Leader Identity as an Antecedent of the Frequency and Consistency of Transformational, Consideration, and Abusive Leadership Behaviors

Drawing from identity-based theories of leadership, we examined relations of leader identity with leader behavior and perceived effectiveness. To do so, we employed multiwave methodology to examine the differential impact of leaders' chronic collective, relational, and individual identities on...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied psychology 2012-11, Vol.97 (6), p.1262-1272
Main Authors: JOHNSON, Russell E, LANAJ, Klodiana, VENUS, Merlijn, CHANGGUO MAO, CHANG, Chu-Hsiang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abuse of Power
Adult
Behavioural psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Collective identity
Effectiveness
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Group identity
Human
Humans
Identity
Individuals
Interpersonal Control
Leaders
Leadership
Leadership Style
Male
Management Personnel
Methodology
Middle Aged
Occupational psychology
Organization and management. Professional relation
Organization theory
Organizational behavior
Peer groups
Personality
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Self Concept
Social Behavior
Social Identity
Social Perception
Studies
Subordinates
Transformational Leadership
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Summary:Drawing from identity-based theories of leadership, we examined relations of leader identity with leader behavior and perceived effectiveness. To do so, we employed multiwave methodology to examine the differential impact of leaders' chronic collective, relational, and individual identities on the frequency and consistency of their subsequent transformational, consideration, and abusive behaviors over a 3-week period. We also examined the relative importance of these leadership behaviors for predicting perceived leader effectiveness as rated by subordinates and peers. Results indicated that leaders' collective and individual identities were uniquely related to transformational and abusive behaviors, respectively. We also observed a significant collective by individual identity interaction, such that abusive behaviors were most frequent when a strong individual identity was paired with a weak collective identity. Frequency of transformational behaviors accounted for the largest proportion of variance in perceived leader effectiveness, followed by frequency of abusive behaviors and consistency of transformational behaviors. We discuss the implications of these findings for leadership theory and development.
ISSN:0021-9010
1939-1854
DOI:10.1037/a0029043