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Article
Publication date: 22 February 2024

Ethlyn A. Williams, Kate M. McCombs, Rajnandini Pillai and Kevin B. Lowe

This research aims to examine the influence of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) dark triad traits, follower COVID-19 anxiety and self-leadership on follower evaluations of the…

Abstract

Purpose

This research aims to examine the influence of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) dark triad traits, follower COVID-19 anxiety and self-leadership on follower evaluations of the effectiveness of organizations’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper data were collected over two time periods. At time 1, mid-October 2021, 650 participants responded to questions on their CEO’s leadership traits and self-leadership. At time 2, (3-week lag) 275 matched individual responses provided followers’ evaluations of the effectiveness of the organization’s COVID-19 response and follower self-leadership.

Findings

CEO dark triad traits had direct and indirect negative effects on followers’ evaluations of the organization’s COVID-19 response (through COVID-19 anxiety). Follower self-leadership mitigated the negative effects.

Research limitations/implications

By examining the moderating role of self-leadership, we can offer organizations evidence-based strategies to mitigate some harmful effects of leaders exhibiting dark triad traits.

Practical implications

Given that organizations are still dealing with the ongoing ramifications of COVID-19 and planning for future crises, our findings emphasize the negative effects of dark traits on COVID-19 anxiety, and in turn, on follower’s evaluation of effective organization response to a crisis, highlighting the importance of top-level leader selection.

Social implications

Our results bolster Manz’s (1986) argument that self-leadership might be key to achieving peak performance in organizations and important for follower well-being.

Originality/value

This study of dark traits is especially important in a crisis context to understand how leaders affect followers’ perceptions about organizational outcomes and factors that might mediate or moderate the negative impact. Despite interest in understanding leadership during a crisis, the majority of research is focused on positive traits of leaders (Palmer et al., 2020).

Details

Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 39 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-3946

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 September 2016

Ethlyn A. Williams, Terri A. Scandura, Seema Pissaris and Juanita M. Woods

The authors examine the relationship between leader-member exchange (LMX) and the selection of upward influence tactics. The purpose of this paper is to integrate research on…

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Abstract

Purpose

The authors examine the relationship between leader-member exchange (LMX) and the selection of upward influence tactics. The purpose of this paper is to integrate research on perceptions of justice, LMX, and influence tactics in order to empirically test an integrative model.

Design/methodology/approach

Questionnaires were administered to n=407 employed Masters of Business Administration students at a private Southeastern University in the USA. Structural equation modeling was used to test the statistical significance of paths specified in the models.

Findings

Results indicate that perceptions of organizational justice have indirect effects on upward influence tactics reported. LMX had mediating effects on the relationship between interactional justice and the use of rational and coalition tactics.

Research limitations/implications

The data are cross-sectional and were collected using self-reports, which limits the conclusions that can be drawn. The findings however, suggest that perceptions of interactional justice are associated with LMX, whose effects in turn are associated with the use of influence tactics.

Practical implications

Coalition strategies were used more when subordinates experienced poor LMX. The research suggests that perhaps for individuals experiencing poor relationships with the supervisor, coalition strategies might present an alternative to “rational” influence tactics (which are used more in high-quality relationships).

Originality/value

The current study extends LMX research by examining differing subordinate influence strategies in high- and low-quality relationships. It also extends organizational justice research by examining the effects of the interpersonal implementation of fair procedures on the dynamics between leadership and upward influence.

Details

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 37 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7739

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 June 2010

Ethlyn A. Williams and Stephanie L. Castro

In light of contradictory research findings, the purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating effects of team setting (face‐to‐face or online) on the relationship that team…

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Abstract

Purpose

In light of contradictory research findings, the purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating effects of team setting (face‐to‐face or online) on the relationship that team member affect and interaction processes have on individual team source learning, and at the team level on the relationship between group cohesiveness and perceived team performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Students enrolled in graduate level organizational behavior classes at a large university in the southeastern United States responded to the survey. The final sample included 79 students in 21 on‐campus teams and 97 students in 26 online teams. All classes surveyed required a detailed team project. Tests of the moderator hypotheses were conducted using hierarchical linear multiple regression.

Findings

Team setting moderated the relationship that member teamwork orientation and member social interaction had on individual team‐source learning; the relationships were stronger in online teams.

Practical implications

The results have implications for teams in a variety of settings since the team composition and nature of the work conducted by student teams are similar to that in Western organizational contexts. To avoid possible conflicts that impede learning and performance in online teams, administrators should ensure that team members are chosen carefully and give members a strong reason for being on the team.

Originality/value

This paper extends the model examined by Williams et al. to include member social interaction and consider the context in which teamwork occurs and its effects on personal learning and team performance.

Details

Team Performance Management: An International Journal, vol. 16 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-7592

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2004

Rajnandini Pillai and Ethlyn A. Williams

We tested a model proposing that transformational leaders build committed and high performing work groups by enhancing employee self‐efficacy and cohesiveness. Questionnaires were…

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Abstract

We tested a model proposing that transformational leaders build committed and high performing work groups by enhancing employee self‐efficacy and cohesiveness. Questionnaires were completed by 303 fire department personnel following preliminary in‐depth interviews with fire rescue personnel. After accounting for missing data, 271 responses were included in our data analysis. Results indicated support for the theoretical model in comparison to three alternative models that were considered. Implications of the findings for research and practice are discussed.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 January 2006

Professor Yehuda Baruch

382

Abstract

Details

Career Development International, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1362-0436

Article
Publication date: 21 September 2021

Kate McCombs and Ethlyn Williams

Although important for organizational performance, much is still unknown about the relationship between employee well-being and transformational leadership. The authors answer…

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Abstract

Purpose

Although important for organizational performance, much is still unknown about the relationship between employee well-being and transformational leadership. The authors answer calls to consider the relationship (1) in an extreme context (i.e. coronavirus pandemic), (2) at the dimension level and (3) differences that exist depending on the employee's gender.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employed a two-wave study with data collected from 212 working individuals. Respondents reported their level of COVID-19 anxiety and leadership experiences at time 1 starting at the height of the pandemic and three weeks later reported well-being.

Findings

The authors found COVID-19 anxiety weakened the influence of transformational leadership style on well-being, and this was only the case for females. Further, the authors found that while the moderator of COVID-19 anxiety weakened the influence of core transformational leadership behaviors and intellectual stimulation on well-being, the more individualized and short-term focused transformational behaviors of individualized consideration and performance expectations proved to have resilient effects on well-being with no moderating effects. Looking at gender differences, the authors found that this was only the case for females.

Originality/value

The findings extend research by capturing an external shock concerning the coronavirus pandemic to better understand how transformational leadership style, its dimensions and employee gender, influence well-being. While the authors expected COVID-19 anxiety to weaken the positive effects of transformational leadership style on well-being, paradoxically the authors also expected differential effects when examining individual dimensions.

Details

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 42 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7739

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 June 2019

Ethlyn Williams, Juanita M. Woods, Attila Hertelendy and Kathryn Kloepfer

The purpose of this paper is to examine the development of leader potential in an extreme context – it develops and tests a model that describes how subordinate perceptions of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the development of leader potential in an extreme context – it develops and tests a model that describes how subordinate perceptions of individual-focused transformational leadership, subordinate trust in the leader and subordinate identification with the team influence supervisory evaluations of subordinate crisis leader potential.

Design/methodology/approach

Surveys were administered to emergency services personnel and their supervisors working in a large fire rescue organization in the Southeastern USA. Survey responses were analyzed using hierarchical regression.

Findings

Results support the theoretical model – subordinates reporting high levels of trust in their transformational leader were evaluated by their supervisors as having stronger potential to become crisis leaders. Lower levels of subordinate identification with the team strengthened the transformational leadership to trust association and the indirect effect of perceived transformational leadership on supervisory evaluations of subordinate crisis leader potential (through subordinate trust in the leader).

Practical implications

Supervisors who are viewed as transformational and fostering trusting relationships by subordinates are more likely to evaluate subordinates as having the potential to lead in crisis situations. In an extreme context within an organization facing change, subordinates who identify less with their team might build a more trusting relationship with a leader who is perceived as demonstrating transformational behaviors.

Social implications

Subordinate focus on the leader appears to enhance supervisory evaluations of subordinate potential (for leader development) in the study. Individual-level rewards for employees that involve competition might counter efforts toward shared mental models and remain the greatest challenge in the public emergency services setting.

Originality/value

Evaluating leader development, in terms of crisis leader potential, in an extreme context using a process model – to understand the interplay of individual-focused transformational leadership and trust given the moderating effect of team identification – is a key strength of the current study.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 32 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1956

In spite of its sub‐title, Heading and Canons is not so much a self‐contained treatise as a new instalment in the author's continuous exposition of his thought about cataloguing…

Abstract

In spite of its sub‐title, Heading and Canons is not so much a self‐contained treatise as a new instalment in the author's continuous exposition of his thought about cataloguing. Its main purpose is to examine, in the light of certain general principles, the rules for headings of author and title entries given in Cutter's Rules for a dictionary catalogue, the Prussian Instructions, the Vatican Rules, the ALA cataloging rules, and Ranganathan's own Classified catalogue code. But it incorporates also a fresh statement of the ‘canons of cataloguing’, first enumerated in his Theory of library catalogue (1938); a general discussion of cataloguing terminology; a summary of a pioneer study (undertaken for UNESCO) of Indian and other Asian names; and a demand—which will have the heartfelt sympathy of all cataloguers—for the standardization of the information given on title‐pages. Each section—and particularly the ingenious and suggestive treatment of the problem of Asian names—would justify a separate review. The book will be considered here as a contribution to the current re‐examination of cataloguing rules.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 12 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Content available
Article
Publication date: 3 April 2007

957

Abstract

Details

Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 22 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-3946

Article
Publication date: 3 July 2017

Timothy Kiessling, Thomas M. Martin and Burze Yasar

The purpose of this paper is to explore the power of leadership rhetoric with a theoretical foundation of signaling theory. Past research mostly focus on followers and not other…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the power of leadership rhetoric with a theoretical foundation of signaling theory. Past research mostly focus on followers and not other stakeholders and the authors attempt to fill that research gap.

Design/methodology/approach

The research explored nearly 20 years and 51,500 pages of information from US presidents and explored the impact on stock market volatility using generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity.

Findings

The research findings suggest that leaders can/do have a powerful impact on stakeholders. In particular negative statements will cause the greatest reaction due to risk adverse stockholders, neutral rhetoric will calm the market and decrease volatility and positive rhetoric was not significant.

Research limitations/implications

Past research suggests that a focus on the consequences of leadership rhetoric be explored and the research suggests that people do respond to powerful leaders, even if they are not followers. Also the authors filled a gap in regard to the impact of leader communication about economic and marketplace events.

Practical implications

Practitioners benefit from the research as they can focus upon the US presidents’ rhetoric and strategically apply the research as they can predict the movement of the stock market immediately thereafter.

Originality/value

Very little research has ever explored the impact of a leader’s rhetoric and the subsequent economic impact, and no one has explored in particular the president’s rhetorical impact (who is considered by many the top leader in the USA).

Details

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 38 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7739

Keywords

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