Extending the metatheoretical framework of social/political influence to leadership: Political skill effects on situational appraisals, responses, and evaluations by others

Abstract

Building off and extending the metatheoretical framework of political skill, we examined the cognitive and behavioral mechanisms through which the intrapsychic effects of political skill inform its interpersonal effects, and how these interpersonal effects ultimately are transmitted into desirable outcomes. Specifically, we argue that politically skilled leaders demonstrate better situational appraisals (i.e., understanding), and thus, more appropriate situational responses (e.g., consideration and initiating structure behaviors); the demonstration of appropriate situational responses is argued to positively affect subordinates’ evaluations of their leaders (i.e., instrumentality) and subordinates’ concomitant attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction) and behaviors (e.g., performance). Results provided mixed support for the hypothesized relationships. Specifically, leader understanding mediated the relationship between political skill and consideration but not the relationship between political skill and structuring behaviors. Moreover, consideration was positively related to subordinates’ group‐level instrumentality perceptions, whereas initiating structure was not. Finally, subordinates’ individual (within‐level) perceptions of leader instrumentality were positively related to job satisfaction and performance. The implications of these findings as they relate to theory and practice are discussed along with this investigation's strengths, limitations, and directions for future research.

Mitigating the psychologically detrimental effects of supervisor undermining: Joint effects of voice and political skill

“…Invoking theories of personal agency and social competencies (Ewen et al, 2014; Wihler et al, 2017), we propose that voice is more likely to buffer the negative effects of supervisor undermining when employees have the political skill to (1) read their environments to identify opportunities to voice and (2) express their ideas and suggestions in socially adaptive and sincere ways to fully capitalize on the voice opportunities (McAllister et al, 2018). That is, political skill represents a “read-and-appropriately-act” combination of competencies (Wihler et al, 2017) that will enhance the effectiveness of voice and produce a sense of control and mastery over work environments (Ferris et al, 2007; Frieder et al, 2019), thereby helping to buffer the negative impact of supervisor undermining on psychological empowerment.…”

“…Employees need to have the political skill to assess such needs because whether they voice effectively depends on whether they can address “what the target considers the most important or pressing problems and opportunities” (Howell et al, 2015: 1766). By accurately gauging and understanding needs, politically skilled employees are better able to determine the best options to proceed and to avoid irrelevant issues (Frieder et al, 2019). Further, politically skilled employees could also use their social astuteness and networking ability to “read the wind” to identify the appropriate situations to bring up their ideas and present them in the best possible light (McAllister et al, 2018; Witt, 1998).…”

Employee Political Skill, Supervisor-Subordinate Guanxi, and Work-Family Conflict: The Cross-Level Moderating Role of Family-Friendly Practices

“…Therefore, employees must spend extra time and effort to build and maintain good Guanxi with their supervisors [ 19 ], exactly what characterizes employees with strong networking ability. Individuals possessing networking ability attach great importance to network resources, and they also excel at building good personal relationships with others and keeping in touch with important people [ 46 ]. They spend time and effort on interpersonal communication, including with the supervisors who closely relate to their work and life [ 47 ].…”

Candidate Effects on Election Outcomes: Political Skill, Campaign Efficacy, and Intentions in a British General Election

“…According to Ferris et al (2007), politically skilled individuals are more likely to have positive experiences in the workplace and, therefore, evaluate themselves more favorably. Yet, given the comparative rarity of research examining factors that link intrapsychic aspects of political skill to performance, exploring this link is important, because the argument represents a core tenet of social/political influence theory (Ferris et al, 2007; Frieder, Ferris, Perrewé, Wihler, & Brooks, 2019; Munyon et al, 2015).…”