Led by curiosity and responding with voice: The influence of leader displays of curiosity and leader gender on follower reactions of psychological safety and voice

Abstract

How curiosity affects other employees—the social side of curiosity at work—is understudied but meaningful given that social learning theory suggests that when leaders display curiosity, it signals to followers that the environment is safe for taking risks associated with being inquisitive at work. At the same time, because displays of curiosity are communal in nature, social role theory and the communality-bonus effect combine to indicate that curiosity’s effects should be stronger for followers of male leaders versus followers of female leaders. Here, we integrate these social theories to explain how and when leader displays of curiosity will increase follower perceptions of psychological safety and subsequent voice. We test and find support for these predictions across four samples of leader-follower dyads, thereby broadening our understanding of the social implications of curiosity at work, demonstrating how curiosity contributes to leader effectiveness, and highlighting how gender shapes the effects of curiosity.