Cognitive‐Experiential Leadership Model: How Leaders’ Information‐Processing Systems Can Influence Leadership Styles, Influencing Tactics, Conflict Management, and Organizational Outcomes

Abstract

The current article provides empirical evidence in support of a new Cognitive‐Experiential Leadership Model. The foundation of the model is based on the integration of the Cognitive‐Experiential Theory (CET; Epstein, 2014), a personality‐based theory, and the Full‐Range Leadership Theory (FRLT; Bass, 1985). Results show a strong connection between the rational system and constructive elements of the CET’s experiential system, and transformational leadership and conflict‐handling styles. There is also preliminary evidence that developing leaders’ CET information‐processing systems could increase transformational leadership. Leaders who are high in rational thinking and constructive thinking may also elicit extra effort from their followers, effectively manage conflict, choose effective influencing tactics, and achieve positive organizational outcomes. Implications and future research directions examining the Cognitive‐Experiential Leadership Model are discussed.

Reexamining the Relationship Between Thinking Styles and Transformational Leadership: What Is the Contribution of Imagination and Emotionality?

“…As CET provides a framework for assessing individual differences in thinking styles, this framework can be used to assess individual differences in thinking styles that may be connected to effective leadership. In CELM, Cerni et al () attempted to delineate the expected connections between thinking styles, leaders’ use of important leadership behaviors (influencing tactics and conflict management styles), leadership styles (transactional, transformational, and laissez‐faire), and organizational outcomes.…”

“…The CELM proposes that the combination of rational thinking and behavioral coping allows leaders to think more adaptively, and thus select behaviors and approaches to leadership that are more effective, namely a transformational leadership style and related behaviors (Cerni et al, ). In addition, a preference for rational thinking is related to general intelligence, and behavioral coping is related to emotional intelligence (Epstein, , ), and both of these forms of intelligence are connected with effective leadership (Judge, Colbert, & Ilies, ; Mandell & Pherwani, ).…”

“…Although rational thinking and behavioral coping have consistently been related to effective leadership styles and behaviors, only weak and inconsistent correlations have been found between experiential thinking and effective leadership (Cerni et al, ). However, in previous studies (e.g., Cerni et al, , ; Curtis & Lee, ) preference for experiential thinking has been measured only as a preference for intuitive thinking—for example, “going with your gut” or deciding based on experience rather than on deliberation.…”

“…Several studies have investigated the connections between leaders’ thinking styles as conceptualized in cognitive‐experiential theory (CET) and transformational leadership (e.g., Atwater & Yammarino, ; Cerni, Curtis, & Colmar, , , ; Dubinsky, Yammarino, & Jolson, ; Humphreys & Zettel, ). The accumulation of evidence indicating that information‐processing styles may be connected to leadership styles led to the recent publication of the cognitive‐experiential leadership model (CELM; Cerni, Curtis, & Colmar, ), which attempts to articulate the known, and likely, connections between thinking styles, as described by CET, and leadership, particularly transformational leadership. However, the evidence to date has overlooked some aspects of the experiential thinking component of CET because of the limitations of the measures that previous researchers have used.…”

Exogenous determinants of entrepreneurial intuition and the mediatory role of psychological capital among potential youth entrepreneurs

“…CEST has only recently been applied to the entrepreneurship field (e.g. Cerni, Curtis, & Colmar, 2014). CEST assumes that all people, including entrepreneurs, process information by two bi-directional, interacting systems; that is, the rational (analytical) and experiential (intuitive) systems.…”