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Hi Ed,

You may be confused regarding the research on Leader-Member Excellence.  May I present a short-course for your edification?  First, the breakthrough conformational studies comparing the older "Average Leadership Style" measures (a leader toward the entire team or group) with the LMX face-to-face working relations were carried out at the University of Illinois by my students directed by me.  At first we only had a fingernail hold on this new construct's measure (2 items).  Later studies more items were added to LMX as they were validated.  The trick that we learned was to add only measures that were predictive of work performance and not only satisfaction.  We stayed with LMX-7 for a decade until we finally reached the team leadership level.  Our latest measure is a 10 item scale of "Team Leadership Excellence".  It is included in the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Leadership, edited by Mike Rumsey.  LMX team theory helps answer the question of how do you motivate your team much better than simply commanding specific performance goals.  I await you student evaluation form.

Cheers,

George Graen
University of Illinois, C-U (Retired)
Director Center for Strategic Management Studies
CSMSINC
/jag