Procedural fairness and endorsement of prototypical leaders: Leader benevolence or follower control?

This research explored why strongly identifying followers endorse prototypical leaders by addressing the role of procedural fairness in this process. We introduced the distinction between procedural fairness rules relating to leader benevolence (i.e., whether the leader supports the group’s interests) and follower control (i.e., whether followers can influence the leader’s decisions). We predicted that strongly identifying group members endorse prototypical leaders because they perceive such leaders as acting in line with benevolence related fairness rules rather than because such leaders are perceived as giving followers control. An organizational field study and a laboratory experiment revealed support for these ideas. Our results thus provide insights into why prototypical leaders are endorsed among strongly identifying followers. They also have implications for the procedural fairness literature in showing that frequently studied procedural fairness rules (e.g., voice) do not explain endorsement of leaders believed to support the group’s interests.     

Leadership under uncertainty: When leaders who are non-prototypical group members can gain support

Social identity theory of leadership (Hogg & van Knippenberg, 2003) research confirms that group members support group prototypical leaders more strongly than non-prototypical leaders. Two studies examined the prediction derived from uncertainty–identity theory (Hogg, 2007) that this relationship between leader prototypicality and support weakens when group members have elevated self-related uncertainty, due to increased support for non-prototypical leaders. Student participants indicated their level of uncertainty and their support for a prospective student leader who was prototypical or non-prototypical of students at their university–prototypicality was a between-subjects variable in Study 1 (N = 98), and a within-subjects variable in Study 2 (N = 132). As predicted, participants supported the prototypical leader more strongly than the non-prototypical leader, but this effect was significantly weakened (Study 2) or disappeared (Study 1) under uncertainty, due to a significant increase in support for the non-prototypical leader. Implications for empowerment of non-prototypical leaders are discussed.     

‘Of the group’ and ‘for the group’: How followership is shaped by leaders' prototypicality and group identification

Previous research has focused on the importance of leaders being seen to be of the group (i.e. to be prototypical of a group) but less on the impact of leaders' own degree of identification with the group. Also, little is known about the combined impact of leader prototypicality and leader identification on followers' responses. This paper reports two studies that address these lacunae. Study 1 shows experimentally that perceived leader identification and prototypicality interact to determine followers' personal identification with leaders and their perceptions of leader charisma. Findings indicate that high identification can compensate for low prototypicality such that high‐identified leaders are able to inspire followership when leaders are low prototypical. Study 2 replicates these findings in the field by examining followers' responses to workgroup leaders. In addition, results demonstrate that the aforementioned responses are more pronounced for highly identified followers. The present research extends social identity theorizing by demonstrating that leaders' inability to inspire followership derives as much from their failure to project a sense of ‘we’ and ‘us’ as part of their self‐concept as from a failure to exemplify group‐typical attributes. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Intergroup and Intragroup Aspects of Leadership in Social Dilemmas: A Relational Model of Cooperation

Two experiments investigated how leadership shapes individual contributions in small groups facing public goods dilemmas. We predicted that the influence of leaders would be determined by their ability to fulfill both instrumental needs (solve the free-rider problem) and relational needs (contribute to the identity) of group members. The relative importance of these two needs was expected to vary with the salience of group membership (social vs personal identity). This hypothesis was supported in two experiments. Experiment 1 revealed that leaders showing group commitment and fairness toward members were more effective at raising contributions when social identity was salient. Furthermore, Experiment 2 showed that highly committed leaders were more influential when social identity was salient, whereas leaders with intrinsic leadership skills were more influential when personal identity was salient. This suggests that the effectiveness of leader solutions to social dilemmas depends upon the fit between leader characteristics and member expectations.     

Charismatic Leadership and Cooperation in Social Dilemmas: A Matter of Transforming Motives?1

The present experiment examined whether leaders high in charisma are able to motivate decision‐makers to cooperate more in a public goods dilemma. On the basis of charismatic leadership theories, it was expected that a charismatic leader would be able to transform people's motives beyond self‐interest, consequently increasing cooperation. This transformation effect was expected to occur among individuals aimed at maximizing their own self‐interest (i.e., pro‐selfs), but not among those aimed at maximizing joint or collective outcomes (i.e., pro‐socials). Furthermore, leader's charisma was experimentally manipulated by means of describing the leader as either self‐sacrificing or benefiting. The results revealed that self‐sacrificing leaders, contrary to benefiting leaders, were perceived as more charismatic and were able to motivate decision‐makers to cooperate more. The latter effect appeared to be more pronounced among pro‐selfs rather than pro‐socials, as such supporting the transformational idea of charismatic leaders. Further results showed that this behavioral effect was mediated by perceptions of legitimacy. The meaning and conception of charismatic leadership in decision‐making situations are discussed by using insights from the social dilemma and charismatic leadership literature.     

Leaders and their treatment of subgroups: implications for evaluations of the leader and the superordinate group

This experiment examined members' evaluations of a group leader and the group in contexts where a superordinate group comprised two subgroups and the group leader was aligned with one or other subgroup. The design varied group leader (ingroup, outgroup) and leader behavior (ingroup favoring, outgroup favoring) as well as the broader comparative context (intragroup, intergroup). Across a number of measures, results indicated a consistent Group Leader × Leader Behavior interaction that was independent of comparative context. Although group members were most satisfied with an ingroup leader who favored the ingroup, ingroup leaders were perceived positively irrespective of their behavior. Outgroup leaders who unexpectedly favored the other subgroup were also perceived positively. However, outgroup leaders who favored their own subgroup were perceived as less fair and as more biased than other leaders. They also engendered less identification with the superordinate group and a less unified perception of the group. Results demonstrate the importance of social identity concerns to leadership in nested group contexts and emphasize the fact that perceptions of leader fairness and concern for the common group mediate responses to the superordinate category. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

When and why leaders put themselves first: leader behaviour in resource allocations as a function of feeling entitled

In this article, we examine how being assigned the role of leader affects behaviour in resource sharing tasks. Previous research has shown that group members anchor their decision on the equal division rule prescribing that resources should be distributed equally. Following notions of equity theory and the literature on role schemas, we expected that adherence to the equal division rule would be moderated by role assignment. In particular, we expected leaders to take more than followers from a common resource and that this effect would be explained in terms of feelings of entitlement. The results of two experimental studies corroborate this reasoning. Study 1 demonstrated that leaders took more than followers and that leaders deviated more strongly from the equal division rule. In Study 2, it was found that legitimate leaders took more from the resource and deviated more strongly from the equal division rule than non‐legitimate leaders. Additional analyses suggest that the leaders' tendency to make higher allocations to the self can be explained by feelings of entitlement. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Leadership In Times Of Uncertainty: Recent Findings,Debates, And Potential Future Research Directions

This paper reviews current debates and findings surrounding leadership in times of uncertainty as framed by the social identity theory of leadership. The past decade has witnessed reinvigorated social psychological research on leadership by focusing on the identity function of leadership, as well as group‐based and prototype‐based influences. This line of research overwhelmingly confirms that group prototypical leaders are preferred over less prototypical leaders. Integrating uncertainty‐identity theory, recent evidence illustrates self‐conceptual uncertainty can strengthen or weaken/negate the prototypical leader advantage. This novel line of research also demonstrates how and when uncertainty can alter perceptions of and preferences for different, and sometimes ‘nasty’ leaders—contradicting contemporary organizational behavior and leadership theories, which argue that people (almost always) prefer transformational, charismatic, or authentic leaders.     

Affective Match in Leadership: Leader Emotional Displays,Follower Positive Affect,and Follower Performance1

Leader emotions may play an important role in leadership effectiveness. Extending earlier research on leader emotional displays and leadership effectiveness, we propose that the affective match between follower positive affect (PA) and leaders’ emotional displays moderates the effectiveness of leader emotional displays. Leader display of emotions has more positive effects on follower behavior if the match between the valence of leader emotion and follower PA is strong rather than weak. Support for this hypothesis was found in 2 experiments. Congruency between leader emotional displays and follower PA determined follower task performance and extra‐role compliance. Results from the second experiment indicated that this effect is a due to affective aspects of leader behavior and not to the valence of message content.     

To Apologize or Justify: Leader Responses to Task and Relational Mistakes

Abstract

Leadership roles are complex, creating an environment where leaders are likely to make mistakes that result in negative outcomes. We shift the conversation in the literature from examining the effectiveness of mistake responses toward exploring why leaders use different mistake recovery methods. We employ an online experimental method to distinguish between task and relationship mistakes for leaders and suggest that different attributions are made for these two types of mistakes (Study 1). We found that task mistakes are viewed by leaders as more specific and less personal, and that relationship mistakes are viewed as more global, describing the leader’s stable characteristics rather than a specific event. From these findings, we predict that leaders are more likely to apologize for task mistakes and are more likely to justify their relationship mistakes rather than admit wrongdoing for them. We find support for these predictions using a mixed methods approach, employing a laboratory experiment (Study 2) and a critical incident method surveying a panel of leaders (Study 3). As such, this paper extends our understanding of the mistake recovery process for leaders by demonstrating that 1) leaders’ relationship mistakes are viewed as more globally representative of the leader than task mistakes, and 2) leaders are more likely to apologize for task mistakes but more likely to justify relationship mistakes. Relational and task mistakes, however, were not found to be different in regard to their ambiguity or the extent to which they were viewed as a mistake.     

On the Importance of the Superior's Interpersonal Sensitivity for Good Leadership

This research is aimed at showing that interpersonal sensitivity (being attuned to and correctly inferring another person's thoughts and feelings) is an important aspect of what people expect from a good leader and that interpersonally sensitive leaders have more satisfied subordinates. In the first study, participants indicated how much they expected a good superior to be interpersonally sensitive (among other characteristics). People expect leaders to be interpersonally sensitive more so than subordinates. In the second study, participants interacted in same‐gender dyads as leaders and subordinates. We measured subordinate satisfaction and leader interpersonal sensitivity. More interpersonally sensitive leaders had more satisfied subordinates. Interpersonal sensitivity is important for good leadership: It is expected from leaders, and it contributes to increased subordinate satisfaction.     

领导情绪智力对团队绩效和员工态度的影响——公平氛围和权力距离的作用

本研究共收集了74个工作团队的数据, 探讨了领导情绪智力对团队层面绩效(任务绩效、利他行为)和态度(满意度、团队承诺)的影响、公平氛围的中介作用以及团队权力距离的调节作用。研究结果表明：领导的情绪智力对团队绩效和态度均有显著的正向影响; 程序公平氛围中介了领导情绪智力对团队任务绩效和利他行为的影响, 交互公平氛围中介了领导情绪智力对团队任务绩效、满意度和团队承诺的影响; 团队权力距离调节了领导情绪智力和交互公平氛围的关系, 该调节关系通过交互公平氛围的中介作用影响团队任务绩效、满意度和团队承诺。     

Sex differences in the emergence of leadership during competitions within and between groups

This experiment investigated potential gender biases in the emergence of leadership in groups. Teams played a public-goods game under conditions of intra- or intergroup competition. We predicted and found a strong preference for female leaders during intragroup competition and male leaders during intergroup competition. Furthermore, during intragroup competition, a female leader was more instrumental than a male leader in raising group investments, but this pattern was reversed during intergroup competition. These findings suggest that particular group threats elicit specific gender-biased leader prototypes. We speculate about the evolutionary and cultural origins of these sex differences in the emergence of leadership.     

Failure is not an option for Black women: Effects of organizational performance on leaders with single versus dual-subordinate identities

We contribute to a current debate that focuses on whether individuals with more than one subordinate identity (i.e., Black women) experience more negative leader perceptions than do leaders with single-subordinate identities (i.e., Black men and White women). Results confirmed that Black women leaders suffered double jeopardy, and were evaluated more negatively than Black men and White women, but only under conditions of organizational failure. Under conditions of organizational success, the three groups were evaluated comparably to each other, but each group was evaluated less favorably than White men. Further, leader typicality, the extent to which individuals possess characteristics usually associated with a leader role, mediated the indirect effect of leader race, leader gender, and organizational performance on leader effectiveness. Taken together, these results suggest that Black women leaders may carry a burden of being disproportionately sanctioned for making mistakes on the job.     

Implicit Leadership Theories: Prototypes for New Leaders

Followers' implicit leadership theories for new group leaders, including their prototypes of new-leader behavior, consist of organized expectations. If met, these expectations may afford a leader greater influence. Subjects' prototypes for new leaders were assessed by subjecting an 87 x 87 co-occurrence matrix of leader behaviors, based on subjects' similarity classifications, to hierarchical cluster analysis. At the proposed basic level of hierarchy (Rosch, 1978) were 16 categories of expectations for leader behavior, including giving ideas to the group, being responsible, and accepting others, which formed four abstract superordinate categories: learning the group's goals, taking charge, being a nice person, and being nervous. The results are discussed with relation to (a) the synthesis of the universal-trait and situation-contingent-behavior approaches for predicting leadership effectiveness, (b) cross-situational and cross-cultural comparisons of leader categorizations, (c) expectations for established leaders, and (d) leader selection and training.     

Increasing Initial Leadership Effectiveness: Assisting Both Women and Men

In this experiment, we manipulated leadership appointment in 3 ways for both a woman and a man. In accord with status characteristics theory, we found that interventions designed to increase the status of the appointee allow the new leader to be more influential and thus more effective. In addition, we found that when a woman is appointed leader with no reason offered for her appointment, followers are willing to be led by her, but, following the theory of motivated reasoning, they will search the context for a plausible reason for their decisions. Suggestions are offered for organizations that want to facilitate the effectiveness of new women leaders; additional recommendations are made for assisting new women leaders.     

“License to Fail”: Goal definition,leader group prototypicality,and perceptions of leadership effectiveness after leader failure

Leaders who fail to achieve group or organizational goals risk losing follower endorsement. We propose a model in which leader characteristics (leader group prototypicality—the leader’s representativeness of group identity) and goal definition (a maximal goal that ideally would be reached vs. a minimal goal that ought to be reached) interact to affect leadership perceptions after failure. Group prototypical (vs. non-prototypical) leaders are proposed to receive more trust in leadership and, therefore, to be evaluated as more effective by their followers after failing to achieve a maximal goal, but not after failing to achieve a minimal goal. This model was supported in a series of four studies including experimental, field, and scenario paradigms. In addition, we showed that this model holds only after failure and not after success, and more for followers who identify strongly (vs. weakly) with their group.     

The external leadership of self-managing teams: intervening in the context of novel and disruptive events

Relatively little empirical research has been conducted on external leaders of self-managing teams. The integration of functional leadership theory with research on team routines suggests that leaders can intervene in teams in several different ways, and the effectiveness of this intervention depends on the nature of the events the team encounters. External team leaders from 3 organizations first described a series of events (N=117), and leaders and team members then completed surveys to quantitatively describe the events. Results indicated that leader preparation and supportive coaching were positively related to team perceptions of leader effectiveness, with preparation becoming more strongly related to effectiveness as event novelty increased. More active leader intervention activities (active coaching and sense making) were negatively related to satisfaction with leadership yet were positively related to effectiveness as events became more disruptive.     

The evaluation of effectiveness and likability of gender-role congruent and gender-role incongruent leaders

The aim of the present study was to test the gender-role congruency hypothesis in the context of assumed leadership. Three hundred and forty-two female and 154 male Dutch students participated in a laboratory experiment. We expected that gender-role incongruent leaders would be evaluated less favorably than gender-role congruent leaders and that male subjects would devalue the gender-role incongruent leaders to a greater extent than would female subjects. In addition, we were interested in the relative contribution of the effectiveness and likability measures to the devaluation of gender-role incongruent leaders. The gender-role congruency hypothesis was supported by the data from male subjects only, and then only for the effectiveness measures. The results are discussed in the context of two meta-analyses concerning the impact of gender stereotypes on judgments of competence and evaluation of leaders.