Leader Humility and Machiavellianism: Investigating the Effects on Followers' Self-Interested and Prosocial Behaviors.

Shu-Chen Chen,Wen-Qian Zou,Na-Ting Liu

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.742546

Abstract

Existing research on leader humility primarily demonstrates its positive effects. This study challenges this view by proposing the potential negative effects of leader humility on followers’ behaviors. Furthermore, this paper employs the person-situation interactionist perspective to extend the research on integrating followers’ personality traits and leader humility. Specifically, this study proposed that leader humility triggers their followers’ sense of power; moreover, this study wagers that whether followers’ sense of power encourages self-interested or prosocial behavior in followers depends on their particular Machiavellian traits. The theoretical model was tested using the time-lagged supervisor–subordinate matched data obtained. Our findings revealed that follower Machiavellianism fosters the relationship between a sense of power and self-interested behavior but it weakens the relationship between a sense of power and prosocial behavior. Thus, this study provides a better understanding regarding the effect of follower personality and leader humility on follower behavioral reactions.

Highlights

Humble leaders are known to positively affect their followers’ prosocial behavior; notably, a humble leader’s ethical behavior can influence their followers (Owens and Hekman, 2012)
The results reported that leader humility indirectly affects self-interested behavior via sense of power; this effect is stronger when follower Machiavellianism is higher, than when it is lower
Our study focuses on the effect of leader humility on followers’ self-interested and prosocial behaviors

Summary

Introduction

Humble leaders are known to positively affect their followers’ prosocial behavior; notably, a humble leader’s ethical behavior can influence their followers (Owens and Hekman, 2012). Despite the ethical approach, leader humility may affect follower behavior in negative ways as well (Owens and Hekman, 2012). Studies have demonstrated that followers under humble leaders will act in their own interests and be indifferent to the common good (Qiuyun et al, 2020). The underlying mechanism of leader humility that triggers self-interested or prosocial behaviors remain unexplored. We aimed to examine the effects of leader humility on followers’ self-interested or prosocial behaviors through followers’ sense of power, and the role of followers’ Machiavellianism as a moderator of this effect

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Conclusion