Do visionary and servant leaders reduce cognitive uncertainty of professionals? A study of team-based settings in public organizations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Team-based organizations meet societal demands by becoming flexible, innovative, and responsive. However, decreased reliance on rules in such organizations may negate an original purpose of bureaucracies: reducing employees’ cognitive uncertainty. Drawing on social identity and social learning theories, this article examines how servant and visionary leadership reduce cognitive uncertainty in team-based organizations. Using multilevel SEM on data from 914 professionals in 101 Dutch public-sector teams, it shows that visionary leadership reduces cognitive uncertainty through team cohesion and servant leadership reduces cognitive uncertainty directly and through learning behaviour. The findings show how organizations can reduce cognitive uncertainty without reverting to rules.