The role of HEXACO in the development of authentic leadership and its consequences on task performance

Abstract

PurposeThe objectives of the current study were to identify the antecedents and outcomes of authentic leadership. For antecedents, the research considered the HEXACO (Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, eXtraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience) personality model and thereby identified the impact of authentic leadership on employee performance with the mediating role of psychological safety and employee engagement by using the trait theory.Design/methodology/approachThe current study adopted a positivism research philosophy followed by a deductive approach. Overall, 347 samples were collected from the public sector organizations using quantitative research techniques, and data were gathered through a self-administrated questionnaire. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used through structural equation modeling (SEM)-Mplus to generate the results and test the formulated hypotheses.FindingsThe results revealed that honesty-humility significantly impacts authentic leadership (β = 0.094 and p < 0.05). Similarly, other dimensions of HEXACO also play a significant role in forming authentic leadership. After analyzing the HEXACO as the antecedent of authentic leadership, sequential mediation of psychological safety and employee engagement was checked and identified that authentic leadership in the presence of mediators was insignificant. Hence the full mediation has been recorded.Originality/valueSince its inception, a plethora of research has been available on the authentic leadership theory. However, the empirical evidence revealed that most research is related to outcomes of authentic leadership. As far as antecedents of authentic leadership are concerned, the literature is still silent, specifically on the development of authentic leaders. The current study is significantly contributing to the theory of authentic leadership, and in this context, the study is unique since it is taking the HEXACO personality model as an antecedent of authentic leadership to investigate its role in the development of authentic leaders. Moreover, the study is also identified as the impact of authentic leadership on task performance, not in isolation, but by taking psychological safety and employee engagement as a mediating mechanism.

Personality and Humbleness: The Role of the HEXACO Model of Personality in Development of Humble Leaders

“…In their study, Malik et al (2023) found a significant relationship between Honesty–Humility and the development of authentic leadership (β = .094, p < .001). The findings are consistent with prior research (Malik et al, 2023).…”

“…Hence, Agreeableness impacts Humble Leadership because such leaders are helpful to others (LaBouff et al, 2012). Malik et al (2023) found that agreeableness has significant impact on authentic leadership (b = .23, p \ .05). The current study results revealed that agreeableness is having 17% role in the development of humble leadership.…”

“…Traditional working techniques are discouraged and instead, flexibility in adopting change is emphasized over humbleness. In nations and public sector entities that adhere to stringent norms and regulations, persons who do not align with the demonstration of humbleness are considered incongruous (Malik et al, 2023).…”

“…The findings indicate that Honest-Humility, which is the fundamental trait of Humble Leadership, plays a key role in the cultivation of Humble Leaders. In relation to this, previous research has also employed the terms Humility and Humbleness interchangeably (Wright et al, 2017;Malik et al, 2023). Tangney (2000) provided a description of Humility as both a trait and a state.…”

“…Humble Leadership theory explained that it has positive outcomes concerning followers or subordinates (Yang et al, 2019). The literature identified that Humble Leadership adopts the bottom-up approach, which motivates their followers (Malik et al, 2021(Malik et al, , 2023Malik & Khan, 2019). Because they are getting positivity from their leaders, the followers of Humble Leaders feel more obliged and reciprocate their leaders' qualities, so they tend to engage in work-related activities (Zhou & Wu, 2018).…”