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Effect of a leadership intervention on subordinate well-being

Anna-Liisa Elo (Centre of Expertise for Work Organizations, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland)
Jenni Ervasti (Centre of Expertise for Work Organizations, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland)
Eeva Kuosma (Creating Solutions, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland)
Pauliina Mattila-Holappa (Centre of Expertise for Work Organizations, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland)

Journal of Management Development

ISSN: 0262-1711

Article publication date: 8 April 2014

2278

Abstract

Purpose

Leadership behaviours are shown to contribute to subordinate well-being. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of a 7.5-day personal growth-orientated leadership intervention among line supervisors on subordinate well-being at work in a public sector construction organization.

Design/methodology/approach

A quasi-experimental design was applied to investigate the effects on the subordinates’ perceptions of the psychosocial work environment, leadership, and well-being. The intervention group comprised the subordinates (n=49) of the leadership intervention units and the control group comprised the subordinates (n=96) of the non-participating units. Data were collected with pre- and post-measurement surveys and analysed with repeated measures ANCOVA.

Findings

The intervention improved the flow of information after adjusting for the subordinates’ level of participation in the organizational stress management programme and background variables. The subordinates’ perception of leadership or of their own well-being did not improve compared to the control group.

Research limitations/implications

More detailed and proximal outcome indicators are needed. Several measurements and a process evaluation of the implementation are recommended.

Practical implications

Line supervisors need to be informed about the goals and methods of a personal growth intervention in order to encourage them to meet their strengths and limitations. The improvement of blue-collar subordinate well-being through leadership development might benefit from more practical training approaches.

Originality/value

The personal growth approach to line supervisors’ development is rare. The effect of the development on subordinate well-being has not been investigated.

Keywords

Citation

Elo, A.-L., Ervasti, J., Kuosma, E. and Mattila-Holappa, P. (2014), "Effect of a leadership intervention on subordinate well-being", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 33 No. 3, pp. 182-195. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-11-2012-0146

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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