To Self-Verify or Self-Enhance? Effects of Self-Presentation and Authentic Leadership on Felt Trust

Abstract

When it comes to self-presentation, people may present their genuine selves or reveal only positive attributes, but most research has examined these behaviors separately. The self-presentation literature has also failed to distinguish between truthful and fabricated efforts to enhance one’s self-image. In this study, we developed and tested an integrated theoretical model that examines the simultaneous effects of self-verification (genuine self-presentation) versus self-enhancement (i.e., self-promotion and self-aggrandizement) on employee outcomes. Using a multi-source, three-wave survey design and a sample of 115 working groups (i.e., 115 supervisors and their 555 employees), we found that self-verification and self-promotion enhanced task performance via felt trust, whereas self-aggrandizement demonstrated negative indirect effects. In addition, self-verification was positively related to felt trust and task performance when authentic leadership was higher rather than lower. In contrast, self-promotion was positively associated with felt trust and task performance when authentic leadership was lower rather than higher.