Good, Bad, and Ugly Leadership Patterns: Implications for Followers’ Work-Related and Context-Free Outcomes

Abstract

This research responds to calls for a more integrative approach to leadership theory by identifying subpopulations of followers who share a common set of perceptions with respect to their leader's behaviors. Six commonly researched styles were investigated: abusive supervision, transformational leadership (TFL), contingent reward (CR), passive and active management-by-exception (MBE-P and MBE-A, respectively), and laissez faire/avoidant (LF/A). Study hypotheses were tested with data from four independent samples of working adults, three from followers ( N = 855) and a validation sample of leaders ( N = 505). Using latent profile analysis, three pattern cohorts emerged across all four samples. One subpopulation of followers exhibited a constructive pattern with higher scores on TFL and CR relative to other styles. Two cohorts exhibited destructive patterns, one where the passive styles of MBE-A, MBE- P and LF/A were high relative to the other styles (passive) and one where the passive styles co-occurred with abusive supervision (passive-abusive). Drawing on conservation of resources theory, we confirmed differential associations with work-related (i.e., burnout, vigor, perceived organizational support and affective organizational commitment) and context-free (i.e., physical health and psychological well-being) outcomes. The passive-abusive pattern was devastating for physical health, yet passiveness without abuse was damaging for psychological well-being. Interestingly, we find a clear demarcation between passiveness as “benign neglect” and passiveness as an intentional and deliberate form of leadership aimed at disrupting or undermining followers—hence, the two faces of passiveness: “bad” and “ugly.” We discuss the novel insights offered by a pattern (person)-oriented analytical strategy and the broader theoretical and practical implications for leadership research.

An examination of shared leadership configurations and their effectiveness in teams

“…Moreover, LPA does not restrict the number or type of configurations, allowing for the possibility of yet unknown profiles to manifest. This exploratory aspect of LPA is particularly useful in cases such as ours (i.e., shared leadership), in which theory has not provided a clear framework or typology for the expected number or type of subgroups (e.g., Bennett et al, 2016; Gabriel et al, 2015; Gabriel et al, 2022; Hancock et al, 2023; Morin et al, 2011). In sum, LPA allows us to inductively evaluate profiles within a population based on a set of theoretically grounded indicator variables identified in prior research.…”

A mechanism for employees’ brand citizenship behavior (BCB) and negative word-of-mouth (NWOM): the divergent moderating effects of horizontal collectivism

“…Although POS, a cognitive factor, may not activate BCB directly, it can arouse pride at work, which leads to BCB while suppressing NWOM directly. Built on the strong association between leadership style and employees’ POS, Hancock et al . (2023) found transformational and transactional styles create the highest POS from the followers, and, thus, organizations can design an effective pedagogy that trains the leaders to exhibit such leadership styles.…”

“…The current study found that employees' positive and negative brand-oriented behaviors are activated by a unique set of antecedents and, thus, suggests that organizations should develop distinctive strategies to encourage positive discretionary brand-oriented behaviors and discourage negative brand-oriented behaviors Although POS, a cognitive factor, may not activate BCB directly, it can arouse pride at work, which leads to BCB while suppressing NWOM directly. Built on the strong association between leadership style and employees' POS, Hancock et al (2023) found transformational and transactional styles create the highest POS from the followers, and, thus, organizations can design an effective pedagogy that trains the leaders to exhibit such leadership styles. Supervisors should also be aware that passive-abusive behaviors are particularly detrimental to employees' POS (Hancock et al, 2023).…”

“…Built on the strong association between leadership style and employees' POS, Hancock et al (2023) found transformational and transactional styles create the highest POS from the followers, and, thus, organizations can design an effective pedagogy that trains the leaders to exhibit such leadership styles. Supervisors should also be aware that passive-abusive behaviors are particularly detrimental to employees' POS (Hancock et al, 2023). Organizations should also note that perceived fairness, HR practices and working conditions all have cumulative effects on the development of POS (Kurtessis et al, 2017).…”

Unveiling the interplay between leadership behavior and leader well-being: a person-centered approach

“…, 2021). We concentrate on transformational leadership and abusive supervision, which represent the epitomes of constructive and destructive leadership, respectively (Hancock et al. , 2021; Harms et al.…”