The meaning of leadership for educated young bedouin men

In a world beset by rapid change, more than ever people seek trustworthy leaders. The establishment of the State of Israel has wrought many changes in Bedouin society, including the perception of the traditional leadership. From being the majority population in an Arab country, the Bedouins have become a minority in a Jewish-majority state. Moreover, they have undergone a shift from an Indigenous, tribal culture to a culture based on individualism, and from a nomadic life to one of permanent settlement. In this context a qualitative study in the phenomenological tradition, using a semi-structured interview, was conducted among 20 educated young Bedouin men, ages 20–25, with the aim of understanding the meaning of leadership for them. The findings revealed that they see leadership as action for the benefit of all. They are aware of what they consider bogus leadership, elected officials who use their position to promote their own interests and those of their cronies. The participants described the differences between formal and informal leadership, on the basis of their experience. They also described the change they themselves are undergoing. The findings contribute to the understanding of factors affecting the perception of leadership in a society in transition to modernity and are applicable worldwide.

The Indirect Role of Passive-Avoidant and Transformational Leadership through Job and Team Level Stressors on Workplace Cyberbullying

Research on workplace cyberbullying (WCB) is still scarce and needs verification. This study addressed the indirect influence of positive and negative leadership on WCB via perceived role stressors and negative team climate. The main goal is to test the applicability of the work environment hypothesis and job demands-resources model for WCB on a cross-sectional sample of n = 583 workers in Germany (n = 334) and Spain (n = 249). We tested multiple mediation models, and findings revealed that negative (passive-avoidant) leadership increased role and team stressors and thereby WCB exposure, whereas positive (transformational) leadership decreased the same stressors and thereby reduced WCB exposure. No cross-cultural differences were found, indicating portability of the results. This study highlights the explanatory factors for WCB at individual and team level and emphasizes the role of managers as shapers of the work environmental antecedents of WCB in the emergent digitalized working world. Theoretical implications and future research avenues are discussed.

Leadership and Learning at Work: A Systematic Literature Review of Learning-oriented Leadership

Contemporary organizations must be adaptive and agile as the environment changes. To respond to change, leaders must find ways of integrating learning into everyday work experiences. This invites the question: how do leaders facilitate individual, group and organizational learning? Several studies have examined relationships among leadership and learning and potential mediating and moderating variables. However, because this literature is extensive and fragmented it is difficult to discern what is known about how leadership contributes to individual, group and organizational learning. Accordingly, there is a pressing need to assemble and evaluate the existing studies. To address this limitation of the literature, this paper presents a systematic review and critique of literature in this field. Our review of 105 studies suggests that there are statistically significant relationships between different types of leadership and learning at the individual, group, and organizational levels. Furthermore, the findings indicate that these relationships are often mediated by other variables. However, little is known about moderators and boundary conditions. Based on the findings, it would be premature to say with certainty that leadership causally influences learning, since the empirical basis for such a claim is lacking. We outline the conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and empirical refinements needed to guide future research on learning-oriented leadership and advance this research trajectory. The findings of our review and our conclusions will be informative for researchers and practitioners.

Teacher's withdrawal behavior: examining the impact of principals' innovative behavior and climate of organizational learning

Purpose

The study aims to test an innovative model that explores the direct and indirect relationships between principals' innovative behavior, climate of organizational learning and a teacher's intent to leave his or her school and take a voluntary absence.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from a survey of 1,529 teachers from 107 Arab elementary schools randomly selected from the database of the Israeli educational system. To test the proposed multilevel model, we conducted multilevel structural equation modeling (ML-SEM).

Findings

The analysis confirmed that organizational learning climate is a prominent mediator between principals' innovative behavior and a teacher's intent to leave and his/her voluntary absence.

Originality/value

This research advances our understanding of leaders' innovative construct in an educational context and adds to the body of research directed at identifying administrative support and work-related factors that may negatively relate to a teacher's absenteeism or intent to leave and are amenable to leadership intervention.

How and When Do Leaders Influence Employees' Well-Being? Moderated Mediation Models for Job Demands and Resources

Following the call of recent reviews on leadership and well-being, the purpose of this study is to examine how and when two contrasting leadership styles, transformational leadership (TFL) and passive-avoidant leadership (PAL), are related to employees’ anxiety and thereby either promote or inhibit employees’ well-being. Using the prominent job demands-resources (JD-R) model as a theoretical framework, we propose that the relationship between leadership behavior and anxiety is mediated by organizational job demands, namely, role ambiguity (RA), and job resources, namely, team climate for learning (TCL), as well as moderated by autonomy as important job characteristic. A sample of 501 knowledge workers, working in teams in a German research and development (R&D) organization, answered an online survey. We tested moderated multiple mediation models using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results demonstrated that the relationships between TFL as well as PAL on the one hand and anxiety on the other hand were fully mediated by RA and TCL. Job autonomy moderated the quality of the leadership–job demand relationship for TFL and PAL. This paper contributes to understanding the complex relationship between leadership and followers’ well-being taking into account a combination of mediating and moderating job demands and resources. This is the first study that examines the effects of TFL and PAL on well-being taking into account the job demand RA and team processes and autonomy as resources.

Adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms and passive leadership: The mediating role of daytime sleepiness

Passive leadership is attracting empirical interest with the detrimental effects of this type of leadership on a broad array of individual and organizational outcomes becoming apparent. However, just why leaders would engage in this type of nonleadership has received less research attention. We investigate whether and how leaders' attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with passive leadership. Using a framework specifying how the physiology of sleepiness impacts the workplace, we hypothesize that leaders' ADHD is associated with passive leadership indirectly through daytime sleepiness. After controlling for leaders' age, gender, and preclinical symptoms of depression and anxiety, standard ordinary least squares regression procedures were implemented through Hayes' PROCESS models. Multisource data from 98 leader-follower groups (M number of followers per leader = 4.38, SD = 1.78) showed that the effects of leaders' ADHD symptoms on passive leadership were mediated by daytime sleepiness. Conceptual, methodological, and practical implications are discussed.

Leadership Intellectual Stimulation and Team Learning: the Mediating Role of Team Positive Affect

This study investigates how leadership intellectual stimulation relates to team positive affect and team learning. We explore the role of positive affect as mediator between leadership intellectual stimulation and team learning. Using a cross-sectional sample of 562 employees, nested within 130 teams from 44 small and medium size organizations, we implemented Structural Equation Model analysis at the team level. Results provides evidence of the strong influence that intellectual stimulation have on team learning and team positive affect, as well as the potential of positive affect for stimulate team learning. Team positive affect serves as partial mediator between intellectual stimulation and team learning, contributing to explain significant additional variance. Leadership intellectual stimulation is a relevant team social resource that provides support for team learning. As well, positive affect contributes significantly to improve learning among teams. This suggests the importance of developing leadership behaviors that encourage learning and team positive affect, which contributes to team learning and hence to performance.

Comparing the Effectiveness of Individual Coaching, Self-Coaching, and Group Training: How Leadership Makes the Difference

Few empirical studies have used a randomized controlled design to evaluate the impact of coaching, and there are even fewer that have compared coaching with other interventions. In the current field study, we investigated the relative effectiveness of coaching as an intervention to reduce procrastination. In a randomized controlled study, participants (N = 84) were assigned to an individual coaching, a self-coaching, a group training, or a control group condition. Results indicate that individual coaching and group training were effective in reducing procrastination and facilitating goal attainment. Individual coaching created a high degree of satisfaction and was superior in helping participants attaining their goals, whereas group training successfully promoted the acquisition of relevant knowledge. The results for the self-coaching condition show that independently performing exercises without being supported by a coach is not sufficient for high goal attainment. Moreover, mediation analysis show that a coach’s transformational and transactional leadership behavior influenced participants’ perceived autonomy support and intrinsic motivation, resulting in beneficial coaching outcomes. The results may guide the selection of appropriate human resource development methods: If there is a general need to systematically prepare employees to perform on specific tasks, group training seems appropriate due to lower costs. However, when certain aspects of working conditions or individual development goals are paramount, coaching might be indicated. However, further research is needed to compare the relative effectiveness of coaching with other interventions in different contexts.

Psychological need fulfillment as a mediator of the relationship between transformational leadership and positive job attitudes

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the possible mediating role of need fulfilment in the relationship between transformational leadership and employee job attitudes (job satisfaction and dedication).

Design/methodology/approach

– The two samples include both cross-sectional and diary data. The cross-sectional sample (sample 1) consisted of 661 employees from various organizations. In the diary study (sample 2), 65 employees completed a daily questionnaire on five consecutive working days, yielding 325 measurement points in total. The authors analyzed the data using structural equation modeling (Mplus 5) and multilevel analyses (MLwiN 2.20).

Findings

– As hypothesized, support for full mediation of the relationship between transformational leadership and positive job attitudes through the fulfilment of psychological needs were found both on a general level and on a daily basis.

Originality/value

– The paper is based on a multi study approach and empirically addresses the link between transformational leadership and positive job attitudes, and the role of basic need fulfilment in this relationship on both a general and daily level.

Learning through cognitive milieu therapy among inpatients with dual diagnosis: a qualitative study of interdisciplinary collaboration

The main aim of this study was to explore the experiences of interdisciplinary collaboration among staff members, applying cognitive milieu therapy for inpatients with dual diagnosis. The study is based on 33 individual, qualitative interviews. The interdisciplinary approach helped the staff to agree on common aims for the treatment of each patient. The cognitive method was useful and provided the staff with suitable tools in their work with the patients. The staff succeeded in developing a good learning climate, where they cooperated on equal terms with the patients. Collaborative team learning and external supervision facilitated personal learning processes.