Leader-Member Exchange

Theory
By: Lauren Griffin, Anita Machuca, Sophia Manternach, Oreoluwa Obiri, Emily
Robertson, Mackenzie Sample, Bronson Taylor, and Kevin Williams
Activity
House Designing Activity!
http://www.online-stopwatch.com/countdown-timer/
Sit with your Univ Groups! 1-2 of our members will be the leaders for each
challenge group.
Everyone is designing a house for the leader. The best house catered to the
leaders needs will get chosen to actually be built and the person will get a
promotion/pay raise.
Schedule:
10 minutes drawing
5 minutes questionnaire
5 min small group discussion
Questionnaire
 Post-Activity Questionnaire
1) Do you know where you stand with your leader and do you know how satisfied your
leader is with what you do?

1 (none) 2 (occasionally) 3(sometimes) 4(fairly often) 5 (very high)

2) How well does your leader understand your job problems and needs?

1 (not a bit) 2(a little) 3(a fair amount) 4(quite a bit) 5(a great deal)

3) How much does your leader recognize your potential?

1 (not at all) 2(a little) 3(a fair amount) 4(quite a bit) 5(a great deal)

4) What are the chances your leader would use their power to help you solve problems
in your work?

1(none) 2(small) 3(moderately) 4(high) 5(very high)

 Post-Activity Questionnaire Cont.
5) What are the chances your leader would bail you out at his or her expense?

1 (none) 2 (small) 3 (moderately) 4 (high) 5( very high)

6) Do you have enough confidence in your leader that you would defend & justify their
decision if they werent there to do so?

1 (strongly disagree) 2 (disagree) 3 (neutral) 4 (agree) 5 (strongly agree)

7) How would you categorize your working relationship with your leader?

1 (very ineffective) 2 (worse than average) 3 (average) 4 (better than average)

5 (very effective)
Scoring
Scores in the upper range indicate
Add up your scores!
stronger, high-quality leader-member
Very high = 30-35 exchanges (ex: in-group member)

High = 25-29
Scores in the lower range indicate
Moderate = 20-24
exchanges of lesser quality in the
Low = 15-19 activity (ex: out-group member)

Very Low = 7-14 ***Disclaimer: The scores you got were

solely for this particular activity. Your
results do not reflect who you are as an
actual leader or member.
Discussion Questions
1. If you had a higher score, what did you notice about your relationship with your
leader? If you had a lower score, what did you notice about your relationship
with your leader?
2. What about the activity made it easier/harder to complete the task effectively?
3. Did you notice an in-group and/or an out-group?
4. Should your leader change their approach toward different individuals? If so,
how?
What is Leader-Member Exchange
Theory?
Description of LMX
Many theories that we have looked at typically look
at the leader and the follower separately and not
the interactions between the two
The relationship between the leader and the
follower is described as a vertical dyad
Dyad means two things of similar kind or
nature or group and dyadic communication
means the inter-relationship between the
two.
The whole idea is based on how the leader and the
members view their relationship and then how this
affects the work gets done
The focus is on the quality of the leader-member
exchanges
Research shows that high quality leader-member
exchanges produce less employee turnover
Different studies showed how high-quality
relationships are related creativity and
empowerment
Atwater and Carmeli (2009)
Harris, Wheeler, and Kacmar (2009)
In-Group
Those with a Positive Relationship with the Leader
Work is Negotiated and Expanded on with the Leader
Receive more Information
Have more Influence
Greater Trust amongst the Leader and the In-Group
Positives of In-Group
Dependable
Involved
Communicative
More for Leader and Vice Versa
Negatives of In-Group
Creates a more Privileged Group
Creates less Productive Out-group
Probably Increase Employee Turnover of the Out-Group
Small In-Group could create large out-Group which could ultimately
slow the Productivity
May Show the Bias of the Leader
Out-Group
The Out-Group are those who are not interested in taking on new roles
and different job responsibilities.
Subordinates that are in the Out Group are less compatible with the leader
Usually just come to work, do their job, and go home.
Negatives of Out-Group
The lack of relationship with the leader leads to lower work ethic
These workers have less opportunity to advance because of the lack of the
relationship.
Leader Making
The approach that emphasizes developing high-quality exchanges with all of the
leaders subordinates rather than just a few

- Creating networks of partnerships throughout the organization

- Benefits both organizational goals and leaders career goals
- Allows everyone to feel as if they are part of the in-group
 LMX Phases in Leader Making
Phase 1 Stranger
Lets follow the rules! :)
Lets just talk about work! :)
My motives are only for me!
:)
Phase 2 Acquaintance
Wow! Lets get more
personal and not just talk
about work!
Hmm Are you ready for
more stuff?
I trust you!
Phase 3 Partnership
We depend on each other!
Here take on some new
challenges and
responsibilities!
Lets help the group!
Strengths of the LMX Theory
1. Strong descriptive theory
2. Only leadership approach that makes the concept of the two-person
relationship the center of leadership process
3. Directs attention to the significance of communication in leadership
4. Alert for leaders
5. Research supported
Criticisms
Supports the development of privileged groups in the workplace
Does not elaborate on strategies on how an individual can become a part of the in-group
Critics argue the basic ideas of the theory are not fully developed
How are high-quality exchanges between leaders and subordinates actually created
Lack of empirical evidence to support the theories assertions
Application
LMX Theory applicable to ALL levels
within various organizations
Ex: business manager selecting certain
individuals to advance new company
procedure
Ex: head volunteer coordinator depends on
more committed and dependable
volunteers to run a program compared to
the others
Assess leadership through relationship
perspective
Emphasizes building relationships with
ALL subordinates
Everyone is unique & relates in special ways