Cognitive Resources Theory of Leadership

Organizational behavior article

Fiedler, Garcia, and Vecchio have focused attention on the role of intellectual and other cognitive abilities on leader performance in the Cognitive Resources Theory (CRT).
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Fiedler, Garcia, and Vecchio have focused attention on the role of intellectual and other cognitive abilities on leader performance in the Cognitive Resources Theory (CRT).

Theory

This theory identifies cognitive resources or variables of a leader that are related to organizational performance.

Intelligence and experience are two key variables in the theory. Intelligence is one's overall effectiveness as measured by standard IQ tests. Experience includes learned behaviors and skills that are acquired over the years by performing various tasks. These two variables can impact teams performance depending on the level of stress present. Stress is defined as the level of interpersonal conflict and concerns about performance with superiors. Stress can also be there  during organizational disruptions as during mergers, reorganizations and transitions.

Hypotheses

The theory provides the following hypotheses:

Leader IQ can contribute positively to team performance when the leader is directive. That is, the group can benefit from the leader's experience only if they follow his/her guidance, especially regarding complex tasks.
Stress moderates the relationship between IQ and performance. That is, intelligence is an asset in low and moderate stress situations; under high stress, intellectual skills can become impaired and detract from or have no effect on a group's performance.
Leader experience is related positively to performance in high-stress situations but not in low-stress ones. That is, under high stress a leader can fall back on tried-and-true experiences they have acquired, and thereby help group performance. In low stress situations, they may rely too much on past experience.

References

Fred Luthans, Organizational Behavior, McGraw-Hill, New York, 9^th Edition, pp.586-87

Web References

 
http://faculty.css.edu/dswenson/web/LEAD/cogresourcetheory.html

http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/au-24/fiedler.pdf

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