Showing papers in "Leadership Quarterly in 2002"

The effects of leader and follower emotional intelligence on performance and attitude: An exploratory study

Abstract: Recently, increasing numbers of scholars have argued that emotional intelligence (EI) is a core variable that affects the performance of leaders. In this study, we develop a psychometrically sound and practically short EI measure that can be used in leadership and management studies. We also provide exploratory evidence for the effects of the EI of both leaders and followers on job outcomes. Applying Gross' emotion regulation model, we argue that the EI of leaders and followers should have positive effects on job performance and attitudes. We also propose that the emotional labor of the job moderates the EI–job outcome relationship. Our results show that the EI of followers affects job performance and job satisfaction, while the EI of leaders affects their satisfaction and extra-role behavior. For followers, the proposed interaction effects between EI and emotional labor on job performance, organizational commitment, and turnover intention are also supported.

Distributed leadership as a unit of analysis

Abstract: This article proposes a new unit of analysis in the study of leadership. As an alternative to the current focus, which is primarily on the deeds of individual leaders, the article proposes distributed leadership. The article shows how conventional constructs of leadership have difficulty accommodating changes in the division of labor in the workplace, especially, new patterns of interdependence and coordination which have given rise to distributed practice. A number of forms of distributed leadership are then outlined, in particular, three varieties of concertive action in which a key defining criterion is conjoint agency. These forms provide the basis for a taxonomy of distributed leadership and a review of examples in the literature. The article concludes with a consideration of some implications of the adoption of a revised unit of analysis, particularly for recent work on levels of analysis and for future research into leadership as a process.

Leading creative people: Orchestrating expertise and relationships

Abstract: Global competition, new production techniques, and rapid technological change have placed a premium on creativity and innovation. Although many variables influence creativity and innovation in organizational settings, there is reason to suspect that leaders and their behavior represent a particularly powerful influence. In the present article, we review the available literature examining leadership behaviors contributing to creativity and innovation in organizational settings. Based on the findings obtained in these studies, we argue that the leadership of creative people requires expertise. Moreover, the successful leader must employ a number of direct and indirect influence tactics—tactics consistent with the needs of creative people working in an organizational environment. The implications of these observations for theory and practice are discussed.

Toward a contextual theory of leadership

Abstract: We propose moving leadership theory and research to another level—one that recognizes that current leadership scholarship is not invalid but incomplete. Such scholarship needs to be looked at in different ways and with various approaches relevant for different circumstances. Macro views need increasing recognition, but to supplement rather than replace currently emphasized meso/micro perspectives. Also, human agency is not to be replaced with mechanistic prescription, but leadership scholars are in a position to contribute to the strategy and organization theory research that currently minimizes leader influence. This philosophy is illustrated through the interplay of leadership with the four contexts of: stability, crisis, dynamic equilibrium, and edge of chaos; the latter operationalized through a complexity theory/dynamic systems perspective. We discuss each context and leadership, in terms of patterning of attention and network leadership, and conclude with a brief measurement treatment. These contexts encourage researchers to reconsider temporality, causal relations, units of analysis, and dependent variables consistent with the social construction of human agency within the given context, to develop more robust models and leadership understanding.

Impact of leadership style and emotions on subordinate performance

Abstract: This article examines whether the emotions of frustration and optimism mediate, fully or partially, the relationship between leadership style and subordinate performance in the context of structural equation modeling. The findings show that transformational leadership has a significant direct influence on frustration and optimism, with the negative influence of frustration having a stronger effect on performance than the positive influence of optimism. Frustration and optimism are found to have a direct influence on performance, and the emotions, frustration and optimism, fully mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and performance. Thus, the effect of transformational leadership style on performance is significant, but indirect. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

Leader distance: a review and a proposed theory

Abstract: The concept of leader distance has been subsumed in a number of leadership theories; however, with few exceptions, leadership scholars have not expressly defined nor discussed leader distance, how distance is implicated in the legitimization of a leader, and how distance affects leader outcomes. We review available literature and demonstrate that integral to untangling the dynamics of the leadership influencing process is an understanding of leader–follower distance. We present distance in terms of three independent dimensions: leader–follower physical distance, perceived social distance, and perceived task interaction frequency. We discuss possible antecedents of leader–follower distance, including organizational and task characteristics, national culture, and leader/follower implicit motives. Finally, we use configural theory to present eight typologies (i.e., coexistence of a cluster or constellation of independent factors serving as a unit of analysis) of leader distance and propose an integrated cross-level model of leader distance, linking the distance typologies to leader outcomes at the individual and group levels of analysis.

Emotion and attribution of intentionality in leader-member relationships.

Abstract: In this article, we present a model of emotions and attributions of intentionality within the leader–member relationship. The model is predicated on two central ideas. The first is that leadership is intrinsically an emotional process, where leaders display emotion and attempt to evoke emotion in their members. The second is that leadership is a process of social interaction and is therefore appropriately defined in terms of social, psychological theories such as the attribution theory. Our focus is on the perspective of members, not the leaders. Specifically, members' attributions about their leader's intentions influence how the members evaluate, interpret, and eventually label the leader's influence attempts as either “true” or “pseudo” transformational leadership. These attributions are determined by and themselves influence the members' emotions. We describe each of the elements of the model and conclude with a discussion of the implications of the model for theory, research, and practice.

The many faces of emotional leadership

Abstract: This article focuses heavily on overviewing and analyzing the seven articles in this special issue on emotions and leadership. The articles are discussed in terms of four key leadership issues. The first issue concerns the traits necessary for leadership. Empathy is shown to be an important variable that is central to both emotional intelligence and leadership emergence. The second issue concerns the relationship of emotions to the leadership process. It is argued that a key leadership function is to manage the emotions of group members, especially with regard to feelings related to frustration and optimism. The third issue involves our perceptions about leaders. Leaders' emotional displays are demonstrated to have a larger impact on perceptions of leaders than the content of the leaders' messages, at least in some circumstances. The fourth area involves the relationship between leadership and performance. Leaders' influences upon emotional process variables are found to have a large impact on performance. The article develops several propositions that summarize the content of this special issue and, in addition, develops new propositions that suggest future areas of research. The article concludes by touching on the review process and acknowledges the reviewers for this special issue.

How leaders influence the impact of affective events on team climate and performance in R&D teams

Abstract: Recently, a variety of leading scholars have issued urgent calls for research into the emotional dimensions of work, arguing that progress in the understanding of organizational behavior is being hampered by a failure to consider the bounded emotionality aspects of human behavior in addition to the bounded rationality aspects. We report on findings from a longitudinal study of research and development (R&D) teams that sheds light on the emotional dimensions of teamwork and knowledge work, with particular attention to the role of team leadership. The paper contributes to the evaluation of the role of emotions and the value of Affective Events Theory (AET) in studies of leadership by (a) identifying the obstacles to innovation and performance in R&D teams, (b) testing the relations between negative events, team affective climate, and team performance, and (c) by identifying the role of team leadership in response to negative events in R&D teams. Practical and scholarly implications for leadership of teams are discussed.

Emergent leaders as managers of group emotion

Abstract: This article proposes a new role for emergent group leaders, that of the manager of group emotions. This description of leadership suggests that individual group members take leadership by providing certainty and direction during times of ambiguity. They are able to assume a leadership role by making an interpretation of the emotional response that best serves the group's needs, and then modeling that response. By modeling a particular emotional response, the leader resolves ambiguity and catalyzes the group to act. Simultaneously, they are able to increase group solidarity by creating shared emotion within the group and communal action. The idea of leadership as group emotional management is not tied to one specific individual, but rather, allows leadership to be enacted by different group members at different times. Leader emergence and leader success would be subject to several conditions, such as the emergent leader's degree of empathy, group norms of emotional expression, and ambiguous feedback regarding the group's performance. Qualitative analysis of group observation reveals several examples of group emotional management that are used to develop the concept. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Emotional intelligence as the basis of leadership emergence in self-managing teams ☆

Abstract: We present and test a theory on leader emergence in self-managing teams that highlights the emotional and cognitive skills underlying selection as an informal team leader. Existing theory and research reveals that informal leaders are selected because they display constructive task and team management behavior. We contribute to existing theory in two ways. First, by proposing that specific cognitive processes and skills precede the appropriate enactment of those behaviors by facilitating an accurate analysis of the task situation. Second, by proposing that empathy, an aspect of emotional intelligence, precedes and enables those cognitive processes and skills by providing an accurate understanding of team and member emotions and needs. We test our theory in a longitudinal study of 382 team members comprising 48 self-managing teams. Our theory is partially supported and implications are discussed.

Leadership and gender advantage

Abstract: Claims of “gender advantage” in the area of leadership are critiqued, and the findings from research on sex/gender differences in social behavior and leader effectiveness are reviewed. Meta-analytic studies that have considered sex differences in leadership are examined with respect to both leader behavior and leader effectiveness. It is concluded that claims of comparative gender advantage, based on stereotypic reasoning, are overstated. Recent research on gender similarity is highlighted with recognition that a “fine-grained” analytic approach is critical. Plus, the usefulness of including temporal dimensions and perceived leader tolerance of demographic differences is suggested. Additional attention is given to research indicating that gender stereotypic descriptive tendencies arise when men and women are asked to describe behaviors for imaginary others or to describe their own actions after the passage of time. Literature that pertains to whether females and males differ in effectiveness as followers is also reviewed. Finally, an agenda is outlined for future gender research on aspects of leadership and followership.

Empathy and complex task performance: two routes to leadership

Abstract: When we perceive someone as a leader, it is often because we are impressed with his/her mental abilities and his/her ability to perform complex tasks. Yet, there is a small but growing body of conceptual work suggesting that our perception of someone as a leader is affected by his/her emotional abilities as well. This article develops a model proposing two distinct behavioral routes that influence perception of an individual as a leader in a small group. One route influences people to perceive leadership from displays of emotional abilities, such as empathy. The other route influences people to perceive leadership from displays of mental abilities, such as complex task performance. Our test of the hypothesized model using structural equation modeling showed a good fit and support for the proposed relationships.

Leadership effects on organizational climate and financial performance: Local leadership effect in chain organizations

Abstract: Leadership research to date has mainly focused on leaders' subjective effects. In this study, we examine the effect of different leadership styles on two financial measures of organizational performance and three measures of organizational climate in 50 supermarket stores of a large supermarket chain in the Netherlands. Our findings show a clear relationship of local leadership with the financial performance and organizational climate in the stores. The findings also show that the leadership styles have differential effects. Charismatic leadership and consideration have a substantial effect on climate and financial performance in the small stores, suggesting the relevance of personal leadership of the store manager in these small stores. Initiating structure leadership had no effect on financial results or organizational climate, either in the small stores or in the large stores. Based on these findings, we have formulated some avenues for further research.

Toward a political theory of leadership

Abstract: Leadership has been an active area of scientific investigation for over half a century, with scholars developing different perspectives on antecedents, processes, and outcomes. Conspicuous in its absence has been a conceptualization of leadership from a political perspective, despite appeals for such a theory and the widely acknowledged view of political processes in organizations. In this article, we develop a model of a political theory of leadership in an effort to address this need, and to demonstrate the versatility of such a conceptualization for understanding both leadership and social influence processes in organizations. Because we define politics in organizational leadership as the constructive management of shared meaning, we demonstrate how a political perspective does not necessarily cast leaders in a personally ambitious, manipulative role. We proceed to show how this political perspective can contribute to effectiveness through both enhanced leader outcomes and the constituencies' consequences to which leaders are directing their efforts. The implications for a political theory of leadership are discussed, as are directions for future research.

The role of affect and affective congruence in perceptions of leaders: An experimental study.

Abstract: Based on the idea that emotional exchanges determine symbolic meanings in interpersonal exchanges, we hypothesized that displays of positive and congruent affect determine members' ratings of leaders in a simulated performance appraisal context. To test the hypotheses, 537 participants viewed videotapes of four male and female leaders giving positive and negative feedback, and with facial expressions of affect that were either congruent or incongruent with the verbal message that they were delivering. Results supported hypotheses that positive and message-congruent leader affect results in more positive member ratings of the leader, assessed using a seven-item measure of members' perceptions of the leader's negotiating latitude. The least positive ratings of negotiating latitude were given when positive feedback was delivered with negative facial affect. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

Data analytic methods for the analysis of multilevel questions: A comparison of intraclass correlation coefficients, rwg(j), hierarchical linear modeling, within- and between-analysis, and random group resampling

Abstract: Researchers investigating organizations and leadership in particular are increasingly being called upon to theorize multilevel models and to utilize multilevel data analytic techniques. However, the literature provides relatively little guidance for researchers to identify which of the multilevel methodologies are appropriate for their particular questions. In this final article, the statistical procedures used in the multilevel data analyses in the previous articles of this special issue are compared. Specifically, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), rwg(j), hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), within- and between-analysis (WABA), and random group resampling (RGR) are examined and their results and conclusions discussed. Following comparisons of these methods, recommendations for their use are presented.

Using hierarchical linear modeling to investigate the moderating influence of leadership climate

Abstract: When confronted with multilevel data, e.g., when individuals are nested within work groups, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) [Bryk, A. S., & Raudenbush, S. W. (1992). Hierarchical linear models. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications.] can provide a powerful analytical approach. Using the common data set and the theoretical framework presented in the introductory paper as a foundation, we begin by providing a brief introduction to the HLM analytical framework and describe the basic HLM model. Next, we develop a set of hypotheses concerning relationships among task significance, leadership climate, and hostility both within and across levels of analysis. We then describe and test a series of HLM models designed to investigate these hypotheses. Finally, we conclude with a brief discussion of the interpretation and implications of the results as well as the benefits of HLM in the context of multilevel modeling.

Spiritual and religious diversity in the workplace

Abstract: This article offers a critical analysis of scholarship on spirituality and leadership. The article argues that the concept of spirituality is more disparate and contested than the current leadership literature acknowledges. It asserts that spirituality is often defined in opposition to religion and that this opposition is not an accurate description of a complex interrelationship. Scholars who uphold a view of bringing the “whole person” to work are inconsistent if they view spirituality as appropriate in the workplace but exclude diverse employees' particular, specific religious expressions from it. The concluding section offers implications from this critical exploration of leadership and spirituality and suggests that the task of effective organizational leadership is not to promote a single spiritual framework but, rather, to create a structure and culture in which leaders and followers can respectfully negotiate religious and spiritual diversity.

The origins of vision: Charismatic versus ideological leadership.

Abstract: Although numerous studies have examined the influence of vision on outstanding leadership, relatively little is known about how leaders create, or construct, a meaningful vision. Recently, however, a theory of vision formation has been proposed, which holds that visions arise from prescriptive mental models formulated by leaders following reflection on key causes and goals. One implication of this theory is that different styles of vision-based outstanding leadership will emerge depending on whether these prescriptive models stress personal values and standards (ideological leaders) or social needs and change requirements (charismatic leaders). To test this proposition, biographies of 60 notable historic leaders, both personalized and socialized leaders, were obtained and content coded with respect to ideological and charismatic behaviors as well as historic outcomes. In a series of multivariate analyses, support was obtained for the ideological and charismatic distinction. Implications for understanding vision-based outstanding leadership are discussed.

Contrasting different philosophies of leader motivation: Altruism versus egoism

Abstract: In this series of letters, Avolio and Locke compare and contrast their different views on leadership motivation, considering how selfish and self-sacrificing altruistic behavior influence leaders and follower motivation and performance. Locke bases his main arguments in both letters on the premise that leaders should act and think in a rational way, with selfish interest as the basis for action. By accomplishing their selfish interests, leaders will exhibit their highest principles and performance. Avolio argues that Locke's view on selfish interest is simply too idealistic. Since leadership is seen as being in the eye of the beholder, there is a point where all of the rational decision making in the world does not change the subjective views followers have of their leaders. Moreover, there are numerous situations where everyone's self- or selfish interests cannot be satisfied and it is in those situations that the assumptions of egoistic leadership appear to breakdown. Their debate leads to some interesting suggestions for future research comparing these two divergent views of leader motivation.

Making things click: Distributive leadership in an online division of an offline organization

Abstract: The business model that looks likely to dominate the future in the wake of the convergence between Internet and traditional economies is the “bricks and clicks” organization. We conducted an in-depth study of the top executives of a prototypical Fortune 500 company's online division. We tracked and interviewed the president and other top management team (TMT) members over the first 22 months of the launch of the e-business venture. Our findings show that two contextual features, the extraordinary speed and the unsettling complexity/ambiguity of the online business environment, profoundly affected not only leadership requirements but also other key managerial processes, including communication, decision making, and vision. Within this disorienting context, two substantive themes emerged: (1) coping with organizational identity/image tensions with the offline parent organization and (2) becoming a holographic learning organization. We draw upon and extend some of the emerging literature on shared/relational and dispersed leadership to explain how dotcom leaders can adapt to the challenging contextual and substantive features of the e-business environment through the practice of distributive leadership, which we distinguish from prior related articulations of the concept.

Beneath the mask: Examining the relationship of self-presentation attributes and impression management to charismatic leadership.

Abstract: We tested several hypotheses derived from Gardner and Avolio's [Acad. Manage. Rev. 23 (1998) 32.] self-presentational theory of charismatic leadership. We collected multisource field data in an information technology (IT) consulting firm and examined linkages among managers' self-system attributes (i.e., desired charismatic identity, self-monitoring), pro-social and self-serving impression management of managers, charismatic leadership of managers, and two measures of performance. Eighty-three managers provided self-reports of self-system attributes. Six months later, 249 subordinates rated the focal managers' impression management and charismatic leadership styles. Superiors of the focal managers provided performance ratings 7 months after collecting the subordinate ratings. Results indicated that complexity of desired charismatic identity was positively related to self-monitoring. Self-monitoring was negatively related to ratings of pro-social impression management and positively related to ratings of self-serving impression management. Pro-social impression management related positively to charismatic leadership, which predicted managerial and unit performance.

Benchmarking multilevel methods in leadership

Abstract: Multilevel data-analytic techniques are rarely simultaneously employed and directly contrasted with each other. In this special issue of The Leadership Quarterly, hierarchical linear models (HLM), within-and-between analysis (WABA), and random group resampling (RGR) are compared and contrasted by testing the hypothesis that leadership moderates the relationship between stressors and well-being—a hypothesis that has important practical implications for the U.S. Army. This first article plays the groundwork for subsequent comparisons by testing for moderating effects using data collected from 2042 U.S. Army soldiers deployed to Haiti in November and December of 1994. Raw-score or individual-level analyses failed to find evidence of moderating effects. However, a preliminary set of group-level analyses indicated that the data had significant group-level properties that had not been modeled in the individual-level analyses. The group-level properties of the data set the stage for the three multilevel data-analytic approaches (HLM, WABA, and RGR) that are employed in three articles that follow and that are then compared and contrasted in the final article of this special issue.

Preferences for idealized styles of supervision

Abstract: Situational leadership theory and gender-based role theory were used to derive predictions for how employee maturity and gender, respectively, would be associated with preferences for idealized styles of supervision. A survey of 1137 employees across three organizations provided results that partially confirmed the predictions. Specifically, employees with higher levels of education and greater levels of job tenure expressed less preference for leader structuring, while females (relative to males) expressed greater preference for leader considerateness. These results suggest that an understanding of employee expectations for leader behaviors may be of value in optimizing the level and nature of leader involvement with subordinates.

Longitudinal data analysis

Abstract: Understanding how leaders develop, adapt, and perform over time is central to many theories of leadership. However, for a variety of conceptual and methodological reasons, such longitudinal research remains uncommon in the leadership domain. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the leadership scholar to conceptual issues involved in longitudinal design and analysis, and then demonstrate the application of random coefficient modeling (RCM) as a framework capable of modeling longitudinal leadership data. The RCM framework is an extension of the traditional regression model, so many readers will already have the fundamental knowledge required to use RCM. However, RCM has the additional capability of analyzing the kinds of data commonly found in longitudinal studies, including correlated observations, missing data, and heterogeneity over time. Further, the RCM allows for testing predictors of change over time. Thus, we introduce conceptual issues related to longitudinal research, discuss RCM within the context of regression, and conclude with an application of the RCM approach. We use a common substantive example throughout the paper to facilitate our discussion of the RCM.

The person versus the situation in leadership.

Abstract: In this exchange, Robert J. Sternberg and Victor Vroom exchange their views regarding leadership. An issue of particular salience in this exchange is the role of the person versus the situation in leadership. Sternberg brings to the table a more person-oriented view, Vroom, a more situation-oriented view. The exchange leads to a consensus that emphasizes the importance of person–situation interaction.

Need for leadership as a moderator of the relationships between leadership and individual outcomes

Abstract: Earlier research on situational leadership theories has produced little and partly contradictory evidence about the role of situational moderator variables in explaining the relationship between leadership and outcomes. In this article, we propose to concentrate on need for leadership as a singular moderator of the relationships between leadership and employee outcomes. Using a sample of 958 Dutch employees from various organizations, the moderator hypothesis was tested. Need for leadership was paired with three leadership factors and five outcome variables, generating 15 possible moderating effects. Five of these were significant. Although the findings compare favorably with other studies using leadership moderators, the effects are weak, and there is not much evidence that leadership–outcome relations are reversed by need for leadership.

Measuring motive imagery contained in the vision statement

Abstract: Vision is a central concept in charismatic/transformational leadership theory and has been shown to impact performance. However, empirical studies have coded vision statements in noncomparable ways. To measure the content of vision statements, the present study demonstrates the application of the motive coding methodology developed by McClelland and Winter. Using two independent samples of vision statements, we further demonstrate the applicability of this methodology by testing for expected relationships between vision statements and individual, unit, and organizational performance. Half of the expected relationships yielded significant results. Nevertheless, motive imagery measures yielded reliable scores, were feasible to apply, and provided relevant measures of vision statement content. This methodology has the potential to allow researchers to test charismatic/transformational leadership theory in new ways and to provide leaders with concrete guidance about the content of their vision statements. Considerations for future researchers and caveats are presented.

Conceptualizing leadership with respect to its historical–contextual antecedents to power

Abstract: An attempt is made here to build on the ideas and arguments presented in a recent Leadership Quarterly journal article written by Hunt and Dodge [Leadership Q. Yearly Overview Leadership 11 (2000) 435]. In their article, these authors argue that contemporary leadership researchers tend to neglect the historical–contextual antecedents of the field and as a result are developing many theories that reflect little more than a form of “academic amnesia” and “leadership deja vu”. The importance of Hunt and Dodge's argument is reinforced through the use here of a form of deconstruction to reveal a lacuna in the leadership literature—the insufficient coverage of power, particularly at what is termed a deep structure level. With the current context of organizational change in mind, this lacuna is shown to have problematic consequences for leadership theory in general. More specifically, the increasing use of dispersed leadership strategies is shown to be particularly problematic. The article proposes a new conceptual framework that begins to address these problems and in so doing provides ideas and challenges for future research in the field.