PurposeDrawing upon social-exchange, social-cognitive and leadership theory, this study explores whether and how a cross-level mechanism connects team-level traditional Chinese leadership (i.e. paternalistic leadership) to individual-level voice behavior.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data were collected from 421 employees of 108 branches of four service-industry chains in Taiwan. Multilevel path models and hypotheses were tested using Mplus structural equation modeling software.FindingsOne subtype of team-level paternalistic leadership, benevolent leadership, was positively related to voice behavior, whereas another – authoritative leadership – had a negative relationship to it. Additionally, employees' voice self-efficacy and felt accountability each played a cross-level mediating role between team-level paternalistic leadership and voice behavior.Practical implicationsIt is recommended that team leaders behave benevolently, and avoid excessive authoritativeness at work, as this will tend to encourage their employees to voice opinions. Organizations, meanwhile, are advised to introduce training and development sessions aimed at improving both felt accountability and voice self-efficacy among their employees, so that such voice behavior can be stimulated and strengthened.Originality/valueThis study provides a useful social-cognitive analysis of the mechanism underlying paternalistic leadership and employee voice behavior, and specifically, reveals that employees' felt accountability and voice self-efficacy play a mediating role in that relationship. This extends understanding of the leadership–voice relationship and adds value to traditional Chinese leadership literature.