Leaders' relational self-concept and followers' task performance: Implications for mentoring provided to followers

Employee proactive behaviors and LMX from a reverse lens perspective: the mediator role of leader perceived constructiveness

Drawing on social resources theory and social exchange theory, we propose that two forms of employee proactive behaviors, namely voice and taking charge, influence a leader's perception of their employees and hence affect the interpersonal relationships within the dyad. We introduce an expanded construct, termed as the leader perceived constructiveness, as a mediating mechanism that links the effects. We further propose two conditional factors that also govern the effects. Pairwise data collected from Taiwanese employees and supervisors in two separate studies provide support for the theorized hypotheses and confirm that the indirect relationship between employees' proactive behaviors and leader–member exchange (LMX) is augmented by their past performance. Our study advances the literature by adopting a more follower-centered framework. Moreover, by demonstrating how and when employee-initiated behaviors affect upwardly and improve the dyad outcome, we also contribute to the LMX literature and provide useful insights for managerial practice.

Proposing a Robust Model to Reduce Employees’ Turnover Intentions in an Ethical Leadership Framework: Empirical Evidence from the Healthcare Sector

Employee turnover is expensive and disruptive for an organization. Studies have already mentioned that the economic cost of turnover is huge, ranging from 90% to 200% of the existing employee’s salary. With an increase in turnover rate, the social fabric of an enterprise may be disrupted. Additionally, organizations with an increasing turnover are expected to lose intangible knowledge and skills, operational effectiveness, customer satisfaction, and product or service quality. In a healthcare context, an increasing turnover rate has more consequences than other sectors because the healthcare sector worldwide is already identified as a sector facing resource scarcity. Exacerbating the situation, current evidence suggests that employee turnover has been increasing globally in the healthcare sector. The literature suggests that an ethical leadership style may reduce employees’ likelihood of quitting an organization. However, such literature is sparse in healthcare, especially from the perspective of a developing economy in the Global South, which is more resource-deficient than the Global North. To fill this knowledge gap, this study investigates the relationship between ethical leadership style and turnover intentions in the healthcare context of the Global South. This study also tests the mediating effect of intrinsic motivation and psychological contract fulfillment in the above-proposed relationship. Furthermore, the conditional indirect effect of resilience is also tested. The data are collected from the hospital employees through a self-administered questionnaire. The hypothesized relationships are tested through structural equation modeling. The empirical evidence indicates that ethical leadership reduces employees’ turnover intentions significantly. The results further confirm the mediating and moderating effects of intrinsic motivation, psychological contract fulfillment, and resilience. These results have different theoretical and practical implications for the healthcare sector. The results especially highlight the role of ethical leaders in a hospital to deal with the challenge of turnover, which has been rising worldwide.

My LMX standing with my leader as compared to my coworkers: conditional indirect effect of LMX social comparison

Purpose

The paper examines the effect of relative leader-member exchange (LMX) on follower's in-role performance, citizenship behaviour and cynicism via relational identification. Moreover, LMXSC (LMXSC) moderates the direct and mediating relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on multi-level (individual and group level) model, dyadic data were collected from 298 employees working under 47 group managers in the banking sector in Pakistan.

Findings

The multi-level moderated mediation model tested in Mplus and HLM software showed the full support for direct, mediating and moderating hypothesized relationships; however, the moderated mediation hypothesis was partially supported. It reveals that relative LMX standing of followers predicted in-role performance, organizational citizenship behaviour at an individual level (OCB-individual) and cynicism. Relational identification with the leader mediated the relationship. Moreover, at high LMXSC, the relationship between relative LMX and relational identification and consequently the outcomes were stronger.

Originality/value

LMX has widely been studied at dyadic level, despite the suggested high and low LMX quality relationships that exist in a workgroup. This study not only investigates the role of relative LMX on employee performance through relational identification but also reports that subjective evaluation of LMXSC plays a major role in promoting employee performance.

Mentor teachers as leaders and followers in school-based contexts in the Republic of Ireland

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to exploratory small-scale study is to examine the intertwined leadership and followership aspects of the roles performed by school-based mentors in the Republic of Ireland.

Design/methodology/approach

– In order to investigate mentor teachers’ perceptions of their role with reference to leadership and followership in their school contexts, a questionnaire was distributed to the full cohort of 56 mentor teachers who participated in the National Programme for Teacher Induction. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with four mentor teacher facilitators from different regions across Ireland who were also mentors in their respective schools.

Findings

– The findings from this exploratory small-scale study suggest that the hierarchical nature of the school context influenced mentor teachers’ perceptions of their leadership and followership roles. They regarded themselves as leaders in a general sense and considered that all members of staff had something to contribute to the leadership process in the school. However, the school context moderated their own perceptions about their individual approaches to leadership. Participants in this study were unclear about the term followership and were reluctant to use it. They considered themselves to be performing a supportive role in the hierarchical structure of the school context.

Research limitations/implications

– As this is an exploratory qualitative study with a small sample size in a country where the role of a mentor teacher in schools is a relatively new concept, the findings should be interpreted with caution. Future research would benefit from multi-method approaches to data collections that examine variations in followership perceptions from individuals prior to becoming mentors in order for comparisons to be made.

Practical implications

– The practical implications of this study from a management perspective suggest that followership needs to be considered very carefully in school contexts as a way of contributing to the co-construction of leadership which engages all members of staff. It is clear that there is a need to move away from hierarchical interpretations of middle management posts of responsibility. More emphasis should be placed on the ways in which teachers construct their roles within schools as this impacts upon leadership processes and organizational effectiveness. Equally important is an open acknowledgement of the tensions involved in developing such roles and responsibilities.

Originality/value

– Followership is not researched widely in schools, particularly with reference to the role of mentor teachers. This is an interesting group as the very nature of their work involves maintaining boundaries and managing multiple relationships. They are generally collaborative in their approach and are well placed to co-construct leadership with their colleagues and their principals with appropriate supports in the school context.