prevention method, have been shown to have a positive effect on marital quality and can prevent divorce. However, it is unclear whether these positive effects are consistent across leaders who conduct premarital education programs. Examining the variability in relationship outcomes attributed to the leaders of premarital education programs, and the role of general therapeutic factors such as working alliance in explaining relationship outcomes, may help increase the effectiveness of these programs. Accordingly, this study examined 31 leaders who trained 118 couples (236 attendees) in a randomized clinical trial of the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP), a research-based and empirically supported premarital education program being compared with a treatment as usual track. The results demonstrated that couples' relationship outcomes from pre- to post-training varied on the basis of the leader who provided the premarital education training. Both training in PREP and aggregated leader working alliance quality (as rated by attendees) explained variability between leaders in change in attendees' observed negative and positive communication. Leaders' aggregated working alliance quality also explained change in relationship satisfaction. In addition, attendees' ratings of their leaders' working alliance predicted change in their relationship satisfaction and confidence, and attendees had higher positive communication when they reported better working alliance with their leader. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The nurse as senior health care executive

This author describes the advantages of having a nursing, academic, and experiential background for career progression in the health care world. The combination of nursing and business competencies provide for a well-prepared leader in a rapidly changing health care environment. An historical perspective on nurses as leaders in health care as well as competencies required for health care leaders for the future is described.     

Effects of procedural fairness and leader support on interpersonal relationships among group members.

In this article, the authors examine the impact of fair treatment by a group leader on people's relationships with and feelings toward other individual group members. Previous studies neglected procedural fairness effects on interpersonal relationships between group members. The authors hypothesized that fairness affects interpersonal relationships and feelings toward another group member only when the leader is regarded as representative and supported by the other group members. In three studies, the authors manipulated procedural fairness (no voice vs. voice) and other group member's support for the leader (full vs. mixed support for the leader). Two vignette studies supported the hypothesis. In addition, an experimental laboratory study showed that this interaction effect between procedural fairness and leader support was most pronounced among those with high belongingness needs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do peers make the place? Conceptual synthesis and meta-analysis of coworker effects on perceptions, attitudes, OCBs, and performance.

The authors propose that broad aspects of lateral relationships, conceptualized as coworker support and coworker antagonism, are linked to important individual employee outcomes (role perceptions, work attitudes, withdrawal, and effectiveness) in a framework that synthesizes several theoretical predictions. From meta-analytic tests based on 161 independent samples and 77,954 employees, the authors find support for most of the proposed linkages. Alternative explanations are ruled out, as results hold when controlling for leader influences and mediation processes. The authors also observe differential strengths of coworker influence based on its valence, content, and severity, and on the social intensity of the task environment. The authors conclude with a call for more comprehensive, complex theory and investigation of coworker influences as part of the social environment at work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of proactive personality in job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior: A relational perspective.

Drawing from a relational approach, the authors conceptualize the quality of leader–member exchange as a mediator and procedural justice climate as a contextual moderator for understanding the role of proactive personality in job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior. Data from a sample of 200 Chinese employees within 54 work groups were used to examine the hypothesized models. Results show that having a proactive personality was associated with employees establishing a high-quality exchange relationship with their supervisors; in turn, the quality of leader–member exchange was associated with greater job satisfaction and more organizational citizenship behaviors. Additionally, the relationship between proactive personality and organizational citizenship behavior was positively moderated by procedural justice climate within the group. Implications for management theory and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Professional practice leader: a transformational role that addresses human diversity

The role of the professional practice leader is to provide leadership in the transformation of nursing practice from a provider focused model to a patient focused model. Nursing standards for patient focused care were developed to define the quality of the nurse-person relationship in a manner consistent with Parse's theory of human becoming. Multiple strategies have been developed to challenge nurses to redefine the purpose, vision, and core values by which they practice. It is only through uncovering the values and beliefs of every person that nurses will be able to care for individuals whom they recognize as unique human beings.     

Establishing the next generation at work: Leader generativity as a moderator of the relationships between leader age, leader-member exchange, and leadership success.

In this study, the authors investigated leader generativity as a moderator of the relationships between leader age, leader-member exchange, and three criteria of leadership success (follower perceptions of leader effectiveness, follower satisfaction with leader, and follower extra effort). Data came from 128 university professors paired with one research assistant each. Results showed positive relationships between leader age and leader generativity, and negative relationships between leader age and follower perceptions of leader effectiveness and follower extra effort. Consistent with expectations based on leadership categorization theory, leader generativity moderated the relationships between leader age and all three criteria of leadership success, such that leaders high in generativity were better able to maintain high levels of leadership success at higher ages than leaders low in generativity. Finally, results of mediated moderation analyses showed that leader-member exchange quality mediated these moderating effects. The findings suggest that, in combination, leader age and the age-related construct of generativity importantly influence leadership processes and outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Substitutes for procedural fairness: Prototypical leaders are endorsed whether they are fair or not.

This article extends research on leader procedural fairness as well as the social identity model of leadership effectiveness (SIMOL) by demonstrating that leader prototypicality can act as a substitute for procedural fairness. Although procedural fairness in general and voice in particular have been found to have a robust positive influence on leader endorsement, the authors showed in an experimental scenario study and a correlational field study that the influence of voice on leader endorsement is substantially reduced when leaders are perceived as prototypical for the group that they lead and followers are highly identified with their group. Additionally, supportive of predictions of the SIMOL, leader prototypicality interacted with follower identification in predicting leader endorsement, such that prototypicality had a positive effect on leader endorsement, which was enhanced among high identifiers. Overall, these results suggest that leaders who are attuned to their followers' group identity can afford to go it alone, for the better or the worse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mentorship and professional role development in undergraduate nursing education

Mentoring is a positive method for promoting professional development; however, there is little information in the literature addressing the use of mentoring with baccalaureate nursing students. Because professional socialization is a critical component of baccalaureate nursing education, mentoring would be an optimal methodology. The authors describe how a mentorship program combined with a professional role development course was integrated into a BSN nursing program. The evolution of the faculty-student mentorship program and the professional role development course is presented.     

Leader group prototypicality and job satisfaction: The moderating role of job stress and team identification.

The authors examined the relationship between leader group prototypicality (the extent to which a leader is representative of the collective identity) and job satisfaction as an indicator of leadership effectiveness. Leader group prototypicality was expected to interact with job stress and team identification, such that leader group protototypicality is more strongly related to job satisfaction for followers with higher job stress and team identification. Two cross-sectional surveys (N = 329 and N = 89) conducted with the employees of 4 Italian organizations provided support for this hypothesis. The authors discuss how these findings extend our understanding of leadership effectiveness within the social identity model of leadership. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)