LEADERSHIP: CULTIVATING PEOPLE SKILLS
Ernest Alonza Norris, Kaplan University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
ABSTRACT
As the world economy continues its transformation process, organizations are rushing to implement
changes in structure and design to weather the economic storm. Noted activities include downsizing,
mergers, acquisitions, and the proliferation of multinational organizations solidifying the globalization
concept. The changes are creating diverse workplace populations containing differences in ideas, beliefs,
cultures race, religions, among other variables. Leaders leading in a diverse population could
inadvertently form inaccurate perceptions, which can result in poor leader-follower relationships and a
decrease in performance levels. Leaders can increase leadership effectiveness through improved people
skills leading to increased organization performance and employee job satisfaction. In a literature review,
many articles mentioned the value of good people skills in leadership. However, few articles presented a
model on how to improve people skills or on the conceptual framework underlying people skills. The
author presents a conceptual model designed to improve people skills.
Keywords: Attributes, Heuristics, Nonverbal communication, People skills, Social intelligence, Social
Perception, Social Awareness, Social Learning Theory
1. INTRODUCTION
This research paper focused on the concept of people skills. The concept of people skills exists in
leadership literature in reference to social skills possessed by effective leaders. Plato defined a (ruler) as
an individual with innate abilities to lead people but required training to develop the skills. In addition,
based on Weber’s (1947) definition of charismatic authority, a leader with charismatic qualities would
possess high levels of people skills. Covey (2004) stated, “Leadership is communicating to people their
worth and potential so clearly that they come to see it in themselves” (p. 98). Robbins (2001) described
leadership as the ability of the leader to influence people to achieve goals. Burns (1978) defined
leadership as, “Leaders inducing followers to act for certain goals that represent the values and the
motivations—the wants and needs, the aspirations and expectations—of both leaders and followers” (p.
19). Morand (2001) referred to people skills as a managerial socio-emotional competency relative to the
leader or manager’s supportive and accommodative behaviors in assisting employees and others in
achieving objectives and goals. As observed in review of literature surrounding research on people skills,
the primary focus is on emotional intelligence as the underlying theory of people skills. The intended
audiences for this paper on people skills are various levels of organization leaders, managers, and team
leaders.
1.1 First Impressions
First impressions of people are prone to error based on mental shortcuts, personal or situational
attributes, stereotyping, and prejudice. Willis and Todorov (2006) using a sample of 245 participants
noted that first impressions formed within 100 milliseconds of exposure to a face in the study. When the
time increased from 100 to 500 milliseconds, the participants’ responses increased relative to perceived
negativity observed in the facial expressions. The response times decreased, but confidence in
judgments concerning the individual pictured increased. This outcome suggested the sample population
focused on using personal beliefs and attributes to confirm initial impressions whether or not accurate
providing support for the phrase first impressions have a lasting effect. The obvious problem is the margin
of error whereas trained detectives and other “experts” have low measures of accuracy in correctively
confirming the personality of an individual simply on perceptions.
In organizations, inaccurate perceptions could lead to unfair assessments, flawed performance
evaluations, and poor working relationships. Research indicated that 60-70% of employees have stressful
relationships with their leaders resulting in high turnover levels of key employees (Abraham, 2007; Vugt,
Hogan, & Kaiser, 2008). The costs associated with re-hiring and re-training to replace employees could
result in as much as 100% of the exiting employee’s salary combined with the new salary for the
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replacement (Abraham, 2007). The costs and potential loss of productivity, effectiveness, and efficiency
levels enhanced through key staff members and employees is reason alone to address employee
retention in organizations. A key area to start is in examining leadership behaviors that account for a
moderate number of employee complaints or job dissatisfaction. Atwater and Brett (2006) noted in
leadership research using a 360-degree instrument that improved leadership behaviors, based on multirater
feedback, led to improved employee attitudes. Covey (2004) and his associates conducted research
to identify the essential qualities of a leader. Over 54,000 people completed the survey consisting of 12
qualities. The survey findings ranked the qualities in order and the third top quality was people focused,
although the focus on personality traits and types are clearly noted in the ranking, 1) integrity, 2)
communicator, 3) people focused, 4) visionary, 5) caring, 6) decision-maker, 7) other, 8) dedicated, 9)
model, 10) motivator, 11) expert, and 12) courageous.
Gundling (2007) proposed that a significant cause of problems in global business transactions was a lack
of people skills in social interaction with people with differences in social, political, and cultural
backgrounds. Using feedback from country and regional experts, Gundling devised a 12-step process
focused on people skills in Doing Business across Borders. The 12-step process is as follows, “1)
establishing credibility, 2) Giving and receiving feedback, 3) Obtaining information, 4) evaluating people,
5) Global teamwork, 6) training and development, 7) selling, 8) negotiating, 9) strategic planning, 10)
transferring knowledge, 11) innovation, and 12) change management” (p.33). In review of the steps, the
only step aligning with the focus of this paper was step 4. In step 4, evaluating people, Gundling noted
that instinctive people skills in the home country might not work in another culture, and suggested,
“Constantly look through the eyes of others’ eyes as well as our own” (p.34). The difficulty arising with this
approach is in comprehending what the others are thinking and perceiving, although Gundling did bring in
training and development in step 6 as a needed tool in meeting corporate objectives, but did not include
people skill training. As noted in this article and others reviewed, little information exists on how to
develop or improve people skills.
Based on the social nature of humans, some level of social interaction, social perception, or social
intelligence must exist. At the same time, some variance concerning preference for interaction with
people would exist as supported by personality type research (Francis, Craig, & Robbins, 2007; Freidman
& Schustack, 2009; Jung, 1971). On this premise, leaders who are introverts might avoid developing
people skills simply by nature. Peltier (2001) noted that a weakness of interpersonal skills is common
weakness of new leaders who advanced through the leadership pipeline based on strong technical and
content skills, but must develop significant interpersonal skills in order to excel in the new position.
The salient leadership research conducted after World War II, revealed that leaders’ using high levels of
passive leadership styles does not correlate well with high levels of employee job performance or
productivity. However, leaders’ using high levels of autocratic leadership styles does not result in high
levels of employee job satisfaction (Fleishman, Harris, & Burtt, 1955). The paper intends to provide
leaders with a “people skills” model to apply in creating optimum leadership styles influencing increased
productivity (task) and employee job satisfaction (relations).
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
The literature review involved an examination of leadership, social intelligence, social perception,
nonverbal communication, attribution, stereotyping, and leadership behaviors contributing to negative
outcomes between leaders and followers. The underlying conceptual framework of the people skills
model presented in this paper includes social intelligence, social perceptions, and social interactions.
Through development of people skills, all levels of leaders can increase positive social interactions,
effectiveness in managing people, and promote healthy working relationships in the organization. The
primary purpose of this research paper is to provide leaders with a results-driven people skills model to
eliminate potential biases, increase social intelligence, and improve interpersonal skills.
2.1 Leadership
Traditional business models are undergoing a transformation or rather a paradigm shift in response to the
constant state of change required in response to increased competition, growth of global business
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communities, and aggressive efforts by leaders to meet the challenges and threats proposed by radical
changes in practices and operating procedures. One of the common practices noted among organizations
is downsizing to increase efficiencies and financial performance. In downsizing, leaders must develop
good social interaction skills to maximize productivity with smaller staffs and employees in efforts to
increase organization performance. Of course, Taylor (1911) in developing the scientific management
theory focused on the development of mutual benefits between the organization, leaders, and the
employees, although business owners/leaders tended to focus on the objective side of the theory to
increase productivity and efficiencies. This “either or” type of polarity management inadvertently created a
gap between management and the employees later resulting in violent confrontations and influenced the
proliferation of unions in the early 20th century.
Leadership and social intelligence research can lead to the development of tools and instruments to
assist leaders in enhancement of people skills in the workplace. In reflection on the leadership process, a
significant portion of the leadership role is a social process involving a reciprocal relationship between the
leaders and other people in the organization. The low performance of the economy in the 21st century is
stimulating a constant state of change requiring revisions and modifications in structures, processes, and
procedures. In reviewing leadership literature, limited information existed on the actual development of
“people skills” although numerous articles mentioned the importance of people skills in effective
leadership social interaction skills (Gundling, 2007; Marshall, 2007; Morand, 2001). Marshall (2007) noted
that leaders might possess strong technical skills and knowledge of various business functions and
models, although a focus on development of people skills is essential in effective leadership. Marshall
added that candidates for promotion and advancement who possess good people skills have competitive
advantages over others.
The Ohio State University and University of Michigan leadership studies conducted in the early 20th
century sponsored by the U.S. Military theorized that leadership behaviors existed on a leadership
continuum between production-centered (task) and employee-centered behaviors (relation) (Northouse,
2007). Leaders might use these behaviors at the same time or independently relative to self, the
employee, the situation, or the environment. Empirical studies conducted on task-oriented behaviors and
relationship-oriented behaviors indicated a positive correlation between relationship-oriented behaviors
and employee satisfaction, while task-oriented behaviors and employee satisfaction were inconclusive
(Yukl, 2002).
The International Harvester Company leadership studies conducted in the 1950s revealed that leadership
styles consisting of high levels of task behaviors and low levels of relation behaviors related to high
turnover, union grievances, and low morale among workers. Leadership styles consisting of low task and
low relation behaviors resulted in ineffective leadership performance and poor relationships with
subordinates (Fleishman, Harris, & Burtt, 1955). Blake and Mouton (1964) suggested that leaders applied
various degrees of both behaviors and created the managerial grid to measure the degrees of both
behaviors used by leaders. Blake and Mouton argued that effective leaders used high levels of task
behaviors and high levels of relation behaviors in their roles increasing overall employee performance.
Groves (2007) conducted extensive research on executive leaders and created a list of six best practices
for executive leadership development, although all leaders can gain valuable information from the best
practices. The six best practices include mentoring, coaching, networking, and utilization of the 360-
degree instrument, designed to collect data on the followers’ perception of their leaders. The last two best
practices were job assignment and action learning. In Groves’ (2007) best practices, the focus on
relations outweighs the focus on task, although both dimensions are critical in development of effective
leadership. Through personal experience and as indicated in early leadership theory research, leaders
possessing effective social skills have significant influence in maximizing employee performance and
productivity.
The behavior of leaders could be a result of numerous variables that are either personal or situational. In
the leadership role, both behaviors will exist because leadership consists of organizing, planning,
scheduling, and managing people. This paper focuses on the personal factors relating to social
intelligence. The author’s intention is to provide leaders with an awareness of social intelligence and
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potential biases resulting in inaccurate perceptions that could have a negative affect on the employees
and organization outcomes.
The author proposes that leaders in pursuit of excellence should develop strong working relationships
with people. However, personal biases, heuristics, and other factors could lead to incorrect perceptions of
people hindering social interaction, change programs, and have a negative affect on the organization
culture. Kassin, Fein, and Markus (2008) contended that development of social skills was a daunting task.
Kassin et al. suggested that people could increase social skills through 1) experience with particular
people, 2) recognizing predictable behavior, 3) applying logic and probability, and 5) removing biases to
use accurate judgment.
2.2 Social Intelligence
Social intelligence is one of three areas of intelligence proposed by Thorndike in the early 20th century.
Thorndike proposed that intelligence consisted of abstract, mechanical and social variables (Thorndike,
1937). Different definitions for social intelligence exist, although E. L. Thorndike’s definition, in 1920,
simplifies social intelligence as the ability of an individual to manage people. In conducting social
intelligence research, several problems arose. The first problem arose in trying to isolate social
intelligence from other traits and the second in developing accurate instruments to measure social
intelligence. Inconsistencies noted across the instruments with low correlations in some and high
correlations with others (Thorndike & Stein, 1937). One of the first tests to measure social intelligence
was the George Washington social intelligence test (GWSIT). The GWSIT held promising results,
although after critical reviews and testing, researchers lost interest in the GWSIT. Other researchers
expanded on the GWSIT and developed different tests to measure social intelligence. Due to
inconsistencies, the focus on social intelligence dropped, although the interest in social intelligence
increased in the 1960s with other efforts to measure the social intelligence only to again fade away due to
the difficulties in measuring social intelligence (Kihlstorm & Canton, n. d.). Research efforts moved to
explore emotional intelligence noted to have some relationship with social intellection (Andreou, 2006;
Goleman, 2006). However, the use of functional magnetic resonance imagining (fMRI) rejuvenated the
focus on social intelligence. The use of fMRI provided researchers with adequate data to identify the
affect of social interaction on participants in the experiments leading a solution in the problems associated
with measuring social intelligence (Goleman, 2006).
Goleman (2006) contended social neuroscience indicates the human brain is sociable and connects with
brains of others in social interaction. Goleman added that a newly discovered neuron, the spindle cell that
delivers information for use in decision-making is more prevalent in humans than other species. Another
group of brain cells known as the mirror neurons allows a perceiver to anticipate the movements and
feelings of others. The perceiver can then imitate and comprehend the emotions associated with the
movements made by the targeted person. Goleman suggested that strong social relationships mold the
biology of each person in the relationship. The social relationship can have a positive or negative effect
on people. When a positive relationship exists, this can increase physical and mental health, while a
negative relationship can lead to negative consequences on physical and mental health. For instance,
people in negative relationships can suffer from high levels of stress, depression, or aggressive behavior.
However, Goleman suggested that the human brain seeks positive social interactions and people prefer
peaceful and loving relationships with others. Goleman and Boyatzis (2009) postulated that changing
social intelligence requires an intensive effort to change behaviors.
From Goleman’s (2006) perspective, social intelligence consisted of two categories, social awareness,
and social facility. Goleman defined social awareness as, “A spectrum that runs from instantaneously
sensing another’s inner state, to understanding her feelings and thoughts, to getting social situations” (p.
84). Social awareness includes the development of primal empathy (feeling and sensing emotional
signals), attunement (attuning to others), empathic accuracy (comprehending the emotional state of
others), and social cognition (comprehension of the social world). Goleman defined social facility as,
“Simply sensing how another feels, or knowing what they think or intend, does not guarantee fruitful
interactions. Social facility builds on social awareness to allow smooth, effective interactions” [sic] (p. 84).
Social facility includes effective interactions in synchrony (interacting comfortably at the nonverbal level),
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self-presentation (effectively presenting self to others), influence (molding, shaping, social interaction
outcomes), and concern (consideration of others’ feelings).
2.3 Social Perception
Social perception is a process of shared comprehension that occurs among people (Kassin, Fein, &
Markus, 2008). This process is an automated process whereas selective attention occurs in examining,
assessing, evaluating, and categorizing another person, especially on first sight of another person. The
environment, activities, and behavior collected through selective attention and sensory data affect the
social cognition process occurring with social perception (Broderick & Blewitt, 2007; Sternberg, 2006;
Willis & Todorov, 2006).
Kassin et al. suggested that people have a natural tendency to comprehend the behaviors of others. This
innate behavior stems from being social creatures, to sense danger, form similarities in species, and
attraction. Kassin et al. proposed the explanations as to why people behave as they do are attributions.
Heider (1944) posited that explanations fall into two groups, personal (internally driven characteristics,
emotion, personality), or situational (external stimuli such as environment, social interaction). Jones and
Davis (1965, as cited in Erikson & Krull, 1999 and Kassin et. al.) suggested, in the correspondent
inference theory, that people use an assessment, evaluation, and confirmation process to identify, rate,
and group (dispositional inferences) people based on correspondence between observations, behaviors,
characteristics, situation, and perceptions. The theory proposes people categorize others based on three
factors, degree of choice (free to make inference), expectedness (incongruence between expected and
unexpected behavior), and effects of behavior (correspondence is complex when numerous positive
outcomes exist, but simplified when only one positive outcome exists).
Kelley (1973) proposed, in the covariation theory that identifying the cause of a particular behavior
depends on the presence or absence of behavior relative to the given stimuli. Kelley suggested that an
individual has three forms of information to use in analysis, 1) consensus, 2) distinctiveness, and 3)
consistency. As stated earlier, people are human and make mistakes and as proposed by Kassin et al.,
do people use the processes mentioned or do they use other methods to comprehend people who might
lack many of the “ideal” approaches? Nonverbal communication is a process of communication involving
facial expressions and body language that can shape the underlying emotions, beliefs, and perceptions of
people not discussed in a verbal manner.
2.4 Nonverbal Communication
Communication is one of the key drivers in social interaction and focuses on the sender- receiver
dynamics, a systematic process involving sending information, processing of the information by the
receiver and feedback returned to the sender who processes the feedback resulting in a reciprocal
relationship. The outcome is dependent on the communication skill levels of both parties in speaking,
listening, and comprehending the information shared. However, other nonverbal activities are occurring
within the communication process that can have an effect on the reciprocal relationship.
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) conducted some of the earliest studies on nonverbal communication. Darwin
proposed that nonverbal communication aligned with human evolution from an animal-like existence.
Darwin added that comprehending nonverbal human motions was difficult because due to concealed
emotions that surface occasionally such as anger, fear, uncertainty, or happiness. Darwin devised
methods to study facial expressions using electrodes to stimulate facial muscles. Darwin’s observations
suggested that basic facial expressions were universal deriving from the evolutionary process moving
from animal-like existence to more civilized human species (Goodwin, 2005).
Based on research, Darwin developed a theory on the origins of emotional expressions and constructed
three principles. The three principles were 1) serviceable associated habits, 2) antithesis, and 3) direct
action of the nervous system. In serviceable associated habits, Darwin proposed that emotional
expressions contained utility for survival, and this function could serve as a warning, disgust, or symbolic
signal to other humans such as a disgusting toxic smell that could be dangerous. In antithesis, Darwin
proposed that a dual process existed between positive and negative emotional expressions whereas one
opposed the other. For instance, an angry person might scowl and flex his or her muscles, and appear to
REVIEW OF BUSINESS RESEARCH, Volume 9, Number 4, 2009 71
be very dangerous and defensive, while a happy person would smile and appear to be more relaxed and
submissive.
In the last principle, direct action of the nervous system, Darwin proposed the human body showed signs
of the emotions experienced through body language. For instance, a person in a high state of fear may
tremble or stand very rigid. Based on Darwin’s principles, a person displaying the facial and body
expressions of anger or fear is unlikely a happy person. In reflection, Darwin’s position suggested that
nonverbal communication was an essential form of communication in human adaption and survival.
Throughout this section, the influence of Darwin’s seminal research is evident in the literature examined.
People form perceptions of others based on a number of factors ranging from verbal communication
relative to the content and contextual framework in these messages to the nonverbal communication
signs and symbols. People first learn facial expressions as babies and build on this schema of facial
expressions throughout life attaching emotions and behaviors with certain expressions and body
language. Memory stores or schemas have associated scripts that are templates or rather engrained
instructions of actions/responses relative to stimuli observed or perceived by an individual (Sternberg,
2006). In this sense, an individual might perceive a smiling person as being happy based on stored
memories of happy people. Later, in the attributes and stereotyping sections, the discussion will examine
the negative outcomes associated with this automatic process of using stored memory based on
experiences, observations, and beliefs to interact with other people.
In discussing human behavior, Kassin et al. posited that people comprehend the behaviors of others
through a type of filtering process. People filter observed behavior through a series of mental pictures
stored in schemas used to determine if the observed behaviors are normal or abnormal relative to facial
expressions, gestures, and body language. These behaviors are nonverbal forms of communication that
affect the perceiver’s social cognitive processing of information collected through selective or sensory
data. People use this collected information to form perceptions of other people who are experiencing a
high state of arousal, depression, or fear (Kassin et al.). However, people are not necessarily accurate in
their perceptions of others and might form false/incorrect perceptions based on experiences, beliefs, or
through acceptance of other’s perceptions and beliefs relative to the observed behavior or characteristics
(Kassin et al.).
Waller, Cray, and Burrows (2008) proposed that facial expressions are universal and critical in the social
interaction process. Some people might use facial muscles in varying degrees to form expressions, but
different facial muscles used for verbal and nonverbal facial expression associated with emotions. The
authors proposed that some facial expressions are universal such as fear, anger, excitement, sadness,
and disgust suggesting a nonverbal display of the underlying emotion experienced by the individual.
However, the differences among facial muscles of people results in some variation in the degree of
emotion experienced by the individual. For instance, some might use more facial muscles in expressing
anger than others. The authors suggested that social interaction requires a standardized set of facial
expressions to facilitate social interaction among people. In this sense, if an individual is experiencing a
high level of fear, most people observing the nonverbal signs, will recognize the emotion displayed.
Pecchinenda, Ferlazzo, and Zoccolotti (2008) suggested the eye gaze direction of people and facial
expression influenced spatial attention. Pecchinenda et al. suggested that people, along with facial
expressions, also collect information from the eyes to infer emotional or mental states of the observed
person. The authors noted that facial expressions could be misleading because the expressions might
last only a few nanoseconds or change frequently. In conducting research, the authors noted that
participants used eye gaze direction (in different pictures of people) to determine if the observed person’s
facial expressions related to what was being viewed or related to the mental state of the individual. The
finding indicated the participants were able to determine the spatial attention for negative facial
expressions but not for happy facial expressions.
Van den Stock, Righart, and De Gelder (2007), proposed that literature contained limited research on the
whole-body expressions associated with emotions and conducted research revealing that whole body
expressions plays a role in comprehending people and should be applied with facial and vocal
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expression. The authors suggested that perceivers could learn about the emotional states and intended
actions of others through body expressions. If an individual is frightened, the facial expression might
signal fear and verbalize the fear in screaming or yelling. However, the individual’s body expression might
indicate fight, flee, or freeze indicating a relationship between emotions and adaptive behavior. The
authors added that when a significant distance exists between the perceiver and the individual observed,
the ability to use facial expressions is limited although body expressions could provide an indication of the
emotional state of the individual. For instance, if an individual is staggering while walking, this body
expression is visual from a distance and indicates the mental or emotional state of the individual.
Sczesny, Spreemann, and Stahlberg (2006) conducted research to determine if masculine or feminine
appearance affected the perceptions of followers of leaders and noted that no significant difference
among the employees concerning levels of leadership competence based on masculine or feminine
appearance or characteristics. In several studies, the authors noted that people perceived female leaders
as incompetent in male-oriented positions due to the perceived belief that females were more emotional
oriented than males in decision –making and problem solving. An interesting finding was that
stereotypical belief was more associated with the masculine appearance than actual competencies.
Participants perceived females with a masculine appearance were viewed as more competence in the
leadership role than females with feminine appearance. When conducting studies absent of masculine
appearance, the difference between female and male leaders did not exist.
2.5 Attribution
Attribution biases occur based on the absence of relevant information, lack of training, or mental shortcuts
(Kassin et al.). Shah and Oppenhiemer (2008) suggested people preferred using the shortest path to
reach solutions or form perceptions using heuristics (mental shortcuts) rather than using logical
processes. Kassin et al. suggested that people might apply the availability heuristic. The availability
heuristic is a process of overestimating the odds of a particular behavior occurring by easily generating
examples of similar instances or indentifying people who share the same beliefs. For example, a group of
people watching a basketball game might share a belief that tall men play basketball better than men who
are not as tall leading to a false-consensus effect among those in the group.
A second error that can occur is the base-rate fallacy such as watching basketball on television and
observing that most men or women basketball players are tall, while ignoring any factual information that
many tall people never played basketball and would not have the skills of someone not as tall who
frequently played basketball. Another heuristic is the counterfactual thinking whereas an individual applies
the “what if” mode of thinking (Kassin, Fein, & Markus, 2008, p. 106). In counterfactual thinking, an
individual’s beliefs the outcome would be different if one of the variables were present or absent such as
thinking that one is not qualified for an available position due to a lack of experience or training,
influencing the individual to refrain from applying for the position.
Another attribution theory is the fundamental attribution error whereas an individual targets personal
attribution rather than the situational contextual factors that might influence the observed behavior such
as believing that a close friend will fail the test due to low self-esteem observed numerous times before,
but the individual passes the test. Kassin et al. suggested that this error occurs based on using limited
information or failing to use a more logical approach as illustrated in the two-step model of the attribution
processes. Langdrige and Trevor (2004) argued the attribution error is an outcome based on social and
situational factors rather than personal attributes. In this argument, the authors proposed that a
relationship exists between environmental factors and the perceived beliefs as noted in the Gestalt theory
of perception.
Langdrige and Trevor (2004) proposed the behaviors of an individual affect the perceptions of others
observing the behaviors. Overtime, people use stored perceptions (from a learned process) to attach a
bias based on observed dispositional qualities. The authors added that children lack the learned process
relative to dispositional qualities and instead focus on the situation. The authors concluded in stating that
to focus solely on the dispositional qualities limits the ability of social psychologists in comprehending how
people interact in a social world rather than simply looking for causal relationships that hinder the ability to
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comprehend experience. Other forms of biases exist based on cultural contextual factors, motivational
factors, and stereotyping.
2.6 Stereotyping
In forming perceptions of others, an individual might use categorical classifications such as stereotyping
based on physical, mental, or intellectual characteristics observed or perceived (Macrae & Bodenhausen,
2001). Cialdini (2007) contended that stereotyping was an automatic process used by humans to manage
large sums of information relative to people or objects. For instance, people assume that expensive
products are of high quality and generally associate similar expensive items as high quality. Cialdini
added that people use stereotypes to classify according to a few recognized features or signs and
automatically use the accompanying script associated with the stereotype without much thought.
Plaks, Stroessner, Dweck, and Sherman (2001) contended people stereotypically categorize people
based on their expectations associated with schemas and scripts (perceptions and associated behavior).
For instance, people might believe that certain people, based on their appearance, might be lazy,
ambitious, competent . . . or a gang member, religious figure, or a grandmother. In some cases, Plaks et
al. added that stereotypical beliefs are difficult to change, despite constant reinforcement indicating the
stereotypical beliefs are inconsistent with the observed person. McConnell, Rydell, Strain, and Mackie
(2008) conducted four experiments examining implicit and explicit attitudes towards others as influenced
by social group cues. The social group cues in the research were obesity, race, and physical
attractiveness. The research findings indicated social cues had a strong affect on implicit attitude
formation in all experiments and on explicit attitude formation when behavioral formation about the
targeted individual was ambiguous. The researchers noted implicit attitude formation still existed when
describing the targeted individual as a competent and honorable. This resonating effect suggested that
people using stereotyping or prejudice strongly believed their perceptions are correct and would attempt
to reinforce those perceptions through changes in behavior to support the beliefs.
This form of behavior aligns with findings in the cognitive dissonance theory (Festinger, 1957). The
cognitive dissonance theory provided evidence suggesting that people experience some discomfort when
their behavior is inconsistent with their beliefs. For example, an individual might have negative feelings
toward the ethnic group of an individual who was a pleasant and likable person. Rather than changing
beliefs, the individual might suggest the target person is not the same as the “others” and has some
special qualities. This eases cognitive dissonance manifesting from pleasant feeling for someone in the
“bad” group, but does not change beliefs concerning the ethnic group. Kassin et al. proposed that
stereotypes could influence people to become prejudice, while prejudice people might use stereotypes in
perseverance of beliefs. When perceivers classify or categorize people according to observations of
behaviors, actions, and characteristics, this act is stereotyping; when a perceiver has negative beliefs
concerning people who possess the same characteristics of others within a targeted group, this act is
prejudice. Sexism and racism manifestation occurs when the prejudice is to all members of a gender or
ethnic group.
Stereotyping and prejudice behavior by leaders and others is covert in most cases, although the receiver
is possibly cognizant of the negative energy through perceptions, perceived treatment, or observation of
nonverbal communication cues. If a leader has an unfavorable opinion of a Staff member A, this could
have a negative effect on A’s promotional opportunities, career advancement, and other benefits in
comparison to “in-group” members. In recognition of these concealed behaviors, some members in
minorities groups, including females, created a metaphor for this phenomenon as the “Glass Ceiling” to
imply that top positions are clearly visible, but unobtainable as blocked by an invisible barrier. Recently, in
the 2008 presidential race, Senator Hillary Clinton referred to the glass ceiling metaphor and posited that
her progress in the campaign shattered the glass ceiling into countless pieces. This glass-ceiling
metaphor is not limited to minorities and females. Leadership research conducted in the mid 20th century,
suggested that a large percentage of leaders held certain negative assumptions concerning the
employees or blue-collar workers as termed during that era. McGregor (1960), after conducting intensive
leadership research in a variety of organizations, raised some leadership concerns relative to
development of a theory based on the managerial assumptions of employees relative to human nature
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and human behaviors. McGregor noted two sets of leadership assumptions concerning employees and
labeled them as theory X and theory Y. McGregor’s (1960) three assumptions of theory X:
1. The average human being has an inherent dislike of work and will avoid it if he can.
2. Because of this human characteristic of dislike of work, most people must be coerced,
controlled, directed, threatened with punishment to get them to put forth the adequate effort
toward the achievement of organizational objectives.
3. The average human being prefers to be directed, wishes to avoid responsibility, has little
ambition, [and] wants security above all (pp. 33-34).
In research on human behavior and assumptions of leaders and managers, McGregor provided some
points of clarity: Theory X relates to the consequences of leadership and managerial strategies; Theory X
is not an absolute relative to all organizations, leaders, and employees; Theory X has adequate research
and evidence to supporting the assumptions. In theory Y, McGregor found that some leaders had positive
assumptions concerning employees. McGregor (1960) created theory Y to identify the positive
assumptions:
1. The expenditure of physical and mental effort in work is as natural as play or rest.
2. External control and the threat of punishment are not the only means for bringing about effort
toward organizational objectives. Man will exercise self-direction and self-control in the service
of objectives to which he is committed.
3. Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement.
4. The average human being learns, under proper conditions, not only to accept but to seek
responsibility.
5. The capacity to exercise a relatively high degree of imagination, ingenuity, and creativity in
the solution of organizational problems is widely, not narrowly, distributed in the population.
6. Under the conditions of modern industrial life, the intellectual potentialities of the average
human being are only partially utilized (pp. 47-48).
The outcome of leader-follower relationships is obvious if the leader is using theory X assumptions in
managing people and in social interaction with others. The negative effect of theory X intensifies if
prejudice and discrimination exists within the schemas and scripts influencing the leaders’ perception of
certain members in the workforce.
A plausible variable exists that could influence theory X findings. Using the social learning theory
(Bandura, 1977) as a framework, people have stereotypic images of leaders as influenced through
observations, cultural factors, and social constructs of reality. The stereotypic image influences behaviors,
expectations, and beliefs concerning the role of leadership. The leadership role and traditional business
models are extensions of the military models, whereas autocratic leadership emerged as the optimal form
of leadership relative to the combat environment, which requires adherence to standard operating
procedures and policies to maximize effectiveness. Through the social learning process, observations,
and expectations, the leader is perceived by some as being aggressive, competent, with a no nonsense
approach to managing tasks, people, and the organization. Some new leaders assume their role requires
aggressive behavior and adapts this belief into their social identity as a leader. Based on observations of
individuals transforming from a non-leadership role into a leadership role, a noted change in behavior
emerges. The new leader slowly ends social interactions with previous peers and begins adapting to the
behaviors and actions of other leaders to “become one of the gang” among the leaders. In research
conducted on leadership styles and change styles, a correlation emerged between the type of leadership
style and length of time in the organization. This finding suggested that new leaders, over time, change
leadership behaviors to adapt to the dominant leadership style in the organization (Norris, 2005).
3. LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR INFLUENCING POOR FOLLOWER PERFORMANCE
The failure rate of leaders and managers is 50% with a significant factor being poor working relationships
and communication failures (Ivey, 1995; Vugt, Hogan, & Kaiser, 2008). Duffy and Ferrier (2003) noted
that two sets of behaviors in leader-employee relationships could affect employee performance
outcomes. The first set, delegation and procedural justice, can influence positive outcomes with
employees. Delegation is the process of including employees in the decision process and assigning
REVIEW OF BUSINESS RESEARCH, Volume 9, Number 4, 2009 75
independent responsibilities in a fair and equitable method. In promoting procedural justice, leaders can
assist in creating an organization culture perceived as fair, equitable, and ethical to the employees,
leading to respect for the leaders and improved attitudes. The second set of behaviors, abusive
supervision and monitoring, can have a negative affect on employee outcomes. In this area, the treatment
by the leader has a negative effect if the treatment is aggressive, abusive, or is in some form demeaning.
Tepper (2000) stated, “Abusive supervision refers to subordinates’ perceptions of the extent to which
supervisors engage in the sustained display of hostile verbal and nonverbal behaviors, excluding physical
contact” (p. 1). Rater errors in assessments and performance evaluations can arise if not guided by clear
measures, scales, and removal of personal biases in the evaluation process (Arvey & Murphy, 1998). The
value of social perception in leadership consulting emerges in assisting clients in comprehending the
negative aspects of social perception, forming better perceptions, and avoiding false perceptions of
followers (direct supports). Social perception also serves as a useful tool in self-awareness and selfreflection
considering that leaders will analyze their beliefs and behaviors relative to their social
interactions with others (perceiver characteristics).
In addition to social perception, leaders should be aware of aggressive nonphysical behaviors as in using
condescending language, poor treatment of others, and negative behaviors displayed through facial
expressions and body language. These behaviors could influence low self-esteem, stress, and
incompetence, among staff members and employees, which could be physically damaging from stressrelated
illnesses or mentally destructive. Kets de Vries (2006) contended that some executives have a
fear of not being successful and inadvertently place undue pressure on stakeholders to achieve success,
although management of this fear is critical due to negative effects on trust, shared values, and positive
working relationships.
All Leaders have positional power over direct supports and can influence a low or high performing work
environment through actions and behaviors. If the leader displays condescending behavior in verbal and
nonverbal communication with direct reports, this behavior can lead to low self-esteem and low
productivity. Frable, Platt, and Hoey (1998) in conducting research on stigmas and self-perception noted
that participants who revealed concealable stigmas (e.g. sexual orientation, family earnings, bulimic)
experienced a decrease in self-esteem when around others who did not reveal stigmas or similarities in
behavior. When around participants who revealed similar stigmas, the participants’ level of self-esteem
increased. This suggests that individuals with low self-esteem or low productivity in a team, unit, or
department could influence similar behaviors in others. In other words, people gain strength when allied
with people who share the same beliefs- even if the beliefs are detrimental to the organization such as
decreasing productivity as a form of resistance. As noted in research, people change behavior over time
to fit in the group, department, or organization (Norris, 2005). A leader displaying negative nonverbal
behaviors or using condescending verbal language (behavioral reinforcers intended to change employee
behavior) could influence low self-esteem, mistrust, or negative behavior decreasing employee
satisfaction and performance levels. Activities as such by leaders are detrimental to the vision, mission,
and core values of the organization, and influence the creation of an antagonistic culture.
Of course, low self-esteem could exist from personal or situational factors outside of the workplace
setting. The goal in developing good people skills is to eliminate leadership behaviors influencing low selfesteem
or poor performance as noted in earlier sections of this research paper. Goleman and Boyatzis
(2008; 2009) postulated that followers would mirror the behaviors of others due to the mirror neurons.
Many people can relate to events whereas they were engaged in cheerful conversations, and observe a
negative change when someone, overtly displaying angry aggressive behavior, enters the room. Laughter
is contagious, but so is anger.
Another potential negative outcome could be the manifestation of a subculture among the employees with
low levels of job satisfaction and low self-esteem. In addition, a negative outcome could be a collective
opposition to the leaders’ direction and orders creating change resistance, conflict, and potential
sabotage in the unit, department, or organization. Goleman (2006) in discussing toxic feelings (negative
emotions) contended the human brain is contagious to the emotions of others. When people display
negative emotions and disseminate that energy with others, the receiver’s brain activates and
inadvertently aligns with those negative emotions. As stated earlier, social interaction exists in a
REVIEW OF BUSINESS RESEARCH, Volume 9, Number 4, 2009 76
reciprocal relationship between people engaged in conversation or through shared nonverbal symbols of
communication.
4. SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE DEVELOPMENT
As noted by Goleman (2006), self-awareness involves assessing personal awareness of strengths and
weaknesses. In establishing conditions for a high involvement environment, leaders must evaluate and
assess their motives, ideologies, and philosophies considering their role as leaders in the organization. In
organizations, negative social perceptions, beliefs, and activities as in stereotypes, prejudices, animosity,
or favoritism can lead to negative employee perceptions and mistrust in the organization as discussed
earlier. Social intelligence development moves beyond self-awareness to focus on the stimuli leading to
incorrect perceptions of others. As noted in the paper, perceptions form based on stimuli or cues noted in
characteristics, observed behaviors, body language, and facial expressions. Paul Ekman (as cited in
Goleman, 2006) asserted that people could learn to read emotions of others through microexpression
training to strengthen primal empathy. Ekman postulated that actual emotions experienced by an
individual are subconscious and quickly appear in facial expressions, but disappear replaced by a
controlled expression projected to hide actual emotion. This phenomenon is visual when observing the
immediate reaction of parents when their child has a minor fall or slight injury. The parent’s fear surfaces
for a moment in the facial expression, but quickly replaced with a comforting expression to avoid
frightening the child. Through self-awareness and self-control, leaders can learn to filter out nonverbal
communication signals including behaviors detrimental to working relationships and the vision of the
organization.
As noted by Goleman and Boyatzis (2009), developing social intelligence is an intentional process to
change behaviors along with a personal vision for the change, and mental preparation to facilitate the
change process. Goleman and Boyatzis developed a behavioral assessment inventory known as the
Emotional and Social Competency Inventory, a 360 degree tool to measure social intelligence based on
seven social intelligence skills, 1) empathy, 2) attunement, 3) organizational awareness, 4) influence, 5)
developing others, 6) inspiration, and 7) teamwork. In review of this paper, the seven social skills align
with the author’s focus on self-focus, social focus, and organization-focused awareness as described in
the people skills model. In development of the people skills model, areas examined included selfawareness,
self-reflection, and self-initiated change combined with an external focus on social and
organizational factors influenced by the social learning theory and double-looped learning (Argyris
&Schon, 1978; Bandura, 1977).
Albrecht (2006) proposed a model to describe, assess, and develop social intelligence known as
S.P.A.C.E. (briefly discussed in the five-step process shown).
1. Situational awareness: represents the ability of an individual to interpret the possible
intentions, emotional states, and proclivity to interact.
2. Presence: This is a process applied by people to evaluate and assess other people
examining verbal and nonverbal symbols and signs.
3. Authenticity: The process applied by people to determine whether another person is honest
or dishonest as indicated by displayed behaviors.
4. Clarity: The ability of an individual to express self, convey information and ideas, and clearly
describe proposed intentions, and solicits cooperation.
5. Empathy: This is a process an individual uses to develop shared feelings, which creates a
state of connectiveness leading to positive social interactions and cooperation (pp. 29-30).
Albrecht added that functioning in a leadership role creates a challenge in balancing emotional
intelligence and social intelligence, which could result in an aggressive form of leadership, if low emotion
intelligence and social intelligence exist. The leader might focus heavily on tasks rather than social
interactions. Based on experience and observations, the author of this research paper argues that each
leader must strive to determine the right balance between task and relations to generate optimum results
between self, employees, and the organization.
REVIEW OF BUSINESS RESEARCH, Volume 9, Number 4, 2009 77
5. PEOPLE SKILLS MODEL
In answering the how to improve people skills question, a people skills model is proposed to assist in
development of social awareness, empathic accuracy, and primal empathy, and social facility. The
development of the people skills model (PSM) derived from interviews, literature review, research, and
theories discussed in this paper. The focus is on self, social interaction, and situational and organizational
orientation. The PSM is a stage development model to align with human development as noted by
Fischer (1980) in the skill theory for cognitive development. Fischer proposed human skill development
starts as a newborn and through growth and experience contributes to learned skills sets. In this sense,
leaders initially develop people skills early in life through attachments with primary and secondary
caregivers and social interactions, fused together through positive and negative life experiences later
manifesting in social interactions with others. As noted by Erik Erikson, growth of psychosocial
development occurs in stages with each stage building upon the previous stage under a constructivist
learning approach. The PSM focuses on three stages of personal development in the leadership role. The
three stages are self-focused, social focused, and organization focused. People skills development is a
systematic process whereas the focus is on continuous improvement, see figure 1.
FIGURE 1: PSM MODEL
The PSM provides a foundation for the development of a personal action plan by leaders to maximize
social interactions and working relationships to generate higher levels of productivity and job satisfaction
levels among followers, improve people skills, and remove biases leading to negative outcomes in
managing employees. To maximize effectiveness of the model, the author suggested using a leadership
or executive coach for guidance, access to needed tests, and development of a structured personal
action plan. The personal action plan follows a similar process as applied in the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats (SWOT) model. In this application, data obtained in the initial assessment,
applied in each of the three stages, provides the input for the personal SWOT analysis.
The leader will use personal strengths and opportunities to mitigate or eliminate weaknesses and threats
to facilitate a win-win solution for the followers and the organization as shown in the personal action chart,
REVIEW OF BUSINESS RESEARCH, Volume 9, Number 4, 2009 78
see figure 2. In the personal action plan process, the leader completes three steps using the personal
SWOT analysis and evaluation, 1) Completion of pre-self assessment personal action chart based on
leader’s perceptions. 2) After collecting data from the required tests, the leader completes a second
personal action plan chart. At this time, a leadership or executive coach can add value in developing an
appropriate training curriculum to address weaknesses and threats noted in step 2. 3) The leader, after
completing suggested training and re-application of 360-degree tests, completes a final personal action
plan chart as a follow-up to measure outcomes between the first and last personal action plan. To
determine the results of the PSM relative to organization outcomes, leaders should collect initial data on
business metrics in respective team, business unit, or department. This establishes a base line to
measure the impact of the change in leadership behaviors on productivity, performance, and employee
job satisfaction.
FIGURE 2: PERSONAL ACTION PLAN CHART
5.1 Self-focused
The self-focused stage of development requires a personal assessment and evaluation of self in the
leadership role, social interaction, and communication skills with peers and followers in the organization.
A good start in this area is with the Kolb Learning Style Inventory Version 3.1, a tool designed to assist
learners in finding their preferred style of learning. The second recommended test is the Myers-Briggs
Type Indicator(r) Step II (Form Q) to determine personality type based on extroversion and introversion.
Other tests suggested are the Watson–Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal designed to measure critical
thinking and problem solving skills, and the Insights Discovery Profile, a tool to identify personal strengths
and weaknesses including strategic development for improved social interaction. Leaders can use the
tests to comprehend their personalities relative to social interactions and other preferences describing
areas of interest and disinterest in the workplace environment.
Leaders possessing high levels of introversion might need to focus on enhancing extroversion to increase
social interaction as required in the leadership role. Social interaction is essential in organizations,
society, and the world considering that humans are social-oriented and survival depends on social
interaction. In this sense, optimum social interaction between people results in better outcomes. On the
same hand, poor social interaction emerges through team, department, or organization outcomes.
Communication is obviously one of the primary forms of interacting with others, although as noted in the
paper, nonverbal communication plays a significant role in social interaction whereas eye contact, body
language, behavior, and personality affects the level of communication. The overall focus of the selffocused
stage in the PSM is recognition of positive and negative attributes within self and toward others,
along with self-initiated changes to remove (biases) contributing to poor people skills.
REVIEW OF BUSINESS RESEARCH, Volume 9, Number 4, 2009 79
5. 2 Social-Focused
A social focus requires comprehension of self with others based on feedback. An individual’s selfperception
generally differs from the characteristics and behaviors described by peers, followers, and
family members. Some people have a tendency to downplay personal accomplishments, personal
strengths, and their contributions to others. Alternately, some people might have behaviors or
characteristics that are detrimental to positive social interactions. In either case, absence of selfawareness
and self-reflection hinders efforts to improve or change behaviors. The author strongly
suggests using a 360-degree test to generated feedback from peers, followers, family members, and
others involved in daily or frequent interactions. The Johari Window is another tool that can provide useful
information in people skills development though social interaction awareness. The underlying driver of
social focused learning is the double looped learning process proposed by Argyris and Schon (1978),
whereas feedback provides critical information to increase learning capacity. Diversity and intercultural
awareness training is also suggested to increase comprehension of the differences between self and
others that might arise relative to age, race, gender, ethnicity, culture, or religion within the organization.
Time Warner in an effort to increase diversity awareness created programs to train, hire, and manage
people who could work in various geographic locations and with people from different cultures. A bonus
reward program provided incentives for leaders and managers who created diverse departments with
talented professionals. Time Warner recorded overall improvement in performance credited to the
emphasis on diversity training (Neel, 2008).
5. 3 Organization-Focused
Organizational focused people skills development relates to decision-making and problem solving
integrating the needs of the organization with those of the stakeholders resulting in optimum organization
outcomes. For instance, leaders should manage direct reports in congruence with the vision, mission,
goals, and objectives of the organization. In this sense, a leader should focus on creating a balance
between stockholder needs, organization needs, and stakeholder needs using a focus of “both and”
rather than “either or” as noted in polarity management to create the needed balance between task and
relations. This assists in the development of a business environment conducive to higher performance,
productivity, and increased quality levels, which serves as evidence of the results in using the PSM.
Leaders can apply people skills in reducing change resistance, managing conflict, and in planning
processes to influence commitment and contributions to the team, department, or organization. As noted
by Covey (2004), followers admire leaders who focus on good ethics, integrity, and who are empathic to
their needs. Bennis and Goldsmith (1997) in describing effective leaders stated, “In the leaders that we
admire, ambition is always balanced with competence and integrity . . . . This three-legged stool upon
which true leadership sits—ambition, competence, and integrity—must remain in balance if the leader is
to be a constructive force in the organization rather than a destructive achiever of her or his own ends” (
p. 3). Leaders and managers are the transmitters of the culture and their behaviors, activities, and
decisions have an effect on the culture (Schein, 1992). Leaders can contribute to developing a strong
organization culture through reflection of personal values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations
(Clawson, 2006). In summarizing these variables, the overall focus is on recognizing how the leader’s
behavior, actions, and interpersonal skills influence a positive or negative organization climate and
culture. As noted in the personal SWOT analysis, leaders must minimize their weaknesses and increase
their strengths to “fit” the organization. In order to create the right fit, leaders must be willing to take the
appropriate action to eliminate or mitigate any weaknesses detrimental to self, their followers, or the
organization.
6. SUMMARY
In summary, this research paper on leadership and cultivating people skills focused on removal of
potential biases, development of self-awareness, and application of social intelligence, to improve
working relationships with employees. An improvement in social intelligence and interpersonal skills could
maximize employee productivity, increase organization performance, and strong working relationships in
partnerships, networking, and alliances with other organizations. The author’s intention is to continue
developing the model through workshops, application in leadership coaching and training, and field
research. Additional research recommended on social intelligence, leadership, and organization
situational variables to gain more information on leadership and people skills.
REVIEW OF BUSINESS RESEARCH, Volume 9, Number 4, 2009 80
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AUTHOR PROFILE:
Dr. Ernest Alonza Norris earned his Doctor of Management degree in 2005. He is a professor of
management at Kaplan University. He enjoys teaching, conducting research, and presenting in discipline
related conferences. He is currently completing a PhD in Industrial/Organization Psychology.
REVIEW OF BUSINESS RESEARCH, Volume 9, Number 4, 2009 83
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