Lmx Theory
LMX Theory
The leader member exchange theory, (LMX) has two aspects a leader must be aware of when putting this theory into practice, which are describing and prescribing. According to Northouse, 2013, LMX describes leadership and prescribes leadership by recognizing both in-groups and out-groups within an organization (pg. 168). The thing is, the leader must be able to distinguish the two and try to avoid labeling the two, and this is called descriptive. Having a in-group and a out-group. Working with an in-group allows a leader to accomplish more work in a more effective manner than he or she can accomplish working without one (pg. 168). In-groups tend to get more attention as well as special attention, whereas, out-groups don’t, because they come to work only to do the bare minimum and go home. They never do anything extra, which means they do not receive extra. A downfall of this theory is that leaders have to devote or invest more time into the involvement of the day to day part of the operation of their employees rather than their own work. As in the example in case 8.2 Working Hard at Being Fair, Jenny has been a supervisor for what appears to be a long time, but she still has to work long hours and feels like she is getting burnt out. Her members are quite happy with her leadership style and they are very productive, but maintaining this reputation for the company is starting to weigh her down. This is why the (LMX) theory should be considered the most important theory for a leader to understand. It addresses leadership as a process focused on the communication between the leaders and the followers, Jenny as a supervisor should communicate with her subordinates on one on one basis and build a work relationship.
In the case 8.3, Taking on Additional Responsibilities, the manager Jim Madison uses the (LMX) theory as a descriptive aspect also. He takes the time to try to know all of his subordinates personally, but with that he uses his
The leader member exchange theory, (LMX) has two aspects a leader must be aware of when putting this theory into practice, which are describing and prescribing. According to Northouse, 2013, LMX describes leadership and prescribes leadership by recognizing both in-groups and out-groups within an organization (pg. 168). The thing is, the leader must be able to distinguish the two and try to avoid labeling the two, and this is called descriptive. Having a in-group and a out-group. Working with an in-group allows a leader to accomplish more work in a more effective manner than he or she can accomplish working without one (pg. 168). In-groups tend to get more attention as well as special attention, whereas, out-groups don’t, because they come to work only to do the bare minimum and go home. They never do anything extra, which means they do not receive extra. A downfall of this theory is that leaders have to devote or invest more time into the involvement of the day to day part of the operation of their employees rather than their own work. As in the example in case 8.2 Working Hard at Being Fair, Jenny has been a supervisor for what appears to be a long time, but she still has to work long hours and feels like she is getting burnt out. Her members are quite happy with her leadership style and they are very productive, but maintaining this reputation for the company is starting to weigh her down. This is why the (LMX) theory should be considered the most important theory for a leader to understand. It addresses leadership as a process focused on the communication between the leaders and the followers, Jenny as a supervisor should communicate with her subordinates on one on one basis and build a work relationship.
In the case 8.3, Taking on Additional Responsibilities, the manager Jim Madison uses the (LMX) theory as a descriptive aspect also. He takes the time to try to know all of his subordinates personally, but with that he uses his
References: Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership Theory and Practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.