Adaptive followership: The role of leader psychological safety and magnitude of change

Abstract

In this longitudinal laboratory study, we investigated the effects of an adaptive followership training intervention on team adaptive performance. One hundred two four-person teams were assigned to one of the six conditions resulting from the 2 (adaptive followership training vs. control training) x 3 (change magnitude: team, task, or team & task) factorial repeated measures design. Results revealed the magnitude of change exerted a moderating effect on the relation between adaptive followership training and team adaptive performance, such that adaptive followership training significantly increased team adaptive performance when teams faced both a task and a team change, but not when they faced only a task or a team change. Additionally, we found that adaptive followership increases leader psychological safety across change conditions, and that leader psychological safety mediates the positive effect of adaptive followership on team adaptive performance in the team and task change condition. Our work extends both team adaptation and followership literatures and enhances organizational practice, providing vital insights for training program development to increase teams’ ability to adapt effectively during environmental complexities.