The Relationships Among Optimism, Pessimism, Vision and Effective Leadership Practices

Business    Managers/Executives/Administrators

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TITLE: The Relationships Among Optimism, Pessimism, Vision and Effective Leadership Practices
 
RESEARCHER: Linda J. Wunderley
Division of Research and Advanced Studies
Department of Psychology
University of Cincinnati
Master's Thesis: April 1996
 
Subsequently Published;
"Optimism and Pessimism in Business Leaders"
Journal of Applied Social Psychology
, 1998, 28(9):751-760.

OBJECTIVE
To examine the relationship between leaders' optimism and pessimism levels to both their ability to envision a new future for their organization and to effective leadership practices.

METHODOLOGY
Participants were 48 male executives selected from mid to large size manufacturing firms in the Greater Cincinnati, Ohio business community and their direct reports (N=197). In addition to the LPI (Self and Observer), respondents completed the Optimism and Pessimism instrument (Dember et al., 1989) and Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory (Kirton, 1976).

KEY FINDINGS
LPI scores were correlated positively with optimism and negatively with pessimism, although none of these were statistically significant. There were no significant correlations between the LPI scores on the KAI innovative factors.