Manuel London , Judith Volmer , Jetmir Zyberaj , Avraham N. Kluger
{"title":"Gaining feedback acceptance: Leader-member attachment style and psychological safety","authors":"Manuel London , Judith Volmer , Jetmir Zyberaj , Avraham N. Kluger","doi":"10.1016/j.hrmr.2023.100953","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This conceptual article develops a model of how attachment style affects how leaders give feedback and members' react to it. Drawing on attachment theory, we propose that leaders whose trait attachment style is grounded in a desire for security are likely to deliver feedback that is constructive—that is, specific, frequent, timely, behavioral, and future-focused expressed in a way that establishes psychological safety. Leaders who have an anxious attachment style do not want to give members unfavorable feedback that may cause a negative reaction. Leaders who avoid attachment are likely to present little feedback or present unfavorable feedback in a manner that is not constructive—potentially blunt and ego-threatening. Our model also predicts that team members' trait attachment style influences their feedback acceptance mediated by their feelings of psychological safety, with secure attachment style members benefiting most from constructive feedback. Further, we consider how the match (or mismatch) in attachment style between the leader and member influences their reactions to each other as the leader offers feedback and the member reacts. This has implications for assessing the fit between the leader's and team member's attachment styles and designing HR interventions for more constructive feedback and positive reactions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48145,"journal":{"name":"Human Resource Management Review","volume":"33 2","pages":"Article 100953"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2000,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Human Resource Management Review","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053482223000013","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MANAGEMENT","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
This conceptual article develops a model of how attachment style affects how leaders give feedback and members' react to it. Drawing on attachment theory, we propose that leaders whose trait attachment style is grounded in a desire for security are likely to deliver feedback that is constructive—that is, specific, frequent, timely, behavioral, and future-focused expressed in a way that establishes psychological safety. Leaders who have an anxious attachment style do not want to give members unfavorable feedback that may cause a negative reaction. Leaders who avoid attachment are likely to present little feedback or present unfavorable feedback in a manner that is not constructive—potentially blunt and ego-threatening. Our model also predicts that team members' trait attachment style influences their feedback acceptance mediated by their feelings of psychological safety, with secure attachment style members benefiting most from constructive feedback. Further, we consider how the match (or mismatch) in attachment style between the leader and member influences their reactions to each other as the leader offers feedback and the member reacts. This has implications for assessing the fit between the leader's and team member's attachment styles and designing HR interventions for more constructive feedback and positive reactions.
期刊介绍:
The Human Resource Management Review (HRMR) is a quarterly academic journal dedicated to publishing scholarly conceptual and theoretical articles in the field of human resource management and related disciplines such as industrial/organizational psychology, human capital, labor relations, and organizational behavior. HRMR encourages manuscripts that address micro-, macro-, or multi-level phenomena concerning the function and processes of human resource management. The journal publishes articles that offer fresh insights to inspire future theory development and empirical research. Critical evaluations of existing concepts, theories, models, and frameworks are also encouraged, as well as quantitative meta-analytical reviews that contribute to conceptual and theoretical understanding.
Subject areas appropriate for HRMR include (but are not limited to) Strategic Human Resource Management, International Human Resource Management, the nature and role of the human resource function in organizations, any specific Human Resource function or activity (e.g., Job Analysis, Job Design, Workforce Planning, Recruitment, Selection and Placement, Performance and Talent Management, Reward Systems, Training, Development, Careers, Safety and Health, Diversity, Fairness, Discrimination, Employment Law, Employee Relations, Labor Relations, Workforce Metrics, HR Analytics, HRM and Technology, Social issues and HRM, Separation and Retention), topics that influence or are influenced by human resource management activities (e.g., Climate, Culture, Change, Leadership and Power, Groups and Teams, Employee Attitudes and Behavior, Individual, team, and/or Organizational Performance), and HRM Research Methods.