The relational nature of leadership identity construction: How and when it influences perceived leadership and decision-making

This paper empirically tests leadership identity construction theory (DeRue & Ashford, 2010), conceptually framing claiming and granting leadership as a negotiated process that influences leadership perceptions and decision-making in interdependent contexts. In Study 1a, an avatar video-based experimental vignette (replicated in Study 1b with a non-video scenario), we found that when a team member accepted an actor's leadership claim, observers' leadership ratings of the actor increased, whereas when the team member rejected the claim, observers' leadership ratings of the fellow team member increased. However, when an actor granted leadership, the fellow team member's response did not influence leadership ratings. Study 2 extended the conceptual model by identifying how claiming and granting influence leadership perceptions – through perceived competence – and when claiming and granting exert greatest influence, finding that women observers vary more in their responses to claiming and granting. The negotiated relational leader identity process ultimately influenced observer decision-making.     

Empowering leadership and managers' career perceptions: Examining effects at both the individual and the team level

In a multilevel model of leadership behavior, we investigated whether and how empowering leadership affects individuals' career perceptions. We developed a conceptual model that links empowering leadership at the individual level and at the group level (mean as well as dispersion) to individuals' career self-efficacy and career satisfaction. To test our model, we used questionnaire data from a multilevel data set of 2493 employees in leadership positions nested in 704 teams from a large German corporation. Hierarchical linear regression analyses showed that empowering leadership at the individual level was positively related to career self-efficacy, which in turn mediated the relationship between empowering leadership and career satisfaction. Empowering leadership at the group level was positively related to career self-efficacy when it was conceptualized as leadership differentiation (i.e., the standard deviation of empowering leadership ratings), but not when it was conceptualized as leadership climate (i.e., mean empowering leadership ratings). Career self-efficacy in turn mediated the relationship between empowering leadership differentiation and career satisfaction. Finally, we found a negative relationship between empowering leadership differentiation and career satisfaction.     

Impact of rater personality on transformational and transactional leadership ratings

This study addresses the role of rater personality in ratings of transformational and transactional leadership. In a naturalistic field study, we found that rater personality (i.e., agreeableness, openness, extraversion, and conscientiousness) was positively associated with ratings of transformational leadership, but significant rater personality effects were not found in an experimental study where leadership behavior was invariant. These results suggest that disagreements among raters about leaders' behaviors are not due solely to random error and may instead reflect true differences either in (a) the behaviors leaders exhibit toward individual followers or (b) personality-related differences between followers in attention to and recall of leadership behaviors. We also found that personality (of subordinates and peers) was not randomly distributed across leaders, though clustering effects were generally small. Practically, our results suggest that (a) individual reports of leadership may be better at predicting leadership outcomes than aggregated group reports – especially those related to individual attitudes and behaviors – though they are rarely used in the literature; (b) aggregation is complicated because rater personality is associated with leadership ratings and is not randomly distributed across leaders; and (c) corrections for measurement error based on inter-rater agreement may not be appropriate due to non-random unique rater variance.     

The role of personal values in the charismatic leadership of corporate managers: A model and preliminary field study

This study used multi-source field data collected in five organizations to examine linkages among managers' personal value system (i.e., intensity of openness to change, traditional, collectivistic work, self-transcendent, and self-enhancement values), charismatic leadership of managers, and three outcome measures. Two-hundred and eighteen managers provided self-reports of their personal values and ratings of their followers' extra effort and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Nine-hundred and forty-five subordinates rated the focal managers' charismatic leadership. Superiors of the focal managers provided ratings of managerial performance 2 months after collecting the managers' and subordinates' ratings. Results indicated that traditional, collectivistic work, self-transcendent, and self-enhancement values related positively to charismatic leadership, which predicted managerial performance and followers' extra effort and OCB. Managerial performance moderated the relationships between leaders' values, charismatic leadership, and followers' outcomes.     

Self–other agreement in empowering leadership: Relationships with leader effectiveness and subordinates' job satisfaction and turnover intention

We investigated the effect of self–other agreement in empowering leadership on leader effectiveness, job satisfaction, and turnover intention using a sample of 50 Norwegian municipal leaders (46 for leader effectiveness) and 168 (158) of their subordinates. The findings indicated that considering both self and subordinate ratings of empowering leadership was useful in predicting the outcome variables. In particular, subordinates of over-estimators reported lower job satisfaction and higher turnover intention. Moreover, leaders who underestimated their leadership were perceived as more effective by their superiors. For agreement (i.e., leader's self-ratings were in agreement with subordinates' ratings) the relationship between empowering leadership and leader effectiveness was curvilinear with an inverted U shape. Agreement in ratings of empowering leadership was not found to be related to subordinates' job satisfaction and turnover intention. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Setting the stage for effective leadership: Antecedents of transformational leadership behavior

Although transformational leadership behavior (TLB) has been linked to a number of positive organizational outcomes, research regarding the antecedents of such behavior is limited. Guided by Ajzen and Fishbein's theory of reasoned action [Psychological Bulletin 84 (1977) 888], we investigated two potentially relevant antecedents to performing TLB: cynicism about organizational change (CAOC) and the leader's social context—specifically peer leadership behavior. We hypothesized that CAOC would negatively predict TLB, while peer leadership behavior would positively predict TLB. Further, we expected that peer leadership behavior would have a positive moderating effect on leader CAOC. Data were gathered from 227 managers from multiple organizations and their 2247 subordinates. Findings supported the proposed hypotheses. Cynicism and peer leadership behavior explained nearly one quarter (24%) of the variance in TLB. Further, it appears that both CAOC and TLB may be malleable in organizational contexts. Implications for leadership research and practice are discussed.     

An integrative model of leadership behavior

Decades of questionnaire and interview studies have revealed various leadership behaviors observed in successful leaders. However, little is known about the actual behaviors that cause those observations. Given that lay observers are prone to cognitive biases, such as the halo effect, the validity of theories that are exclusively based on observed behaviors is questionable. We thus follow the call of leading scientists in the field and derive a parsimonious model of leadership behavior that is informed by established psychological theories. Building on the taxonomy of Yukl (2012), we propose three task-oriented behavior categories (enhancing understanding, strengthening motivation and facilitating implementation) and three relation-oriented behavior categories (fostering coordination, promoting cooperation and activating resources), each of which is further specified by a number of distinct behaviors. While the task-oriented behaviors are directed towards the accomplishment of shared objectives, the relation-oriented behaviors support this process by increasing the coordinated engagement of the team members. Our model contributes to the advancement of leadership behavior theory by (1) consolidating current taxonomies, (2) sharpening behavioral concepts of leadership behavior, (3) specifying precise relationships between those categories and (4) spurring new hypotheses that can be derived from existing findings in the field of psychology. To test our model as well as the hypotheses derived from this model, we advocate the development of new measurements that overcome the limitations associated with questionnaire and interview studies.     

Issues in operationalizing and comparing leadership constructs

Numerous theories of leadership have yielded a rich array of leadership constructs, yet there has been little comparative work across theories. The authors of this letter exchange compare views around the definition of leadership and four issues related to operationalizing and comparing leadership constructs: the measurement of leadership constructs, overlaps in measures of leadership, follower's ability to differentiate among leadership constructs, and conceptualizing context in studying leadership.     

Developments in implicit leadership theory and cognitive science: Applications to improving measurement and understanding alternatives to hierarchical leadership

After reviewing key findings regarding leadership categorization theory, we develop new perspectives regarding the design of behavioral measures of leadership and the implications of shared leadership and complex adaptive leadership conceptualizations of leadership. In particular, by applying recent developments in cognitive science, we explain how an understanding of symbolic, connectionist, and embodied representations of knowledge can benefit behavioral measures of leadership. Additionally, we address some practical issues associated with the measurement of leadership and argue that ratings which tap episodic memory at the event level may be more meaningful than ratings based on semantic memory. Finally, we discuss how notions of shared leadership and of leaders as catalysts for complexity can create unique complications for leadership perceptions, coordinated behavior within a group, and the measurement of leadership.     

Self–other rating agreement in leadership: A review

This paper reviews the theoretical and empirical literature on self–other rating agreement (SOA) related to leadership in the workplace, focusing primarily on research published between 1997 (the year of Atwater &; Yammarino's seminal paper on SOA) and the present. Much of the current interest in SOA derives from its purported relationships with self-awareness and leader effectiveness. The literature, however, has used a variety of metrics to assess SOA, resulting in discrepancies between findings across studies. As multi-rater (360-degree; multisource) feedback instruments continue to be widely used as a measure of leadership in organizations, it is important that we more clearly understand the relationships between SOA and its predictors and outcomes. To this end, in this article, we review (a) models of agreement, (b) factors affecting self-ratings and the congruence between self–others' ratings, (c) factors affecting others' ratings, (d) correlates of agreement, and (e) measurement issues and data analytic techniques. We conclude with discussions of practitioner issues and directions for future research.     

Beneath the mask:: Examining the relationship of self-presentation attributes and impression management to charismatic leadership

We tested several hypotheses derived from Gardner and Avolio's [Acad. Manage. Rev. 23 (1998) 32.] self-presentational theory of charismatic leadership. We collected multisource field data in an information technology (IT) consulting firm and examined linkages among managers' self-system attributes (i.e., desired charismatic identity, self-monitoring), pro-social and self-serving impression management of managers, charismatic leadership of managers, and two measures of performance. Eighty-three managers provided self-reports of self-system attributes. Six months later, 249 subordinates rated the focal managers' impression management and charismatic leadership styles. Superiors of the focal managers provided performance ratings 7 months after collecting the subordinate ratings. Results indicated that complexity of desired charismatic identity was positively related to self-monitoring. Self-monitoring was negatively related to ratings of pro-social impression management and positively related to ratings of self-serving impression management. Pro-social impression management related positively to charismatic leadership, which predicted managerial and unit performance.     

The role of employees' OCB and leaders' hindrance stress in the emergence of self-serving leadership

Media reports on self-serving leadership primarily focused on the negative consequences of such behavior for employees. However, much remains to be understood about the antecedents of self-serving behavior of leaders. In the present research we explore the role of employees' organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in the emergence of self-serving leadership. Using one multi-source field study and three experiments, we showed that employees' OCB towards coworkers (OCBI) negatively impacted self-serving leadership. Moreover, we also examine the underlying mechanism for this relation. Results indicate that employees' OCBI mitigated leaders' hindrance stress, which mediates the relationship between OCBI and self-serving leadership. As such, our findings indicate that self-serving leaders are not necessarily inherently bad and that employees have an important role in shaping leaders' self-serving behavior.     

Ethical leadership and group in-role performance: The mediating roles of group conscientiousness and group voice

In this paper, we propose that ethical leadership will lead to higher group in-role performance. Building from and integrating several different research streams, we argue that two key mechanisms for this effect are group conscientiousness (an emergent state) and group voice (a group process). We collected survey data at three points in time from 80 groups of nurses and the groups' leaders. The results provide support for all of our hypotheses. There was a positive relationship between employee ratings of ethical leadership (Time 1) and leader ratings of group in-role performance (Time 3). Group conscientiousness and group voice (Time 2) both partially mediated this relationship. These results contribute to our understanding of leadership and group effectiveness not only by showing that ethical leadership has a positive influence on group in-role performance, but also by identifying specific norms and group-level behaviors that help to account for this relationship.     

Integrative leadership for collaborative governance: Civic engagement in Seattle

This article distills concepts and tools from the literatures on civic engagement, collaborative management, and conflict resolution into a parsimonious framework of tactics and constructs for integrative leadership. Using these tactics and constructs to compare cases of civic engagement drawn from the administration of Seattle Mayor Norman Rice (1990–98), the article demonstrates the framework's analytic potential for scholars and its strategic relevance for public leaders. The comparison of the cases suggests that the framework enables scholars and practitioners to distinguish meaningful changes in key dimensions of collaborative governance related to leadership tactics, stake holders' interpretations, and results. The conclusion proposes six hypotheses and explores theoretical implications for future research.     

Understanding high school student leaders, i: Predicting teacher ratings of leader behavior

We describe the first stage of a longitudinal research program concerned with the prediction, understanding, and durability of early displays of leadership behavior. The predictability of teachers' ratings of leadership behavior for 242 high school students was explored with respect to predictors from the following construct domains: personality, interests, motivation, behavior, self-rated skills, and academic ability. Results revealed that variables from each construct domain significantly and consistently predicted leadership ratings for as long as 12 months after the collection of the predictor data. In addition, the linear combination of predictors from different domains yielded strong prediction of leadership, with R²s in the .40 range. Evidence also showed that both academic ability and the other measured constructs contributed unique variance to the prediction of leadership behaviors as reported by the teachers. These exploratory findings are discussed in light of a continuing research program designed to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the origin, development, and emergence of adult leadership behavior.     

“Facing” leaders: Facial expression and leadership perception

This experimental study investigated the effect of a leader's expression of happy versus nervous emotions on subsequent perceptions of leadership and ratings of traits associated with implicit leadership theories (ILTs). Being fast and universally understood, emotions are ideal stimuli for investigating the dynamic effects of ILTs, which were understood in this study in terms of the constraints that expressed emotions impose on the connectionist networks that activate ILTs. The experimental design contrasted videotaped and still frame presentations of a leadership event; however, this methodological factor had no significant effects and analyses were thus collapsed across this factor. Key findings were that the expression of a happy versus nervous emotion at the end of a problem-solving sequence had multiple effects: happy emotions resulted in higher leadership ratings, higher trait ratings, greater correlations among trait ratings, and greater dependence of trait ratings on leadership perceptions. An exploratory model suggested that leadership impressions mediated the effects of facial emotions on trait ratings. The discussion further links the study findings with interpretations in terms of ILTs and many types of constraints on these cognitive structures. It also suggests ways to integrate these ideas with advances in neuroscience research.     

Reconsidering the accuracy of follower leadership ratings

Accurate behavioral measurement is essential to developing a science of leadership, yet accurate measurement has remained elusive. The use of follower reports of leader behavior creates challenges given that a large body of basic and applied research suggests that behavioral ratings reflect not only recall of actual behaviors, but also inferences based on semantic memory, which may vary among individuals. In this paper, we examine several explanations for rater effects that are associated with follower individual differences, contextual factors, and even research methods, such as the type of measure used, that may bias ratings of leader behavior. We also develop a conceptual model to illustrate these processes. Finally, we offer potential solutions to increase accuracy in follower reports of leader behavior.     

Do you remember? Rater memory systems and leadership measurement

Despite widespread concerns about the use of retrospective accounts of leader behavior and response tendencies associated with raters who tend to rely on semantic memory, little attention has been devoted to developing methods that move measurement processes beyond those based on semantic memory to those based on episodic memory. The results from a series of six studies demonstrate a) questionnaire items can be classified in terms of their emphasis on episodic or semantic memory and the language used in items is associated with different types of memory processes, b) scales based on episodic memory have a greater association with trust than do scales based on semantic memory, c) the procedure that requires raters to indicate whether their response to each item is based on semantic or episodic memory dramatically reduces the impact of liking on leadership ratings, and d) the memory source intervention that encourages raters to rely on episodic memory reduces false alarms in leadership ratings. Taken together, these results demonstrate that rater memory systems are an important component of the leadership rating process and that consideration of the type of memory elicited during that process can be used to improve leadership measurement.     

Why and when does inclusive leadership evoke employee negative feedback-seeking behavior?

Why and when do employees respond to inclusive leadership by actively seeking negative feedback from their leaders? Beyond the perspectives proposed in previous studies, we offer a new angle based on a social identity perspective and propose that inclusive leadership increases employees' negative feedback-seeking behavior (NFSB) by facilitating employees' organizational identification. We also theorize that employees' supervisor organizational embodiment (SOE) influences the extent to which employees identify with the organization, which in turn triggers their NFSB. The results from a three-wave survey study conducted in China showed that inclusive leadership fostered employees' organizational identification, thereby facilitating employees' NFSB, and that the effect of inclusive leadership was stronger when employees’ SOE was higher. Our findings provide implications in theory and practice.