The mediating effects of leader integrity with transparency in communication and work engagement/performance

We examined in a 3-month longitudinal study how leader behavioral integrity relates to individual follower work engagement, and how that relationship, in turn, connects to performance. We hypothesized that ratings of leader behavioral integrity would mediate the relationship between leader transparent communication and follower work engagement, which would also have a positive relationship with performance. We tested our hypotheses using data collected from military cadets (n = 451), who each rated their respective leader. Our findings show that followers who rated their leaders as exhibiting more transparent communication at Time 1, also rated themselves as more engaged in their work role at Time 2 (3 weeks later), and that their perceptions of leader behavioral integrity mediated that relationship. Follower engagement also positively related to third-party ratings of follower performance at Time 3 lagged 3 months. We discuss the implications of these findings for research on leader integrity, authenticity, follower engagement, and performance.     

Perceptions of and reactions to leader toxicity: Do leader–follower relationships and identification with victim matter?

This experimental study examined the influence of leader–follower relationships (i.e., LMX) and target salience on perceptions of leader toxicity and intentions to challenge the leader. There are no studies that evaluate the effect of leader–follower relationships on these two variables. Participants (n = 298) with work experience viewed a video of a leader acting in a destructive manner toward a target. As predicted, LMX out-group participants perceived the leader to be toxic to a greater extent than participants with favored status, and indicated greater intent to challenge the leader. With regard to target salience, the results also showed that observers perceived the leader to be toxic to a greater extent when the leader was targeting someone in their LMX grouping, but there were no significant differences in challenging intentions based on the target's LMX status. Implications for leaders, followers, and organizations are discussed.     

Leader corruption depends on power and testosterone

We used incentivized experimental games to manipulate leader power — the number of followers and the discretion leaders had to enforce their will. Leaders had complete autonomy in deciding payouts to themselves and their followers. Although leaders could make prosocial decisions to benefit the public good they could also abuse their power by invoking antisocial decisions, which reduced the total payouts to the group but increased the leaders' earnings. In Study 1 (N = 478), we found that both amount of followers and discretionary choices independently predicted leader corruption. In Study 2 (N = 240), we examined how power and individual differences (e.g., personality, hormones) affected leader corruption over time; power interacted with endogenous testosterone in predicting corruption, which was highest when leader power and baseline testosterone were both high. Honesty predicted initial level of leader antisocial decisions; however, honesty did not shield leaders from the corruptive effect of power.     

Social identity framing communication strategies for mobilizing social change

Social identity framing delineates a set of communication tactics that leaders may use to harness follower support for a vision of social change. An experimental design tested the effectiveness of three social identity framing communication tactics (inclusive language, similarity language, positive social identity language) on follower outcomes. Students (N = 246) completed dependent measures after reading one of eight possible leader speeches promoting renewable energy on campus. Results showed that participants exposed to inclusive language were more likely to: indicate that renewable energy was ingroup normative; intend to engage in collective action to bring renewable energy to campus; experience positive emotions and confidence about change; and to view the leader more positively. The combination of inclusive language and positive social identity increased ratings of leader charisma. Perceived leader prototypicality was related to followers' social identification, environmental values, ingroup injunctive norms, and self-stereotypes. Positive social identity language increased collective self-esteem. These results underline the important role of implicating social identity in leader communication that strives to mobilize follower support for social change.     

Leader evaluations after performance feedback: The role of follower mood

Team and organizational failures can negatively impact leadership perceptions, as followers tend to attribute performance outcomes to leadership. The current study explores how follower mood moderates this effect. In two experiments, the first with students (N = 132) and the second with a sample of the working population (N = 229), we show that performance information has a weaker effect on leadership evaluations when the follower is in a positive mood as compared with a negative mood. In addition, we show that this moderation effect holds for performance information about the team as well as the leader. We discuss how these findings extend the cognitive follower-centric perspective on leadership by acknowledging affective influences and explore several counter-intuitive implications of these findings.     

Ethical leadership and follower organizational deviance: The moderating role of follower moral attentiveness

The literature on ethical leadership has focused primarily on the way ethical leaders influence follower moral judgment and behavior. It has overlooked that follower responses to ethical leaders may differ depending on the attention they pay to the moral aspects of leadership. In the present research, we introduce moral attentiveness as an important moderator for the relationship between ethical leadership and unethical employee behavior. In a multisource field study (N = 90), we confirm our hypothesis that morally attentive followers respond with more deviance to unethical leaders. An experimental study (N = 96) replicates the finding. Our paper extends the current leader-focused literature by examining how follower moral attentiveness determines the response of followers to ethical or unethical leadership.     

Transformational leadership and leader moral orientation: Contrasting an ethic of justice and an ethic of care

Previous research on the moral foundations of transformational leadership has focused on a Kohlbergian (1969, 1976) ethic of justice. However, proposed associations between level of justice reasoning and transformational leadership have received only partial support. We reasoned that an ethic of care would be more consistent with the nature of transformational leadership than would be an ethic of justice. Multilevel regression analyses on data obtained from a sample of leaders (N = 55) and followers (N = 391) at a Canadian university supported our predictions. Specifically, leader propensity toward using an ethic of care was significantly, positively related to follower perceptions of transformational (but not transactional) leadership. Leader propensity toward an ethic of justice was significantly, positively related to follower perceptions of transactional (but not transformational) leadership. Conceptual, research, and practical implications are discussed.     

“To thine own self be true”: The effects of enactment and life storytelling on perceived leader authenticity

Although researchers have emphasized the importance of antecedents to the construct of authentic leadership, very little empirical research exists to confirm this notion. Combining theoretical approaches from dramaturgy and narrative research, we were able to identify possible antecedents that help followers perceive a leader's authenticity. Using two online experimental designs, we analyzed the concept of perceived leader authenticity. Specifically, we examined how a leader's enactment—that is, a leader's physical actions—(Study 1, n = 105) and a combination of leader enactment and life storytelling (Study 2, n = 334) influenced followers' perceptions of the leader's authenticity, and how this may impact leadership outcomes. The results of these studies, in which leader enactment in the context of authentic leadership was operationalized for the first time, indicate that leader enactment predicts perceived leader authenticity. Life storytelling, however, only partially predicted followers' perceptions of the leader's authenticity. Findings further revealed that followers' trust in the leader and positive emotions are outcomes of perceived leader authenticity. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

A new substitute for leadership? Followers' state core self-evaluations

In this experimental study we integrate transformational leadership theory with recent theoretical considerations and research on core self-evaluations (CSE) in a contingency approach to leadership. We analyze to what extent high state CSE may represent a substitute for transformational leadership in terms of its influence on follower motivation and performance. In a 2 × 2‐design the relationship between transformational leadership and followers' motivation and performance is compared for followers with high versus low state CSE. Participants (76 students) were randomly assigned to four groups. High or low state CSE was activated through a priming manipulation. After that, participants were presented with a written vignette of a transformational or a nontransformational leader who instructs them to perform the subsequent task, a word-search puzzle. Results reveal that followers' state CSE moderated the relationship between transformational leadership and followers' motivation and performance. As expected, followers' state CSE represents a substitute for transformational leadership. Results are discussed for leadership research and management practice.     

Leader–member exchange (LMX), job autonomy,and creative work involvement

Researchers have claimed that high quality of supervisor–employee relationships (i.e., leader–member exchange; LMX) fosters creativity at work. Moreover, researchers have acknowledged that this relationship is not clear-cut but rather complex. The present study focused on the moderating role of job autonomy in the LMX-creative work involvement relationship. Longitudinal field survey data (N = 144) collected in a high-technology firm revealed a positive association between LMX and creative work involvement and confirmed our assumptions on the moderating role of job autonomy. The positive relationship between LMX and creative work involvement was stronger when employees experienced greater job autonomy. Our findings point to the importance of considering the interplay of both, the leader–member relationship and job design issues for increasing employees' creative work involvement.     

When do leaders sacrifice?: The effects of sense of power and belongingness on leader self-sacrifice

Past research on leader self-sacrifice has focused entirely on the effects of this leader behavior on followers and its implications for organizations. The present research focused on antecedents of leader self-sacrifice. We argued that self-sacrifice is positively influenced by leaders' sense of belongingness to the group they supervise. Furthermore, leaders' subjectively sensed power can serve as a moderator of this effect. We expected this because a high sense of power is known to facilitate goal pursuit. Given that organizational goals often prescribe serving the interests of the organization, leaders' sense of belongingness should promote self-sacrifice particularly among leaders low in subjective power; leaders high in subjective power should display self-sacrifice regardless of their sense of belongingness. Two field studies supported these predictions. A final experiment supported a critical assumption underlying our argument in showing that the sense of power × sense of belongingness interaction is restricted to situations that prescribe cooperative goals. When situations prescribe competitive goals, this interaction was absent.     

Leader humility in Singapore

The theoretical development and empirical testing of the effects of humility in the organizational sciences is surprisingly rare. This is especially pronounced in the study of leadership in Asian contexts. To address this we employ a qualitative approach to examine the conceptualization of leader humility in Singapore and assess whether this conceptualization differs from other emerging conceptualizations of leader humility. In Study 1, using semi-structured interviews of 25 Singaporeans, we identified nine major dimensions of humble leader behaviors and explored our participants' beliefs about culturally-based differences in leader humility. In Study 2 (N = 307), we generalized our findings to a broader sample and explored how the nine dimensions fit with existing taxonomies. In addition to replicating all of the Western conceptual dimensions of humility, we identified five unique dimensions of behaviors indicative of leader humility in Singapore.     

The impact of positivity and transparency on trust in leaders and their perceived effectiveness

A critical challenge facing today's organizational leaders is gaining their followers' trust and having them view leaders as effective in addressing turmoil and change. Using a downsizing scenario as the context, this field experiment examined how a leader's positivity and transparency impacted followers' perceived trust, defined in terms of willingness to be vulnerable, and effectiveness of their leader. To test the hypotheses, 304 participants were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions of high (low) leader positivity × high (low) leader transparency. Results of our mixed methods study indicated both the leader's level of positivity and transparency impacted followers' perceived trust and evaluations of leader effectiveness. Besides limitations and suggestions for future research, we conclude with the practical implications that positive, transparent leaders may have on building trust and perceived effectiveness among their followers.     

Empowering leadership: Construct clarification,conceptualization, and validation of a new scale

In this paper we discuss key aspects of empowering leadership as a basis for conceptualizing and operationalizing the construct. The conceptualization resulted in eight behavioral manifestations arranged within three influence processes, which were investigated in a sample of 317 subordinates in Study 1. The results supported the validity and reliability of a two-dimensional, 18-item instrument, labeled the Empowering Leadership Scale (ELS). In Study 2 (N = 215) and Study 3 (N = 831) the factor structure of ELS was cross-validated in two independent samples from different work settings. Preliminary concurrent validation in Studies 1 and 2 found that ELS had a positive relationship to several subordinate variables, among others self-leadership and psychological empowerment. In Study 3 ELS was compared with scales measuring leader–member exchange (LMX) and transformational leadership. Discriminant validity was supported, and moreover, ELS showed incremental validity beyond LMX and transformational leadership when predicting psychological empowerment.     

Transformational leadership and ambidexterity in the context of an acquisition

This study explores the role of transformational leadership and the values incorporated in a learning culture in promoting ambidexterity (the ability to explore new capabilities while exploiting existing ones) in teams involved in acquisition integrations. Data from a field study of an acquisition integration (N = 71 work teams) support hypotheses arguing that transformational leadership behaviors and the development of a learning culture, characterized by psychological safety, openness to diverse opinions, and participation in decision making, promote ambidexterity at the team level. We also found support for the association between transformational leadership and learning cultures.     

How being rooted in the past can shape the future: The role of social identity continuity in the wish for a strong leader

Why do people support strong leaders? We examined the link between social identity continuity – the sense that a nation’s past, present, and future are interconnected – and the wish for a strong national leader. Drawing on a multi-country data set (Study 1: N = 6112) and a sample from Australia (Study 2: N = 621), Studies 1 and 2 showed that identity continuity was related to increased desire for a strong leader. Studies 3a (UK sample; N = 293) and 3b (US sample; N = 294) further showed that desired (not perceived) identity continuity was related to wish for a strong leader, suggesting that the key ingredient is the desire for continuity regardless of the perceived current levels of continuity. These findings suggest that people may want to preserve their national identity as a link to the past to face present and future challenges, even if it means forgoing democratic leadership.     

The role of self-regulation in developing leaders: A longitudinal field experiment

A longitudinal field experiment examined a leader self-regulation intervention in teams engaged in a Business Strategy Module (BSM) of a University course. The BSM, which is an integral part of the degree programme, involved teams of four or five individuals, under the direction of a leader, working on a (simulated) car manufacturing task over a period of 24 weeks. Various aspects of team performance contributed towards module assessment. All leaders received multi-source feedback of leader task-relevant capabilities (from the leader, followers and module tutor). Leaders were randomly allocated into a self-regulation intervention (15 leaders, 46 followers) or control (25 leaders, 109 followers) conditions. The intervention, which was run by an independent coach, was designed to improve leaders' use of self-regulatory processes to aid the development of task-relevant leadership competencies. Survey data was collected from the leaders and followers (on three occasions: pre- and two post-test intervention), team financial performance (three occasions: post-test) and a final team report (post-test). The leader self-regulation intervention led to increased followers' ratings of leader's effectiveness, higher team financial performance and higher final team grade compared to the control (non-intervention) condition. Furthermore, the benefits of the self-regulation intervention were mediated by leaders' attaining task-relevant competencies.     

Group leadership and shared task representations in decision making groups

The development of adequate shared understanding of the task is of critical importance to group functioning. Group leaders play an important role in this respect, as a key function of leadership is to shape group members' understanding of their job. In the present study we focus on decision making groups with distributed information and examine how group leaders shape members' mental representations of the group decision task through leadership behavior rooted in their own representations of the task. We propose that the extent to which the group leader has task representations that emphasize information exchange and integration affects group members' task representations, group information elaboration, and decision quality. We tested these hypotheses in an experiment (N = 94 three-person groups) in which we manipulated whether a group leader was present and whether this leader held representations emphasizing information elaboration. Results supported the hypotheses, and suggest that team leaders may play an important role in creating a socially shared understanding of team tasks.     

Transformational leadership sub-dimensions and their link to leaders' personality and performance

The multi-dimensionality of the transformational leadership construct has been under debate in the last decades. To shed more light on this issue, we conducted a meta-analysis (k = 58 studies), examining the transformational leadership sub-dimensions and their links to leader personality and performance in order to gather empirical evidence of the multi-dimensionality of transformational leadership. First, the results showed that the Big 5 personality traits are directly linked to transformational leadership sub-dimensions and to the overall measure, and are indirectly linked to leader performance. Interestingly, however, different combinations of the personality traits are differentially related to the transformational leadership behaviors. For instance, whereas inspirational motivation is related to all personality traits, only openness to experience and agreeableness affect individualized consideration. These findings emphasize the importance of examining the transformational leadership sub-dimensions separately to gain a deeper understanding of the nature and the antecedents of these leadership behaviors.     

Transformational leadership and childrens' aggression in team settings: A short-term longitudinal study

Social learning theory posits that one crucial way individuals learn how to behave is by observing and modeling the behavior of salient others. We conducted a short-term longitudinal study using multisource data on 183 teenaged ice hockey players (M age = 13.39 years) in 16 hockey teams to test the effects of 3 potentially salient leadership influences (team coaches, team players, and parents) on players' on-ice aggression. We tested a cross-level mediated model in which player aggression (penalty minutes) as measured by referees was the criterion variable. After controlling for prior levels of player aggression, team-level aggression mediated the relationship between team-level coach transformational leadership and player aggression. Parents' transformational leadership did not influence player aggression when assessed simultaneously with team-level coach transformational leadership. Consistent with social learning theory, the findings suggest that transformational leaders model prosocial behavior for followers.