TeamResearch News

Political Skills Helped Teams Find Homes for Kids

A group of researchers note in a new study report, "work environments are inherently political. As such, to be effective, one must develop the ability to persuade, influence, and control others, which has often been referred to as 'political skill.'" The scientists wanted to know how a team leader's political skill affected the team's success, and they picked a vital measure of group performance: the ability of case worker teams to place foster children in permanent living arrangements ("adoption…guardianship, or return to natural parents").

One-hundred team leaders in a state social agency and 438 of their team members were surveyed. The results took into account differences in member and leader experience, caseloads, and level of team empowerment (as perceived by the team members). The leader's political skills had a major impact on placements, even larger than team empowerment.

The scientists admit it would have been helpful to have team members rate the skill of the leaders as well. The statements used to measure political skill are listed below (all are direct quotations). The higher the leader rated him- or herself on each, the higher the political skill was considered to be:

I find it easy to envision myself in the position of others.
I am able to make most people feel comfortable and at ease around me.
It is easy for me to develop good rapport with most people.
I understand people well.
I am good at getting others to respond positively to me.
I usually try to find common ground with others.

[Editor's note: Since political skills were self-rated by leaders, it is more accurate to say a leader's "self-perceived political skills" were important in the study.]

Source: Ahearn, K., et al. (04), "Leader Political Skill and Team Performance," Journal of Management 30(3):309.

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