Autocratic leaders and authoritarian followers revisited: A review and agenda for the future

Despite a long history within the field of leadership, the subject of authoritarianism and how it influences leadership and leadership processes has been neglected in recent decades. However, recent global events make it clear that a better understanding of authoritarianism is needed and that leadership researchers would benefit from a renewed interest in studying why followers embrace autocratic leaders. The nature of authoritarian character, how authoritarian values develop, and how it is measured will be discussed. We will also review autocratic leadership, the factors that make it more likely, its consequences for followers, and the moderators of its effects. A future research agenda for the study of authoritarian character and autocratic leadership will be provided.     

We don't need more leaders – We need more good leaders. Advancing a virtues-based approach to leader(ship) development

This conceptual article advances a virtues-based approach to developing good leaders and good leadership. Virtue and discrete virtues are gaining traction within leadership scholarship, but there remains a lack of clarity regarding exactly what virtue is and precisely how virtues inform leadership. To address this, we articulate a clear conceptualization of how virtue informs good leadership in multiple domains. We also elucidate five synergisms of virtues-based leadership development, including how a virtues approach accounts for leadership effectiveness and ethics; how virtue and leadership are both learnable; the relationship between virtues, character, and leadership; the unity and universality of virtue; and how virtue serves as the linchpin between the individual and the common good. Three trajectories for virtues-based leadership development are described. This article has implications for the study and practice of developing good leaders(hip). Limitations and future research directions are discussed.     

Ethics,character, and authentic transformational leadership behavior

The morality of transformational leadership has been sharply questioned, particularly by libertarians, “grass roots” theorists, and organizational development consultants. This paper argues that to be truly transformational, leadership must be grounded in moral foundations. The four components of authentic transformational leadership (idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration) are contrasted with their counterfeits in dissembling pseudo-transformational leadership on the basis of (1) the moral character of the leaders and their concerns for self and others; (2) the ethical values embedded in the leaders' vision, articulation, and program, which followers can embrace or reject; and (3) the morality of the processes of social ethical choices and action in which the leaders and followers engage and collectively pursue.The literature on transformational leadership is linked to the long-standing literature on virtue and moral character, as exemplified by Socratic and Confucian typologies. It is related as well to the major themes of the modern Western ethical agenda: liberty, utility, and distributive justice Deception, sophistry, and pretense are examined alongside issues of transcendence, agency, trust, striving for congruence in values, cooperative action, power, persuasion, and corporate governance to establish the strategic and moral foundations of authentic transformational leadership.     

Character-based leadership, context and consequences

The study of character in leadership cannot be totally separated from attention to the unique context within which the leader acts or from the study of the consequences of the leader's actions. We respond to the five questions raised by Hannah and Avolio (in press) while enlarging the dialogue along several new lines of thought. We honor the importance of leadership science while emphasizing the art of the leader who masters the practice of leadership. While there is no universal, one best way to lead or one enduring and integrative theory of leadership, we remain convinced of the significant role of character in the study of leadership.     

Leader character, ethos, and virtue: Individual and collective considerations

Character is an indispensable component of leadership and its development, and thus warrants future research focus. Before a purposeful research stream on character can proceed, however, it is critical that we fully define and conceptualize the character construct (the ontological basis) and then consider how we might best measure this construct and test it across a diverse array of contexts (the epistemological basis). We pursue these ends by first unpacking the definition of leader character and then by posing a series of questions. Following our initial thoughts related to the locus of character and how leader character is transmitted to and received by followers, we proceed by discussing how character relates to or serves as an antecedent to exemplary leadership styles, how character is contextualized, and how character is developed.     

Ethical leadership and follower voice and performance: The role of follower identifications and entity morality beliefs

Previous studies have established the relationship between ethical leadership and a variety of positive follower outcomes. Follower organizational identification has been found to mediate the relationship between ethical leadership and follower job performance. In this research, we incorporate a second distinct and theoretically important type of social identification process, relational identification with the leader, along with organizational identification, and examine their mediating effects on follower performance and voice outcomes. Further, we bring the implicit theory of morality to the behavioral ethics literature and examine follower morality beliefs as a moderator. Using a Romanian sample of 302 followers under the supervision of 27 leaders, we found that ethical leadership has an indirect effect on follower job performance and voice (through the mediating mechanisms of both organizational and relational identifications) and that these relationships are stronger for followers who held the implicit theory that a person's moral character is fixed.     

化被动为主动:共享型领导对员工主动变革行为的影响及作用机制研究

如何让员工将其工作角色外的行为,如主动变革行为,视为其角色内的行为越来越受到学者和管理者的关注。主动变革行为是指个体通过自愿的和建设性的努力来影响组织功能改变的行为,属于一种挑战性的组织公民行为。尽管以往研究对员工主动变革行为的影响因素进行了一些探讨,但主要聚焦于正式垂直领导和个体因素,鲜有研究关注团队情景因素对其的作用效果。通过问卷调查法,以69个部门和262名员工的配对数据为样本,本研究考察了共享型领导对员工主动变革行为的影响及作用机制。跨层次分析结果表明:(1)共享型领导对员工主动变革行为有积极影响;(2)主动变革行为的角色定义与和谐工作激情会分别中介共享型领导与员工主动变革行为之间的关系;(3)领导-成员交换质量会分别调节共享型领导与员工角色宽度自我效能与和谐工作激情之间的关系,领导-成员交换质量越高,共享型领导对员工角色宽度自我效能与和谐工作激情的积极作用越显著;(4)领导-成员交换质量会调节共享型领导通过角色宽度自我效能对员工主动变革行为的间接作用,领导-成员交换质量越高,这一间接作用越显著。     

The entanglement of leader character and leader competence and its impact on performance

Whereas the micro- and macro-oriented leadership literatures have often studied leader competencies necessary for effective performance, the role of leader character in relation to competencies and performance has been to a large extent neglected. Our work seeks to shift the scholarly dialogue by introducing the concept of character-competence entanglement, which reflects the binding between character and competence over time. The highest degree of entanglement represents the deep and more persistent interconnection and mutually-reinforcing effect between highly-developed leader character and highly-developed leader competence, whereas in cases of low entanglement, character can be activated temporarily in a particular context to help strengthen the relationship between competence and performance. Our core proposition is that high character-competence entanglement will lead to extraordinary performance over time. In addition, we emphasize that relying on naturally-occurring learning opportunities and the processes of “learning-by-living” both outside and inside the organization will positively impact the development of character-competence entanglement.     

The value of virtue in the upper echelons: A multisource examination of executive character strengths and performance

Previous research on upper echelon (i.e., top-level) executives has focused on how character flaws or lapses in ethical judgment lead to detrimental outcomes. Research is lacking that specifically examines whether character strengths that are reflected in the behaviors of top-level executives are related to positive outcomes. Therefore, this study examined behavioral manifestations of the character strengths of integrity, bravery, perspective, and social intelligence as influences on executive performance in the context of top-level executive leadership of for-profit and not-for profit organizations. Using matched-report data from 191 top-level, U.S. executives' direct reports and bosses and board members, this study found positive relationships between direct reports' ratings of executive integrity, bravery, and social intelligence and bosses' and board members' ratings of executive performance. These character strengths each accounted for variance in executive performance above and beyond direct reports' ratings of executives' developing and empowering behaviors and other control variables. Among the character strengths examined, integrity was found to have the most contribution in explaining variance in executive performance via relative weight analysis. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

领导者自我牺牲与情绪表达对下属合作的影响

以往关于领导者自我牺牲行为促进下属员工合作的机制研究中,缺少对领导者情绪变量可能带来影响的关注,本研究采用实验室设计模拟"社会困境",通过录像视频展现"领导者"具体情绪表达(愉悦和悲伤),考察领导者情绪表达和自我牺牲行为对下属合作行为的作用。结果表明:领导自我牺牲行为及悲伤情绪表达对下属的合作行为(公共物品博弈中愿意捐献的资金更高)分别有显著的促进作用,但是仅在领导者表现愉悦时,自我牺牲对下属合作的机制呈显著的正向效应。本研究依据"情绪即社会信息(The emotions as social information,EASI)模型解读了领导和员工互动中情绪的社会功能,但其心理机制还有待进一步的探索。     

Leading well: Challenges to researching leadership in occupational health psychology – and some ways forward

ABSTRACT

Studies on the effects of leadership in occupational health psychology build on the assumption that leaders influence their followers’ health and well-being. Although this assumption has received support, this introductory paper to a special issue of Work & Stress on leadership argues that a number of questions regarding leadership and follower health and well-being remain unanswered. We identify four issues that we argue warrant further attention. First, what is “good” leadership? Particular leadership types are associated with increases in employee performance, but since this will involve higher effort expenditure, adverse outcomes for employee health are to be expected. Although many types of leadership are associated with favourable outcomes, we still need to identify the leadership characteristics can be identified that account for these positive outcomes. Second, how can good leadership be promoted? There is a need to develop interventions that are effective in promoting desirable leadership styles. Third, what are the inter-mediate and long-term effects of leadership on follower health? Finally, we need to understand the boundary conditions for good leadership, including the resources available to leaders. Based on these considerations, we conclude that further research is needed to fully understand the effects of leadership on employee health and well-being.     

Professional networks,science ability,and gender determinants of three types of leadership in academic science and engineering

This paper examines the factors associated with holding leadership positions among men and women academic scientists. We develop hypotheses for three determinants of leadership: professional networks, science ability, and gender. We test the resulting model on the likelihood of holding three different types of academic science leadership—research center leadership, university administrative leadership, and discipline leadership. Findings show that while science productivity and reputation are strongly associated with having either a center or discipline leadership position, they are less strongly associated with administrative leadership. Also, larger and more dense collaboration networks predict having a center leadership position, but the opposite is true for holding an administrative leadership position. Women are more likely to be in discipline leadership positions and less likely to be a leader of a research center or have an administrative university leadership position. Finally, having more women in the network reduces the likelihood of holding discipline or center leadership positions. Interpretations of findings and conclusions explore the potential implications for theory, practice and policy.     

Advancing the science of 21st-century leadership development: Theory,research, and practice

Leadership development seeks to understand, predict, and intervene effectively in addressing the questions of how individuals develop as leaders and how collections of individuals develop a capacity for leadership. These questions are attracting scholars interested in the factors and processes involved in developing leaders and leadership. Presented in the special issue is a set of state-of-the-science empirical studies and theory development articles representing 21st century leadership development. We also provide a brief overview of issues related to the leadership development field – broadly construed to include individual leader development – that are especially pertinent and where the research evidence is scarce or contradictory. These areas are theoretical foundations of leadership development, practices and methods of development and talent selection for development, accurately estimating return on investment for leadership development initiatives, the role of time in developing leaders and leadership, understanding and remedying biases and inequities in leadership development, and the role of development in mitigating the so-called dark side of leadership. Although we have learned much about leader and leadership development over the past 20 years, there is an ongoing need for more research and theory development especially with respect to identifying causally and practically relevant knowledge able to inform policy.     

Virtues-centered moral identity: An identity-based explanation of the functioning of virtuous leadership

In accounting for the nature and positive functioning of virtuous leadership, recent efforts (e.g., Wang & Hackett, 2016) have relied solely on attribution and modeling, concepts tied to social-cognitive theories. This approach does not account for important processes associated with virtuous leadership, such as the crucial role ascribed to the self-cultivation of virtues. To remedy this, we apply the concept of moral identity i.e., one's sense of self as moral, taken from identity-based theories of leadership, to develop a new construct, virtues-centered moral identity. As part of the process, we explain the uniqueness of our approach relative to existing views of moral identity that emphasize moral values and moral goals, rather than moral virtues. In comparison to often unsuccessful externally-based attempts to promote ethical behavior, including regulations, codes of conduct, and audits, our emphasis on virtues-centered moral identity highlights the importance of fostering moral character in leaders (and ultimately followers as well) as the most promising way to promote ethical (moral) choices.     

Need for leadership as a moderator of the relationships between leadership and individual outcomes

Earlier research on situational leadership theories has produced little and partly contradictory evidence about the role of situational moderator variables in explaining the relationship between leadership and outcomes. In this article, we propose to concentrate on need for leadership as a singular moderator of the relationships between leadership and employee outcomes. Using a sample of 958 Dutch employees from various organizations, the moderator hypothesis was tested. Need for leadership was paired with three leadership factors and five outcome variables, generating 15 possible moderating effects. Five of these were significant. Although the findings compare favorably with other studies using leadership moderators, the effects are weak, and there is not much evidence that leadership–outcome relations are reversed by need for leadership.     

Creating clover

This study empirically examines how different types of leadership behaviour affect perceived job performance of leaders in different cultures, specifically comparing the U.S. and four Confucian Asian countries. Using a large archival database of a multisource feedback instrument assessing leadership behaviours and overall perceived job performance of managers in these countries, this study analyses the influence of leadership behaviours on perceived job performance. The results suggest that charismatic and directive leadership behaviours are positively related to perceived job performance of leaders in all countries studied, whereas the influence of supportive leadership behaviour is not as strong as charismatic and directive leadership behaviours. Surprisingly, participative leadership behaviour is not associated with perceived job performance of leaders in the countries studied except for Japan. Research implications and limitations are discussed.     

Relational Leadership Theory: Exploring the social processes of leadership and organizing

Relational leadership is a relatively new term in the leadership literature, and because of this, its meaning is open to interpretation. In the present article I describe two perspectives of relational leadership: an entity perspective that focuses on identifying attributes of individuals as they engage in interpersonal relationships, and a relational perspective that views leadership as a process of social construction through which certain understandings of leadership come about and are given privileged ontology. These approaches can be complementary, but their implications for study and practice are quite different. After reviewing leadership research relative to these two perspectives I offer Relational Leadership Theory (RLT) as an overarching framework for the study of leadership as a social influence process through which emergent coordination (e.g., evolving social order) and change (e.g., new approaches, values, attitudes, behaviors, ideologies) are constructed and produced. This framework addresses relationships both as an outcome of investigation (e.g., How are leadership relationships produced?) and a context for action (e.g., How do relational dynamics contribute to structuring?). RLT draws from both entity and relational ontologies and methodologies to more fully explore the relational dynamics of leadership and organizing.     

Understanding indigenous leadership research: Explication and Chinese examples

Integrating the constructivist and positivist research traditions, we propose a three-step methodological framework and use a study of Chinese indigenous leadership practices as an example to illustrate how to utilize the framework to study indigenous leadership practices. We argue that indigenous leadership research is an ideal way to examine and interpret leadership practices in a specific social context because not all leadership practices are captured in dominant Western perspectives that utilize Western-built instruments, which often fail to account for perspectives and practices of leadership in non-Western contexts. Finally, we discuss implications of the proposed methodology on leadership research and offer suggestions on how to deal with challenges when conducting indigenous leadership research in various cultures.     

Conceptualizing leadership perceptions as attitudes: Using attitude theory to further understand the leadership process

Leadership is one of the most examined factors in relation to understanding employee well-being and performance. While there are disparate approaches to studying leadership, they share a common assumption that perceptions of a leader's behavior determine reactions to the leader. The concept of leadership perception is poorly understood in most theoretical approaches. To address this, we propose that there are many benefits from examining leadership perceptions as an attitude towards the leader. In this review, we show how research examining a number of aspects of attitudes (content, structure and function) can advance understanding of leadership perceptions and how these affect work-related outcomes. Such a perspective provides a more multi-faceted understanding of leadership perceptions than previously envisaged and this can provide a more detailed understanding of how such perceptions affect outcomes. In addition, we examine some of the main theoretical and methodological implications of viewing leadership perceptions as attitudes to the wider leadership area. The cross-fertilization of research from the attitudes literature to understanding leadership perceptions provides new insights into leadership processes and potential avenues for further research.