Question#1

Define interpersonal leadership in your own words?

Interpersonal leadership is basically leadership through relationships. It's all about using your
people skills to inspire and motivate others. Instead of just barking orders, an interpersonal
leader builds trust and understanding with their team. This way, people are more likely to be
engaged, happy, and do their best work.

Question#2

What is the article about, explain the key points in your own words?
This article explores the concept of interpersonal leadership across cultures, emphasizing the
variations in leadership behaviors and the role of culture. It discusses the need for culturally
endorsed measures of interpersonal leadership in multi-country studies and suggests avenues for
future research. Cultural dimensions, such as power distance and individualism-collectivism,
are identified as factors that influence leadership behavior. The article also highlights two
projects that have developed leadership measures: the GLOBE project and Zander's dissertation
project. It suggests studying the differences between leader-centered and employee-centered
perspectives and the impact of personal and tenure-based characteristics on interpersonal
leadership preferences. Additionally, it mentions the need to study evolving forms of
interpersonal leadership in the face of globalization and virtual teams. The article discusses the
challenges and observations in comparative multi-country studies of leadership. It highlights the
difficulties in using leadership constructs derived from single-country studies in other countries,
emphasizing the need for comparable leadership measures across cultures. The article also
mentions the identification of variation in interpersonal leadership-related attitudes,
assumptions, beliefs, and behavior across countries, which is posited to be influenced by
culture. It discusses the evolution of comparative management studies and the focus on
interpersonal leadership in multi-country research projects. The importance of understanding
subordinate perceptions and expectations of leadership is emphasized, as well as the need for
leadership research to include the perspectives of followers. The article also briefly mentions
the GLOBE project's contribution to understanding leadership across countries and the need to
examine leadership preferences of those being led. Further research areas such as studying
evolving forms of interpersonal leadership and the impact of fault-lines in teams are also
mentioned.

Lena Zander's specialization and research focus:

Lena Zander's specialization and research focus are in the areas of interpersonal leadership,
global virtual teams, and the integration of highly qualified migrants in multicultural
organizations. She is a Professor of International Business at Uppsala University in Sweden and
has received multiple awards for her work, including best-dissertation, best-paper, and best-
reviewer awards at conferences such as AIB, ANZAM, and AOM.

Cultural dimensions influence leadership behavior:

Cultural dimensions have a significant influence on leadership behavior. Different cultural

dimensions are associated with various leader behaviors, beliefs, attitudes, ideals, expectations,
perceptions, and preferences. These dimensions do not co-vary in the same way across
countries, thereby requiring separate examination of leader behaviors across cultures. For
example, concepts like participation and empowering are primarily linked to Hofstede's power
distance and Schwartz's hierarchy, and to some extent, individualism-collectivism. On the other
hand, support and concern for subordinates are mostly related to dimensions such as Hofstede's
uncertainty avoidance and masculinity-femininity, as well as Schwartz's harmony and
autonomy dimensions.

Moreover, the GLOBE project, which has contributed significantly to cross-cultural leadership
research, has identified culturally endorsed ideal leadership prototypes based on these
dimensions. It is important to treat leadership behaviors and beliefs separately across cultures,
considering the variations in cultural dimensions. By understanding the impact of cultural
dimensions on leadership behavior, scholars can develop culturally endorsed measures to study
leadership in multi-country contexts.

Future research avenues suggested in the article:

In the article, several future research avenues are suggested for the study of interpersonal
leadership across cultures:

1. Developing Culturally Endorsed Measures: The article highlights the need for culturally
endorsed measures of interpersonal leadership in multi-country studies. Researchers are
encouraged to create leadership measures that are specific to different cultural contexts,
considering the variations in cultural dimensions and behaviors.

2. Leader-Centered vs. Employee-Centered Perspectives: One suggested avenue is to explore the

differences between leader-centered and employee-centered perspectives on interpersonal
leadership. This involves understanding how leaders perceive their own behavior and how their
behaviors are perceived by the subordinates. Comparative studies can shed light on cultural
variations in these perspectives.

3. Personal and Tenure-Based Characteristics: The article suggests examining the impact of
personal characteristics (such as age, gender, and education) and tenure-based characteristics
(such as experience and rank) on interpersonal leadership preferences. Understanding how these
factors influence leadership behaviors across cultures can provide valuable insights.

4. Evolving Forms of Interpersonal Leadership: With the increasing globalization and the rise of
virtual teams, the article suggests studying the evolving forms of interpersonal leadership. This
includes exploring how cultural differences impact leadership practices in virtual or cross-cultural
team settings.

These potential research avenues aim to contribute to a deeper understanding of interpersonal

leadership across cultures and provide insights into effective leadership practices in diverse
settings.