Personality And Leadership Composition in Top Management Teams: Implications For Organizational Effectiveness

This study examines whether top management team (TMT) personality and leadership are associated with organizational effectiveness beyond the effects of CEO personality and leadership, as suggested by upper echelons theory. Using direct measures of personality and leadership, rather than proxy variables from archival sources or demographic data, we found that mean levels of conscientiousness among TMT members were related to lagged indicators of organizational performance, as were CEO conscientiousness and transformational leadership. Follower commitment to the organization was found to be associated with higher levels of transformational leadership from both the CEO and TMT. The results are consistent with the upper echelons perspective that organizational effectiveness is influenced not only by the CEO but also by a dominant coalition of leaders. Yet, the results also show that the CEO plays a distinct role in influencing organizational financial performance and collective organizational commitment. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Leader emergence: the case of the narcissistic leader

These studies investigate whether individuals with high narcissism scores would be more likely to emerge as leaders during leaderless group discussions. The authors hypothesized that narcissists would emerge as group leaders. In three studies, participants completed personality questionnaires and engaged in four-person leaderless group discussions. Results from all three studies reveal a link between narcissism and leader emergence. Studies 1 and 2 further reveal that the power dimension of narcissism predicted reported leader emergence while controlling for sex, self-esteem, and the Big Five personality traits. Study 3 demonstrates an association between narcissism and expert ratings of leader emergence in a group of executives. The implications of the propensity of narcissists to emerge as leaders are discussed.     

TEST OF A MULTISTAGE MODEL OF DISTAL AND PROXIMAL ANTECEDENTS OF LEADER PERFORMANCE

The authors developed and tested a multistage model of distal and proximal predictors of leader performance in an effort to shed greater light on the intermediate linkages between broad leader traits and performance. Predictor and criterion data were obtained from 471 noncommissioned officers in the U.S. Army. A model with cognitive ability and 3 of the Big 5 personality factors as distal antecedents, leadership experiences and motivation to lead as semidistal antecedents, and the knowledge, skills, and ability (KSAs) to lead as proximal antecedents of leader performance provided a good fit to the data. More specifically, the effects of the distal and semidistal antecedents on leader performance were partially mediated by more proximal variables, whereas leader KSAs demonstrated a relatively strong, direct influence on performance. The 1 exception was that Conscientiousness—a hypothesized distal antecedent—had a notable direct effect on leader performance. The implications of these findings for leadership research and practice are discussed.     

Leadership and Organizational Culture: Linking CEO Characteristics to Cultural Values

Purpose  The purpose of this study was to empirically examine organizational culture theorists’ assertions about the linkages between leadership and the cultures that emerge in the organizations they lead. Specific hypotheses were developed and tested regarding relationships between chief executive officers’ (CEO’s) personality traits, and the cultural values that are shared among their organization’s members. Design/Methodology/Approach  Thirty-two CEOs completed measures of the Big-Five personality traits and personal values. A total of 467 employees across the 32 organizations completed a competing values measure of organizational culture. Findings  Results indicate support for several hypothesized relationships between CEO personality and cultural values. Exploratory analyses indicated that several CEO personal values were related to culture values. Implications  Organizations need to seriously consider the “fit” between the current or desired organizational culture and CEO characteristics. Organizations attempting to change fundamental aspects of its functioning may need significant behavioral—or personnel—changes at the top of the organization in order to achieve those changes. Originality/Value  This is the first empirical study to establish a link between specific CEO characteristics and the cultural values of their organizations. This study provides evidence that CEO characteristics are felt throughout the organization by impacting the norms that sanction or discourage member behavior and decision making, and the patterns of behavior and interaction among members.     

群体断层激活及负面效应涌现：熙宁变法缘何从志同道合走向四分五裂？

群体断层构念与决定组织变革成败的高管团队多重人际交互及其演进表征十分契合。但群体断层因为什么而激活?激活了的群体断层是如何影响高管团队的群体过程及组织绩效产出?这些问题亟需实证性的探索和检验。本研究基于《王安石年谱长编》,辅以《宋史》及后人相关专题研究,采用质性研究中的扎根理论方法,以王安石越次入对宋神宗到王安石第二次罢相为观察窗口期,对此期间与他存在密切交互关系的52个关键人物的交互过程、交互结果及成因进行了编码分析。结果发现：(1)群体断层激活及负面效应涌现能完美解释熙宁变法的演进过程及最终的失败;(2)关键岗位人员王安石人际交互风格的不同构面是激活熙宁变法中不同群体断层的主要变量;(3)王安石与直接上级宋神宗、本位群体变法新晋和他位群体同朝老臣之间交互的聚散性,决定了活化的群体断层效应正负及交互演进表征,进而决定了熙宁变法的失败。本研究为群体断层激活变量的识别及不同群体断层在同一时空下的叠加效应提供了新的洞见,同时为组织变革及高管团队多样性的管理提供了实证资鉴和理论指导。     

Perceptions of organizational politics as a moderator of the relationship between conscientiousness and job performance

Meta-analytic studies of the relationships between the five-factor model of personality constructs and job performance indicate that conscientiousness has been the most consistent predictor. Recent research has sought to identify situational factors that may explain additional variance beyond what has been reported by simple bivariate relationships. The authors hypothesized that perceptions of organizational politics would moderate the relationship between conscientiousness and job performance. Data collected from 234 male and 579 female workers in 4 organizations indicated that conscientiousness was related to job performance among workers perceiving average to high levels of organizational politics but unrelated to performance among workers perceiving low levels of organizational politics. Moreover, perceptions of organizational politics were negatively related to job performance only among workers of average to low levels of conscientiousness.     

CEO变革型领导行为对中层管理者工作绩效和工作满意度的影响：组织支持知觉和价值观的作用

本文以社会交换的理论和价值观领导理论为基础,探讨了CEO变革型领导行为及其价值观对中层管理者工作绩效和工作满意度的跨层次影响以及影响的中介作用机制。研究结果表明,CEO变革型领导行为有助于提升中层管理者的工作绩效和工作满意度,而组织支持知觉则在其中起着部分中介的作用。同时,CEO价值观对CEO变革型领导行为与组织支持知觉之间的关系具有调节的作用。本文的研究成果有利于进一步完善变革型领导理论,对企业实践也有一定的启示意义。     

The two faces of transformational leadership: empowerment and dependency

Followers' identification with the leader and the organizational unit, dependence on the leader, and empowerment by the leader are often attributed to transformational leadership in organizations. However, these hypothesized outcomes have received very little attention in empirical studies. Using a sample of 888 bank employees working under 76 branch manages, the authors tested the relationships between transformational leadership and these outcomes. They found that transformational leadership was positively related to both followers' dependence and their empowerment and that personal identification mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and followers' dependence on the leader, whereas social identification mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and followers' empowerment. The authors discuss the implications of these findings to both theory and practice.     

Positive Group Affective Tone and Team Creative Performance and Change‐Oriented Organizational Citizenship Behavior: A Moderated Mediation Model

Despite the vast amount of research on creativity and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), little knowledge has been accumulated with respect to underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions affecting team creative performance and change OCB. To fill this research gap, this study aims at proposing and testing a moderated mediation model that delineates the relationships among positive group affective tone (PGAT), team reflexivity, team leader transformational leadership, team creative performance, and team change OCB. As hypothesized, PGAT was positively associated with team reflexivity, which in turn significantly predicted team creative performance and change OCB. In addition, the relationship between PGAT and team reflexivity and the indirect effects of PGAT on team creative performance and change OCB through team reflexivity were more pronounced when team leader transformational leadership was high than when it was low. These findings were validated in a post hoc analysis that compared the proposed moderated mediation model with alternative models.     

Organizational Tenure Diversity as Predictors of Combat Performance in ROK Army

Drawing on the upper-echelons theory and diversity issues, this study examines the relationships between top management team (TMT) organizational tenure, tenure diversity, and combat performance. The study is based on of Korea Combat Training Center (KCTC) that is designed for training and evaluation of the battalion combat power. Findings indicate that battalions with higher levels of TMT tenure have a positive effect on combat performance. Tenure diversity of TMT has a negative effect on combat performance. In addition, results showed that the negative relationships between tenure diversity of TMT and combat performance are attenuated by commander’s shared experience with other TMT members.     

Who should rule? Does personality matter?

The study of leadership and personality has a long and controversial history. A review of trends and empirical research on relations between personality characteristics and leadership is presented. It is concluded that fragmentation and a narrow focus have been characteristic of most empirical research on leadership personality. The total space encompassing leadership issues has been compartmentalized into subareas such as leader traits, behaviour styles, and the situational view. It is argued that leadership is a multifaceted phenomenon that cannot be captured by focusing on a small number of variables. A holistic approach attempting to cover a range of traits so as to discern more complex trait patterns in relation to kinds of leader behaviour in different organizational settings is needed to gain an in-depth insight into the complexity of leader behaviour and leader effectiveness. Fragmentation of individual functioning needs to be reduced. Research should also focus on the dynamics of the relationship between leader characteristics and leader behaviour in different social settings. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

CEO Servant Leadership: Exploring Executive Characteristics and Firm Performance

This study offers an examination of the relationships between chief executive officer (CEO) servant leadership, the executive characteristics of narcissism, founder status, and organizational identification, and firm performance in a sample of 126 CEOs in technology organizations. Analysis of data gathered over multiple periods revealed a negative relationship between CEO narcissism and servant leadership, and a positive relationship between founder status (i.e., founder or nonfounder) and servant leadership. Furthermore, CEO organizational identification served as a partial mediating mechanism linking narcissism and founder status to servant leadership. In turn, CEO servant leadership predicted subsequent firm performance (measured as return on assets). The results of this study have implications for researchers interested in better understanding the predictors and consequences of servant leadership and for practitioners concerned with combating negative or selfish executive leadership behaviors and employing servant leadership for the organization's benefit.     

Observed Leadership Potential of Personnel in a Team Setting: Big Five traits and proximal factors as predictors

The authors explored implications of Big Five traits and proximal factors for the observed leadership potential of personnel in newly formed teams. Big Five traits were designated as distal factors having indirect links to observed leadership potential via three proximal factors: individual perception of team cohesion, team‐oriented proactivity, and teamwork knowledge. Drawing from implicit personality theory, the authors introduced a team‐leader personality profile as a higher‐order construct for explaining covariation among extraversion, conscientiousness, and emotional stability. A structural analysis of data from 472 personnel supported hypothesized relationships. Specific findings included validation of a team‐leader personality profile and preliminary support for the measure of team‐oriented proactivity that was developed for this study. Implications of the various findings are discussed.     

The impact of transformational CEOs on the performance of small- to medium-sized firms: does organizational context matter?

Although theory suggests that CEOs who engage in transformational leadership should have a positive effect on firm performance, most empirical examinations using data drawn from larger firms have failed to find support for this linkage. Given that the organizational complexity associated with larger firms has been viewed as a central obstacle to establishing this important link, the authors examined the impact of CEO transformational leadership on firm performance in smaller, privately held firms. After first explaining why the less complex context of these firms provides a setting for transformational CEOs to play a more direct role in enhancing firm performance, they then further clarified the nature of this link by hypothesizing 3 contingencies that they argued are particularly salient: firm size, CEO founder status (founder or nonfounder), and CEO tenure. Results from a multisource survey of CEOs and their top management teams in 121 firms and 2 time-lagged measures of performance, 1 objective and 1 perceived, provided consistent support for these hypotheses.     

Leader–Follower Attachment: Implications for Personality Assessment in Organizational Contexts

As a life-span theory of personality that is supported by more than 40 years of empirical research, attachment theory and associated measures have contributed immensely to our understanding of emotion regulation, social dynamics, and behavior. Nevertheless, little attention has been given to how attachment dynamics influence relationships at work or the extent to which adult attachment patterns are mirrored in leaders' perceptions and behaviors toward their direct reports. Moreover, attachment measures that use romantic relationships as their referent might not be appropriate for use in organizational settings with executive clients. Thus, a measure that directly references direct reports and that could be put to use in organizational contexts is needed. The two studies reported here supported the two-factor orthogonal structure of such a measure and results from a sample of Fortune 500 executives reveal that leader attachment relates in theoretically consistent ways with general adult attachment, the Big Five, emotional intelligence, and critical thinking. Results are discussed in terms of integrating attachment measures into organizational personality assessment to inform work with organizational clients.     

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。     

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.     

Too much of a good thing: curvilinear relationships between personality traits and job performance

The relationships between personality traits and performance are often assumed to be linear. This assumption has been challenged conceptually and empirically, but results to date have been inconclusive. In the current study, we took a theory-driven approach in systematically addressing this issue. Results based on two different samples generally supported our expectations of the curvilinear relationships between personality traits, including Conscientiousness and Emotional Stability, and job performance dimensions, including task performance, organizational citizenship behavior, and counterproductive work behaviors. We also hypothesized and found that job complexity moderated the curvilinear personality–performance relationships such that the inflection points after which the relationships disappear were lower for low-complexity jobs than they were for high-complexity jobs. This finding suggests that high levels of the two personality traits examined are more beneficial for performance in high- than low-complexity jobs. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for the use of personality in personnel selection.     

THE ROLE OF JOB EMBEDDEDNESS ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE: THE INTERACTIVE EFFECTS WITH LEADER–MEMBER EXCHANGE AND ORGANIZATION‐BASED SELF‐ESTEEM

Although job embeddedness was originally conceptualized to explain job stability or “why people stay” in their organizations, this investigation examines the role of job embeddedness as a hypothesized moderator of relationships among leader–member exchange (LMX), organization‐based self‐esteem (OBSE), organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), and task performance. Findings from 2 studies involving 367 employees and 41 supervisors, 1 in a telecommunications company and another in a manufacturing setting, support hypotheses concerning job embeddedness as a moderator of the relationship between (a) LMX and task performance within a telecommunication sample and LMX and OCBs in a sample of manufacturing employees, and (b) OBSE and OCBs in a manufacturing sample. Further, a hypothesized 3‐way interaction involving job embeddedness, LMX, and OBSE on task performance was found in a sample of manufacturing employees. The implications of these findings for studying and managing job embeddedness in relation to employee performance are discussed.     

THE PRECURSORS AND PRODUCTS OF JUSTICE CLIMATES: GROUP LEADER ANTECEDENTS AND EMPLOYEE ATTITUDINAL CONSEQUENCES

Drawing on the organizational justice, organizational climate, leadership and personality, and social comparison theory literatures, we develop hypotheses about the effects of leader personality on the development of 3 types of justice climates (e.g., procedural, interpersonal, and informational) and the moderating effects of these climates on individual-level justice–attitude relationships. Largely consistent with the theoretically derived hypotheses, the results showed that leader (a) Agreeableness was positively related to procedural, interpersonal, and informational justice climates; (b) Conscientiousness was positively related to a procedural justice climate; and (c) Neuroticism was negatively related to all 3 types of justice climates. Further, consistent with social comparison theory, multilevel data analyses revealed that the relationship between individual justice perceptions and job attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction, commitment) was moderated by justice climate such that the relationships were stronger when justice climate was high.