Bad time to be humble! When and why leaders should not be humble

IF 4.2 3区管理学 Q2 MANAGEMENT

Leadership & Organization Development Journal Pub Date : 2021-10-12 DOI:10.1108/lodj-06-2021-0254

Jiang Xu, Jih‐Yu Mao, Ye Zhang

{"title":"Bad time to be humble! When and why leaders should not be humble","authors":"Jiang Xu, Jih‐Yu Mao, Ye Zhang","doi":"10.1108/lodj-06-2021-0254","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"PurposeAlthough leader humility is generally considered a positive leadership behavior, this study aims to examine when the positive influences of leader humility are likely weakened.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from a two-wave survey. Ordinary least squares regression analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses.FindingsAlthough leader humility is positively related to perceived leader support, this relationship is weakened when the environment is uncertain, resulting in comparatively lower follower performance.Practical implicationsLeaders should be aware that environmental constraints may weaken the desired outcomes of humility and therefore adapt leadership to situational needs.Originality/valueContrasting to predominant research on leader humility, this study examines a critical boundary condition by which its positive influences are compromised. In light of the disruption caused by the ongoing COVID-19, this study suggests that what usually are considered positive characteristics of leader humility are likely perceived as little leader support when the environment is uncertain. Findings of this study echo contingency leadership theories, which suggest that effective leadership should be context-dependent.","PeriodicalId":48033,"journal":{"name":"Leadership & Organization Development Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2000,"publicationDate":"2021-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"4","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Leadership & Organization Development Journal","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj-06-2021-0254","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MANAGEMENT","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 4

Abstract

PurposeAlthough leader humility is generally considered a positive leadership behavior, this study aims to examine when the positive influences of leader humility are likely weakened.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from a two-wave survey. Ordinary least squares regression analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses.FindingsAlthough leader humility is positively related to perceived leader support, this relationship is weakened when the environment is uncertain, resulting in comparatively lower follower performance.Practical implicationsLeaders should be aware that environmental constraints may weaken the desired outcomes of humility and therefore adapt leadership to situational needs.Originality/valueContrasting to predominant research on leader humility, this study examines a critical boundary condition by which its positive influences are compromised. In light of the disruption caused by the ongoing COVID-19, this study suggests that what usually are considered positive characteristics of leader humility are likely perceived as little leader support when the environment is uncertain. Findings of this study echo contingency leadership theories, which suggest that effective leadership should be context-dependent.

查看原文本刊更多论文

不该谦虚！领导者何时以及为什么不应该谦逊

目的尽管领导者谦逊通常被认为是一种积极的领导行为，但本研究旨在考察领导者谦逊的积极影响何时可能减弱。设计/方法/方法从两波调查中收集数据。进行了普通最小二乘回归分析来检验这些假设。发现尽管领导者谦逊与感知到的领导者支持呈正相关，但当环境不确定时，这种关系会减弱，导致追随者表现相对较低。实际含义领导者应该意识到，环境限制可能会削弱谦逊的预期结果，从而使领导适应情境需求。独创性/价值观与关于领导者谦逊的主流研究相比，本研究考察了一个关键的边界条件，通过该条件，领导者的积极影响得以妥协。鉴于持续的新冠肺炎造成的混乱，这项研究表明，当环境不确定时，通常被视为领导者谦逊的积极特征可能会被视为很少的领导者支持。这项研究的结果呼应了偶然性领导理论，该理论认为有效的领导应该依赖于上下文。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Leadership & Organization Development Journal MANAGEMENT-

CiteScore

7.70

自引率

6.10%

发文量

期刊介绍： The journal addresses a broad range of topics which are relevant to organizations and reflective of societal developments. Public and private sector organizations alike face ongoing pressure to streamline activities, improve efficiency and achieve demanding organizational objectives. In this context, the ability of senior managers to understand the culture and dynamics of organizations and to deliver strong leadership during periods of change, could be the difference between organizational failure and success.