Leadership in Practice Survey Report

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effective leadership styles (e.g., transformational and servant leadership)–regardless of the leader's gender or the employee's gender–caretaking gave leaders a ...
 

       

Leadership  in  Practice   >  

Survey  Report

 

Chair  of  Research  and  Science  Management   Technical  University  of  Munich  

 

 

     

  December  2017     1  

EXECUTIVE  SUMMARY      

  Study  Aims   We  examined  how  German  employees  view  their  leaders,  if  this  differs  according  to  leader   or  employee  gender,  as  well  as  leaders’  caregiving  (i.e.,  for  children  or  family  members).       Key  Findings   Although  employees  generally  rated  their  leaders  about  the  same  in  terms  of  positive  and   effective  leadership  styles  (e.g.,  transformational  and  servant  leadership)–regardless  of  the   leader’s  gender  or  the  employee’s  gender–caretaking  gave  leaders  a  boost  in  these  ratings.   In  particular,  male  leaders  who  had  fewer  than  22  direct  reports  seemed  to  benefit  most.     Takeaways   Leaders–especially  men–may  benefit  from  caretaking,  a  bonus  that  may  outweigh  some  of   the  more  short-­‐term  consequences  that  can  create  barriers  for  leaders’  caretaking.     Details   The  survey  was  conducted  in  two  waves  of  web-­‐based  surveys:  the  first  in  summer  2016  and   the   second   in   summer   2017.   Our   sample   consists   of   employed   German   adults   who   were   recruited   online   through   professional   platforms   (e.g.,   LinkedIn   and   Xing),   primarily   from   the   Bavarian  region  of  Germany.  Our  analyses  are  based  on  403  employees.        

 

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1.  DEMOGRAPHICS     PARTICIPANT  GENDER  

 

PARTICIPANT  AGE,  CHILDREN,  &  MARITAL  STATUS  

  MALES:     37%     FEMALES:     54%    

MEAN  AGE:     Leader:  46   Participant:  38      

MARITAL  STATUS:     63%:  Married   11%:  Single   12%:  Strong   relationship   5%:  Divorced  

CHILDREN:     33%  NO   67%  YES  

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INDUSTRY    

      2.  MANAGEMENT  DETAILS     POSITION  

 

  DIRECT  REPORTS   Participants  reported  that  their  leaders  had  an  average  of  21  employees  directly  under  their   supervision  (range:  1-­‐349).     4  

 3.  LEADER  RATINGS     TRANSFORMATIONAL  LEADERSHIP  occurs  when  leaders  broaden  and  elevate  the  interests   of  their  employees,  when  they  generate  awareness  and  acceptance  of  the  purposes  and   mission  of  the  group,  and  when  they  stir  their  employees  to  look  beyond  their  own  self-­‐ interest  for  the  good  of  the  group,  Bass  (1990,  p.  21).1     We   asked   participants   to   rate   their   leaders’   transformational   leadership   on   15   different   behaviors  (e.g.,  my  leader  is  always  there  when  needed,  my  leader  speaks  with  enthusiasm   about  what  should  be  achieved).  The  mean  value  for  transformational  leadership  was  3.37   (scale   range:   1-­‐5,   higher   =   more   transformational   leadership).   In   terms   of   leader   gender,   male   leaders   (M=4.88,   SD=1.27)   were   rated   as   slightly   more   transformational   than   female   leaders   (M=4.74,   SD=1.27).   Male   (M=3.34,   SD=0.87)   and   female   (M=3.38,   SD=0.77)   employees  rated  their  leaders  about  the  same.      

SERVANT  LEADERSHIP  is  a  collective-­‐oriented  leadership  style  whereby  a  person  with  a   natural  feeling...to  serve  [then  makes  a]  conscious  choice...to  lead  (Greenleaf,  1970,  p.  13).2       We  asked  participants  to  rate  their  leaders’  servant  leadership  on  7  different  behaviors  (e.g.,   my   leader   puts   my   well-­‐being   above   his/her   own,   my   leader   would   not   violate   moral   principles  in  order  to  succeed).  The  mean  value  for  servant  leadership  was  3.08  (scale  range:   1-­‐5,   higher   =   more   servant   leadership).   In   terms   of   leader   gender,   we   found   that   male   leaders  (M=3.06,  SD=0.86)  and  female  leaders  (M=3.12,  SD=0.79)  were  rated  as  about  the   same  in  terms  of  servant  leadership.  Male  (M=3.10,  SD=0.88)  and  female  (M=3.06,  SD=0.80)   employees  also  rated  their  leaders  about  the  same.      

 

 

                                                                                               

Bass,  B.  M.  (1990).  From  transactional  to  transformational  leadership:  learning  to  share  the   vision.  Organizational  Dynamics,  18(3),  19-­‐31.   2 Greenleaf,  R.  K.  (1970).  The  servant  as  leader.  Indianapolis:  Robert  K.  Greenleaf  Center.     1

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4.  CAREGIVING  AND  LEADERSHIP  RATINGS       We  defined  caregiving  as  taking  over  care  for  children  or  family  members  to  the  point  that   the  leader  had  to  break  from  working  life  or  reduce  working  hours.  Thus,  this  includes  formal   arrangements  such  as  flex-­‐time  and  parental  leave,  but  also  unofficial  arrangements.     LEADERS  WITHOUT  CAREGIVING     Leader  Gender   Leadership   Leadership  Outcomes     Responsibilities   Male           Few  Direct   Transformational  Leadership:  M=3.33,  SD=0.80   Reports  (<  22)   Servant  Leadership:  M=3.04,  SD=0.81       Many  Direct   Transformational  Leadership:  M=3.20,  SD=0.93   Reports  (>  22)   Servant  Leadership:  M=2.83,  SD=1.14     Female           Few  Direct   Transformational  Leadership:  M=3.45,  SD=0.73   Reports  (<  22)   Servant  Leadership:  M=2.78,  SD=1.34       Many  Direct   Transformational  Leadership:  M=3.32,  SD=0.90   Reports  (>  22)   Servant  Leadership:  M=2.98,  SD=0.93       CAREGIVING  LEADERS   Leader  Gender   Leadership   Leadership  Outcomes     Responsibilities   Male           Few  Direct   Transformational  Leadership:  M=3.50,  SD=0.76   Reports  (<  22)   Servant  Leadership:  M=3.37,  SD=0.78       Many  Direct   Transformational  Leadership:  M=3.28,  SD=0.96   Reports  (>  22)   Servant  Leadership:  M=2.84,  SD=1.04     Female           Few  Direct   Transformational  Leadership:  M=3.49,  SD=0.93   Reports  (<  22)   Servant  Leadership:  M=3.19,  SD=0.84       Many  Direct   Transformational  Leadership:  M=3.16,  SD=0.94   Reports  (>  22)   Servant  Leadership:  M=2.95,  SD=0.97     6  

                    For  more  information  (in  German  and  in  English):     http://www.rm.wi.tum.de/leadership-­‐care       For  other  questions  or  comments:     Jamie  L.  Gloor,  PhD   Arcisstrasse  21   Munich,  Germany  80333   [email protected]            

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