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1 – 10 of over 105000Tony Manning and Bob Robertson
The first part of this paper pointed out that theory and research on followership is less extensive and less well known than that on leadership. It then described a three factor…
Abstract
Purpose
The first part of this paper pointed out that theory and research on followership is less extensive and less well known than that on leadership. It then described a three factor model of leadership and suggested it could be applied to and was consistent with other work on followership. The second part of the paper presented empirical evidence supporting the three factor model of leadership and justifying its extension and application to the full range of team roles, including follower and co-worker roles, as well as leader roles. This part of the paper looks specifically at follower roles and followership. Research findings are used to develop and describe a three factor model of follower behaviour. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed group of managers, mainly from the UK public sector, completed a variety of self-assessment questionnaires, had 360 degree assessments completed on them, and provided information on their work role and situation. Research looked at the degree of correlation between variables and its statistical significance. This was used to assess the internal reliability and external validity of three factor measures of leader behaviours and team role behaviours. Information on contextual variables was used to measure leader and follower situations and develop leader-follower scales that were used to identify behaviours used by followers. In total, 360 degree assessments were also used to identify behaviours that are most and least valued when used by followers.
Findings
The findings presented in the second part of this paper provided empirical support for the three factor model of leadership and its extension to the full range of team roles. The findings presented in this part of the paper identify behaviours used by individuals in follower roles and behaviours valued when used by individuals in such roles. By combining these two sets of findings, it was possible to produce a three factor model of effective follower behaviour, with each metacategory consisting of five behaviour sets and each set made up of four specific behaviours.
Research limitations/implications
Effective organisations need effective followers and effective leaders. Moreover, the skills of the effective leader develop out of and build on those of the effective follower. Effective leaders and followers use essentially the same skills but use them in different situations, playing different roles. The research was carried out on a diverse sample of managers, drawn mainly from the UK public sector. However, it would be useful to extend the research to other populations.
Practical implications
The findings provide evidence-based descriptions of effective follower behaviours. These have practical implications for leaders and for followers, as well those involved in their training and development. They establish the content of developmental activities for effective followers and indicate how the training and development of followers underpins that of leaders.
Social implications
The findings challenge the widely held pre-occupation with leadership and the associated view that it is qualitatively different from and superior to leadership. In so doing, the three factor model of followership offers a challenge to the cult of leadership.
Originality/value
This is the first published research to present empirical evidence supporting the three factor model of followership. In the research process, scales were developed to assess leader and follower roles and used to identify behaviours used by followers. They were also used in further research identifying behaviours most and least valued when used by followers. The instruments and the associated research were original.
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Connor Eichenauer and Ann Marie Ryan
Role congruity theory and gender stereotypes research suggests men are expected to engage in agentic behavior and women in communal behavior as leaders, and that role violation…
Abstract
Purpose
Role congruity theory and gender stereotypes research suggests men are expected to engage in agentic behavior and women in communal behavior as leaders, and that role violation results in backlash. However, extant gender and leadership research does not directly measure expectations–behavior incongruence. Further, researchers have only considered one condition of role incongruence – display of counter-role behavior – and have not considered the outcomes of failing to exhibit role-congruent behavior. Additionally, few studies have examined outcomes for male leaders who violate gender role prescriptions. The present study aims to address these shortcomings by conducting a novel empirical test of role congruity theory.
Design/Methodology/approach
This experimental study used polynomial regression to assess how followers evaluated leaders under conditions of incongruence between follower expectations for men and women leaders’ behavior and leaders’ actual behavior (i.e. exceeded and unmet expectations). Respondents read a fictional scenario describing a new male or female supervisor, rated their expectations for the leader’s agentic and communal behavior, read manipulated vignettes describing the leader’s subsequent behavior, rated their perceptions of these behaviors, and evaluated the leader.
Findings
Followers expected higher levels of communal behavior from the female than the male supervisor, but no differences were found in expectations for agentic behavior. Regardless of whether expectations were exceeded or unmet, supervisor gender did not moderate the effects of agentic or communal behavior expectations–perceptions incongruence on leader evaluations in polynomial regression analyses (i.e. male and female supervisors were not evaluated differently when displaying counter-role behavior or failing to display role-congruent behavior).
Originality/value
In addition to providing a novel, direct test of role congruity theory, the study highlighted a double standard in gender role-congruent behavior expectations of men and women leaders. Results failed to support role congruity theory, which has implications for the future of theory in this domain.
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Sally Smith, Thomas N. Garavan, Anne Munro, Elaine Ramsey, Colin F. Smith and Alison Varey
The purpose of this study is to explore the role of professional and leader identity and the maintenance of identity, through identity work as IT professionals transitioned to a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the role of professional and leader identity and the maintenance of identity, through identity work as IT professionals transitioned to a permanent hybrid role. This study therefore contributes to the under-researched area of permanent transition to a hybrid role in the context of IT, where there is a requirement to enact both the professional and leader roles together.
Design/methodology/approach
The study utilised a longitudinal design and two qualitative methods (interviews and reflective diaries) to gather data from 17 IT professionals transitioning to hybrid roles.
Findings
The study findings reveal that IT professionals engage in an ongoing process of reconciliation of professional and leader identity as they transition to a permanent hybrid role, and they construct hybrid professional–leader identities while continuing to value their professional identity. They experience professional–leader identity conflict resulting from reluctance to reconcile both professional and leader identities. They used both integration and differentiation identity work tactics to ameliorate these tensions.
Originality/value
The longitudinal study design, the qualitative approaches used and the unique context of the participants provide a dynamic and deep understanding of the challenges involved in performing hybrid roles in the context of IT.
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Anika Cloutier and Julian Barling
Given the role leaders play in organizational effectiveness, there is growing interest in understanding the antecedents of leader emergence. The authors consider parental…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the role leaders play in organizational effectiveness, there is growing interest in understanding the antecedents of leader emergence. The authors consider parental influence by examining how witnessing interparental violence during adolescence indirectly affects adult leader role occupancy. Drawing on the work–home resources (W-HR) model, the authors hypothesize that witnessing interparental violence serves as a distal, chronic contextual demand that hinders leader role occupancy through its effects on constructive personal resources, operationalized as insecure attachment. Based on role congruity theory, the authors also predict that the relationship between attachment style and leader role occupancy will differ for women and men.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the hypotheses, the authors used data from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R) (n = 1,665 full-time employees).
Findings
After controlling for age, education, childhood socioeconomic status and experienced violence, results showed that the negative indirect effects of witnessing interparental violence on leader role occupancy through avoidant attachment was significant for females only, while the negative effects of anxious attachment hindered leader role occupancy across sexes.
Originality/value
Results identify novel distal (interparental violence) and proximal (attachment style) barriers to leader role occupancy, showing empirical support for the life-span approach to leadership and the persistent effects of home demands on work.
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Globalization introduces new challenges related to increased levels of diversity and complexity that organizations cannot meet without capable global leaders. Such leaders are…
Abstract
Globalization introduces new challenges related to increased levels of diversity and complexity that organizations cannot meet without capable global leaders. Such leaders are currently lacking, so a theory-based approach to global leader development is needed. A critical intermediary outcome that enables competent global leadership performance is global leader self-complexity, defined by the number of unique leader identities contained within a leader's self-concept (self-differentiation) and the extent to which the identities are integrated with the leader's sense of self (self-integration). This research aims to generate and test a theory of the development of global leader self-complexity through identity construction during international experiences. In Study 1, I gathered qualitative data through retrospectively interviewing 27 global leaders about identity-related changes following their international experiences. Using a grounded theory approach, I developed a theoretical model of global leader identity construction during international experiences, which I empirically tested using quantitative data in Study 2. Specifically, I tested the hypothesized relationships through structural equation modeling with cross-sectional survey data from a sample of 610 global leaders. Findings from both studies indicate global leader identity construction during international experiences primarily occurs through interacting with locals and local culture over a sustained period, motivated by appreciation of cultural differences and resulting in increased global leader self-complexity. These results advance understanding of the global leader self-complexity construct (i.e., what develops) and global leader development processes (i.e., how it develops). Additionally, the findings have practical implications for global leader development initiatives.
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James H. Killian, Corey E. Miller, Christopher W. Holmes and Howard P. Stevens
The field of industrial-organizational psychology has been unable to convince business executives that our science is able to effectively predict who will become valuable…
Abstract
The field of industrial-organizational psychology has been unable to convince business executives that our science is able to effectively predict who will become valuable managers, let alone that our knowledge leads to measurable economic returns. The academic literature provides little guidance to a practitioner looking for guidance in regard to leadership development. We believe that leadership is complex and therefore requires a complex model to understand it and in turn aid leadership selection and development. We recommend focusing on defining specific leadership skills according to a leader's responsibilities and expected results or work outcomes to build taxonomy of leadership roles and work outcomes. To demonstrate the business case for engaging our field's services, we propose our field would be aided by adopting some concepts of a discipline widely accepted by executives, total quality management (TQM). An example of how TQM can be applied to leadership selection and development is presented.
This chapter presents two stories of inspiring women political leaders, Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minster of New Zealand, and Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, to shed light on…
Abstract
This chapter presents two stories of inspiring women political leaders, Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minster of New Zealand, and Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, to shed light on the dire importance of using feminine leadership models (i.e., embodying kindness, empathy and concern for others) during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as everyday practice. I use a multi-dimensional theoretical conceptualization grounded in gender stereotyping and the theory of androgyny to emphasize the transition from historical masculine leadership ideals (‘think manager, think male’ – Schein & Davidson, 1993) to leadership discourse that symbolizes inclusivity of leadership with an emphasis on using kindness, regardless of whether you identify as a male or female leader.
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Tamer Koburtay, Jawad Syed and Radi Haloub
Informed by the role congruity theory of prejudice towards female leaders, this paper aims to review the literature on gender and leadership to consolidate existing theory…
Abstract
Purpose
Informed by the role congruity theory of prejudice towards female leaders, this paper aims to review the literature on gender and leadership to consolidate existing theory development, stimulate new thinking and provide a framework for future empirical studies. It offers a theoretical framework to understand what may prevent or facilitate the emergence of female leaders.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews and synthesises recent research on the linkages between gender and leadership.
Findings
The review extends Eagly and Karau’s (2002) role congruity theory by identifying additional constructs that may alleviate negative prejudicial evaluations and offering new insights into the potential alignment between feminine traits and leadership success.
Practical implications
The theoretical framework that emerged in this paper may be used as a heuristic model to contextually examine the lack of female leaders.
Originality/value
The paper proposes a theoretical framework to understand issues related to the emergence of female leaders. It offers news insights into possible alignment in female-leader role stereotypes that may address prejudicial evaluations against female leaders.
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Joann Farrell Quinn and Sheri Perelli
Physicians are commonly promoted into administrative and managerial roles in US hospitals on the basis of clinical expertise and often lack the skills, training or inclination to…
Abstract
Purpose
Physicians are commonly promoted into administrative and managerial roles in US hospitals on the basis of clinical expertise and often lack the skills, training or inclination to lead. Several studies have sought to identify factors associated with effective physician leadership, yet we know little about how physician leaders themselves construe their roles. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Phenomenological interviews were performed with 25 physicians at three organizational levels with physicians affiliated or employed by four hospitals within one health care organization in the USA between August and September 2010. A rigorous comparative methodology of data collection and analysis was employed, including the construction of analytic codes for the data and its categorization based on emergent ideas and themes that are not preconceived and logically deduced hypotheses, which is characteristic of grounded theory.
Findings
These interviews reveal differences in how part- vs full-time physician leaders understand and value leadership roles vs clinical roles, claim leadership status, and identify as physician leaders on individual, relational and organizational basis.
Research limitations/implications
Although the physicians in the sample were affiliated with four community hospitals, all of them were part of a single not-for-profit health care system in one geographical locale.
Practical implications
These findings may be of interest to hospital administrators and boards seeking deeper commitment and higher performance from physician leaders, as well as assist physicians in transitioning into a leadership role.
Social implications
This work points to a broader and more fundamental need – a modified mindset about the nature and value of physician leadership.
Originality/value
This study is unique in the exploration of the nature of physician leadership from the perspective of the physician on an individual, peer and organizational level in the creation of their own leadership identity.
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Di Cai, Haiyue Wang, Li Yao, Mingyu Li and Chenghao Men
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…
Abstract
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.
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