Do intelligent leaders differentiate exchange relationships intelligently? A functional leadership approach to leader-member exchange differentiation.

The burgeoning literature on leader-member exchange (LMX) differentiation indicates that differentiating LMX relationships within groups has both benefits and costs when it comes to group effectiveness. Although some clarity is emerging surrounding the null total effect of LMX differentiation on group performance, we still know little about how leaders themselves shape the differentiation process. In this article, we extend theory to suggest that some leaders may differentiate more effectively than others. Drawing from functional leadership theory, we first identify a potential approach available to leaders likely to enhance their functional effectiveness-strategically investing in and developing stronger social exchange relationships with subordinates who can best help them fulfill the task functions (via task performance-based differentiation) and group maintenance functions (via contextual performance-based differentiation) specified within functional leadership theory. Embedding this potential approach within the ability-motivation-opportunity framework, we then develop a theory for which leaders are best positioned to recognize and pursue strategic relationship development this way. Specifically, we posit that leaders with stronger cognitive abilities (g) are more likely to recognize the value of such an approach, and those high in core self-evaluation are more likely to believe in their capabilities to successfully process, execute on, and persist with the approach. The results from two studies-a multisource study of leaders and team members in newly formed teams as well as a preregistered online vignette study using a sample of current and former supervisors-largely supported our predictions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Out of sight and out of mind? Networking strategies for enhancing inclusion in multinational organizations.

How can employees of multinational corporations (MNCs) who are dispersed in various locations around the globe feel included? Integrating social capital theory and the MNC literature regarding resource and status differences between employees located in headquarter (HQ) versus non-HQ (i.e., subsidiary) country locations, we examined the role of the focal employee's professional advice ties and specifically their centrality as a source of advice to HQ contacts in enhancing inclusion. Moreover, we assessed the efficacy of two agentic strategies (i.e., cross-border work and access to well-connected site leaders) in facilitating the formation of inclusion-enhancing professional advice ties and whether their impact depends additionally on the focal employee's location inside or outside HQ country locations. Testing our predictions in a sample of 362 MNC employees dispersed across 33 sites, our findings showed that being central as a source of professional advice to HQ contacts enhanced employees' perceived inclusion. We also found that although employees in non-HQ countries suffered a "geographic disadvantage" in building professional advice ties to HQ contacts, these employees gained centrality as a source of professional advice to HQ contacts when they engaged in work that required cross-border interactions, especially when they also had site leaders who were well-connected. For employees located inside HQ countries, their professional advice ties to other HQ contacts were facilitated by having well-connected site leaders. We discuss the theoretical implications of our findings and provide practical recommendations for enhancing the inclusion of MNC employees based on whether they are located inside or outside of HQ countries. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Dynamic leadership emergence: Differential impact of members' and peers' contributions in the idea generation and idea enactment phases of innovation project teams.

Integrating functional leadership theory with models of the team creativity and innovation, we present a dynamic model of leadership emergence where leadership emergence is shaped by (a) the type of contributions members express (constructive contributions proposing new ideas, or supportive contributions affirming ideas with merit), (b) when those contributions are expressed (i.e., in the idea generation or idea enactment phase), and (c) the extent fellow teammates themselves are contributing in constructive or supportive ways in those phases. We tested our theoretical model in two studies involving simulated teams engaged in an innovation design challenge. In both studies, we found that constructive contributions were more strongly related to leadership emergence in the idea generation phase than in the idea enactment phase. Moreover, the impact of constructive contributions on leadership emergence in the idea generation phase was stronger when there was a "void"-that is, fellow teammates' constructive contributions were low. Surprisingly, in both studies, we found consistent evidence that supportive contributions also enhanced leadership emergence in the idea generation phase, whereas the findings on supportive contributions and leadership emergence in the idea enactment phase were mixed. Overall, our model highlights the importance of integrating dynamic and contextualized aspects of teams into theories of leadership emergence and also sheds new light on the processes underlying emergent forms of leadership in the early phases of the innovation cycle. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Leadership and member voice in action teams: Test of a dynamic phase model.

Voice is an important way that members contribute to effective team functioning. And yet, the existing literature provides divergent guidance as to how leaders can promote member voice in action teams-a dynamic team context where eliciting voice may be difficult, due to different task demands encountered in the preparation and action phases of task performance, among members who may have little history of working together. Drawing on the employee voice and team leadership literatures, we focus on three leader behaviors-directing, coaching, and supporting-and employ a functional leadership perspective to assess whether certain leader behaviors enhance voice in one phase of the performance episode versus the other. We also assess whether these leadership-voice relationships are further contingent on team members' prior familiarity with one another. Observation and survey data from 105 surgical team episodes revealed that leader directing promoted voice in both the preparation and action phases. Coaching also facilitated voice in both phases, especially in the action phase for more familiar teams. Surprisingly, supporting did not enhance voice in either phase, and in fact exhibited negative effects on voice in the preparation phase of more familiar teams. Theoretical and practical implications around how leaders can elicit voice in action teams are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Beyond the individual victim: multilevel consequences of abusive supervision in teams.

We conceptualize a multilevel framework that examines the manifestation of abusive supervision in team settings and its implications for the team and individual members. Drawing on Hackman's (1992) typology of ambient and discretionary team stimuli, our model features team-level abusive supervision (the average level of abuse reported by team members) and individual-level abusive supervision as simultaneous and interacting forces. We further draw on team-relevant theories of social influence to delineate two proximal outcomes of abuse-members' organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) at the individual level and relationship conflict at the team level-that channel the independent and interactive effects of individual- and team-level abuse onto team members' voice, team-role performance, and turnover intentions. Results from a field study and a scenario study provided support for these multilevel pathways. We conclude that abusive supervision in team settings holds toxic consequences for the team and individual, and offer practical implications as well as suggestions for future research on abusive supervision as a multilevel phenomenon. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Emotional intelligence, teamwork effectiveness, and job performance: the moderating role of job context.

We advance understanding of the role of ability-based emotional intelligence (EI) and its subdimensions in the workplace by examining the mechanisms and context-based boundary conditions of the EI-performance relationship. Using a trait activation framework, we theorize that employees with higher overall EI and emotional perception ability exhibit higher teamwork effectiveness (and subsequent job performance) when working in job contexts characterized by high managerial work demands because such contexts contain salient emotion-based cues that activate employees' emotional capabilities. A sample of 212 professionals from various organizations and industries indicated support for the salutary effect of EI, above and beyond the influence of personality, cognitive ability, emotional labor job demands, job complexity, and demographic control variables. Theoretical and practical implications of the potential value of EI for workplace outcomes under contexts involving managerial complexity are discussed.

Task conflict and team creativity: a question of how much and when.

Bridging the task conflict, team creativity, and project team development literatures, we present a contingency model in which the relationship between task conflict and team creativity depends on the level of conflict and when it occurs in the life cycle of a project team. In a study of 71 information technology project teams in the greater China region, we found that task conflict had a curvilinear effect on team creativity, such that creativity was highest at moderate levels of task conflict. Additionally, we found this relationship to be moderated by team phase, such that the curvilinear effect was strongest at an early phase. In contrast, at later phases of the team life cycle, task conflict was found to be unrelated to team creativity.