Leadership, self, and identity: A review and research agenda

Leadership as Work-embedded Influence: A Micro-discursive Analysis of an Everyday Interaction in a Bank

The article examines leadership as an aspect of everyday work interactions. Drawing on the findings of an ethnographically inspired study of superior—subordinate relations in a bank, it argues that leadership can be understood as embedded in everyday work-activities, rather than seen as distinct from these. Relying on the framework of discursive psychology, a micro-level analysis of an informal interaction is presented, showing how discursive strategies in the leader—follower exchange make relevant organizational visions and values rooted in the wider cultural context, and how the follower identity and action alternatives are negotiated in this process. These findings are discussed in the light of current leadership research, and it is suggested that leadership can be understood as a practical accomplishment. Influence may thus be seen as dependent on or embedded in everyday work, a contention which constitutes a challenge to the widespread distinction between management and leadership.

Measuring the Outcomes of Leadership Development Programs

The lack of research evaluating the outcomes of leadership development programs and the lack of a suitable evaluation instrument are evident in the literature. This study represents the first attempt at providing a comprehensive method to evaluate and measure leadership development programs on a post-program level. Social learning theory, adult learning theory, and the EvaluLEAD framework influenced the theoretical model developed in this research. The EvaluLEAD principles provide a basis for the conceptual model and results in the development of a program evaluation instrument named the Leadership Program Outcomes Measure. Finally, the application of this measure to one statewide leadership development program is presented.

Moderating Role of Follower Characteristics With Transformational Leadership and Follower Work Engagement

This study examines whether follower characteristics moderate the relationship between transformational leadership and follower work engagement. Data were collected from 140 followers and their 48 supervisors from a diverse range of industries in South Africa. Hierarchical linear modeling results show that follower characteristics moderate the positive relationship between transformational leadership and follower work engagement. More specifically, transformational leadership has a more positive effect on follower work engagement when follower characteristics are more positive. Implications of the findings for theory, research, and practice are discussed.

„Ich folge Dir, wenn Du in meinen Augen eine gute Führungskraft bist, denn dann kann ich mich auch mit Dir identifizieren.“

Untergebene erfolgreich zu beeinflussen, ist eine der zentralen Funktionen von Führung. Daher ist es für die Führungsforschung wie auch für Praktizierende in Organisationen interessant zu verstehen, wann Untergebene ihre Führungskräfte respektieren in dem Sinne, dass sie sich freiwillig und gerne gegenüber deren Einfluss öffnen. Die Forschung zu Führungskraftkategorisierung zeigt, dass die Einflussoffenheit von Untergebenen umso größer ist, je stärker Führungskräfte in der Wahrnehmung der Untergebenen deren idealen Führungsprototypen entsprechen. Dieser Befund wird in der vorliegenden Arbeit mit identitätstheoretischen Konzepten der Führungsforschung in Verbindung gebracht, die davon ausgehen, dass Identifikationsprozessen eine wichtige Rolle bei der Vermittlung von Einflussoffenheit zukommt. In zwei Feldstudien (N1 = 496 und N2 = 700) können wir zeigen, dass der Zusammenhang von Führungskraftkategorisierung und der Offenheit von Untergebenen für Führungseinfluss partiell durch die Identifikation der Untergebenen mit ihren Führungskräften mediiert wird. Die Implikationen dieses Mediationsmodells für Theorie und betriebliche Praxis werden abschließend diskutiert.

Impact of coherent versus multiple identities on knowledge integration

This paper addresses the influence of two competing views of social identity on knowledge integration. One view sees social identity primarily as a coherent characteristic of organizations, which can leverage knowledge integration by unconditional cooperative behaviour, shared values, mindsets, trust, and loyalty. The opposing view considers social identity as multiple and fragmented. This fragmented view emphasizes the problematic nature of social identity for knowledge integration and states that social identity is an additional barrier to knowledge integration in organizations. The aim of this paper is to examine these competing accounts and to develop insight into the underlying mechanisms that lead to the different effects of social identity on knowledge integration. Two polar case studies illustrate the different effects of a coherent versus multiple identity on knowledge integration and the need for a coherent company-wide social identity, instead of a multiple community or group based social identity, to leverage knowledge integration in organizations.

Cognition in Organizations

This article reviews major developments from 2000 to early 2007 in the psychological analysis of cognition in organizations. Our review, the first in this series to survey cognitive theory and research spanning the entire field of industrial and organizational psychology, considers theoretical, empirical, and methodological advances across 10 substantive domains of application. Two major traditions, the human factors and organizational traditions, have dominated cognitively oriented research in this field. Our central message is that the technological and human systems underpinning contemporary organizational forms are evolving in ways that demand greater cooperation among researchers across both traditions. Such cooperation is necessary in order to gain theoretical insights of sufficient depth and complexity to refine the explanation and prediction of behavior in organizations and derive psychologically sound solutions to the unprecedented information-processing burdens confronting the twenty-first century workforce.