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International relations and security studies suffer from an inadequate understanding of established theories in organizational leadership and management studies. This chapter contributes to these disciplines by drawing upon such models to analyze the changes in political leadership approaches of China and the United States in their interactions over maritime territorial disputes in the South China Sea (SCS). Using the transactional–transformational and directive–participative leadership paradigms as its foundation, the analysis argues (1) that contextual factors unique to the each country shape its political leadership styles and (2) the leadership styles within each case study have changed dramatically over the past decades in terms of their rhetoric and policies for managing the SCS disputes. Empirical evidence is based on the policies, leaders’ statements, and official documents of China, a claimant to SCS maritime territory, and the United States, an influential stakeholder in the disputes. In the two case studies, the chapter discusses the implications of the changing leadership styles for the understanding of political interaction in the region and the future of the SCS disputes.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of interpersonal skills (emotional and political skills) and work engagement on transformational leadership and leader well-being at work.

Emotional control, emotional sensitivity, political skills, work engagement, transformational leadership behaviors, and job satisfaction were assessed in an empirical study of 278 employees. The relationships between emotional skills, political skills, work engagement, and transformational leadership were evaluated using participants in managerial positions (n=159). The combined influence of interpersonal skills and work engagement on job satisfaction was examined as a comparison between managers and non-managers (n=119).

In addition to the positive effects of work engagement on outcome measures, results showed political skill is an important capability contributing to transformational leadership and leaders’ job satisfaction. Findings also showed the interaction of emotional skill, political skill, and work engagement contributed to job satisfaction among managers.

Organizations must provide managers with opportunities to develop political skills or modify selection processes to identify candidates who possess political skills for management positions. Organizations will also benefit from implementing ways to engage managers in their work to facilitate transformational leader behaviors and promote their well-being. In addition, organizations can work to identify and develop managers’ emotional control and sensitivity skills specific to individual needs.

Research investigating personal attributes that influence transformational leadership as an outcome is limited. This study contributes to the leadership literature and sheds light on the literature on the microfoundations of management competencies by examining managers’ skills and engagement on their leader behaviors and job satisfaction. Insights are discovered regarding the combination of emotional skills, political skills, and work engagement that indicate interpersonal skills and engagement have supplementary effects on transformational leader behaviors and leader well-being.

This chapter examines how elected politicians exercise their role as leaders (managers) of public services by employing three concepts: accountability, trust and authenticity. Political leaders have an obligation to their electors and the public services that they lead. Lord German examines this dual accountability. He maintains that the mediation of political power and leadership through interaction with a permanent civil service offers a rich field for interdisciplinary research. He suggests that authenticity in the political sphere has two dimensions which may not align: political authenticity and organisational authenticity. Lord German argues that both of these offer potential for research and the reinterpretation of authenticity in the political arena.

The performance of public sector institutions has always been contentious – this is as old as the system of government itself and its provision of collective goods, irrespective of whether they are tangible or intangible. In the context of South Africa, with its ever-increasing political competitiveness, this chapter assesses political leadership and the African philosophy of Ubuntu or humanism in improving public sector performance management in the country. It does so by addressing certain distinct questions: What is the state of public sector performance and leadership in South Africa? What have scholars contributed in linking public sector performance, and the politics and public administration dichotomy? Are the Batho Pele principles, underpinned by Ubuntu, a worthy notion on which to pillar African political leadership? By adopting an interpretivist, qualitative research design, the study reflects on the essence of a public administration that is effective in delivering political goods and managing the performance of bureaucracies and the political leadership therein. This chapter argues that the performance of public administrations remains a “wicked” problem in South Africa as political populism is on the rise in the country. However, the argument is made that with “good” political leadership – which naturally and effectively encompasses the philosophy of Ubuntu and which understands and mobilizes statecraft – great strides can be made beyond the current rhetoric.

Drawing upon the cognitive-affective processing system (CAPS) framework, the current study proposes a dual-pathway model that suggests self-serving leadership has a positive influence on employee knowledge hiding. The study also examines the mediating effects of relative deprivation and emotional exhaustion, as well as the moderating effect of political skill, to provide a comprehensive understanding of these relationships.

This study employed two-wave time-lagged survey data collected from 644 employees in 118 teams within a company based in Shenzhen, China. Moreover, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to test the hypothesized relationships.

The results indicated that self-serving leadership positively influenced employee knowledge hiding, and this relationship was mediated by relative deprivation and emotional exhaustion. Additionally, political skill was found to negatively moderate both the direct relationship between self-serving leadership and relative deprivation and emotional exhaustion, and the indirect path from self-serving leadership to employee knowledge hiding through relative deprivation and emotional exhaustion.

This study makes a unique contribution to the knowledge management literature in several ways. First, it introduces self-serving leadership as a predictor of employee knowledge hiding, expanding the current understanding of this phenomenon. Second, it offers a novel conceptualization, suggesting that employees coping with self-serving leadership may experience relative deprivation and emotional exhaustion, and these factors can predict their engagement in knowledge hiding. Third, the research findings on the moderating role of political skill push the boundaries of the knowledge-hiding literature, providing new insights into the conditions under which this behavior occurs.

This study examines the effect of female governors (gender effect) on environmental performance in terms of state-level carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in United States.

The study used annual data from 1970 to 2020 to investigate the relationship between female political leadership and state-level CO2 emissions. Hypothesis was tested through ordinary least squares regression (OLS). The results of the study were also validated using propensity score matching and a difference-in-difference approach.

This study provides empirical insights into the relationship between female political leadership and state-level CO2 emissions. The findings indicate that female governors have a significant negative impact on state-level CO2 emissions per capita. These results suggest that female political leadership is associated with a reduction in CO2 emissions per capita at the state level. The results also show that states under the leadership of female governors experience lower levels of CO2 emissions than those with male governors, indicating female leadership’s potential to promote environmental sustainability.

The findings of this study have practical implications for policymakers, government officials, and other stakeholders involved in the formulation of strategies to promote environmental sustainability. This study highlights the significant role that female political leader play in mitigating CO2 emissions at the state level. It suggests that promoting female in political leadership positions can lead to more environmentally conscious policy decisions and actions, resulting in reduced CO2 emissions per capita. Policymakers should actively encourage women’s participation in leadership roles to utilize their potential contributions to advancing sustainability goals. Furthermore, organizations that focus on environmental issues should prioritize supporting and promoting female leaders who have demonstrated a commitment to environmental sustainability. Ultimately, this study highlights the need for female in political leadership as a potential strategy to address environmental challenges and advance a more sustainable future.

This study pioneers research on the links between female political leadership and state-level CO2 emissions. This study contributes to the literature by emphasizing the potential role of female political leaders in promoting environmental sustainability. Overall, this study enriches the social role and upper echelons theories literature through empirical evidence.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how servant leadership and political skill combine to impact workplace spirituality and employee creativity.

Participants were working adults recruited by graduate and undergraduate students from a US public regional comprehensive university. Data were collected across three time periods, with a final sample size of 280 participants.

The authors’ findings suggest that servant leaders impact employee creativity by fostering an environment that promotes workplace spirituality. Furthermore, this relationship is strengthened to the extent that the servant leader possesses high levels of political skill.

This study provides a foundation for the interplay between servant leadership and political skill. Therefore, the data collection procedures undertaken in this study (i.e. from sources in multiple organizations) are beneficial. A limitation to this study is the use of a single informant to measure all of the constructs, which may cause a bias in the results.

This study provides a foundation for the interplay between servant leadership and political skill. Therefore, the data collection procedures undertaken in this study (i.e. from sources in multiple organizations) are beneficial.

Although servant leadership research continues to receive increased attention in the extant literature, researchers have tended to focus on the relational aspects of servant leadership. Curiously, the “leader” side of servant leadership has been largely neglected. As a result, some have questioned the construct as a viable leadership model. Greenleaf (1977), however, noted that servant leaders also possess conceptual skills; yet, these skills are rarely included in servant leadership measurements or empirical studies. The authors argue that political skill captures the essence of these abilities, and that including it strengthens the servant leader’s impact on workplace spirituality, ultimately influencing employee creativity.