Janelle’s leadership style represents what early studies of LMX describe as in-groups and out-groups. Those in the in-group have “expanded and negotiated role responsibilities (extra roles)”, while those in the out-group are “based on the formal employment contract (defined roles)”. Tom’s team is in Janelle’s in-group because they are the most creative and productive, and they are willing to do anything for Janelle which she then rewards them with better assignments and lets them take bigger risks. On the flipside, Joan’s team is in the out-group because she is unable to put in extra hours at work due to her role as a mother of young children at home. Joan also feels like because she and her team cannot always put in the extra hours, Janelle …show more content…
More recent studies of LMX have broadened to look at the organization effectiveness which focuses on how the quality of LMX was positive or negative related to positive outcomes for leaders, followers, groups, and the organization as a whole. These studies produced a result called Leadership Making which occurs in three phases, with each phase building on the previous phase ultimately creating a stronger relationship between leader and followers. Phase one is called the Stranger phase because the followers typically are rule-bound and usually have organized and low-quality interactions with the leader. This is similar to the out-group and during this phase leaders typically look for outgoing and enthusiastic followers which might explain why Janelle connected more quickly with Tom and his team. Phase two is the Acquaintance phase where the leader or follower offers to improve “ career-oriented social exchanges, which involve sharing more resources and personal or work-related information.” Janelle seems to have already gotten to this phase with Tom’s team, but a way she could improve her relationships with Joan’s team she could either give them a task that is more desirable or let them take a risk that would prove if Joan and her team were capable of receiving more