Leadership Principles & Styles Flashcards

Which leadership principle is MOST important when a conflict manager must address a power imbalance between two disputing parties?

Answer: Impartiality combined with structural interventions to level the playing field

Effective conflict leaders remain impartial but use process design and facilitative tools to ensure power-imbalanced parties can engage equitably.

A leader who demonstrates 'inspirational motivation' encourages conflict resolution by:

Answer: Articulating a compelling vision of a collaborative future that parties want to achieve

Inspirational motivation (a transformational component) draws parties forward by making the goal of resolution feel meaningful and achievable.

Which of the following is a PRIMARY risk of a purely pacesetting leadership style in conflict management?

Answer: Burnout and disengagement when expectations are relentlessly high

Goleman's research shows pacesetting leaders who set high-performance bars without support damage team morale and create toxic climates.

When a CCM applies 'idealized influence' (charisma) in conflict contexts, they primarily:

Answer: Model ethical behavior and build trust so parties accept their guidance

Idealized influence means the leader is admired and trusted because they model the values they espouse, not because they dominate.

In Fiedler's Contingency Model, a relationship-motivated leader performs best under which conditions?

Answer: Moderately favorable situations

Fiedler found relationship-motivated (high LPC) leaders are most effective in moderate-favorability situations with mixed control.

A conflict manager applying authentic leadership would MOST likely:

Answer: Openly share self-awareness, values, and limitations while remaining goal-focused

Authentic leaders demonstrate genuine self-awareness and relational transparency, which builds the trust parties need to engage honestly in conflict resolution.

Which statement BEST captures the relationship between leadership style and conflict culture in an organization?

Answer: Leaders shape conflict culture through their daily behaviors, responses to disagreement, and tolerance for dissent

Research consistently shows that leader behavior — how they model, reward, and respond to conflict — is the single strongest driver of organizational conflict culture.