Followers Of Leaders Research Articles

How Much Do We Trust Remote Managers? Examining Follower Trust, Construal, and Performance

ABSTRACTWith the widespread shift to remote and hybrid work, followers of leaders who telework are more distant from their leaders and may develop different judgments of their leader's trustworthiness. Drawing upon construal level theory (CLT), we investigate the effect of a leader's teleworking on trust followers have in their leader and suggest that higher level construals associated with the leader's distance help explain this effect. Moreover, we investigate the moderating role of a leader's monitoring behavior. Study 1, a longitudinal field study using matched data from 314 followers, 108 leaders, and 218 projects in a large corporation, finds leader teleworking is negatively associated with follower affect‐based trust, which in turn is associated with project financial performance. Study 2, a 3‐wave study of employed adults (n = 262), finds evidence that follower construal mediates the relationship between the extent of leader teleworking and follower trust. Study 3, a daily study of employed adults (n = 98) conducted over 10 consecutive workdays, finds support for these effects at a daily and between‐person level. Across the three studies, results indicate the extent of leader teleworking is negatively associated with follower trust in the leader through higher level follower construal, with leader monitoring exacerbating this effect.

Twenty‐First Century Autocrats and Their Followers: A Comparative Inquiry

<p>Leadership and followership have long been considered to be defining features of democratic politics. However, more recently, both conceptual redefinitions and real-world developments have put issues of leadership and followership in regimes from beyond the family of established liberal democracies center-stage. This article looks into the nature of authoritarian leadership and followership from a comparative perspective and in light of theories of democratic political leadership. As the inquiry suggests, the rise and nature of leadership activities in contemporary authoritarian regimes reflects both the turn towards more competitive types of autocracy and the aspiration of many authoritarian powerholders to be seen as democratic. At the same time, some of the most spectacular manifestations of autocratic leadership relate to democratic rather than established authoritarian regimes. While followers of autocratic leaders can control their leaders only to the extent that a regime provides mechanisms of vertical accountability, authoritarian followers, even in established autocracies, are not in all regards less important or powerful than their democratic counterparts. Many authoritarian followers do not just support autocrats, but actively attack and chase non-followers or followers of other leaders, and thus play an independent role in the legitimation or de-legitimation of leaders and regimes.</p>

Transformational Leadership and Employees’ Commitment: Evidence from Selected SACCOs in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania

It has long been demonstrated that followers of transformative leaders perform better than average, but it is unknown why this happens. However, the reasoning behind why this process occurs is unclear. The main aim of this study was to establish the influence transformational leadership on employee commitment among selected SACCOS in Kilimanjaro region. Specifically, the study pursued the following objectives; establish the influence of idealized influence, inspirational motivation, individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation on employee commitment among selected SACCOS in Kilimanjaro region in Tanzania. The study adopted explanatory research design using both qualitative and qualitative research technique. Both primary and secondary data were collected whereas questionnaire was used to collect primary data from employees of the four selected SACCOS in Kilimanjaro region. Study population comprised of all employees in function level team and SACCOS board members. Purposive sampling was used to sample 102 employees whereas the collected data were analyzed both descriptively and inferentially. The results found that, there is a positive significant relationship between transformational leadership and employee commitment of selected SACCOS in Kilimanjaro region. Moreover, the results concluded that, compared with other variables, idealized influence had a significant positive relationship on employee commitment in the selected SACCOS. Further, the study rejected all null hypotheses and concludes that all transformational leadership variables had a statistical significant relationship with employee commitment. Based on the above conclusion, the study recommends that, SACCOS management should embrace every facet of transformational leadership across all domains of work as a fundamental style that will be crucial to the success of their business. This research contributes to the area of literature of transformational leadership and their influence on employee job commitment.

EXPOSING THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY INADEQUATE LEADERSHIP IN PUBLIC AND COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENTS AS WELL AS POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

<p>The saying "<em>leaders are born, not made</em>" is frequently used to describe leaders especially those whose contributions stick in people's memories! So, who exactly is a leader? In essence, the ability to bring about the change one wants to see in their organization makes one a leader. Nowadays, a CEO of a business isn't always a leader. Conversely, someone possesses a set of competencies that further an organization's goals and objectives. An inadequate skill of a leader regarding management and guidance within a team or the business environment is referred to as poor leadership. There are several ways in which this can show up, including stating unclear objectives, inadequate communication among team members, a lack of accountability and transparency, and a lack of team member support to actualize results. An ineffective leadership may affect a team's ability to accomplish goals and objectives since it breeds mistrust and disdain for the leader. A widely acknowledged concept of leadership remains elusive despite extensive research. It is stated by Talat <em>et al.</em> (2015) that "<em>there are almost as many definitions of leadership as there are people who have attempted to define the concept</em>." Examples of these definitions include the ones that follow; leadership is a broad process that requires authority, accountability, and power delegation, according to Talat <em>et al.</em> (2015). Employees are followers of leaders in an organization, who need their assistance to enable them to achieve their own and the company's goals and objectives. This creates a win-win situation if managed properly. Hence, leadership styles encompass all facets of interacting inside and outside a company, managing or resolving problems, assisting and directing employees to do their jobs, and setting an example for others to follow and infuse.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/lit/0798/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Promote “we” to inspire me: examining the roles of group identification and trust in the association between identity leadership and follower inspiration

ABSTRACT Recent research has highlighted leaders as a source of inspiration for followers in sport, providing leaders embed, embody, and represent the group’s values (i.e., the leader demonstrates identity leadership and creates a shared identity). Consequently, two studies (one cross-sectional and one longitudinal) aimed to examine the relationship between identity leadership and follower inspiration via the mediating roles of group identification and trust in the leader. In Study 1, 233 participants completed measures of identity leadership, group identification, trust in their leader, and follower inspiration in a cross-sectional design. In Study 2, 121 participants completed the same measures at two time points (towards the start and end of the season). Cross sectional findings (Study 1) indicated that group identification and trust serially mediated the positive association between identity leadership principles and follower inspiration. Whereas, in Study 2, identity advancement and identity impresarioship at the start of the season predicted follower inspiration at the end of the season through trust in the leader but not through group identification. Taken together, the findings add weight to the importance of identity leadership by not only suggesting that followers of leaders who engage in identity leadership are more inspired but, also, by highlighting important mechanisms (group identification and particularly trust) that may explain these processes.

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

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.

Don't you tweet me badly: Anxiety contagion between leaders and followers in computer-mediated communication during COVID-19.

Do organizational leaders’ tweets influence their employees’ anxiety? And if so, have employees become more susceptible to their leader’s social media communications during the COVID-19 pandemic? Based on emotional contagion and using machine learning algorithms to track anxiety and personality traits of 197 leaders and 958 followers across 79 organizations over 316 days, we find that during the pandemic leaders’ tweets do influence follower state anxiety. In addition, followers of trait anxious leaders seem somewhat protected by sudden spikes in leader state anxiety, while followers of less trait anxious leaders are most affected by increased leader state anxiety. Multi-day lagged regressions showcase that this effect is stronger post-onset of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic crisis context.

Populists, authoritarians, or securitarians? Policy preferences and threats to democratic governance in the modern age

What really motivates the hardcore followers of leaders, such as Viktor Orban in Hungary, Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, Narendra Modi in India, and Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines? According to standard accounts, it is either a desire for strong authoritative leaders or a desire to empower ordinary people at the expense of elites. Using the ardent supporters of Donald Trump as a case study, I argue that conventional wisdom is unable to explain important recent events such as the documented tendency of Trump supporters to defy COVID-19-inspired authoritative mandates to wear masks and socially distance. On the basis of original survey data, I suggest that the real motivation of Trump supporters and by extension the supporters of similar leaders around the world is an intense desire for policies that protect the insider core of society from the threats posed by human outsiders, such as immigrants, minorities, and norm violators.

Acceptance of Health Messages Conveyed by Parasocial Opinion Leaders on Twitter among Followers

Social media does not only provide a space for individuals to communicate, but it also encourages individuals to find and share health information. This situation has led to a change in the patterns and functions of health opinion leaders that exist on social media. Health opinion leaders influence media users by sharing and delivering health information and are capable of fostering parasocial relationships with media users. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the process by which parasocial opinion leaders shape health messages on social media. In correspondence, this study sought to understand the level of acceptance of health messages among Twitter users of the information tweeted by parasocial opinion leaders. In-depth interviews were conducted on 25 followers of parasocial health opinion leaders on Twitter. This study found that the formation of health messages and information conveyed by parasocial health opinion leaders could influence their followers. Four forms of message reception were identified in this study: 1) information and complexity reduction (a description, information delivery style, information sharing, information, and health literacy, and correction of information and mythical perceptions), 2) health orientation, 3) stimulation of interest, and 4) strengthening of the image and ethics of professionalism. Additionally, this study also discovered that media users perceived health opinion leaders as mentors, family members, friends, and idols. Keywords: Health communication, opinion leader, parasocial opinion leaders, parasocial relationship, social media.

Leader moral disengagement and follower knowledge hiding. A moderated mediation model of follower Machiavellianism and trust in the leader

PurposeThis study aims to build a moderated mediation model to investigate the roles that trust in the leader and follower Machiavellianism can play in the relationship between moral disengagement of the leader and hiding of knowledge of the followers.Design/methodology/approachData were gathered from eight universities in Turkey using a set of 72 matched leader (dean)–follower (faculty member) questionnaires. The hypotheses were tested with multiple regression, moderated regression and bootstrapping analyses.FindingsThe findings reveal that leader moral disengagement positively influences follower knowledge hiding, while trust in the leader mediates this influence and follower Machiavellianism not only moderates the relationship between leader moral disengagement and trust in the leader but also reduces the indirect relationship between leader moral disengagement and follower knowledge hiding through trust in the leader.Research limitations/implicationsEven though measurements of research variables were collected from different sources and with time separation, common method bias might have existed. Also, this research is carried out in a single cultural context posing the issue of the generalizability of our findings to other cultural contexts.Originality/valueThe main contribution of this study is to construct and investigate a conceptual model that focuses on the possible effect of moral disengagement of the leader on knowledge hiding by the followers. Also, by supporting the mediating role of trust in the leader, this research reveals that followers of leaders with high moral disengagement are more prone to indulge in the hiding of knowledge. Moreover, the moderating role of follower Machiavellianism, found in this study, provides an additional understanding that followers may vary in the degree to which they are sensitive to the leader's influence.

Victims in the Dark Shadows: A Model of Toxic Leadership

Walker and Watkins (2020) conducted a thematic analysis of the lived experiences of 130 oppressed followers of toxic leaders. The current paper presents a new model of toxic leadership that emerged from the study. Toxic leadership is a phenomenon sanctioned by the organization, perpetuated by the toxic leader, and lived by the oppressed follower. The model situates toxic leadership within an open organizational frame with recommendations for organizational leaders to drive toxic leadership out of their organizations, for leaders to recognize their toxic behaviors, and for followers to cope with toxic leaders.

Understanding the Followers of Toxic Leaders: Toxic Illusio and Personal Uncertainty

AbstractToxic leaders are one of the main threats to the wellbeing of people in the workplace and in society in general, and followers play a critical role in constructing and maintaining toxic leaders. In this narrative review, we draw on Bourdieu's concept of illusio and incorporate it with the social and cognitive psychology approaches in an attempt to frame the dynamic system that sustains toxic leadership through continued support of the followers. More specifically, as we introduce the illusio perspective in a process‐relational context to the toxic leadership discussion, we (i) address the allure of toxic leaders as an incentive for followers to join the toxic illusio as a way to cope with their high personal uncertainty and (ii) illustrate the mechanisms and processes that motivate followers of toxic leaders to remain in the toxic illusio once they join. In this context, we also briefly discuss and differentiate between the ethical and moral dimensions of toxic leadership.

When the victim becomes vicious: Combined effects of pseudo transformational leadership and epistemic motivation on contempt and deviant behaviors

Utilizing affective events theory (Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996), the current study unravels how and when pseudo-transformational leaders promote contempt, avoidance, and aggression. Specifically, we examined whether pseudo-transformational leadership enforces feelings of contempt, which, in turn, fosters interaction avoidance and covert aggression in followers. We hypothesized that contempt also has an indirect effect that is contingent on levels of epistemic motivation of followers. By adopting a multi-wave research design, we gathered data from 277 employees of the service sector of Pakistan. The results signified that followers of pseudo-transformational leaders feel contemptuous of them and respond with interaction avoidance and indirect aggression. Further, we found that the impact of pseudo-transformational leadership on contempt was more pronounced in individuals with higher levels of epistemic motivation. We believe that this study opens up a new avenue in the pseudo-transformational leadership literature by highlighting the mechanism and conditions under which such leaders are deleterious for organizations.

Shadows of Leadership: The Lived Experiences of Oppressed Followers of Toxic Leaders

Shadows of Leadership: The Lived Experiences of Oppressed Followers of Toxic Leaders

Методичний інструментарій розрахунку перспективних обсягів реалізації туристичних продуктів

On the basis of the provisions of the product lifecycle conception and the theory of consumer behavior, a methodical instrumentarium for calculating the volume of implementation of the innovative product, as well as the speed of its penetration of the market, is developed. The dependence of sales volumes of innovative tourism products in the domestic market on the level of consumers’ commitment to travel agency and its offers is determined. The method of measuring the level of consumers’ commitment to travel agency and its offers is substantiated. It is displayed that there is a relationship between the structure of target market and its activity in the purchase of tourism products. Thanks to the improvement of the classification of components of the target segments, the segmentation is deepened taking into account the peculiarities of the behavior of individual subsegments. The peculiarities of the following target market subsegments are allocated and described: loyal consumers market, sympathizers market, qualified market, searchers market, serviced market, eventual market, potential market, promising market. Participation of each subsegment of the target market in the intensity of the spread of innovative tourism product on the market is empirically proved. It is found out that the segment of the «Loyal consumer market» is the smallest, and, at the same time, the most difficult to form and maintain. Thus, in order to create a kind of «reserve» for its replenishment, it is necessary to constantly work on expanding the groups «Sympathizers market» and «Searchers market». The volume of the most volatile segment – the «Searchers market» – significantly exceeds the size of other segments and largely depends on the psychographic characteristics of its participants. The «Traditionalists» segment is relatively small, but in number it is almost comparable to the segment «Followers of leaders» (which significantly affects the perception of the market of tourism products), and «Traditionalists» significantly surpass the «Followers of leaders» in demand and commitment to the set priorities.

Tobacco Use Behaviors, Attitudes, and Demographic Characteristics of Tobacco Opinion Leaders and Their Followers: Twitter Analysis.

BackgroundTobacco-related content on social media is generated and propagated by opinion leaders on the Web who disseminate messages to others in their network, including followers, who then continue to spread the information. Opinion leaders can exert powerful influences on their followers’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors; yet, little is known about the demographic characteristics and tobacco use behavior of tobacco opinion leaders on the Web and their followers, compared with general Twitter users.ObjectiveIn this study, we hypothesized that opinion leaders use more tobacco products and have higher nicotine dependence than the other 2 groups (eg, followers and general Twitter users) and that followers—those who spread messages by opinion leaders—would more likely be in demographic groups that are vulnerable to tobacco marketing influence (eg, young adults and lower educational attainment).MethodsWe constructed the social networks of people who tweet about tobacco and categorized them using a combination of social network and Twitter metrics. To understand the characteristics of tobacco opinion leaders and their followers, we conducted a survey of tobacco opinion leaders, their followers, and general Twitter users. The sample included 347 opinion leaders, 567 followers, and 519 general users. The opinion leaders had a median of 1000 followers, whereas followers and general users had fewer than 600 followers.ResultsOpinion leaders were more likely than their followers to report past month use of tobacco products; followers, in turn, were more likely to report past month use of these products than general Twitter users. The followers appeared to be an especially vulnerable group; they tended to be younger (mean age 22.4 years) and have lower education compared with the opinion leaders and general users.ConclusionsFollowers of Twitter tobacco opinion leaders are a vulnerable group that might benefit from antitobacco education to counter the protobacco communications they see on social media.

Charismatic leadership: Beyond love and hate and toward a sense of belonging?

AbstractDeveloping previous work on charismatic leadership by Boas Shamir and Ken, we investigate the contention that followers of charismatic leaders have an emotional connection with that leader in the form of a ‘sense of belonging’ and links to community. We, therefore, investigate whether there is any evidence of a sense of belonging when people describe those they judge to be charismatic. Using a mixed-methods aesthetic narrative approach, we are able to supply empirical support for the existence of such a relationship and to extend the findings of previous studies by incorporating the connection that the leader has with the community, in general, as an important factor in the leader–follower relationship.

The Contribution of Religion toSocial Reconciliation: A Case Study of Liberia

The Contribution of Religion toSocial Reconciliation: A Case Study of Liberia Ms Lucie Judith Sewe, MA Abstract Religion, has, in the recent past, become a key factor in matters of conflict and reconciliation. In several cases, followers of different religions and political leaders across the world, have manipulated religion to pursue hidden goals. In the process, religion is misinterpreted and undermined, in some cases, leading to further conflict. This paper has two objectives. First, to articulate the convergence between various religions, focusing on Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism and the value addedto social reconciliation. Secondly, the paper presents an account of a women-led interdenominational group which was established primarily to fight for political liberation in Liberia. This was after several years of political repression and human suffering under the dictatorial President, Charles Taylor, who had come into power in a coup in 1989, in a country that was highly divided by rebel factions. Liberia presents one of the fairly successful liberation processes in Africa wherewomenrose above their religious boundaries to collectively fight for a common objective. The groupportrayed religion as the universal custodian of morals with the legitimate authority to promote reconciliation. They staged sit-ins, prayed, sang and cried for peaceas they demanded an election. Taylor finally succumbed to pressure and agreed to attend the peace talks with the rebels, bringing conflict to an end. The most dramatic change was the election of a female president, Ellen Johnson. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jgpc.v6n2a1

Family, feudalism and selfishness: Looking at Indonesian leadership through a wisdom lens

Using Social Practice Wisdom (SPW) as a conceptual lens, we shed new light on destructive, selfish leadership and its negative effects. Our study highlights the negative effects on followers of leaders' selfishness, as well as lack of empathy and inauthenticity. Our work also sheds light on new cross-cultural leadership challenges in emerging economies like Indonesia. Analysis reveals deep tensions between Indonesian leaders' tendency to position themselves in self-serving discourses of feudalism and family, and what young, western educated Indonesian professionals now expect of leaders. Selfish leadership discourse and lack of leader wisdom jeopardize Indonesia's economic development. We argue that wise dialogical communication enhances wise leadership.

The banality of bad leadership and followership

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight the loss of moral capital incurred by an organization from indifferent or deferential followers of bad leaders. Despite the proliferation of codes of conduct and ethics and compliance programs throughout the business community, the prevalence of malevolence and malfeasance in organizations continues to rise. While a good deal is known about bad leadership, far less is known about bad followership. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on recent and seminal research from moral theory, organizational behavior and clinical and social psychology, in analyzing and responding to the collusion and passivity of followers. Findings – The paper provides critical insights into the complementary relationship between bad leadership and followership, and agues that followers in particular have a serious moral case to answer for their complicity. Suggestions are offered for strengthening their capacity to respond. Research limitations/implications – Although research on followership is growing, it is still comparatively newer and more slender than on either management or leadership. Much less is known about the moral behavior of followers, and even less so in relation to its contribution to organizational mischief. Drawing attention to the moral dimension of this facet of organizational deviancy represents both the novelty and limitation of this paper. A more comprehensive account of the immorality of followers awaits further investigation. Practical implications – The paper offers a way of invoking and strengthening private conscience as an effective countermeasure against corporate crime and corruption. Social implications – Wrongdoing is a fact of organizational life. However, it is not confined to life in organizations, and similar dynamics apply in situations where its impact is both low (non-violent) and high (physically violent). Bystanders are faced with the same moral questions whenever the context demands an active response. Originality/value – While both workers and bosses may engage in unethical and unlawful behavior, neither would succeed without followers. Strategies designed to curtail their support serve to reduce the incidence of crime and corruption in the office and elsewhere.