Amsterdam Leadership Lab

Traits That Bind: Unravelling the Criteria for Our Social Choices    How do you decide who to befriend or collaborate with? It's a question that Vasiliki Kentrou, a PhD candidate in our department, seeks to answer through her research. Our social preferences aren't random; they're influenced by various factors that change depending on the situation. For instance, while athletic skills might be crucial on the sports field, curiosity and openness could take precedence in an academic setting 🏃♀️➡️    Vasiliki's approach to unravelling this complex web of social selection involves the Social Relations Model, a statistical method that breaks down interpersonal perceptions into three components:    The Perceiver Effect: This is our general bias, like a default setting, to view others under a certain trait lens—considering most people as athletic, for example 🔎    The Target Effect: How consistently an individual is perceived by others to possess a particular trait, such as being widely recognized for their athletic abilities 🎯    The Relationship Effect: Our unique perceptions that differ from our general tendencies, such as considering a friend with whom you jog regularly as exceptionally athletic, even if you don't usually pay much attention to athleticism 🤝    Analyzing an existing dataset, where participants engaged in discussions and then tackled tasks requiring trust and competence, Vasiliki's initial findings highlight an interesting trend. Traits like extraversion, and honesty or humility, emerged as significant in partner selection for various activities. It appears that being perceived as uniquely extraverted, honest, or humble significantly boosts one's chances of being chosen as a collaborative partner.    What criteria do you look out for when you choose who to collaborate with?

Adversarial Collaboration: Finding Common Ground in Research    It’s a common scenario in the academic world, to encounter studies on the same topic that draw completely opposite conclusions. Such discrepancies can spark debates that span decades without reaching a clear resolution, turning scholarly discourse into something resembling a never-ending ping pong match of conflicting papers 🏓    This conundrum was at the heart of a fascinating discussion we had at the Amsterdam Leadership Lab this week, thanks to a virtual visit from Cory Clark, a visiting scholar at The Wharton School and Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Adversarial Collaboration Project. Cory shared a compelling strategy designed to bridge these divides: adversarial collaborations 🤝 The typical scenario involves two groups of academics, each firmly entrenched in their perspective, primarily focused on critiquing the other’s work. Despite the depth of engagement this approach encourages, it seldom leads to the kind of breakthroughs that propel our understanding forward 🚀 Cory advocates for a shift from contention to collaboration. Adversarial collaboration invites researchers with opposing views to join forces, rigorously debating each step of the research process until reaching a mutual agreement. This method doesn’t just aim to resolve the dispute; it seeks to uncover truths that both parties can stand behind 👥    The results of such collaborations extend beyond resolving academic disagreements. They contribute valuable insights to our collective knowledge, likely more aligned with reality. Additionally, this process holds the promise of converting former adversaries into allies, and possibly even friends, cultivating a culture of mutual respect and collaboration over competition 🥊 

Exploring the Dynamics of Power Sharing: A Gender Perspective   "How do you share your power?" This pivotal question set the stage for an engaging exploration at last week's Amsterdam Leadership Lab, where Sanne Feenstra, an assistant professor from our department, shared a glimpse into her preliminary research (together with Janka Stoker, Jennifer Jordan and Frank Walter) on power sharing in leadership through the lens of gender differences.   🪜 Power Sharing Behaviours   Sanne pinpointed two ways in which leaders can share their power and involve employees in the decision making. The first is #delegation, whereby leaders delegate important tasks and decision to employees; and the second is #consultation, whereby leaders seek the advice from employees prior to making a decision.   👫 So, what about gender?   Building on societal stereotypes of men being more agentic and women more communal, Sanne embarked on a fascinating exploration. Her investigation seeks to understand how these stereotypical perceptions shape the power sharing practices of male and female leaders. According to the first studies Sanne presented, delegation is often associated with agentic traits (e.g., dominant, assertive), while people associate consultation more with communal traits (e.g., friendly and empathetic). This research thereby suggest that the tendency for men to delegate and for women to consult could be a reflection of ingrained gender norms and expectations.   Sanne’s hypotheses ignited a vital discussion on gender-specific approaches to power sharing. We are curious: How do you share your power?   #leadership #power #delegation #gender #stereotypes

❗ Last week to apply using the early-bird rate for The New Psychology of Leadership Training Program, offered by the Amsterdam Leadership Lab. 🔍 Here's what you can expect: - Gain insights into evolutionary principles of effective leadership. - Navigate organizational power dynamics with confidence. - Develop inclusive leadership skills by fostering psychological safety, addressing (your) impostor syndrome, and promoting diversity and inclusion. 📅 Mark your calendars! The training consists of three full-day workshops, scheduled on three consecutive Fridays in June 2024 at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam). 💼 Taught by academic experts from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam) (i.e., mark van vugt, Wendy Andrews, and Sanne Feenstra) you'll receive top-notch instruction and guidance to help you excel in your leadership journey. 📩 Interested in joining us? Click the link below. https://lnkd.in/eaa8w2UN

Faking Your Way In: Insights from Klaus Melchers    Are you always completely honest in job interviews? Do you tend to present yourself in an overly positive light? When faced with the question about your greatest weakness, do you confess to hating teamwork or admit to pilfering office supplies? Probably not. Most likely, you opt for more socially acceptable answers such as struggling with delegation or being overly perfectionistic.    Recently, we had the privilege of hosting Klaus Melchers, a professor at Ulm University and an expert on faking behaviour. Faking involves stretching the truth or making false claims, especially in contexts like job interviews. Faking behaviours in interviews can hardly be detected, even for experienced interviewers.     Here are three strategies that recruiters and HR professionals can employ to address faking:    📞 Ask for References – If you’re worried about faking ask for a reference.   ⚠️ Don’t Use Warnings – Warning applicants not to fake does not prevent faking. On top of that they lead to negative perceptions amongst the interviewees.  🤔 Ask Better Questions: Traditional interview questions like "What is your biggest weakness?" and "Are you a team player?" often elicit reflexive responses, boosting interview performance. Instead, consider asking structured questions that are situational and behaviour-based. Here is an example that Klaus mentioned: "Imagine that you are taking on a shared project together with a colleague. You notice that your colleague is not complying with the agreed schedule. But completing the task is important to you. What would you do in this situation?"    Klaus concluded on an optimistic note, stating, "applicants fake less than they could and less than often assumed."

Advancing Leadership Measurement: Unraveling the Influence of Memory    🌟 Recently at the Amsterdam Leadership Lab we were excited to welcome Mert Ü., a dedicated PhD student from the University of Stavanger in Norway. Collaborating with our postdoc, Lara H. Engelbert, Mert is on a mission to refine leadership measurement accuracy by delving into the complex world of memory.    🧠 In a thought-provoking session, Mert discussed a critical issue: we commonly confuse leadership styles with our positive or negative views of leaders. Their work suggests that our preferences often dictate how we label leaders—favorable descriptions such as charismatic or transformational for those we like and less favorable ones for those we dislike such as abusive or destructive. This inherent bias poses significant challenges in the research landscape.    🔍 Mert's presentation sparked insightful discussions on the crucial role of memory in the measurement of leadership styles. By exploring this intricate interplay, Mert and Lara aim to untangle the complexities and contribute to more accurate and objective leadership assessments. 

The Neuroscience of Charismatic Leadership      🌟 The Amsterdam Leadership Lab recently hosted an insightful session where Lara H. Engelbert shared her fascinating PhD research on the #neuroscience behind charismatic leadership. Lara, poised to continue her exploration in her postdoctoral work, is shedding light on whether charismatic leaders like Barack Obama or Martin Luther King Jr. narrow peoples' attention to specific information.      🧠 Charismatic leaders are known for their ability to inspire and lead, especially during challenging times. While their economic impact in organizational settings is well-documented, Lara's work focuses on the less-charted territory of the cognitive processes that underlie the effectiveness of charismatic leadership.      🔬 Utilizing techniques like eye-tracking and EEG, Lara's findings reveal the subtle ways charismatic figures can alter people’s attentional processes.     🔍 Keen to explore further? Dive into Lara's research and its implications in this open access study published in The Leadership Quarterly:  https://lnkd.in/eFauffUb 

Disdained Algorithms and Cherished Experts   Last week at the Amsterdam Leadership Lab Marvin Neumann, an assistant professor in our department, presented on the fascinating topic of information combination in decision-making.    When making important decisions we first collect information such as a CV of a job applicant and an interview rating or the blood pressure and age of a patient. Next, we combine this information in order to come to a decision (whether to hire the applicant or whether the patient needs specific medical attention). Most people combine the collected information by thinking about it. However, since Paul Meehl’s seminal work in 1954 we know that consistently combining the information for example by simply adding it up, leads to more accurate decisions. Marvin is dedicated increasing decision accuracy in practice.    A lot of Marvin’s research has focused on autonomy enhancing algorithmic procedures. These are ways of bringing consistency into the decision-making process while leaving some freedom to the decision maker. Marvin’s latest project explores how experts and novices use advice from self-designed algorithms when making selection decisions. 

The New Psychology of Leadership Training! Join us for a 3-day program in June 2024 at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam). Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/emhrKFBg

📢 Deel je mening in ons Adviespanel Mentale Gezondheid in het MKB! 📢 We zijn op zoek naar mensen die in (of met) het MKB werken of experts zijn op het gebied van mentale gezondheid en hun mening willen delen in het Adviespanel Mentale Gezondheid in het MKB in het kader van het Europese ADVANCE-onderzoeksproject. 🌟 Jouw inbreng telt! In een twee uur durende sessie deel je je mening over het belang van mentale gezondheidsprogramma’s en hoe deze het beste ingezet kunnen worden in het MKB. Verder draag je strategieën aan om stigmatisering te verminderen. De sessie zal plaatsvinden op 26 of 27 maart van 16:00 tot 18:00 uur op de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. We bieden een (reiskosten)vergoeding, de mogelijkheid om te netwerken, en een kans om bij te dragen aan wetenschappelijk onderzoek naar mentale gezondheid op de werkvloer. Heb je interesse of vragen? Stuur me dan een bericht of mail (a.s.brizar@vu.nl) #mentalhealth #mkb #research