Leader perceptions and motivation as outcomes of followership role orientation and behavior

Abstract

Followership research posits that followers differ in the way they define and enact the followership role, which can have varying effects in relation to how leaders experience their own roles and responsibilities. Drawing from the role orientation literature and newly emerging research on followership, our study examines the indirect effects of followers' co-production (co-producing leadership outcomes) and passive (deferring to leadership influence) role orientations on leaderrated outcomes of perceived follower support, leader motivation, and follower contribution to goal attainment via followers' voice and upward delegation behaviors. Using data from 306 dyads in a Chinese organization, our results show that follower voice and upward delegation mediate the relationships linking followers' co-production and passive role orientations with leader-rated outcomes. Our study provides evidence that followership role orientations and behaviors differentially influence leader perceptions regarding their followers' support, contribution to goal attainment, and leader motivation. Implications are drawn for further research on followership

Examining why employee proactive personality influences empowering leadership: The roles of cognition‐ and affect‐based trust

“…Although proactive employees are known for deliberately working to influence, alter, or otherwise change their environment (Grant & Ashford, ; Parker, Williams, & Turner, ), little is known about how they influence their leaders. Relatedly, followership scholars have called for examination of how leaders view proactive followership, and specifically whether these perceptions affect leadership behaviours (Carsten et al ., ; Uhl‐Bien et al ., ). Drawing on followership theory and the empowering leadership literature, we substantiated our expectations that proactive personality can induce leader engagement in empowering behaviours through engendering affect‐based trust from leaders.…”

“…Accordingly, leaders may believe that employees with a proactive personality will handle challenging situations more effectively than will those who are inherently less proactive, thereby enhancing leaders' ability to meet especially complex and demanding workplace expectations. In support of this notion, Carsten et al (2017) found that leaders believe that followers with a proactive orientation (e.g., those willing to accept challenging tasks), compared to those with a passive orientation, are more likely to help them achieve their work-related goals. Taken together, we expect that employees with a more proactive personality are likely to demonstrate their competence, preparedness, and dedication to work; key components of cognition-based trust (McAllister, 1995).…”

“…In the present investigation, we endeavour to address this oversight by examining the influence of employee proactive personality on empowering leadership. Given proactive employees' willingness to accept and address the challenges that come with involvement in decision‐making (Carsten, Uhl‐Bien, & Huang, ), we anticipate that leaders are likely to believe proactive employees are better suited to being empowered than are their less proactive counterparts, and subsequently be more inclined to empower their proactive followers. More specifically, drawing on the role‐based views of followership theory (Carsten, Uhl‐Bien, West, Patera, & McGregor, ; Carsten et al ., ; Uhl‐Bien, Riggio, Lowe, & Carsten, ) and trust theory (Mayer, Davis, & Schoorman, ; McAllister, ), we suggest that leaders' trust in employees' competence (i.e., cognition‐based trust) and emotional bonds with employees (i.e., affect‐based trust) are critical to linking employee proactive personality to empowering leadership and that these two types of trust are interactively associated with empowering leadership.…”

“…Given proactive employees' willingness to accept and address the challenges that come with involvement in decision-making (Carsten, Uhl-Bien, & Huang, 2017), we anticipate that leaders are likely to believe proactive employees are better suited to being empowered than are their less proactive counterparts, and subsequently be more inclined to empower their proactive followers. More specifically, drawing on the role-based views of followership theory (Carsten, Uhl-Bien, West, Patera, & McGregor, 2010;Carsten et al, 2017;Uhl-Bien, Riggio, Lowe, & Carsten, 2014) and trust theory (Mayer, Davis, & Schoorman, 1995;McAllister, 1995), we suggest that leaders' trust in employees' competence (i.e., cognition-based trust) and emotional bonds with employees (i.e., affect-based trust) are critical to linking employee proactive personality to empowering leadership and that these two types of trust are interactively associated with empowering leadership. Furthermore, we also propose that the indirect effect of proactive personality on empowering leadership via cognition-based trust is moderated by employee task performance and that the indirect effect of proactive personality on empowering leadership via affect-based trust is moderated by organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB).…”

Leader‐to‐Follower Transitions: Flexibility and Awareness

“…While reflecting on these models and followership types, it is important to mention that despite over three decades of research into followership, the stigma of followers being passive, deferential, or playing a secondary role in organizations' achievements (Carsten, Uhl‐Bien, & Huang, 2018; Kelley, 1988) is still present. The follower stigma is further amplified for middle managers who occupy positions that call for them to be both leader to their formal subordinates and followers to their superordinate managers.…”