John Juzbasich, an alumnus of Penn State Great Valley's Master of Leadership Development program, and John J. Sosik, professor of management and organization, and professor-in-charge of the program, have collaborated on a research paper that has received the Best Paper Award for Organization Behavior Research from the Institute of Behavioral and Applied Management.
The paper, "Effects of Gender Composition of Leader-Follower Dyads and Leaders' Level of Moral Development on Charismatic Leadership Ratings," has been accepted for presentation at the Institute of Behavioral and Applied Management 2008 national conference in Orlando, Fla., and will appear in the conference proceedings.
Their research revealed that female leaders rated by female followers in a variety of corporations were associated with highest charismatic leadership scores. In addition, male and female leaders at the lowest stage of moral development were rated highest on charismatic leadership by their followers. Low levels of moral development reflect self-interested focus on avoiding punishment and seeking rewards, whereas high levels of moral development reflect other-oriented principles and virtues such as justice and care, and establishing and upholding social contracts and individuals rights. Theoretical distinctions between personalized charismatic leaders and transformational leaders, and the literatures on narcissistic personality and emotional intelligence were used to explain these results and elucidate understanding of leadership processes in contemporary corporate settings.
According to Daniel Indro, academic division head of management, "This research is an excellent exemplar of faculty-student collaboration."
For information on the Master of Leadership Development program, call (610) 648-3248 or e-mail psuleadership@psu.edu.