Can some leaders have a good relationship with many followers?

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report a study of the relationship between Leader‐Member Exchange (LMX) and span of control. The paper argues that depending on their extraversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness, some leaders will find it easier to establish and maintain LMX relationships with their followers in larger groups.Design/methodology/approachA survey was conducted among 52 leaders and 389 followers. As matched data were used, the final sample consisted of 244 individual employees who worked in 41 different groups.FindingsResults show that extraversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness moderate the relationship between span of control and various dimensions of LMX. The results for agreeableness, however, were in the opposite direction than expected.Research limitations/implicationsThe moderation effects that were found for leader personality indicate that organizations could foster LMX relationships by selecting leaders with certain personality patterns for larger groups or taking care to train leaders who do not show this pattern to overcome possible problems of low LMX relationships in large groups.Originality/valueTo the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to address the relationship between span of control and LMX dimensions, and the first to examine the effects of leader personality on that relationship.