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

Does leader-member exchange ambivalence hinder employee well-being? Exploring relations with work engagement and emotional exhaustion

Recent research has introduced the concept of leader-member exchange (LMX) ambivalence and has shown that it can be detrimental to employee task performance. Drawing on self-determination theory and models of LMX development, this research investigates whether LMX ambivalence may also negatively influence employee well-being. In a two-wave field study with 278 employees in a large police organisation, we found that LMX ambivalence was significantly associated with two focal measures of work-related well-being: work engagement and emotional exhaustion, through its influence on psychological need fulfilment. Perceived positive meaning in work was found to buffer the negative effects of LMX ambivalence on psychological need fulfilment and well-being. Overall, these results contribute to the occupational health literature by demonstrating that psychological need fulfilment helps explain why LMX ambivalence negatively affects work related well-being outcomes and underscores the important role of positive meaning in work as a buffer for these relationships.

Contagious charisma: the flow of charisma from leader to followers and the role of followers' self-monitoring

Charisma, the captivating attribute that endows an individual with the power to inspire and influence others, is frequently associated with possessing an attractive personality, effective communication skills, and the capacity to draw people in and lead them. The concept of the trickle-down effect in leadership theory suggests that the characteristics of a leader's style including perceptions, emotions, attitudes, and behaviors, have the potential to be "contagious" and spread to their followers. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether and when a leader's charisma may be transferred to followers, as charisma is predominantly a trait associated with the leader. Integrating insights from the social learning, emotional contagion, and self-concept theories, we propose that charisma can cascade downward from the leader to followers and that this effect is contingent on the individual follower's level of self-monitoring. Measuring a sample of 127 followers and 15 leaders in a large organization at two time points, we found that throughout time the leader's charisma indeed cascaded down to followers, i.e., followers of a charismatic leader were perceived as more charismatic throughout time. However, this effect was prominent only for low-monitoring followers. Novel insights into the flow-down effect of charisma, avenues for future research, and practical implications are discussed.

The Profiles and Antecedents of Supervisor-Directed Emotional Labor Strategies: The Role of Self-Identity and LMX Orientations in Emotional Labor Strategy

This study has two purposes. The first is to determine whether subordinates employ alternative combinations of emotion regulation strategies toward their supervisors beyond merely using surface and deep labor from the person-centered perspective. The second purpose is to understand why such acts of emotion regulation occur in interactions between employers and employees in the typical workplace. Utilizing latent profile analysis on data from 232 office employees in Beijing, China, collected using a two-stage sampling technique, four distinct supervisor-directed emotional labor profiles (i.e., deep actors, non-actors, moderators, and regulators) are identified. We find that these profiles are differentiated by several factors (i.e., individual identity, relational identity, and LMX orientations). Moreover, our findings suggest that employees exhibiting high levels of relational identity are more predisposed to act as deep actors, whereas individuals with high levels of individual identity are prone to being regulators as opposed to becoming deep actors, non-actors, or moderators. In addition, our results also suggest that LMX orientations have moderating effects on the relationships between self-identities and supervisor-directed emotional labor strategies. Overall, the results of this study expand the potential dimensionality of supervisor-directed emotion regulation strategies (e.g., regulating and non-acting) and bridge a gap in our understanding of the factors impacting supervisor-directed emotional labor.

Tell-and-sell or ask-and-listen: A self-concept perspective on why it needs leadership communication flexibility to engage subordinates at work

Beneath the verbosity of modern leadership theories, there is a simple truth: leading people is essentially about communication. The respective communicative philosophies underlying leadership theories can be broadly separated into two camps: one arguing that leaders should tell-and-sell and one urging leaders to ask-and-listen. In the present essay, we first define the two communication approaches. Second, we outline how both approaches manage to engage subordinates but in different ways. Third, we review the appropriateness of each of these communication approaches under different circumstances, outlining why communicative flexibility is needed. Lastly, despite the advantages, we discuss that leaders will struggle to adopt communicative flexibility due to widespread simplistic leadership schemas-in research and practice.

Espoused implicit leadership and followership theories and emergent workplace relations: a factorial survey

Previous research on implicit leadership and followership theories (ILTs/IFTs) and interpersonal congruence thereof has primarily focused on preexisting, vertical leader-follower dyads. This study explores interpersonal congruence of ILTs/IFTs at earliest stages of emergent workplace relations in which formal leader and follower roles are not preassigned. We suggest that ILTs/IFTs, when espoused to others, have sorting effects in the social marketplace of organizations toward adaptive workplace relations. We introduce the notion of espoused ILTs/IFTs (i.e., assumptions about leaders and followers that someone claims to have and articulates to others) and examine how congruence of self- and other-espoused ILTs/IFTs facilitates the initiation and emergence of lateral workplace relations in a 'New Work' design (i.e., job sharing). Results of an experimental study show that interpersonal congruence in espoused ILTs/IFTs drives attraction to a job sharing partner consistently across different types (ILTs vs. IFTs) and valences (prototypes vs. antiprototypes). While ILTs and IFTs have a similarly strong attraction effect when shared by self and other, the effect of prototype congruence is significantly larger than the effect of antiprototype congruence. The findings encourage leadership scholars to study ILTs/IFTs in a broader range of expression than hitherto and make practitioners aware of similarity biases in the formation of flexible work arrangements.

Leaders' ambition and followers' cheating behavior: The role of performance pressure and leader identification

Purpose

We seek to understand why and how leaders' actions that are positive from organizational perspectives, drive to engage employees in cheating behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed mediated moderation model was tested in two separate studies, study 1 and study 2, with data collected from police officers and employees of Islamic banking respectively, and then analyzed with Mplus for random coefficient models for direct effects, indirect effects, and for mediated moderation.

Findings

It was found that leaders' ambitions may enhance performance pressure on the subordinates, which in turn promotes their cheating behavior. Overall, we found that the traditional view of ambition theory only emphasizes good mechanisms such as motivation. However, to integrate with a social identity perspective, ambition would also cause pressure and pressure rather than motivation. Additionally, leaders' ambitions are more strongly and positively related to the performance pressure and cheating behaviors of employees when subordinates also have high leader identification. The findings of this research suggested that leaders' positive workplace behavior could also spawn subordinates' unethical behaviors.

Practical implications

Through this research, we can help policymakers understand that leaders' positive desire in general and ambition, in particular, may not be necessarily associated with subordinates' positive behaviors. Our results revealed that internalized with performance pressure, the leaders' ambition is associated with subordinates' cheating behavior. The findings of this research will help policymakers understand what might be promoting unethical behavior of employees. The cheating behavior of employees is not a singular level phenomenon of subordinates, it could also be triggered by contextual factors. Therefore, in developing policies for reducing the chance of cheating at work, the policymakers should also focus on the contextual factors that might be promoting cheating.

Originality/value

Ambitious leaders tend to demonstrate high performance, also, performance pressure literature focuses efforts of the employees toward high performance. The dark side of these lines of researches is still underexplored. We shifted the conventional focus of understanding to the positive side of ambition and performance pressure by explaining the potential cost in the form of employees' enhanced cheating behavior. The interplay between the relationship between leaders' ambition and subordinates' perception of leader identification also enhanced our understating about the boundary condition of the relationship between leaders' ambition, performance pressure, and cheating behavior of subordinates.

Can leader self-sacrificial behavior inhibit unethical pro-family behavior? A personal identification perspective

As a kind of deviant and unethical behavior in the workplace, unethical pro-family behavior (UPFB) has recently received increased attention. Yet, the question of how to reduce UPFB remains less well understood. From the personal identification perspective, we hypothesize that leader self-sacrificial behavior (LSSB) inhibits employees' UPFB through the mediation of identification with the leader. We further argue that employees' perceived insider status enhances this hypothesized relationship. Our analysis of two-wave data collected from 236 Chinese employees indicated that identification with the leader partially mediated the negative relationship between LSSB and UPFB. Moreover, the effect of LSSB on identification with the leader and the aforementioned mediating relationship were stronger for employees who perceived themselves as insiders than outsiders. These findings provide theoretical implications for research on UPFB and LSSB and offer some suggestions that managers can follow to inhibit UPFB. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.

Authoritarian leadership and nurse presenteeism: the role of workload and leader identification

BACKGROUND

Nurses' health in the workplace is crucial for ensuring the quality of healthcare. However, presenteeism, the behavior of working in a state of ill health, is widespread in the nursing industry. Considering that the origin of authoritarian leadership and the prevalence of presenteeism are inseparable from Chinese workplace culture, this study aimed to explore the impact and mechanism of authoritarian leadership on presenteeism.

METHODS

A total of 528 nurses were recruited from four grade III level A hospitals in the present survey, which was distributed across 98 nursing teams. Participants were required to complete self-report measures on authoritarian leadership, presenteeism, workload, and leader identification. Description, correlation, and multilevel linear regressions were applied for data analysis.

RESULTS

The present study found that presenteeism was significantly related to participants' demographic characteristics, such as marital status, educational level, technological title, and general health. There was a positive relationship between authoritarian leadership and presenteeism, and workload acted as a mediator in authoritarian leadership and presenteeism. Furthermore, leader identification moderated the relationship between authoritarian leadership and workload. When nurses were under high leader identification, the positive impact of authoritarian leadership on workload was reinforced.

CONCLUSIONS

This study revealed the potential antecedents and mechanisms of nurse presenteeism from the perspective of workplace culture. Results indicated that the excessive authoritarianism of leaders and the heavy workload faced by nurses may be the significant triggers for nurses' presenteeism. The role of leader identification is not always protective, which may heighten the relationship between dark leadership and its outcomes. These observations contribute to enriching research on presenteeism and authoritarian leadership, and provide valuable insights for cultivating healthy working behaviors.

Is change all in the mind? A study of leader mindfulness, leader behaviors in implementing change

Organizations are facing an ever-growing need to implement continuous transformational change. This has led to an increase in interest in change leadership. However, this has not been supported by empirical research and the need for it has been widely recognized. In parallel, and related to, these developments there have been a significant growth in interest in the concept of mindfulness and in particular in its relationship to leadership. However, whist there is a lot of evidence of its value in clinical contexts, there is limited organizationally based evidence and a paucity of studies that explore mindfulness and leadership. In spite of this, there is an increasing interest in mindful leadership amongst practitioners and a growth in related development programs on offer. This paper reports a study that explored the nature of leader mindfulness and change leadership behaviors in the context of implementing organizational change. It was based on interviews with 63 leaders from 56 organizations. Analyses of the data showed clear relationships between leaders’ facilitating and engaging behaviors and leader mindfulness in the context of change.

I am one of you! Team prototypicality as a facilitator for female leaders

In the present study, we complement role congruity theory with insights from the Social Identity Model of Leadership. We propose that especially female leaders benefit from team prototypicality, i.e., being representative of the group they are leading. We assume that team prototypicality shifts the comparative frame away from higher-order categories like gender and leader roles to more concrete team-related properties and thereby reduces disadvantages for female leader that stem from the incongruity between the leader role and the female gender role stereotypes. Further, this effect should affect both (female) leaders themselves and their perception by their followers. Building on previous research, we predict, first, lower authentic leadership behavior for female than male leaders. Second, that team prototypicality positively relates to authentic leadership and trust in leader. Third, that team prototypicality has stronger relations to authentic leadership and trust in leader for female compared to male leaders. We tested assumptions in a randomized online experiment (Study 1, N = 315) and a cross-sectional survey study (Study 2, N = 300). We did not find consistent support for the assumed gender differences in authentic leadership. But our results (both in manifest and in latent analyses) show that team prototypicality—both self-perceived (Study 1) and as perceived by employees (Study 2)—is related to more authentic leadership and more trust in leader (Study 2) and that these relations are stronger for female than for male leaders. Furthermore, we tested in Study 2 an extended model including follower’s job satisfaction as the final follower outcome affected via team prototypicality, leader gender, authentic leadership, and trust in leader. Thereby, we found that team prototypicality has direct and indirect effects on job satisfaction as carried through authentic leadership and trust in leader, respectively. Together, the results of both studies support our assumptions and show that female leaders can reduce role incongruity barriers through high team prototypicality. Implications for future research and practical implications of these results for gender equality are discussed.

The Influence of Group Identification with Student Subgroups on Perceptions of Bystander Intervention to Prevent Sexual Assault

College students can use bystander intervention tactics to prevent sexual assault within their communities. One's group memberships and group identification-conceptualized within social identity theory-could influence attitudes and behaviors related to bystander intervention. College students (n = 1,170) participated in an online survey measuring group membership with student subgroups, identification, and bystander intervention perceptions. Subgroups in this study included fraternities/sororities, student organizations, National Collegiate Athletic Association athletes, club/intramural sports, and spiritual/faith-based organizations. For various student subgroups, group identification was significantly correlated with individuals' perceived willingness and likelihood to engage in bystander intervention and their perceptions about the helpfulness of bystander intervention tactics.

How and When Does Visionary Leadership Promote Followers’ Taking Charge? The Roles of Inclusion of Leader in Self and Future Orientation

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusion

A relational identification perspective on why and when servant leadership foster employees' extra-role customer service

Purpose

Customer service is crucial for organizations' survival and competitiveness in the hospitality industry. The purpose of this study is to examine how and when servant leadership affects extra-role customer service.

Design/methodology/approach

The hypotheses were tested with a sample of 302 employees from a passenger transport company in China.

Findings

Results demonstrate that servant leadership was positively related to extra-role customer service and that this relation was mediated by relational identification. In addition, the mediating effect of relational identification in the relation between servant leadership and extra-role customer service was contingent on prosocial motivation.

Originality/value

The study is the first to explore the relation between servant leadership and extra-role customer service from the perspective of relational identification and the moderating role of prosocial motivation.

Leadership Style and Hospital Performance: Empirical Evidence From Indonesia

The COVID-19 pandemic created new conditions for the functioning of all organizations. Suddenly, there was a problem with the lack of appropriate leadership styles models in health care organizations (hospitals), which are particularly vulnerable to disruptions in a pandemic. Hospitals, in particular, have become exposed to organizational and managerial problems. The article aims to propose an appropriate leadership style model that will guarantee a high level of hospital efficiency, taking into account a pandemic situation in the example of private hospitals in Indonesia. Organizational identification is promoted as a mediating variable due to the high level of this variable in explaining hospital performance in Indonesia based on preliminary studies. During research used a structural equation model using 394 samples at the unit leadership level in private hospitals in Indonesia. The results of this study explain that there is an impact between innovative leadership and strategic leadership styles on hospital performance. Private hospitals in Indonesia need to improve themselves to use the most appropriate leadership style model based on the needs of the hospital itself.

The Effect of Self-Sacrifice Leadership on Social Capital and Job Performance in Hotels

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between self-sacrifice leadership and social capital or job performance in the hotel industry. Four hypotheses have been proposed to accomplish this. First, self-sacrifice leadership positively affects social capital. Second, social capital has a positive impact on job performance. Third, self-sacrifice leadership has a positive effect on job performance. Fourth, self-sacrifice leadership positively affects job performance through the mediation of social capital. Further, eligible respondents (n = 371; 282 male and 89 female) were recruited from hotels with a three-star or above rating in metropolitan areas and then evaluated for the online survey method. Results showed that self-sacrifice leadership had significant positive effects on social capital and job performance. Moreover, social capital significantly improved job performance and mediated the interaction between self-sacrifice and job performance. Therefore, building social capital for employees is critical, which implies that hotels require education and training to promote self-sacrificing leadership. In particular, self-sacrificing leadership has a decisive influence on employees’ job performance; thus, a system that improves the working environment must be established.

The Influence of Self-Serving Leadership on Deviant Behaviors in the Workplace: A Moderated Mediation Model

Self-serving leadership is a typical example of destructive leadership that has negative effects on its subordinates and organization. According to social identity theory, we propose a theoretical model that self-serving leadership induces employee interpersonal deviance and organizational deviance through organization identification, and we explore the moderating role of moral identity in this relationship. Based on survey data collected from 377 questionnaires by using a three-wave time lagged design, structural equation modeling results showed that (1) there was a significant positive correlation between self-serving leadership and employees’ deviant behavior, (2) organizational identification partially mediates the relationship between self-serving leadership and employees’ deviant behavior, and (3) employees’ moral identity negatively moderates the relationship between self-serving leadership and employees’ organizational identification. The findings further extend the research on the influence of self-serving leadership on employee workplace deviance. They also reveal the mechanisms and boundary conditions of the effect of self-serving leadership on employee workplace deviance.

How Narcissistic Leaders Impact on Subordinate's Followership During the COVID-19? The Moderating Role of Organizational Identification

The COVID-19 pandemic gave rise to social and economic problems and pose a threat to most of enterprise. Faced with crisis and challenge, effective leaders and devoted employees are important factors for enterprises to overcome difficulties. We propose a moderated mediation model wherein narcissistic leader predicts subordinate’s followership through leader self-interest behavior perceived by subordinates, with organizational identification of leader acting as the contextual condition. Two-wave data collected from 303 employees in the manufacturing and technology industry in China supported our hypothesized model. We found that narcissistic leader has negative impact on subordinates’ followership due to their perception of leader’s self-interest behavior. Further, organizational identification of leader plays a moderate role in the relationship between narcissistic leader and subordinates’ followership. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. We also offer several promising directions for future research.

The influence of organizational identification on the curvilinear relationship between leader humility and follower unethical pro-organizational behavior

This study utilized social exchange and social learning perspectives to develop a theoretical model about how leader humility predicts follower unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB). Using two-wave data obtained from 203 full-time employees nested within 46 work teams in eastern China, regression analyses revealed a nonmonotonic association between leader humility and follower UPB, such that follower UPB was most at intermediate levels of leader humility. Moreover, the strength of this curvilinear relationship was found to be moderated by the followers' organizational identification, such that the inverted U-curve relationship between leader humility and follower UPB will be stronger for followers with high organizational identification than for those with low organizational identification. Implications in theory and practice, along with limitations of our findings, were discussed.

My LMX standing with my leader as compared to my coworkers: conditional indirect effect of LMX social comparison

Purpose

The paper examines the effect of relative leader-member exchange (LMX) on follower's in-role performance, citizenship behaviour and cynicism via relational identification. Moreover, LMXSC (LMXSC) moderates the direct and mediating relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on multi-level (individual and group level) model, dyadic data were collected from 298 employees working under 47 group managers in the banking sector in Pakistan.

Findings

The multi-level moderated mediation model tested in Mplus and HLM software showed the full support for direct, mediating and moderating hypothesized relationships; however, the moderated mediation hypothesis was partially supported. It reveals that relative LMX standing of followers predicted in-role performance, organizational citizenship behaviour at an individual level (OCB-individual) and cynicism. Relational identification with the leader mediated the relationship. Moreover, at high LMXSC, the relationship between relative LMX and relational identification and consequently the outcomes were stronger.

Originality/value

LMX has widely been studied at dyadic level, despite the suggested high and low LMX quality relationships that exist in a workgroup. This study not only investigates the role of relative LMX on employee performance through relational identification but also reports that subjective evaluation of LMXSC plays a major role in promoting employee performance.

Paradoxical leadership as sensegiving: stimulating change-readiness and change-oriented performance

Purpose

Paradoxical leadership (PL) is an emerging perspective to understand how leaders help followers deal with paradoxical demands. Recently, the positive relationship between PL and follower performance was established. This paper builds on and extends this research by interpreting PL as sensegiving and developing theory about mediation in the relationship between PL and adaptive and proactive performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper develops a new measure for PL as sensegiving and provides a test of the mediation model with data from two different sources and two measurement times in a German company.

Findings

Multilevel mediation analysis (N = 154) supports the mediation model.

Originality/value

The paper presents sensegiving about paradox as a core element of PL, which informs the choice of change-readiness as mediator. This study also develops and validates a scale to measure PL in future research.

Leader Narcissism and Employee Organizational Citizenship Behavior Directed Toward the Leader: Roles of Perceived Insider Status and Need for Self-Esteem

Based on self-concept theory, the present study proposed and empirically tested the impact of leader narcissism on employee organizational citizenship behavior directed toward the leader (OCB-L), highlighting the mediating role of perceived insider status and the moderating role of need for self-esteem in this relationship. Based on an analysis of 161 two-stage matched leader-employee dyads, the hypotheses were tested and the results showed that the leader narcissism had a negative direct effect on employee OCB-L, as well as a negative indirect effect on employee OCB-L via perceived insider status. Furthermore, the need for self-esteem was found to moderate the negative effect of leader narcissism on perceived insider status as well as the mediating effect of perceived insider status between leader narcissism and employee OCB-L. The theoretical and practical implications of our research were discussed. Limitations and directions for future research were also offered.

Navigating change in the era of COVID-19: The role of top leaders' charismatic rhetoric and employees' organizational identification

The Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had tremendous and swift effects on organizational change. This study examined how organizations can leverage leadership and employee resources to facilitate positive change outcomes. Drawing from the self-concept based motivational theory of charismatic leadership and substitutes for leadership theory, the current study proposed a theoretical model connecting top leaders' charismatic rhetoric, employees' affective commitment to change, and employees' turnover intention. Furthermore, the study investigated contingencies that may modify the relationship between leadership communication and followers' outcomes. Results from an online panel of 417 U.S. employees showed that top leaders' use of charismatic rhetoric during change led to followers' affective commitment to change, which decreased their turnover intention. Furthermore, employees' organizational identification moderated this relationship. When employees have low identification with their organizations, top leaders' charismatic rhetoric to address the immediate change is more needed.

How Ethical Leadership Promotes Knowledge Sharing: A Social Identity Approach

The aim of this study is to investigate the associations among ethical leadership, group identification, relational identification, organizational identification, and knowledge sharing. This study conducted a survey in Taiwan to collect the data. The administrative group members of schools were invited to participate in this study. The sample included 510 participants, and the hypotheses were tested by using the path analysis and bootstrapping methods in the Mplus program to examine how ethical leadership influences knowledge sharing, through various means of identification. The results of this study show that ethical leadership has both a direct and indirect effect on knowledge sharing. There are two mediating paths in the ethical leadership-knowledge sharing relationship. Firstly, group identification mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and knowledge sharing. Secondly, ethical leadership has an influence on knowledge sharing by means of increased relational and organizational identification. This is a pioneering article that explores the psychological mechanism between ethical leadership and knowledge sharing, using the social identity approach. This study has shown that the social identity theory (SIT) is a useful and promising perspective for future research studies on ethical leadership-knowledge sharing.

Composing leadership education by institutional type

This issue highlights leadership development approaches within institutional contexts that have not been well represented in leadership education research. As the first publication in the field to address racial equity through the lens of institutional type in this way, authors were given the challenging task of laying a conceptual, historical, and empirical foundation for readers in the absence of a robust body of literature. What follows is a synthesis of themes observed across each of the articles, concluding with implications for inclusive leadership research and practice.

Being a Leader and Doing Leadership: The Cross-domain Impact of Family and Friends on Leader Identity and Leader Behaviors at Work

This research presents a cross-domain exploration of leader identity. Drawing from theory about multidomain leader development and leader identity social processes, we examine how endorsement as a leader by those internal and external to work can impact an individual's own self-internalized sense of identity as a leader at work. Specifically, we examine how the collective endorsement of one's leader identity by family and friends in addition to work colleagues (managers, peers, and direct reports) influences the individual’s own self-internalized sense of identity as a leader at work. We also examine the relationship of the individual’s self-internalized sense of identity as a leader at work to enacted transformational leadership and contingent reward behaviors as rated by colleagues in the work domain. Data from a multisource and multidomain 360° evaluation of 256 leaders by 3,255 raters in the United States and Ireland provide support for the hypothesized relationships. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Brain-Adjusted Relational Leadership: A Social-Constructed Consciousness Approach to Leader-Follower Interaction

Relationship-based approaches to leadership represent one of the fastest-growing leadership fields and help us to understand better organizational leadership. Relation-based approaches emphasize the relationship and interaction between the leader and the follower. The emphasis is placed on the way that they interact and influence each other at attaining mutual goals. It is known that leaders are linked to followers and vice versa in a sense of responding to other's needs toward the achievement of mutual goals. Leaders and followers are an essential part of this social process implying that they are losing their traditional identity rooted in the formal organizational structure (manager-subordinate) and become inseparable actors of a co-constructing process of leadership. What is less known though is the way that leadership actors are linked to each other and in particular how they try to understand how to do that in the workplace. What is even less understood is the importance and role of consciousness in this relationship. Especially since consciousness appears to be both a fundamental and a very elusive element in human relations. Therefore, this paper conceptually explores the concept of consciousness within the context of the social brain theory to argue that leadership actors need to rethink their approach to individuality and focus on mutually dependent relations with each other. This paper contributes to the field of Neuro-management by introducing the concept of Homo Relationalis. In this respect, we suggest that leadership is not just a socially constructed element but also a social brain constructed phenomenon that requires an understanding of the human brain as a social organ. We further recommend a new approach of applying cognitive style analysis to capture the duality of leader/follower in the same person, following the self-illusion theory. Finally, we conclude that we need to further emphasize a social brain-adjusted relational leadership approach and we introduce two new cognitive styles that can help capture the essence of it.

Paradoxical leadership and organizational citizenship behaviour: the serial mediating effect of a paradoxical mindset and personal service orientation

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between paradoxical leadership and organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB), including the serial mediating role of a paradoxical mindset and personal service orientation, by applying social cognitive theory and planned behaviour theory.

Design/methodology/approach

The hypotheses proposed in this study were empirically tested using data from 411 supervisor–subordinate paired samples from six Chinese enterprises at two time points. The bootstrap method was applied using PROCESS macro v 3.3 for SPSS 24.0 software.

Findings

The results demonstrate the following relationships: paradoxical leadership positively affects OCB; paradoxical mindset significantly mediates the relationship between paradoxical leadership and OCB; personal service orientation significantly mediates the relationship between paradoxical leadership and OCB; and paradoxical mindset and personal service orientation play serial mediating roles in the relationship between paradoxical leadership and employees' OCB.

Practical implications

The results of this study show that managers' paradoxical leadership behaviours can effectively stimulate employees' OCB, which in turn influence employees' attitudes and behavioural intentions towards conflict.

Origin/value

This study enriches the antecedents of OCB and the consequences of paradoxical leadership. From an attitude and behaviour perspective, this study explores the internal transmission path of the impact of paradoxical leadership on employee behaviour and expands existing research on intermediary mechanisms.

A Cross-Level Theoretical and Empirical Model of Positive Emotions, Leader Identification, and Leader–Member Exchange

Abstract. Although leader–member exchange (LMX) has been widely studied, knowledge about how followers influence the LMX process remains unknown. By integrating the broaden-and-build theory (BBT) with the emotion as social information (EASI) theory, we develop a follower-centric multilevel model to investigate how followers' positive emotions have an impact on LMX via the mediating role of leader identification and the moderating role of leaders' positive emotions. We conducted a survey with 319 Chinese employees from 67 teams. The results indicated that leader identification served as a mediating factor in the relationship between followers' positive emotions and LMX. The work unit leaders' positive emotions strengthened the relationship between leader identification and LMX and moderated the mediated relationship among followers' positive emotions, leader identification, and LMX. Altogether, our findings inform new knowledge in terms of how followers may influence the development of LMX. We also help to extend the BBT and the EASI theory to the leadership context.

Humble Leader Behavior and Its Effects on Performance at the Team and Individual Level: A Multi-Perspective Study

Drawing upon social information processing theory, this study builds a multilevel model to explore the effects of humble leader behavior on performance in teams. Time-lagged and multi-source data were gathered from 298 employees across 70 work teams. Results indicated that at the individual level, humble leader behavior was positively related to individual performance via organization-based self-esteem, while at the team level, humble leader behavior was positively related to team performance via team potency. Moreover, team cognitive diversity moderated the indirect effects of humble leader behavior on individual and team performances, such that the positive indirect effects were stronger for teams with high cognitive diversity than for those with low cognitive diversity. Implications and limitations are also discussed.

Ethical leadership and performance: The effect of follower individualism-collectivism

This study seeks to understand how cultural value orientation – specifically individualism/collectivism – influence the relationship between ethical leadership and employee behaviour. Social cognitive theory was used to explain how cultural value orientations change the social learning process associated with ethical leadership. Using matched multi-source sample data from managers and subordinates of a South African multinational operating in several African countries, supplemented with objective performance data, ethical leadership was found to be positively related to both in- and out-of-role performance. However, horizontal collectivism positively moderated the relationship between ethical leadership and organizational citizenship behaviour, while horizontal individualism and vertical collectivism negatively moderated it. Leadership research and theory will benefit from a greater emphasis on follower characteristics, as differences in the cultural value orientations of employees affect the effectiveness of ethical leadership. Awareness of this difference also stands to benefit organizations.

Servant Leadership, Team Reflexivity, Coworker Support Climate, and Employee Creativity: A Multilevel Perspective

Based on input–process–outcome model and contingency theory, we develop a research model that depicts the influence of coworker support climate on the cross-level process linkages among servant leadership, team reflexivity, and employee creativity. Using data collected from 442 participants in 92 teams, we conducted a multilevel analysis, which demonstrated that servant leadership promotes team reflexivity which, in turn, enhances employee creativity. In addition, our study suggests that the coworker support climate moderated the relationship between servant leadership and team reflexivity. Finally, servant leadership and coworker support climate jointly affect employee creativity via team reflexivity (multilevel-mediated moderation effect).

Servant leadership, organizational identification and turnover intention: an empirical study in hospitals

Purpose

This paper aims to study the relationship between servant leadership (SL), employee turnover intention (TI) and organizational identification (OI) in hospitals.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a quantitative approach to investigate the relationships between SL, OI and TI, using data collected from a sample of 266 front-facing employees in a private Indian hospital setup. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze the data and test the hypotheses.

Findings

The findings reveal that servant leadership has a positive relationship with organizational identification and negatively impacts turnover intentions of the front-facing employee. Further, the study also reveals, contrary to expectations, organizational identification has no significant mediating effect between servant leadership and turnover intentions.

Research limitations/implications

This research is limited to front-facing employees in hospitals and the study may be extended to other industries in the service sector. Future studies may consider other mediating and moderating variables to fully understand the mechanism of impact of servant leadership on turnover intention. Multi-level studies can also be carried out.

Practical implications

With the ever-increasing expectations for better patient care, robust leadership models have required that address front-facing employee’s well-being, enabling their attention toward patients. This paper provides the impetus for the development and adoption of servant leadership specifically within hospitals and the service sector.

Originality/value

This study is one of the few studies that empirically examines servant leadership in the health-care domain. The study also contributes to the extant literature on servant leadership by empirically examining the mediation effect of organizational identification between SL and TI. To the authors’ best of knowledge, this study may be the first of its kind, providing evidence of servant leadership’s impact on turnover intention and organizational identification in hospitals using data from the Indian context.

The construction of leadership practice: Making sense of leader competencies

The notion of leadership competencies is a much-debated issue. In this article, we propose that how the leader makes sense of his or her competencies is key to leadership practice. Specifically, we look at how leaders reconcile discrepancies between the self-perceived proficiency of various competencies and their corresponding importance. Empirically, we study leaders within the music domain – how choral conductors make sense of their competencies in the shaping of their professional practice. We investigated how choral leaders in Scandinavia ( N = 638) made sense of their competencies in the face of demands in their working situations. A mixed methodology was used, comprising a quantitative survey with qualitative comments and in-depth interviews with a selection of the respondents. The results show that when choral leaders shape their practice, they frequently face competency gaps that compel them to act or adjust their identity. The key to this sensemaking process is how they move competency elements they master to the foreground and wanting elements to the background. The concept of ‘sensemaking affordance’ is introduced to account for how various leader competency categories are negotiated to safeguard overall efficacy.

How Leaders’ Positive Feedback Influences Employees’ Innovative Behavior: The Mediating Role of Voice Behavior and Job Autonomy

This study investigated the effects of a leader’s feedback behavior on the followers’ innovative behaviors, and the mediating effects of voice behavior and job autonomy in the above relationship. To test the analytical model with the hypotheses, survey data were collected from 527 Korean employees working in 35 companies from manufacturing, distribution, and service industries. A structural equation model analysis was performed to test the hypotheses. The results of our empirical analysis are as follows. First, it was found that positive feedback from the leader positively influenced the followers’ voice behaviors, job autonomies, and innovative behaviors. Second, voice behavior and job autonomy were confirmed to have a positive mediating effect between the leader’s feedback and the innovative behavior of the followers. These findings imply that a leader’s feedback behavior contributes toward enhancing the followers’ innovative behaviors in the process of organizational innovation. We suggest that organizations and managers pay attention to the benefits of feedback activities and facilitate key mechanisms that connect them to employee innovation behavior, effectively.

Leadership behaviours that foster organisational identification during change

Purpose

To better understand how leadership behaviours are operationalised to foster organisational identification during change, to maximise the success of change initiatives.

Design/methodology/approach

Utilising the Delphi Technique, 15 Australian senior leaders and leadership subject matter experts were canvassed regarding their opinions on the role of leadership in nurturing organisational identification during change. Their perspectives on a preliminary leadership competency framework developed in an earlier research phase were also obtained.

Findings

Organisational identification was considered an important organisational construct that can yield a range of positive outcomes – including when guiding organisations (and their members) through change. However, organisational identification currently appears to be more of an academic term than a concept employed in leadership practice. Four key themes emerged regarding the leadership behaviours deemed most effective when encouraging organisational identification during change: (1) effective communication, (2) focus on relationships, (3) stewardship of the organisation and the change it is undertaking, and (4) management of self. The refined leadership competency framework consisted of 12 competencies within four competency domains: (1) Leadership and governance in organisational change, (2) Relationship management and communication skills, (3) Management of people, organisational systems and processes and (4) Personal characteristics and capabilities.

Originality/value

The study outlines a range of specific and observable leadership competencies and behaviours that can be employed to foster organisational identification during change. The findings should be of interest to organisations examining identity processes in response to business disruptions, including ensuring their members retain a sense of connection to the organisation during times of uncertainty and altered work practices.

The Diminishing Effect of Transformational Leadership on the Relationship Between Task Characteristics, Perceived Meaningfulness, and Work Engagement

The topic of employee work engagement in the public sector has attracted broad attention because it is critical to the efficiency and effectiveness of public services. Based on the Job Characteristics Model (JCM) and the Integrative Theory of Employee Engagement (ITEE), the present research adopts a multilevel design to examine a moderated mediation model in which task characteristics (i.e., task autonomy and task significance as level-1 predictors) and social context (i.e., transformational leadership as a level-2 moderator) jointly impact employee work engagement via individual perception of meaningfulness in work. A total of 349 grassroots police officers from 35 police substations were invited to anonymously complete a survey via mobile app. After performing the cross-sectional analysis, the results indicated that in contrast to task significance, the conditional effect of task autonomy on work engagement via perceived meaningfulness was more positive at a lower level of transformational leadership. Implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed.