Leader sensemaking style in response to crisis: Consequences and insights from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The international scope of the 2020 COVID-19 crisis compelled a response from world leaders across the globe. However, the nature of these responses was far from universal. These circumstances present a unique opportunity to study how leader style influences, and is influenced by, a common crisis. To explore these relationships, the present effort used a content analysis of weekly COVID-19 statements from world leaders spanning the first 19 weeks of the crisis. Results suggest that leaders shifted toward increasingly pragmatic sensemaking approaches as COVID-19 infections increased and that sustained use of pragmatic leadership styles was associated with fewer infections in the long term. In contrast, sustained use of the charismatic sensemaking style was associated with higher observed infection rates.

Unpacking on-task effort in performance-based learning: Information-knowledge gaps guide effort allocation decisions.

Learning and adaptation are essential for success. However, human effort is inherently finite, which creates a dilemma for employees. Is it better to prioritize capitalizing on existing knowledge structures to maximize immediate performance benefits (exploitation) or develop adaptive capabilities (exploration) at the expense of short-term productivity? Understanding how employees answer this question can inform the design of evidence-based interventions for optimizing and sustaining learning amidst workplace challenges. In this article, we attempt to unpack the composition of on-task effort during performance-based learning by testing the proposition that the information-knowledge gap-a regulatory discrepancy between unknown aspects of a task and a person's perceived competence in dealing with that task-is the psychological mechanism responsible for guiding effort-allocation decisions during performance-based learning. In Study 1, we found that larger information-knowledge gaps resulted in increased subsequent investments of on-task attention within a sample of adults learning to perform a complex task (N = 121). As participants learned, information-knowledge gaps systematically shrank, resulting in a reduced emphasis on learning-oriented effort (i.e., exploration) relative to achievement-oriented effort (i.e., exploitation) over time. In Study 2 (N = 176), a task-change paradigm revealed that introducing novel demands caused information-knowledge gaps to suddenly expand, which prompted participants to increase on-task effort and shift their focus away from achievement and back toward learning as an adaptive response. Collectively, these findings support the notion that information-knowledge gaps shape how (and when) on-task effort is spent and present a framework for understanding how learners strategically structure their limited attentional resources. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Too many sheep in the flock? Span of control attenuates the influence of ethical leadership.

There has been growing interest in ethical leadership from both scholars and practitioners because of the positive effects that ethical leaders can have on their subordinates. These benefits come not only from ethical leaders acting as moral exemplars, but also from the tendency for ethical leaders to forge high-quality social exchange relationships with subordinates that help to establish expectations for appropriate conduct and ensure accountability through reciprocal obligation. However, the act of developing and maintaining strong social exchange relationships is resource intensive and requires considerable personal investment from ethical leaders. Extending current theory, we propose that wider spans of control attenuate the positive relationship between ethical leadership and leader-member exchange (LMX). Across two organizational samples, we developed and tested a moderated mediation model in which the effects of ethical leadership on performance, organizational citizenship behavior, and reduced production deviance via LMX were weakened by a widened span of control. Results in both studies supported the hypothesized model. Although it may be tempting to increase the number of subordinates assigned to ethical leaders in an effort to maximize their positive impact, the current findings suggest that the benefits of ethical leadership are diminished as span of control widens. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Are applicants more likely to quit longer assessments? Examining the effect of assessment length on applicant attrition behavior.

Conventional wisdom suggests that assessment length is positively related to the rate at which applicants opt out of the assessment phase. However, restricting assessment length can negatively impact the utility of a selection system by reducing the reliability of its construct scores and constraining coverage of the relevant criterion domain. Given the costly nature of these tradeoffs, is it better for managers to prioritize (a) shortening assessments to reduce applicant attrition rates or (b) ensuring optimal reliability and validity of their assessment scores? In the present study, we use data from 222,772 job-seekers nested within 69 selection systems to challenge the popular notion that selection system length predicts applicant attrition behavior. Specifically, we argue that the majority of applicant attrition occurs very early in the assessment phase and that attrition risk decreases, not increases, as a function of time spent in assessment. Our findings supported these predictions, revealing that the majority of applicants who quit assessments did so within the first 20 min of the assessment phase. Consequently, selection system length did not predict rates of applicant attrition. In fact, when controlling for observed system length and various job characteristics, we found that systems providing more conservative (i.e., longer) estimates of assessment length produced lower overall attrition rates. Collectively, these findings suggest that efforts to curtail applicant attrition by shortening assessment length may be misguided. (PsycINFO Database Record

A multilevel approach to relating subjective workload to performance after shifts in task demand.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this laboratory experiment was to demonstrate how taking a longitudinal, multilevel approach can be used to examine the dynamic relationship between subjective workload and performance over a given period of activity involving shifts in task demand. BACKGROUND: Subjective workload and conditions of the performance environment are oftentimes examined via cross-sectional designs without distinguishing within-from between-person effects. Given the dynamic nature of performance phenomena, multilevel designs coupled with manipulations of task demand shifts are needed to better model the dynamic relationships between state and trait components of subjective workload and performance. METHOD: With a sample of 75 college students and a computer game representing a complex decision-making environment, increases and decreases in task demand were counterbalanced and subjective workload and performance were measured concurrently in regular intervals within performance episodes. Data were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. RESULTS: Both between- and especially within-person effects were dynamic. Nevertheless, at both levels of analysis, higher subjective workload reflected performance problems, especially more downstream from increases in task demand. CONCLUSION: As a function of cognitive-energetic processes, shifts in task demand are associated with changes in how subjective workload is related to performance over a given period of activity. Multilevel, longitudinal approaches are useful for distinguishing and examining the dynamic relationships between state and trait components of subjective workload and performance. APPLICATION: The findings of this research help to improve the understanding of how a sequence of demands can exceed a performer's capability to respond to further demands.