Study questions

• Bosses maintain different types of relationships with employees-- how would you describe the types?
• Think of a work situation where you have noticed an "in group" and "out group." How would you describe the differences between the groups in terms of: their relationship with the leader/manager, relationship between the groups?
• How, exactly, does the leader behave differently toward each group? Give examples.
• How did one group get to be "in group"? As a result of being "in" what are their advantages and disadvantages?
• What are the effects on the "out group"? What must a manager/leader be sensitive to in working with the "outgroup"?
• What is the function of having an "in group" in an organization; what is its purpose and utility?
• How is LMX related to mentoring?

LMX was first described in 1975 and has continued to generate interest with leadership theorists and practitioners. Vertical dyad linkage was first formulated to describe the single-person mentoring that often occurred in organizations, and was later succeeded by LMX that focuses on leader relationships with in- and out-groups. As organizational structures have changed and become more flexible, the formal lines of authority and relationship have also changed giving utility to LMX in describing and explaining these new relationships.

 
Other observations

• best predictors of in-group membership are compatible personality, interpersonal attraction, extraversion,  and subordinate competence/performance
• in exchange for special relationship, in-group members are expected to present higher loyalty and greater effort and responsibility as they are assessed and groomed for potential leadership positions
• the in- out group relationship is relatively stable over time
• once a person is in the in-group, halo effect may take over and there is evidence that manager ratings of in-group subordinates may be inflated beyond their actual performance, while out-group members are rated accurately.
• LMX is positively related to empowerment, latitude, and job satisfction
• the quality of relationship may also be influenced by the degree of perceived similarity between manager and in-group member
• the initial impressions that form the eventual group membership of in- and out- groups may take place very quickly; within 90 minutes of pairs working on a simulation, and within weeks of working on a job.
• without some form of equity for the out-group, they may eventually feel resentment, loss of team identity, impoverished teamwork and cooperation, and lower production and morale
• in-group may be at risk for taking advantage of their position, behaving arrogantly, or reducing their effort once they have attained in-group membership
• bosses can maintain higher quality relationships with all their employees by: (members' performance showed dramatic improvement by 28% due to these behaviors, but only when the member's need for strong growth was high-- otherwise there was a 15% improvement).
• spending time talking about each person's problems, concerns, and expectations
• using active listening skills and being attentive to each person's situation
• refraining from imposing the leader's view on issues discussed
• sharing leader's expectations about his/her own job, member's job, and the working relationship

Links

• What LMX tells managers--
• VDL-- summary near bottom of linked page