How leader displays of happiness and sadness influence follower performance: Emotional contagion and creative versus analytical performance

Previous studies have found mixed results regarding the influence of positive and negative leader affect on follower performance. We propose that both leader happiness and leader sadness can be beneficial for follower performance contingent on whether the task concerns creative or analytical performance. This proposition was put to the test in two experiments in which leader affective display was manipulated and the performance of (student) participants was assessed. The results supported our hypothesis that a leader's displays of happiness enhance follower creative performance, whereas a leader's displays of sadness enhance follower analytical performance. Contrasting these findings with evidence for a subjective rating of leadership effectiveness, in line with an implicit leadership theory interpretation, leaders were perceived as more effective when displaying happiness rather than sadness irrespective of task type. The second study showed that the effects of leader affective displays on followers' creative performance and perceived leadership effectiveness are mediated by follower positive affect, indicating that emotional contagion partly underlies these effects.     

The role of attribution in how followers respond to the emotional expression of male and female leaders

We investigated how leaders' gender interacts with anger and sadness expression and followers' attributions for their emotional expression on evaluations made by followers. In a laboratory study concerning hypothetical leaders, people evaluated the competence of male and female leaders differently depending on their emotional displays (anger vs. sadness). These differences were observed only when observers made high dispositional attributions for leaders' emotional expression. Perceived leader role-based emotional expression mediated these relationships. In a field study concerning actual leaders, dispositional attributions for sadness and anger expression were negatively related to follower perceptions of the leader, and these attributions moderated the relationships between leader gender and various follower perceptions of the leader. Leader prototype fit mediated these relationships. We discuss the implications of these findings for leadership research and practice.     

The impact of leader emotion display frequency on follower performance: Leader surface acting and mean emotion display as boundary conditions

Theory and evidence suggest leader emotion has an important influence on follower performance. However, we lack a theoretical framework to understand when the frequency of leader emotional displays may or may not explain significant variance in follower performance. To advance knowledge in this emerging line of research, we integrate Emotion As Social Information (EASI) theory with attribution theory to explore boundary conditions of the relationships of the frequencies of positive and negative leader emotional displays with follower performance. Results based on leaders and followers in three organizations show that leader surface acting acted as a boundary condition, neutralizing the effects of the frequencies of positive and negative leader emotional displays toward an individual follower on that follower's performance. In addition, higher frequency of negative emotional displays shown by the leader to all group members acted as a boundary condition, neutralizing the effect of the frequency of negative leader emotional displays toward an individual follower on that follower's performance. This work advances our understanding of the way the frequency of leader emotional displays may influence follower performance, introduces new types of contingency factors to the leader emotion area, and helps extend emotional labor theory to the leadership context.     

Leaders as change executors: The impact of leader attitudes to change and change-specific support on followers

Organizational change research has long regarded leaders as instrumental for the successful implementation of change. Leaders, however, are not always initiating change but rather executing it. In those cases, leaders may hold negative attitudes with regards to the change content or even resist change implementation while also being less effective in supporting their followers. This study tests whether, and to what extent, leader attitudes alongside leader change-specific support impact follower resistance to change. Using survey data from school principals and teachers in the public education sector in Germany, findings from multilevel linear regression show that leader resistance is positively related to follower resistance while leader attitudes to change content are unrelated to follower resistance. Leader change-specific support strengthens the relationship between follower attitudes towards change content and their resistance to change. Thus, this study raises awareness of the negative impact leaders can have on their followers when they are executors rather than initiators of change.     

The influence of leader core self-evaluation on follower reports of transformational leadership

The role of leader core self-evaluations (CSE) was investigated for its influence on follower perceptions of transformational leadership (TFL) dimensions in a sample of 464 employees and 150 leaders from three Chinese organizations. As hypothesized, after controlling for leaders' and followers' demographic variables and modeling fixed-effects to account for the potential impact of omitted variables, we found that leader CSE was significantly and positively related to follower perception of leader TFL. The result enhances the understanding of TFL antecedents.     

The influence of follower mood on leader mood and task performance: An affective,follower-centric perspective of leadership

Based on the notion that leadership involves affective exchange (Dasborough, Ashkanasy, Tee & Tse, 2009), we hypothesize that a leader's mood and task performance can be determined in part by follower mood displays. In two laboratory experiments, leaders supervised teams where the team members were confederates instructed to display positive or negative moods. Results were that followers' mood influenced leader mood and task performance. Moreover, leaders of positive mood followers were judged to have performed more effectively and expediently than leaders of followers who expressed negative mood states. We replicated these findings in Study 2 and found further that leaders high on neuroticism performed less effectively than their low neuroticism counterparts when interacting with negative-mood followers. Collectively, by demonstrating that follower moods influence leader affect and behaviors, our studies provide support for a core element of the Dasborough et al. (2009) reciprocal affect theory of leadership.     

The impact of leader communication on free-riding: An incentivized experiment with empowering and directive styles

Organizations often appoint leaders to foster cooperation. This paper studies the effect of leader communication on free-riding behavior using controlled and incentivized experiments. Leaders are asked to choose public messages from a set that induces a particular leadership style and to send them to subjects matched in groups to play a repeated, finite-horizon public good game. Using a between-subjects design, empowering and directive message sets are studied. Treatments are implemented with and without opportunities for two-way leader follower communication to study the impact of free-form communication. In the absence of opportunities for two-way leader follower communication, leaders assigned to the empowering messages treatment are more effective in mitigating free-riding than leaders assigned to the directive messages treatment. In its presence, contributions in both treatments are higher. The design allows for the study of a more interactive form of directive leadership by combining directive public messages with two-way leader follower communication.     

Claiming more than equality: Should leaders ask for forgiveness?

In organizations, leaders are often paid more than lower-level employees. Social dilemma research also shows that leaders feel entitled to earn more, and because of this, are more inclined to contribute less than an equal share to a public good, which may damage the collective. In two experiments, the social dilemma context is used to examine how group members react when either a leader or a follower violates the equality norm. Moreover, we demonstrate how asking for forgiveness sometimes mitigates people's reactions to equality norm violations. Results show that asking for forgiveness attenuates negative emotions, retribution, and non-cooperation—but more so if followers, relative to leaders, violated equality. In fact, leaders are less likely to be seen as even violating norms, suggesting that group members perceive leaders to be entitled.     

Leaders' conceptions of followers: Implications for naturally occurring Pygmalion effects

We investigated the relationships between leaders' implicit followership theories (LIFTs) (conceptions of followers) and naturally occurring Pygmalion effects (leaders' high performance expectations that improve follower performance). Results based on 151 workplace leader–follower dyads supported a model of naturally occurring Pygmalion effects. Positive LIFTs led to higher performance expectations, liking, and relationship quality from leaders, which impacted follower performance. Supervisory experience moderated the relationship between positive LIFTs and leaders' performance expectations for their followers, such that the performance expectations of leaders with less supervisory experience were more strongly influenced by their conceptions of followers. Implications of the findings for improving follower performance are discussed. Suggestions for future research are offered: antecedents of LIFTs, negative LIFTs, Golem effects, and role reversed Pygmalion effects, among others.     

How transformational leadership works during team interactions: A behavioral process analysis

Transformational leadership is generally considered helpful for team functioning. However, the social dynamics underlying the benefits of transformational leadership remain elusive to date. To understand how and why transformational leadership can foster team functioning, this study focuses on leader–follower communication dynamics during team interactions. From the perspective of leadership as social problem solving, we argue that transformational leadership is linked to functional team problem-solving processes because transformational leaders use solution-focused communication (mediator model). In a sample of 30 videotaped problem-solving team meetings from two organizations, we coded transformational leadership style and the verbal behavioral interactions of leaders and team members over the course of their entire meetings (30,128 behavioral units in total). Multilevel results showed that transformational leadership was positively linked to functional problem-solving communication by team members. This positive relationship was mediated by leaders' solution-focused communication. Moreover, at the micro-level of conversational dynamics within the meeting process, lag sequential analysis revealed that leaders' ideas and solutions triggered subsequent solution statements by team members and inhibited counterproductive communication by team members, such as running off topic, criticizing, or complaining. We discuss theoretical and methodological implications for conceptualizing dynamic leader–follower processes as well as managerial implications for leading effective meetings in organizations.     

License to fail? How leader group prototypicality moderates the effects of leader performance on perceptions of leadership effectiveness

Leadership often serves as an explanatory category for performance outcomes (i.e., failure and success). This process can strengthen or weaken leadership effectiveness, because contingent on their performance leaders may gain or lose follower endorsement — the basis of leadership. Drawing on the social identity analysis of leadership, we hypothesized that leader group prototypicality and performance information interact to predict followers' perceptions of leadership effectiveness. Because group prototypical leaders are more trusted by their followers, we hypothesized that group prototypical leaders are evaluated as more effective after failure information than non-prototypical leaders. In contrast, we predicted that both prototypical and non-prototypical leaders should receive similar evaluations of leadership effectiveness after success. We found support for our predictions in a scenario experiment, a cross-sectional field study, and a laboratory experiment.     

Effective Leadership in Superior-Subordinate Dyads

Abstract

This paper describes and experimentally demonstrates the main tenets of an operant theory of leadership. Leadership is characterized in the current paper as involving problem solving operant behavior (Cerutti, 1989; Skinner, 1969) in a social context (Skinner, 1953). The theory was assessed under two experimental analogs modeled from generic formal organizational bureaucratic leader-follower role relations. Under a minimal leadership contingency (MLC) leaders and followers in N = 4 dyads interacted via button pressing and trigger pulling responses, respectively, and they received feedback on counters located on response panels in their separate rooms. Under the MLC every leader button press added a point worth money to one of the follower's counters but the leader received no points worth money based on follower responses. A leadership contingency (LC) was identical to the MLC except that for every 19th follower trigger pull the leader received a point worth money. As anticipated, high rates of leader-follower interaction evolved in all dyads under the LC and appreciably lower rates occurred under the MLC as leader button pressing extinguished under the MLC with repeated exposures to the two contingencies presented in ABABAB fashion. Results were discussed in terms of the theory and data as they may be related to assessment and maintenance of leader-follower interactions and performance in OBM lab and field experiments.     

Leading via the heart and mind: The roles of leader and follower emotions,attributions and interdependence

How do followers react to their leaders' emotional expressions, and how do these reactions influence followers' perceptions of their leaders' effectiveness? This research examines cognitive and emotional reactions to leaders' expressions of positive and negative emotions, and demonstrates how these reactions affect perceptions of leadership effectiveness. We show that follower interdependence (dispositional or manipulated) plays an important moderating role in understanding reactions to leaders' emotions. Results of three studies demonstrate that followers not only share their leaders' emotions, but also make attributions about the sincerity of their leaders' intentions, and these attributions affect their perceptions of their leader's effectiveness. Results also demonstrate that interdependent followers are sensitive to leader emotional valence and react more positively to leader positivity; non-interdependent followers do not differentiate positive from negative emotions in their leader. We discuss the implications of our research for the literature on leadership.     

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.     

When opposites do (and do not) attract: Interplay of leader and follower self-identities and its consequences for leader–member exchange

Employees' self-identities, or the ways in which they define themselves relative to others, have implications for the quality of leader and follower relationships at work. Although self-identity has been examined within the context of transformational and charismatic leadership, its relevance for leader–member exchange (LMX) has received little attention. In this study we integrate LMX and self-identity theories. Doing so proved useful because it was found that leader and follower identities predicted LMX quality, as did the fit between leader and follower identities and interactions among fit at different self-identity levels. LMX quality fully mediated relationships of self-identity fit with job performance, regardless of whether LMX was reported by subordinates or their supervisors. Lastly, we also found that self-identity predicted LMX agreement across supervisors and subordinates. Implications of our findings for theory and practice are discussed.     

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.     

Mission impossible? Effects of crisis,leader and follower strain on health-oriented leadership

Previous studies underline positive effects of health-oriented leadership for follower well-being. However, it is not clear whether and to what extent situational and personal factors influence health-oriented leadership behavior towards employees (i.e., staff care). We examine the effect of crises and the moderating role of strain for the relationship between strain and staff care in two studies. The first study investigated main and interactive effects of crisis and leader strain on staff care in a cross-sectional survey (N = 201). To test for causality, we complemented our findings with an experimental vignette study (N = 169) and extended our findings with regard to the influence of follower strain. As expected, results of both studies showed negative effects of crisis and leader strain on staff care. Furthermore, crisis effects on staff care were contingent on both leader strain (Study 1 and 2) and follower strain (Study 2): While leader strain strengthened the negative relationships between crisis and staff care, follower strain served as a buffer. These findings support the assumption that staff care is at risk in crises particularly when leaders are strained. However, it is a positive finding that staff care is still feasible on a moderate and relevant level and that leaders respond to follower strain with additional efforts regarding staff care even in crises. The study contributes to the clarification and better understanding of situational contingencies of leadership behavior.     

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.     

Leaders' relational self-concept and followers' task performance: Implications for mentoring provided to followers

Using a sample of 137 leader–follower dyads, this study investigated how leaders' relational self-concept relates to the mentoring (career support and psychosocial support) they provide to their followers, and whether followers' task performance moderates this relationship. As expected, leaders with a stronger relational self-concept provided more career support to followers who displayed higher (vs. lower) task performance. However, leaders' relational self-concept was unrelated to their provision of psychosocial support, irrespective of followers' task performance.     

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.