**Notes**

This chapter is a slightly modified version of Johan de Heer, Rafal Hrynkiewicz, Thomas de Groot, and Edward Faber (2017). Mind Steering Leadership Game. © Springer International Publishing AG 2018, J.I. Kantola et al. (eds.), Advances in Human Factors, Business Management and Leadership, Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing 594, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-60372-8\_29, p. 299-308.

**Chapter 10**

**Provisional chapter**

**Impact of the Characteristics of the Leader over the**

**Impact of the Characteristics of the Leader over the** 

This chapter focuses on the study of the impact of the characteristics of the leader on innovative work behavior (IWB) of the collaborators, establishing the influence of contributing factors, such as the organization learning capability (OLC) and team-member exchange (TMX). This presentation shows new relational models and contributions to the understanding the mechanisms about how variables of positive psychology (the selfefficacy (SE), hope (HP), optimism (OP), and resilience (RL) of the leader) or managerial variables (organization learning capability) can influence variables of an individual level (team member exchange and innovative work behavior). Supported by structural equation modeling, a statistical appropriate test method to confirm the empirical evidence of the hypotheses raised in the shown studies, it was possible to confirm the positive relationship among the considered constructs that we discuss in this chapter. An appendix with questionnaires that the reader can use in the measurement of the leader characteristics and the other factors in the model, in order to get the real information about these variables focused on the improvement of the team and the organization performance, is

**Keywords:** leader, collaborator, hope, optimism, resilience, team member exchange,

Directing and managing an employee behavior have been an ongoing cutting-edge topic in research and organizational practice. The modification and management of team member behavior have been presented in psychological research for the last century (beginning, e.g.,

> © 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.76529

**Characteristics of Work Teams**

**Characteristics of Work Teams**

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

innovative behavior, organizational learning

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Guillermo Buenaventura-Vera

Guillermo Buenaventura-Vera

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.76529

**Abstract**

included.

**1. Introduction**

#### **Author details**

Johan de Heer\*, Rafal Hrynkiewicz, Thomas de Groot, Edward Faber and Tije Oortwijn

\*Address all correspondence to: johan.deheer@nl.thalesgroup.com

Thales Research and Technology, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

### **References**


#### **Impact of the Characteristics of the Leader over the Characteristics of Work Teams Impact of the Characteristics of the Leader over the Characteristics of Work Teams**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.76529

Guillermo Buenaventura-Vera Guillermo Buenaventura-Vera

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.76529

#### **Abstract**

Publishing AG 2018, J.I. Kantola et al. (eds.), Advances in Human Factors, Business Management and Leadership, Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing 594, DOI

Johan de Heer\*, Rafal Hrynkiewicz, Thomas de Groot, Edward Faber and Tije Oortwijn

Thales Research and Technology, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

[1] Goleman D. What Makes a leader? Harvard Business Review. 1998;**76**:93-102

[Internet]. http://extensionpublications.unl.edu/assets/pdf/g1695.pdf

Springer; 2011. pp. 9-23. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2161-9

inquiry cycle. Educational Research Review. 2014;**14**:47-61

[2] Goleman D. Leadership that gets results. Harvard Business Review. 2000;**78**:78-90

[3] Hall A, Barrett L. Influence: The essence of leadership. Nebguide. University of Nebraska

[4] de Freitas S, Liarokapis F. Serious games: A new paradigm for education? In: Ma M, Oikonomou A, Jain LC, editors. Serious Games and Edutainment Applications. London:

[5] Pedaste M, Mäeots M, Siiman LA, de Jong T, van Riesen SAN, Kamp ET, Manoli CC, Zacharia ZC, Tsourlidaki E. Phases of inquiry-based learning: Definitions and the

[7] Klabbers HG. The Magic Circle: Principles of Gaming and Simulation. 3rd & rev. ed.

[8] Schell J. The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses. 2nd ed. Natick, Massachusetts: A K

[9] Csikzentmihaly M, Csikzentmihaly M. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.

\*Address all correspondence to: johan.deheer@nl.thalesgroup.com

10.1007/978-3-319-60372-8\_29, p. 299-308.

**Author details**

166 Leadership

**References**

[6] www.go-lab-project.eu

Peters/CRC Press; 2008

Rotterdam: Sense Publishers; 2009

Vol. 41. New York: Harper Perennial; 1991

This chapter focuses on the study of the impact of the characteristics of the leader on innovative work behavior (IWB) of the collaborators, establishing the influence of contributing factors, such as the organization learning capability (OLC) and team-member exchange (TMX). This presentation shows new relational models and contributions to the understanding the mechanisms about how variables of positive psychology (the selfefficacy (SE), hope (HP), optimism (OP), and resilience (RL) of the leader) or managerial variables (organization learning capability) can influence variables of an individual level (team member exchange and innovative work behavior). Supported by structural equation modeling, a statistical appropriate test method to confirm the empirical evidence of the hypotheses raised in the shown studies, it was possible to confirm the positive relationship among the considered constructs that we discuss in this chapter. An appendix with questionnaires that the reader can use in the measurement of the leader characteristics and the other factors in the model, in order to get the real information about these variables focused on the improvement of the team and the organization performance, is included.

**Keywords:** leader, collaborator, hope, optimism, resilience, team member exchange, innovative behavior, organizational learning

#### **1. Introduction**

Directing and managing an employee behavior have been an ongoing cutting-edge topic in research and organizational practice. The modification and management of team member behavior have been presented in psychological research for the last century (beginning, e.g.,

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

with the work of [1–3]). Bandura [4] proposed theories that relate human motivation and performance with individual behavior according to both the self-efficacy (SE) theory [5] and cognitive social theory [6–9]. In this chapter, we describe how important leader personal characteristics (self-efficacy (SE), hope (HP), optimism (OP), and resilience (RL)) influence the innovative work behavior of the team members, based on the evidence of our investigation.

exchange (Section 5). The models constructed in the investigations are shown in Section 6. Conclusions of the chapter are in Section 7. Finally, an annex lists the questionnaires that

Impact of the Characteristics of the Leader over the Characteristics of Work Teams

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.76529

169

Organizational resources lead to a sustainable competitive advantage when they are valuable, rare, and inimitable and have no substitutes [37]. Resource and capacity theory recognize that human capital is among the most important resources in terms of improving performance [37–39]. However, in order to generate economic benefits from human resource, the company must assemble, integrate, and promote its capacities through the implementation of strategies

By paying attention to the positive psychological characteristics of their leaders, organizations can increase employee engagement, motivation, and important work outcomes. For example, the leader's positive psychological characteristics were positively related to feelings of followers' empowerment (in [40]) and, also, a positive relationship between the leaders' positivity and the followers' positivity and performance (see [41]). By paying attention to the positive psychological characteristics of their leaders, organizations can increase employee engagement, motivation, and important work outcomes. We mentioned four important factors according to positive psychology, about leader characteristics. They will be presented in

Self-efficacy (SE) is the person's conviction to success, regarding their capacity of motivation, exploitation of their cognitive resources, and definition of courses of action that executes a specific task ([5, 8, 42, 43]). In a specific sense, Wood and Bandura [44] propose that selfefficacy is the belief in one's own capacities in order to mobilize the cognitive resources, motivation, and courses of action required to support the demands of a particular task or

In short, the effective performance of new and complex roles in any activity requires the individual to have enough confidence in his or her competences to play a role that covers wider and proactive activities in order to go beyond the traditional technical performance requirements [45, 46]. It is precisely this requirement, in relation to the organizational context,

Self-efficacy refers to a person's judgment regarding his or her own capacity to handle specific situations, allowing us to focus not only on the abilities of people but also on their beliefs in terms of what they are capable of doing, regardless of the skills each actually possesses [47, 48]. Empirical research has shown that people who feel capable of performing certain tasks do so better, persist in their efforts (even in the face of adversity), and are capable of better

that self-efficacy develops its conceptualization and contribution.

handling situations of change [49–51].

measure the total variables considered in the chapter.

that result in the differentiation of performance.

**2. Leader characteristics**

the following discussion.

**2.1. Self-efficacy**

objective.

Self-efficacy is the capacity or personal conviction that the subject has the required behavior in order to produce a particular result in a situation, activity, or domain [8]. Hope is a positive motivational state energy goal-oriented ([10] p. 287). Optimism refers to relate positive future events with pertinent development reasons [11]. In addition, resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from the difficulties and go higher.

From another part, innovation, recognized as a source of competitive advantage and success for the company, operates in an increasingly more intense and dynamic global competitive environment, in which the development of new products and processes compete [12–15]. In order to get both long-term survival and competitive advantage [16, 17], companies need to innovate.

Innovation is an organization's capacity to improve its products and/or processes. But it too means its capacity to exploit the innovative potential of the innovative initiatives of its employees is an important element of organizational innovation, beyond the great technological advances [18]. These innovative initiatives also refer to as innovative behavior [19, 20]. Many academic works back the opinion that individual innovation helps achieve organizational success [21–24].

Many empirical studies provide evidence on the positive effect of innovation on the performance, profitability, growth, and effectiveness of the company (e.g., [25, 26]). Innovative behavior also relates to the organizational culture [27]. The high-performance practices facilitate knowledge management and information exchange [28], while human resource practices focused in organizational learning are associated with a greater level of organizational innovation [29].

Other important factor, organizational learning, is increasingly positioned as an initiative for survival [30]. The positive performance of an organization that learns, going beyond what is considered standard, has been demonstrated in several studies, which are found primarily in the professional literature in the fields of health, social services, and education [31–35]. The concept of organizational learning can be applied to business and nonprofit organizations, schools, colleges, and universities, as well as service organizations [36].

In summary, the study establishes the relationships among the four variables set out above in order to determine the impact of the leader's characteristics on the innovative behavior of the team members, identifying the influence that the organizational learning capacity and exchange among team members have on it.

The chapter is organized as follows: the first part (Section 2) presents the very important leader's characteristics involved in the discussion, self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience. Then, we present the factors on other organizational levels, as the innovative individual behavior (Section 3), organizational learning capability (Section 4), and team member exchange (Section 5). The models constructed in the investigations are shown in Section 6. Conclusions of the chapter are in Section 7. Finally, an annex lists the questionnaires that measure the total variables considered in the chapter.
