The Leader-Member Exchange Theory

One of our assigned readings in Women in Leadership this week was Chapter 8 on the Leader-Member Exchange Theory. This theory, in summation, says that in a leader-subordinate scenario there will always be an in-group and an out-group and the goal of the leader is to build trusting relationships with everyone, no matter which group. To explain, the in-group is the group of subordinates who are interested in working with the leader for the betterment of the group as a whole. They go above and beyond their formal job requirements and are often favored by the leader. The out-group is the group of subordinates who are interested in doing nothing more than what is required of them. This group is often known to receive less information and confidence from their leader. Because of the extreme differences in the in-group and out-group, it is the leader's responsibility to make sure that everyone is treated fairly according to his or her own needs, feelings and personality.

I have encountered this scenario throughout my high school years. Whether it be in an extra-curricular area or even in a classroom, there is always a group of people who put forth more effort than is required of them, or relate better to a leader, and a group of people that puts forth just enough effort, or cannot relate well with the leader. In the classroom I was a subordinate and witnessed the different ways that my leaders, the teachers, handled these situations. One teacher kept the in-group close to him and built strong relationships with a select group of people with whom he could relate. This resulted in a small out-group of people who, noticing the difference between themselves and the in-group, contributed to the whole group only as much as they were required to. The class stayed in this state of division for the whole year. In another class I had a teacher who immediately noticed the division between the in-group and the out-group of students.  She, instead of organizing her students into rows of desks, organized them into a circle everyday where everyone was required to get to know each other and to voice their ideas and opinions. Soon the out-group began to make connections with the in-group and with the leader because they wanted to be more involved with the class and with the people in the class. By the end of the school year there was no longer an out-group. The entire class was a group of people who had built strong relationships with each and every member.

Through reading this chapter and witnessing the types of situations mentioned within the chapter, I have come to the conclusion that the leader has the ultimate power to influence whether or not there is unity within a section of subordinates. If the leader develops good relationships with the different subordinates, then the subordinates will develop good relationships between themselves to create a more pleasant and productive environment. The most important fact for the leader to realize is the fact that each subordinate is unique and wants to relate to the leader in his or her own special way; a way that may be much different than that of another subordinate. Because the first teacher only focused on building relationships with students he related to, the class lost the different perspectives from the unique people in the out-group that would have served to enrich the class and promote a more learning-friendly environment. The second teacher, who made sure to develop a relationship with each and every student, set an example for her students to follow and inspired them to develop relationships with each other, thereby bringing into play new thoughts and ideas that improved the class as a whole. These two approaches are very different and both drastically affected the classroom environment. In reflecting on these two scenarios, I feel that I now understand what I need to do when faced with the two group situation. I will work to include all subordinates and build strong relationships with each one in order to further the progress of the group as a whole.