Virtual communication,transformational leadership,and implicit leadership

This research was designed to test the theoretical relationship among personality, implicit leadership, and transformational leadership in a setting devoid of face‐to‐face communication, which we entitled virtual communication. Specifically, the study was designed to link, by using the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP), traits from the 5‐factor model of personality (the Big 5) to followers' perception of the leadership style of a virtual leader on the basis of Bass and Avolio's MLQ‐5X (1994). A voluntary sample consisted of undergraduate and graduate students from two universities in the south Texas area (N = 306). Respondents to the virtual communication rated Leader 1's communication, which used previously identified transformational language (Salter, Carmody‐Bubb, Duncan, & Green, 2007), as significantly more transformational than Leader 2's communication, using words not associated with transformational leaders. Participants who scored high in the Big 5 personality traits of agreeableness, openness to experience, conscientiousness, and extraversion rated the leader as more transformational while those high in neuroticism rated the leader as less transformational.     

A study of follower's personality,implicit leadership perceptions,and leadership ratings

This research was designed to test the theoretical relationship between personality, implicit leadership, and leadership style suggested in past studies. Specifically, it was designed to link traits from the five‐factor model of personality (the Big Five), by utilizing the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP), to a follower's perception of the leadership style of George W. Bush, based on Bass and Avolio's (1997) MLQ5X. A voluntary sample was taken consisting of undergraduate and graduate students from three universities in southern Texas in 2006, with a sample size of N = 303. Respondents who scored high in neuroticism rated the leader as less transformational than those who did not. Also, the ancillary variable good leadership had a positive effect on the respondent's ratings of the leader as a transformational leader, and as a less passive leader, than subjects who did not rate the leader as being a good leader. There was a significant relationship found between respondents' political party affiliation and their transformational and passive leadership ratings. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the Obama versus McCain presidential race.     

Implicit leadership in an intercultural context: theory extension and empirical investigation

Prior literature highlights that subordinates' identification with their leader is important for leader success. This study explores new mechanisms of implicit leadership and their effects on identification by subordinates. Using data from two sources – subordinates from five regional clusters and expatriate leaders – this study reveals that a leader's underfulfilment of subordinates' expectations of leadership harms their leader identification. Moreover, simple fulfilment of subordinates' expectations toward leadership does not affect their identification; to do so requires overfulfilment. Furthermore, the effects of underfulfilment strengthen with greater collectivism and low power distance, whereas overfulfilment effects are mitigated by these cultural dimensions.     

Empowering leadership: leading people to be present through affective organizational commitment?*

Abstract

This study tested a mediation model in which empowering leadership was negatively related to three withdrawal behaviors: lateness, absenteeism, and turnover intention, with affective organizational commitment as a mediator. With 294 full‐time US employees, results from structural equation modeling indicated that empowering leader behaviors at one time were positively related to estimates of affective organizational commitment at a second time, which in turn was negatively related to absenteeism and turnover intention at a final time. Additionally, no significant direct effect was found between empowering leadership and withdrawal behaviors, further supporting the mediation model. However, neither empowering leadership nor affective commitment influenced followers' lateness. Empowering leadership, which provides employees with autonomy and developmental support, may have a favorable effect on employees' decisions to attend and stay in the organization, as well as their affective reaction to the organization in the form of psychological commitment. This study extended prior research models by examining a full range of withdrawal behaviors in relation to empowering leadership and showed that commitment may explain why empowering leader behaviors can affect employees' retention decisions.     

How Creative Can Leaders Afford to be Without Losing Credibility?

Leaders know in their gut that creativity and innovation are the life blood of their organization. New ideas can lead to programs that are superior to an organization's established or planned programs. Leadership is to engage the right people, at the right times, to the right degree, in creative work. Inspirational leaders will promote employee creativity. On the other hand, the ability of leaders to be creative is an essential quality of leadership. Done well, the change of course looks like a moment of courage. The leader went to the precipice and had the strength to say, Let's turn back. Done badly, the change of course looks like pure opportunism or lack of conviction, and the leader's leadership credibility is undermined. The line between the two is thin. Which side a leader ends up on depends essentially on how the leader takes into account essential strategic factors, and how hard the leader will work to keep others on their side when they make the move.     

“Why did I do this?”: Understanding leadership behavior through a dynamic five‐factor model of leadership

Leadership theories referring to complex adaptive system theory (CAS) describe leadership as a dynamic process of interdependent, cooperating agents. However, research on leadership behavior focuses mainly on the leader as an influencing, active agent. This article offers a different perspective by focusing on factors that influence leadership behavior. A dynamic five‐factor model of leadership is introduced, which identifies (1) the leader's individual competence, (2) the group, (3) the organization, (4) the context, and (5) the immediate situation as all influencing factors on leadership behavior. To address the problem of the procedural nature of leadership behavior, the dynamic five‐factor model is combined with a scenario‐based approach. The scenario approach focuses on situational developments in a given context, whereby a previous situation influences a leader's behavior in the subsequent situation. By integrating the dynamic five‐factor model into a scenario approach, one can understand a leader's behavior in its procedural nature. The practical usability of the dynamic five‐factor model and the scenario approach was assessed in a leadership development program with 81 military officers. Structured feedback from participants indicated that the model and the approach were perceived as helpful and relevant for understanding leadership behavior.     

The Effects of Leadership Style,Organizational Outcome,and Gender on Attributional Bias Toward Leaders

The current study examined the effects of leadership style (charismatic or autocratic) on followers' internal and external attributions for their organization's success or failure. In addition, role incongruence between the leadership style and gender was examined within the context of attributional error. Confirming the hypotheses, the results showed a three‐way interaction between leadership style, gender and organizational outcome. Supporting the role incongruity theory, when there was role incongruence between the leadership style and gender (i.e., the female autocratic leader), the attributions for failure were more unfavorable toward the leader. The effect of leadership style on internal attributions for failure was mediated by likeability of the leader. Overall, the current study was the first experimental investigation of the effects of leadership style, organizational outcomes, and gender on attributional biases within a single design.     

Implicit leader development: The mentor role as prefatory leadership context

This qualitative study examines the role of mentor as a possible avenue of individual leader development. Specifically, how do mentors conceptualize effective leadership, and what facets of psychological capital develop in the mentoring relationship? Fourteen mentors participating in a statewide mentoring program were surveyed, along with expert mentors and mentees for verification. Results found that mentors' conceptualization of their role and activities aligned with established leadership concepts, specifically those leadership behaviors associated with transformational leadership. Mentors also indicated perceived growth in facets of psychological capital associated with leadership success. By examining the implicit influences and benefits of serving in the mentor role, the alternative focus on the mentor's growth can be utilized to incorporate leadership development into this well‐established pedagogical tool.     

Followership in Leadership Studies: A Case of Leader–Follower Trade Approach

The current article acknowledges the absence of followership from the leadership literature for many years. Major theories of leadership are reviewed to assert that (1) modern leadership studies have been developed strictly from the leader's perspective with little or no attention on followership, (2) leadership studies have primarily been based on the static understanding of leadership (leaders always remain leaders),¹ and (3) there seems to be a need for a new paradigm for leader–follower relationships, which may result in organic relationships between leaders and followers through exchange of leadership and followership functions and roles. Thus, it is argued that the mutuality of relationships and influence between the follower and the leader exists. To address the need for a new paradigm for leadership, the leader–follower trade (LFT) approach is introduced, which may result in the nonstatic and organic approach to leadership–followership as two valuable human behavioral functions. In this case, leadership and followership functions and roles may be traded or exchanged by the positional leaders and followers in different situations or organizational settings toward mutual respect, empowerment, and effectiveness.     

The influence of leadership behavior on employee work-family outcomes: A review and research agenda

Scholarly inquiries into the prominent role that leaders play in influencing their followers' work-family experiences have flourished in recent decades. Despite this encouraging progress, researchers have criticized the current state of the literature, lamenting that the study of leader behaviors in the work-family literature is either incomplete or oversimplified. To move the field forward, we conducted a systematic review of the literature to take stock of what we know, identify what is still unknown, and chart a path forward for future research. We organize the literature linking leadership to employees' work-family experience based on a four-category framework of leader behavior (task, relationship, change, and ethical/unethical). We summarize what effects leader behaviors may have on their followers, how such effects occur, and the boundary conditions of these effects. We conclude our review by identifying both theoretical and methodological gaps that can inform future leadership research in the work-family domain.     

Humble Leadership: Implications for Psychological Safety and Follower Engagement

Humility has emerged as a focus of leadership research in recent years, culminating with the theory of humble leadership. The current study added to the humble leadership literature by examining the relations among leader humility, psychological safety, and employee engagement. The study particularly examined the three constructs in the context of a mediational model. Data were collected from 140 workers who reported their perceptions of their immediate supervisor's humility, as well as their own psychological safety and work engagement. Results showed that the relation between humble leadership and employee engagement was fully mediated by psychological safety. Thus, by acknowledging limitations and mistakes, recognizing followers’ strengths and contributions, and modeling teachability, leaders can create an environment in which followers can act without fear of negative ramifications and can fully engage in their work.     

How do leaders' perceptions of organizational health climate shape employee exhaustion and engagement? Toward a cascading-effects model

Although researchers and practitioners increasingly focus on health promotion in organizations, research has been mainly fragmented and fails to integrate different organizational levels in terms of their effects on employee health. Drawing on organizational climate and social identity research, we present a cascading model of organizational health climate and demonstrate how and when leaders' perceptions of organizational health climate are linked to employee well-being. We tested our model in two multisource studies (N_{Study 1} = 65 leaders and 291 employees; N_{Study 2} = 401 leader–employee dyads). Results showed that leaders' perceptions of organizational health climate were positively related to their health mindsets (i.e., their health awareness). These in turn were positively associated with their health-promoting leadership behavior, which ultimately went along with better employee well-being. Additionally, in Study 1, the relationship between perceived organizational health climate and leaders' health mindsets was moderated by their organizational identification. High leader identification strengthened the relationship between perceived organizational health climate and leaders' health mindsets. These findings have important implications for theory and practice as they show how the dynamics of an organizational health climate can unfold in organizations and how it is related to employee well-being via the novel concept of health-promoting leadership.     

Do women followers prefer a different leadership style than men?

In an era that leadership is a key to organizational success, several researchers have tried to identify the ‘best style.’ This study aims to make a contribution toward this direction by examining followers' perceptions of the preferred leader profile from a gendered perspective. Evidence from 2008 individuals employed in the Greek public sector revealed that men and women do hold different views of how the ideal leader behaves. Furthermore, the need for achievement is responsible for greater variations in perceptions of the preferred leader profile, confirming the fact that men and women cannot be considered as uniform groups when examining leadership preferences.     

Inclusive leadership: Realizing positive outcomes through belongingness and being valued for uniqueness

We introduce a theoretically-grounded conceptualization of inclusive leadership and present a framework for understanding factors that contribute to and follow from inclusive leadership within work groups. We conceptualize inclusive leadership as a set of positive leader behaviors that facilitate group members perceiving belongingness in the work group while maintaining their uniqueness within the group as they fully contribute to group processes and outcomes. We propose that leader pro-diversity beliefs, humility, and cognitive complexity increase the propensity of inclusive leader behaviors. We identify five categories of inclusive leadership behaviors that facilitate group members' perceptions of inclusion, which in turn lead to member work group identification, psychological empowerment, and behavioral outcomes (creativity, job performance, and reduced turnover) in the pursuit of group goals. This framework provides theoretical grounding for the construct of inclusive leadership while advancing our understanding of how leaders can increase diverse work group effectiveness.     

How Can a Phenomenological Approach Innovate Leadership in a High‐Tech World?

The author opines that the litmus test for good or defective leadership can be obtained from the philosophical lens with which a leader approaches the world. A leader who is not rooted in nature will practices a calculative type of thinking and leadership. Because the origin of such leadership is based on illusion, the destiny of such leadership is also projected towards an illusionary vista. Phenomenological logic influences our relationship to space, time, values, and perceptions. Humans are not the central lens epistemology that allows leaders to listen to the protesting environment that they are immersed in. This kind of deep ethics is possible only in the realm of Heidegger's meditative thinking, and it leads to longsighted and deeper answers for a sustainable world. Because humans have tried to make technology absolute, humans now live on products of technology instead of living in our natural habitat. Deep listening to the song of creation will make human beings more compassionate to the natural order and the foresight to fashion a symmetrical relationship with flora and fauna.     

Existential–Experiential View of Self‐Sourced (In)Authentic Healthcare Identity

In the healthcare context, both nurses and doctors derive their professional identities from diverse backgrounds, thus resulting in two distinct professions. Becoming a leader and forming a leader identity that is separate from a strong professional identity is a difficult task. However, assuming a leader identity is considered an important aspect of actually being a leader, not just a professional with a leader position. The current article explores authenticity in generic healthcare leader identity formation by utilizing the concept of professional identity. Instead of committing to the humanistic ontological roots of the authentic leadership construct, the research analyzes the concepts of self and authenticity from an existential–experiential perspective. A conceptual framework of self‐sourced healthcare identity formation, including leader identity and professional identity, is presented. The framework shows how leader identity originates in the leader's experiencing self‐in‐situation, which is understood as the source of authenticity. The experiencing self, or the self as a subject, is differentiated from the experienced self, or the self as an object, by which professional identities are formed. The conceptualization provides a way of understanding and developing leadership in fields consisting of strong professional identities. The applications of the framework are also discussed.     

Gender and leadership: A criterion-focused review and research agenda

There is a large and growing body of work on gender on leadership, but this literature remains fragmented and incomplete, due in part to insufficient attention paid to nuances of the criterion variable of leadership. To provide a broader perspective on this literature, we draw upon Campbell, McCloy, Oppler, and Sager's (1993) theory of job performance as a framework to organize our review. First, we position gender as an indirect determinant of leadership and summarize prior work on (a) gender differences in leadership outcomes (i.e., emergence and effectiveness), (b) gender differences in leader behaviors, (c) gender differences in direct determinants of leader behaviors (i.e., declarative knowledge, skill, and motivation), and (d) potential mediated or indirect relationships between gender and these leadership criteria. Second, we explore gender as a moderator of both interpersonal (i.e., leader behaviors → leadership outcomes) and intrapersonal (i.e., direct determinants → leader behaviors) leadership processes. Throughout our review, we highlight new directions for future research to advance the study of gender and leadership.     

Leaders emergence in artificial populations: the role of networks

Social networks can be viewed as graphs in their basic form, but many networks of interest include positive and negative affect relations among nodes. The structural balance theory originally developed by Heider suggests how nodes may locally modify their relationships to maintain a sort of balance within sets of nodes. We analyze a model of leadership emergence in a social network and extend it by introducing structural balance among members when modeling the attitude toward the leader. This approach takes into account some of the mutual relationships among co-workers, including the adaptation process to achieve the balance. This component helps to explore differently the bounded rationality of agents when interacting, and prove the difficulty of finding a rapid and smooth covergent path to a social stable equilibrium.     

A trade union model with endogenous militancy: interpreting the French case

This paper aims to provide a simple trade union model which highlights some of the distinctive institutional features of French unionism. The model focuses on the determinants of militancy and membership in a frictionless economy. It brings into the picture three types of agents and their specific behaviour: firms accept to pay a premium in order to avoid strikes, individuals participate in the union in order to maximise their expected income and union leadership seeks to maximise his/her net personal gain. By adapting militancy—broadly defined as hard stance during the annual wage bargaining—the union leader may achieve a unionisation rate consistent with his/her own objectives. It is shown that a non-Walrasian labour market equilibrium exists wherein real wages, employment, union size and militancy are jointly determined. In comparative statics, the model predicts a negative relationship between militancy and membership; recent evolutions of the main French union confederations tend to support this conclusion.