ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Organizational Leadership provides members with the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge around competencies in the leadership of an organization. This competitive event consists of an objective test. It aims to inspire members to learn about the different leadership concepts in the business environment.
Event Overview
Division: High School
Event Type: Individual
Event Category: Objective Test, 100-multiple choice questions (breakdown of question by competencies below)
Objective Test Time: 50 minutes
NACE Connections: Career & Self-Development
Equipment Competitor Must Provide: Sharpened pencil, Conference-provided nametag, Attire that meets the Florida FBLA Dress Code
Objective Test Competencies
· Leadership Concepts
· Leadership Managerial Roles
· Leadership Behavior and Motivation
· Networking
· Communication Skills
· Leader/Follower Relations
· Team Leadership and Self-Managed Teams
· Strategic Leadership for Managing Crises and Change
· Levels of Leadership
· Leadership Theory
· Traits of Effective Leaders
· Personality Profile of Effective Leaders
· Leadership attitudes
· Ethical Leadership
· Relationship Between Power, Politics, Networking, and Negotiation
· Coaching
· Managing Conflict
· Leadership and Team Decision Making
· Organizational Politics
· Charismatic and Transformational Leadership
· Stewardship and Servant Leadership
· Leadership in a Diverse Setting
District
Check with your District leadership for District-specific competition information.
State
Eligibility
· FBLA membership dues are paid by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on December 1 (or earlier date specified by District Director) of the current program year.
· Members may compete in an event at the State Leadership Conference (SLC) more than once if they have not previously placed in the top 10 of that event at the National Leadership Conference (NLC). If a member places in the top 10 of an event at the NLC, they are no longer eligible to compete in that event.
· Members must be registered for the SLC and pay the state conference registration fee in order to participate in competitive events.
· Members must stay in an official FBLA hotel to be eligible to compete.
· Each district may be represented by participant(s) based on the Florida FBLA scaled quota system found on the Florida FBLA website.
· Each member can only compete in one individual/team event and one chapter event (American Enterprise Project, Community Service Project, Local Chapter Annual Business Report, Partnership with Business Project).
· If competitors are late for an objective test, they may be either disqualified or permitted to begin late with no extension of the time as scheduled.
· Participants must adhere to the Florida FBLA dress code established by the Florida Board of Directors or they will not be permitted to participate in the competitive event.
Recognition
· The number of competitors will determine the number of winners. The maximum number of winners for each competitive event is 5.
Event Administration
· This event is an objective test administered at the SLC.
· No reference or study materials may be brought to the testing site.
· No calculators may be brought into the testing site.
Tie Breaker
· Ties are broken by comparing the correct number of answers to the last 10 questions on the test. If a tie remains, answers to the last 20 questions on the test will be reviewed to determine the winner. If a tie remains, the competitor who completed the test in a shorter amount of time will place higher.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
· FBLA meets the criteria specified in the Americans with Disabilities Act for all competitors with accommodations submitted through the conference registration system by the registration deadline.
Penalty Points
· Competitors may be disqualified if they violate the Competitive Event Guidelines or the Honor Code.
Electronic Devices
· All electronic devices such as cell phones, headphones, and watches of any type are not to be brought to the testing site.
National
Be sure to see the National guidelines at https://www.fbla.org/divisions/fbla/fbla-competitive-events/
Study Guide: Competencies and Tasks
A. Leadership Concepts
1. Explain why leadership is important.
2. Define leadership.
3. Explain how self-assessment is used to determine leadership potential.
4. Describe characteristics of leaders (initiative, ability to function independently, follow-through, ethics, and ability to respond to ambiguity and change, resiliency, positive attitude, confidence, record of excellence).
B. Leadership Managerial Roles
1. Describe interpersonal roles for managerial leadership.
2. Explain informational roles for managerial leadership.
3. Describe decisional roles of managerial leaders.
4. Understand the importance of effective research for leadership decisions.
5. Appreciate the perspectives of other individuals within an organization.
6. Explain how successful leaders use reflection and application for future challenges.
7. Explain the importance of analyzing situations to gain a more comprehensive understanding.
8. Explain how leaders connect individual thinking with systems thinking.
9. Explain the importance of evaluating different alternatives to make the best decisions.
10. Describe how leaders generate new ideas by expanding their thinking beyond convention.
11. Explain how problem solving and decision making are key duties for leaders.
12. Explain how self-understanding (personal values, personal contributions, scope of competence) determines leadership capabilities.
C. Leadership Behavior and Motivation
1. Compare leadership styles.
2. Explain the difference between job-centered and employee-centered behavior.
3. Explain the motivation process for leadership.
4. Compare and contrast motivation theories.
5. Define Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory.
6. Explain the need for individuals to balance professional and personal needs.
7. Define the Equity Theory, Expectancy Theory, Reinforcement Theory, and Goal-Setting Theory for motivation.
D. Networking
1. Define professional networking.
2. Explain the relationship between professional networking and leadership.
3. Explain the leadership advantages of forming professional networks.
4. Describe the power of productive interpersonal interaction.
5. Describe characteristics of productive leaders (appropriate interaction with others, empathy, mentoring, helping others, motivation, empowerment, feedback, supervision, collaboration, and other’s contributions).
E. Communication Skills
1. Explain how successful leadership is based upon solid communication.
2. Define the elements of the communication process (sender, receiver, message, and feedback).
3. Explain common approaches to getting feedback on messages.
4. Explain the power of nonverbal communication.
5. Explain the role of conflict negotiation for groups.
6. Explain the importance of listening skills.
F. Leader/Follower Relations
1. Define the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory.
2. Describe how group dynamics impact team building for leadership.
3. Explain strategies for developing positive leader-member relations.
4. Explain the importance of effective leader feedback.
5. List characteristics of an effective follower.
6. Explain the dual role of being a leader and a follower.
G. Team Leadership and Self-Managed Teams
1. Explain the use of teams in organizations.
2. Explain the difference between a group and a team.
3. Explain advantages and disadvantages of teamwork.
4. Describe characteristics of effective teams and the role of leadership.
5. Differentiate characteristics of different teams (functional, cross-functional, and self-managed).
H. Strategic Leadership for Managing Crises and Change
1. Explain the need to analyze the environment to form a strategic vision.
2. Explain the importance of mission statement, objectives, and strategic planning/implementation for leadership.
3. Explain the importance of evaluating leadership strategies.
4. Explain the need for leadership in crisis situations.
5. Define crisis management.
6. List the five-step process for crisis management (risk identification, risk assessment and ranking, risk reduction strategies, crisis prevention simulations, crisis management).
7. Recognize the need for change.
8. Understand why people resist change.
9. Define the change process.
10. Explain the mission, vision, goals, plan, and organization for making leadership decisions.
I. Levels of Leadership
1. Explain individual leadership.
2. Describe leadership within a group.
3. Define organizational leadership.
4. Describe interrelationships among individual, group, and organizational leadership.
J. Leadership Theory
1. Describe leadership theory.
2. Explain application of leadership theory.
3. Explain leadership skill development and the need for flexibility.
K. Traits of Effective Leaders
1. Define traits of effective leaders.
2. Explain how leadership traits can be acquired.
L. Personality Profile of Effective Leaders
1. Explain the Achievement Motivation Theory.
2. Define the Leader Motive Profile.
3. Explain how self-assessment is used to determine leadership qualities.
M. Leadership Attitudes
1. Differentiate Theory X and Theory Y styles of leadership.
2. Explain how attitudes influence leadership styles.
3. Explain the Pygmalion Effect on Leadership.
N. Ethical Leadership
1. Explain ethical leadership behavior.
2. Explain how personality traits and attitudes, moral development, and the situation affect ethical behavior.
3. Describe how people justify unethical behavior.
4. Describe simple guides to ethical behavior.
5. List characteristics of ethical leaders.
O. Relationship Between Power, Politics, Networking, and Negotiation
1. Describe sources of power for leaders.
2. Explain types of power, influencing tactics, and ways to increase personal power.
P. Coaching
1. Explain the relationship between coaching and leadership.
2. Describe why criticism does not work.
3. Explain how mentoring is used to prepare future leaders.
Q. Managing Conflict
1. Describe conflict management styles.
2. Define conflict resolution and mediation.
R. Leadership and Team Decision Making
1. Describe the difference between leader-centered and group-centered decision making.
2. Explain the difference between individual and team decision making.
S. Organizational Politics
1. Explain the nature of organizational politics.
2. Explain the relationship between political behavior and leadership.
T. Charismatic and Transformational Leadership
1. Describe factors that determine personal meaning.
2. Describe characteristics of charismatic leaders.
3. Explain the effects of charismatic leadership.
4. Define attributes and behaviors for transformational leadership.
U. Stewardship and Servant Leadership
1. Explain the nature of stewardship and servant leadership.
2. Describe the framework for stewardship and servant leadership.
V. Leadership in a Diverse Setting
1. Understand the power of culture.
2. Differentiate characteristics of low-performance and high-performance culture.
3. Describe how leaders are culture creators.
4. Explain how culture, values, diversity, and the learning organization influence the role of leaders.
5. Define diversity and explain the importance of inclusion for decision making.
6. Explain the importance of social responsibility.