Using a sample of 109 managers and 307 direct reports from a global financial services firm headquartered in the United States, we examined... Show moreUsing a sample of 109 managers and 307 direct reports from a global financial services firm headquartered in the United States, we examined how trustworthiness affected the relationship between authentic leadership and performance in followers. Additionally, we examined how trustworthiness drives performance in an environment of strategic and structural uncertainty. Our findings indicate that authentic leadership drives follower performance and that this relationship may be mediated by benevolence. However, in a post hoc analysis we did show that benevolence mediated the relationship between relational transparency and performance. While not conclusive, there is also evidence to suggest that structural uncertainty moderates the relationship between benevolence and performance. In an environment of high structural uncertainty, followers that perceive their leaders as benevolent tend to outperform other followers. Ph.D. in Psychology, May 2016 Show less
Over the last decade, several studies have uncovered the value of leader humility; however, these findings fail to consider the contextual... Show moreOver the last decade, several studies have uncovered the value of leader humility; however, these findings fail to consider the contextual factors that may alter when and how humility plays a role. The current study looks to bridge this gap, by exploring how the effectiveness of perceived leader humility on follower outcomes (i.e., state learning goal orientation, feedback seeking behaviors, and employee engagement) is contingent upon follower perceptions of the leader’s trustworthiness. Data was collected from 160 leader-follower dyads across a variety of industries, using a cross-sectional design. Results from the study reinforced earlier findings that leader humility is often associated with positive follower outcomes such as seeking more feedback and reporting a higher learning goal orientation; however, these results were contingent upon how trustworthy they perceived the leader to be. Additionally, the study found evidence that perceptions of leader trustworthiness were related to group-based differences (e.g., age, gender). Together, these findings serve as a reminder that studying leader behaviors in isolation often risks simplifying the complex reality most leader’s face when trying to implement leader behaviors and skills. Show less
