WU Leader-Member Exchange Discussion

Good, professional relationships between leaders and subordinates may factor into an organization’s success. For example, as a hospital director for a high-risk, neonatal unit, you may find that encouraging positive, professional relationships with subordinates from diverse backgrounds is important in maintaining employee efficiency and effectiveness. Your subordinates may also recognize a similar value in your professional relationship in order to receive direction, goal achievement, and/or rewards. Your leadership and relationship with subordinates has the potential to foster an interesting exchange between leader and subordinates. In the field of public health, an emphasis on good, professional relationships may assist your leadership success across diverse landscapes of public health problems.

This week, you examine two leadership perspectives: Leader-Member Exchange Theory as well as Social Network Theory. Think about how both theories may apply to public health leadership. You also continue to complete your Scholar-Practitioner Project: Public Health Leadership Theory with creation of a visual representation of your theory.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Analyze similarities and differences between Leader-Member Exchange with Social Network Theory
• Apply Leader-Member Exchange Theory to personal leadership theories
• Apply Social Network Theory to personal leadership models
• Apply public health concepts and perspectives to create visual representations of public health leadership theories

Learning Resources Required Readings Nahavandi, A. (2014). The art and science of leadership (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Chapter 3, “The Foundations of Modern Leadership” Davies, A., Wong, C., & Lashinger, H. (2011). Nurses’ participation in personal knowledge transfer: the role of leader–member exchange (LMX) and structural empowerment. Journal of Nursing Management, 19(5), 632-643. Sin, H-P., Nahrgang, J. D., & Morgeson, F. P. (2009). Understanding why they don’t see eye to eye: An examination of leader-member exchange (LMX) agreement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(4), 1048–1057. Wilson, K. S., Hock-Peng, S., & Conlon, D. E. (2010). What about the leader in leader-member exchange? The impact of resource exchanges and substitutability on the leader. Academy of Management Review, 35(3), 358-372. Document: Scholar-Practitioner Project Overview (Word document) Note: You will use this project overview to complete the remaining Scholar-Practitioner assignments in Weeks 8 and 11. Discussion: Building a Nest for Success: Leader–Member Exchange Theory and Social Network Theory A Chinese proverb states, “In a broken nest, there are few whole eggs” (World of Quotes, 2011). Within an organization, a broken professional relationship fosters more broken professional relationships to in turn damage the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization. For a leader, any “crack” or “break” in leadership may create future problems within the organization. With use of Leader-Member Exchange Theory and Social Network Theory, an effective leader may find that the creation of positive, professional relationships with subordinates is helpful in preventing breaks in relationships in order to guide an organization toward success. For this Discussion, think about the similarities and differences between Leader-Exchange Theory and Social Network Theory. Consider how you might integrate each theory into your own personal, unified leadership theory. Think about how you might use this theory in a public health scenario. Post a brief comparison (similarities and differences) between Leader-Member Exchange and Social Network Theory. Then, explain how you might integrate Leader-Member Exchange Theory and Social Network Theory into your personal, unified leadership theory. Finally, relate this personal, unified theory to a public health scenario with which you are familiar. Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.