Leaders’ receptivity to subordinates’ creative input: The role of achievement goals and composition of creative input

We identified leaders’ achievement goals and composition of creative input as important factors that can clarify when and why leaders are receptive to, and supportive of, subordinates’ creative input. As hypothesized, in two experimental studies, we found that relative to mastery goal leaders, performance goal leaders were less receptive to subordinates’ voiced creative input. In Study 1, we further showed that image threat appraisal and learning opportunity appraisal mediated this effect. In Study 2, we demonstrated that when merely creative ideas were expressed by the subordinate, performance goal leaders responded like mastery goal leaders. However, as in Study 1, performance goal leaders were less receptive to, and less supportive of, subordinates’ creative input than mastery goal leaders when the composition of subordinates’ creative input included both problem identifications and creative ideas.     

The roles of leader emotion management and team conflict for team members' personal initiative: A multilevel perspective

Employees' personal initiative (i.e., their active and future-oriented engagement at work) is of high relevance to organizations that strive for innovation and competitiveness. To better understand its drivers and diminishers, the present study refers to Affective Events Theory and examines the impact of leader emotion management, team conflict, and affective well-being on personal initiative. Data from 300 members of 59 work teams in Germany were gathered from multiple sources at three points in time over the course of 2 weeks. Multilevel analyses indicated that leader emotion management positively affected team members' personal initiative and that this effect was mediated by team members' affective well-being. Data also revealed a contrasting negative indirect effect of task conflict within the team on team members' personal initiative via team members' affective well-being. The study's results suggest that the improvement of leaders' emotion management as well as the establishment of work conditions and experiences that foster affective well-being should be seriously considered by organizations wishing to facilitate personal initiative in team settings.     

Survey Feedback as a Tool for Changing Managerial Culture: Focusing on Users' Interpretations - A Case Study

This article presents a case study in a savings bank in which a change of managerial culture is conducted over several years. A survey feedback was carried out where special attention was paid to subordinates' perceptions on managerial behaviours of the immediate manager. This intervention intended to stimulate and facilitate changes of managers' values, competences, and practices by means of providing them with relevant feedback from subordinates and by developing a team-centred process of climate analysis and change. However, perceptions and interpretations developed by managers and their subordinates about the actions undertaken emphasized political processes and power games, which caused emotional reactions such as fear, suspiciousness, and discomfort. In light of this situation, the aims, meaning, and process of the intervention, as understood and interpreted by the participants, were taken as the focus of a subsequent target of analysis and intervention. Information obtained on participants' views and the process of their deconstruction are presented. Some suggestions are made to improve professional practice, and research questions are raised that should be incorporated into the research agenda in the near future.     

团队领导组织公民行为的有效性：以双维认同为中介的多层次模型检验

本研究旨在考察团队领导组织公民行为对团队员工角色内绩效的影响及其以团队员工的共享团队认同和领导认同为中介的作用机制。采用团队领导—团队员工匹配问卷的调查方法,使用29个团队的样本数据对相应的多层次模型进行检验。结果显示：团队领导组织公民行为对团队员工角色内绩效有显著的正向影响;团队员工的共享团队认同和领导认同分别和同时在团队领导组织公民行为与团队员工角色内绩效之间起到完全的跨层次中介作用。     

Differences between follower and dyadic measures of LMX as mediators of emotional intelligence and employee performance,well-being,and turnover intention

Both leader and follower emotional intelligence (EI) have been posited in the literature to influence leader–member exchange (LMX). We collected data from 203 independent leader–follower dyads working in the insurance industry in Malaysia and examined relationships between leader and follower trait-EI and follower outcomes mediated through LMX. We added a further dimension to our study by comparing results using follower and then a dyadic measure of LMX. We found that leader EI predicted a dyadic measure of LMX, whilst only follower EI predicted a follower measure of LMX. As hypothesized, leader EI had both direct and indirect effects on follower job performance. By contrast, follower EI demonstrated both direct and indirect effects on follower well-being. We found a dyadic measure of LMX to be a stronger predictor of follower job performance, well-being, and turnover intention than a follower only measure. Our results suggest that significant relationships between leader and follower trait EI and LMX depend on whether follower or dyadic measures of LMX are used. The study draws attention to the importance of emphasizing the level at which EI effects are expected to operate in LMX.     

Emotions running high: Examining the effects of supervisor and subordinate emotional stability on emotional exhaustion

We sought to better understand the impact of leader emotional stability on follower burnout. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, we examined the emotional exhaustion consequences of supervisor-subordinate emotional stability congruence. Study 1 consisted of 299 light construction and maintenance workers and their supervisors. Study 2 was comprised of 294 workers at a city permits office and their supervisors. As hypothesized, both samples revealed that the highest levels of subordinate emotional exhaustion occurred when both supervisor and subordinate emotional stability were low. Our polynomial regression results suggest that the effects of leader and follower emotional stability are not simply a matter of similarity; subordinates low in emotional stability are disproportionately and negatively impacted by a low-emotional stability leader.     

Desired personality traits in politicians: Similar to me but more of a leader

What makes voters prefer a certain type of politician? First, we argue that voters’ trait preferences follow a “desired leadership” principle. We show that citizens want the ideal-type politician to be more emotionally stable, extravert-assertive, more deliberate-conscientious and open, more honest, but also somewhat more disagreeable than the average citizen. Second, we argue that voters prefer a model candidate with similar basic value-related personality traits. Importantly, we show that trait congruence is partly mediated by core ideological preferences and thus ensures democratic representation. The study’s findings have implications for personalization of politics and democratic representation, because personality traits can be vital cues for voters deciding whether candidates will act in their interest and represent them well.     

The effects of leader illegitimacy on leaders' and subordinates' responses to relinquishing power decisions

This research examined how leader illegitimacy affects leaders' and subordinates' responses to relinquishing power decisions. The processes underlying responses to leader illegitimacy and relinquishing power were also examined. Across four studies, participants were placed in leader roles (Studies 1a/1b) or subordinate roles (Studies 2a/2b) in an online competition. In Studies 1a/1b, participants assigned a leadership role learned, via a leadership skills test, that their leadership was illegitimate or legitimate. By contrast, in Studies 2a/2b, participants assigned a subordinate role were confronted with either an illegitimate leader who retained their power after performing poorly or a legitimate leader who received the leader role after a poor‐performing leader had relinquished their power. Results demonstrated that leaders who felt they did not belong in their leadership role relinquished more power when their leadership was illegitimate (vs. legitimate) and subordinates who felt less in control and greater anger supported illegitimate (vs. legitimate) leaders less.     

Gender makes the difference: The moderating role of leader gender on the relationship between leadership styles and subordinate performance

Using a predominantly male research and development (R&D) sample and a predominantly female customer service personnel sample, we investigated how authoritarian and benevolent leadership styles interact with leader gender to influence subordinate performance (i.e., task performance, citizenship behavior, and creativity). Our research extends role congruity theory (Eagly & Karau, 2002) by adopting  and  attribution principles to offer a more comprehensive framework for explaining how leader gender affects the impact of leadership styles on subordinate performance. Our results suggest that the negative relationship between authoritarian leadership and subordinate performance is stronger for female than for male leaders and that the positive relationship between benevolent leadership and subordinate performance is stronger for male than for female leaders. Accordingly, in addition to leaders’ engaging in gender-role congruent behaviors, a useful strategy is to adopt behaviors that are perceived as a positive deviation from their gender role.