Task-oriented Leadership Research Articles

How entrepreneurial competencies influence the leadership style: A study of Saudi female entrepreneurs

This study examines a group of women entrepreneurs of small and micro businesses in Hail, Riyadh and Eastern regions of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study aims to identify the particular style of leadership displayed by these women entrepreneurs; and whether all their competencies have the same or different influence on their task-oriented or people-oriented leadership styles. The respondents were initially identified through various organizations such as Wa’ed (Aramco’s entrepreneurship centre), MISK Foundation and Monsha’at. Subsequently, we finalized female-owned small businesses that are operating for minimum two years in their respective business area as our target respondents. The survey questionnaire was sent to 310 women entrepreneurs after obtaining their approval. A total of 211 filled surveys were received. The responses having repetition or missing data were deleted which resulted in 174 surveys which were analyzed using SPSS. Surprisingly, the results indicate that our respondents exhibit a higher score of task-oriented leadership style. The female entrepreneurs who possess high degrees of business and management, relationship, entrepreneurial and human relation skills are found to incline towards task-oriented leadership style. The relationship and entrepreneurial competencies show a positive influence on the people-oriented leadership style. On the other hand, business and management, as well as entrepreneurial and human interactions, show a positive influence on task-oriented style of leadership.

The neurophysiological basis of leadership: a machine learning approach

PurposeThis research employed two neurophysiological techniques (electroencephalograms (EEG) and galvanic skin response (GSR)) and machine learning algorithms to capture and analyze relationship-oriented leadership (ROL) and task-oriented leadership (TOL). By grounding the study in the theoretical perspectives of transformational leadership and embodied leadership, the study draws connections to the human body's role in activating ROL and TOL styles.Design/methodology/approachEEG and GSR signals were recorded during resting state and event-related brain activity for 52 study participants. Both leadership styles were assessed independently using a standard questionnaire, and brain activity was captured by presenting subjects with emotional stimuli.FindingsROL revealed differences in EEG baseline over the frontal lobes during emotional stimuli, but no differences were found in GSR signals. TOL style, on the other hand, did not present significant differences in either EEG or GSR responses, as no biomarkers showed differences. Hence, it was concluded that EEG measures were better at recognizing brain activity associated with ROL than TOL. EEG signals were also strongest when individuals were presented with stimuli containing positive (specifically, happy) emotional content. A subsequent machine learning model developed using EEG and GSR data to recognize high/low levels of ROL and TOL predicted ROL with 81% accuracy.Originality/valueThe current research integrates psychophysiological techniques like EEG with machine learning to capture and analyze study variables. In doing so, the study addresses biases associated with self-reported surveys that are conventionally used in management research. This rigorous and interdisciplinary research advances leadership literature by striking a balance between neurological data and the theoretical underpinnings of transformational and embodied leadership.

A power-with versus power-over framework of leadership behaviors, employee expectations, and employee creativity: A meta-analysis

Drawing on a power-over versus power-with framework and implicit leadership theories, this study examines how positive relations-oriented and task-oriented leadership behaviors affect employee creativity. A meta-analysis study with 143 empirical studies ( N = 40,023) reveals that both positive relations-oriented and task-oriented leadership behaviors were positively related to employee creativity and that psychological empowerment mediated these relationships. Further, the effect of positive relations-oriented leadership behaviors on employee psychological empowerment and creativity was stronger in countries of high (rather than low) power distance, whereas the impact of task-oriented leadership behaviors was stronger in countries characterized by low (rather than high) power distance. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Transforming vertical leadership into shared leadership in infrastructure project teams: a dual-pathway perspective

PurposeInfrastructure projects are pivotal for regional economic development, but also face low project effectiveness. Leadership is always regarded as a key enabler for project team effectiveness, including vertical leadership and team-level leadership. The purpose of this paper is to examine how vertical leadership facilitates shared leadership in infrastructure project teams.Design/methodology/approachThis paper develops the conceptual model based on the literature review. Then the questionnaire survey was conducted. The empirical data obtained from 117 infrastructure project teams in China were analyzed by partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) for validating the proposed model. Finally, the results were comparatively discussed to explain the dual-pathway between vertical leadership and shared leadership. And the practical implications were presented for the project managers in infrastructure project teams.FindingsDrawing on social learning theory and social cognitive theory, the results show that both participative leadership and task-oriented leadership can facilitate shared leadership. Further, team atmosphere fully mediates the link between participative leadership and shared leadership. Team efficacy fully mediates the relation between task-oriented leadership and shared leadership. Also, role clarity has a negative moderating effect on the former path.Originality/valueThe study extends the knowledge of leadership theory in the construction field. Based on the proposed conceptual model and PLS-SEM results, this study unveils the black box between vertical leadership and shared leadership and contributes to the theory of leadership on how the impact of different vertical leadership on team process promotes shared leadership.

The Relative Importance of Temporal Leadership and Initiating Structure for Timely Project Completion

We assess the relative usefulness of temporal leadership and initiating structure in predicting timely team project completion. Drawing on the functional approach to team leadership as well as the concept of team performance episodes, we hypothesize that two facets of temporal leadership, temporal planning at project initiation and temporal reminders midway through project execution, will be better predictors of timely project completion than will traditional task-oriented leadership in the form of initiating structure delivered at the same two project stages. Results from 62 application development project teams surveyed across the life of a project showed that the two facets of temporal leadership together accounted for 91.7% of the predicted variance in timely project completion, with temporal planning being more important. Initiating structure accounted for the remaining small and nonsignificant amount of the predicted variance. We conclude that temporal leadership is a new construct that is a highly useful approach to leader behavior in the context of teams working on time-limited projects.

How line-manager leadership styles and employee-perceived HRM practices contribute to employee performance: a configurational perspective

PurposeThis paper aims to carry out a study on the combined effects of leadership styles and human resource management (HRM) practices on employee performance. Based on configurational theory, this study integrates task-oriented leadership, relations-oriented leadership, change-oriented leadership and human resource hygiene practices (HRHPs) and human resource motivation practices (HRMPs) to detect distinct configurations of leadership styles and HRM practices that may lead to high and not-high employee performance.Design/methodology/approachFuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was adopted to identify the configurations of conditions associated with the outcome, with data obtained from 108 employees and 32 line-managers in China through structured interview and questionnaire survey.FindingsThe results show that there are five sufficient configurations for the presence of high employee performance and three for performance's absence. Relation-oriented leadership, HRMPs and enterprise property are more important conditions to employee performance than others. Furthermore, no single condition constitutes a necessary condition for causing the high or not-high employee performance.Originality/valueCompared to previous studies that mainly focused on linear relationships, this study applies the fsQCA method to explore how matching different leadership styles and HRM practices could bring about high and not-high employee performance, which provides evidence for the three propositions of “multiple conjunctural causation,” “equifinality” and “asymmetry.”

Role of leadership in the digitalisation of manufacturing organisations

PurposeThis study examines the moderating role of leadership behaviours on the relationship between Industry 4.0 (I4.0) maturity and operational performance in manufacturers.Design/methodology/approachFor that, 189 leaders from manufacturing organisations located in India and Brazil that are undergoing I4.0 implementation were surveyed. The collected data was analysed using multivariate data techniques, which allowed to verify the validity of our research hypotheses. This study was grounded on the concepts from the socio-technical systems (STS) theory.FindingsThe findings indicated that task-oriented leadership behaviours positively moderate the relationship between technologies for digitalisation and operational performance. A similar effect was found for the interaction between change-oriented leadership behaviours and strategy for digitalisation. In turn, the moderating effects of relations-oriented and change-oriented leadership behaviours were negative when considering the I4.0 maturity dimensions of employee and culture for digitalisation and technology for digitalisation, respectively.Originality/valueThis study offers arguments to better understand the role of leaders' behaviours in the digitalisation of organisations. Changing behaviours is usually a long-term and time-consuming activity. The identification of the leadership behaviours that are more likely to support digitalisation allows companies to anticipate potential issues and prioritise efforts to assertively develop leaders.

Model of Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment

This research focuses on task-oriented leadership styles that have paid very little attention, especially in assessing the impact of task-oriented leadership styles. leadership style on psychological capital, job satisfaction and employee organizational commitment. This research further develops research on the relationship between leadership style, psychological capital, job satisfaction and employee organizational commitment in SMEs in Indonesia, especially in the city of Palembang.The research design is a research plan, namely a detailed explanation of the entire research plan starting from the formulation of the problem, objectives, description of the relationship between variables. The number of samples in this study was 180. It was found that the leadership style variable had an effect on job satisfaction, the psychological capital variable had an effect on satisfaction work, leadership style variables affect organizational commitment, psychological capital variables affect organizational commitment, and job satisfaction variables affect organizational commitment

Sharing leadership behaviors in virtual teams: effects of shared leadership behaviors on team member satisfaction and productivity

PurposeVirtual collaboration in teams becomes increasingly popular at work. With the advantages of working in virtual teams come leadership challenges for which the shared leadership theory is discussed as a potential solution. While previous empirical studies investigating shared leadership in virtual teams generally confirm positive effects on team outcomes, this study aims to investigate in detail the leadership behaviors that are typically shared in these settings and how these shared leadership behaviors affect individual level outcomes.Design/methodology/approachIndividuals from different teams participated in a questionnaire study (n = 411). Structural equation modeling was used to assess the effects of shared task- and relations-oriented leadership behaviors on team member’s subjectively perceived productivity and satisfaction with leadership.FindingsResults indicate that shared task-oriented leadership behaviors have a significant positive effect on subjectively perceived productivity and satisfaction with leadership, while relations-oriented leadership behaviors have a significant negative effect. A hypothesis stipulating a moderating effect of task interdependence was not confirmed.Practical implicationsPractical implications include that in virtual teams with hierarchical organizational structures, it may be recommended that task-oriented leadership behaviors are shared among team members, whereas relations-oriented leadership behaviors should remain the responsibility of the official leader.Originality/valueThe findings complement previous research with new insights on behavioral dimensions of shared leadership and their effects on outcomes on the level of the individual.

Gender-Based Differences in Leadership Style: An Empirical Analysis

ABSTRACT This research investigates the differences in leadership styles among males and females of tertiary educational institutions in Cambodia and Malaysia. The study used a questionnaire as a measuring instrument and hypotheses testing to perform a one-sample t-test and a paired t-test. The sampling design used was convenience sampling. This research is relatively novel as it involved respondents from educational institutions in two Southeast Asian countries. This research found that females have a people-oriented leadership style and have a higher perception of their leadership abilities. In addition, it found that males have neither a task-oriented nor a people-oriented leadership style. The study suggests that women should be given the helm to manage these concerns in light of recent geopolitical uncertainties and workplace issues. Keywords: Leadership approaches; People-oriented and task-oriented leadership style; Cambodia; Malaysia; One-sample t-test; Paired t-test

A meta-analysis of leadership and workplace safety: Examining relative importance, contextual contingencies, and methodological moderators.

Given the high human and economic costs of workplace safety, researchers and practitioners have paid increasing attention to how leadership behaviors relate to workplace safety. Previous research has demonstrated that leadership behaviors are important for workplace safety. In this meta-analysis, we extend our understanding of the leadership-workplace safety relationship by (a) examining the associations between a broader range of five leadership categories-change-oriented, relational-oriented, task-oriented, passive, and destructive-and seven workplace safety variables; (b) investigating the relative importance of these leadership categories in explaining variance in these workplace safety variables; and (c) testing contextual and methodological contingencies of the leadership-workplace safety relationship. Using effect sizes from 194 samples (N = 104,364), we find that although leadership behaviors are associated with workplace safety, the leadership categories vary considerably in their relative importance. Task-oriented leadership followed by relational-oriented leadership emerge as the most important contributors to workplace safety. Change-oriented leadership (which includes transformational leadership) does not emerge as the largest contributor for any of the seven tested safety variables, despite it being the most frequently examined leadership model in the workplace safety literature. Effectiveness of leadership behaviors in relation to workplace safety varies by national culture power distance, industry risk, workforce age, as well as by contextualized forms of leadership (i.e., safety-specific vs. generalized). Finally, there is meta-analytic evidence for publication bias and common-method variance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Good and Bad Influences: A Meta-Analysis of Leader Behavior on Followers’ Experienced and Perpetrated Deviance

ABSTRACT Despite the rise in research on leader behaviors and workplace deviance, a comprehensive understanding of the magnitude of associations between the different forms of leader behaviors and workplace deviance is lacking. Drawing on Social Learning Theory and Banks and colleagues’) framework of leader behaviors, our meta-analysis provides a rank ordering of leader behaviors (i.e., moral, inspirational, task-oriented, relational, and passive) based on their importance in predicting workplace deviance using 104 independent samples (N = 42,968). Additionally, we consolidate the literatures on perpetrated and experienced deviance to investigate the association between leader behaviors and deviance from both perspectives. We also assess three boundary conditions that could moderate the leader behavior – workplace deviance relationship. Our findings suggest that passive leader behaviors explain the greatest variance in workplace deviance, followed by moral, relational, inspirational, and task-oriented leader behaviors. We also find support for the moderating effects of deviance target, study design, and rater in(dependence) on the association between leader behaviors and workplace deviance. We highlight that passive leader behaviors exhibit a greater influence on workplace deviance relative to the influence of positive leader behaviors. We discuss the implications of our results for both research and practice.

Interpersonal emotion management, task-oriented leadership, and adaptive performance: a moderated-mediation model

PurposeThis paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.Design/methodology/approachThis briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.FindingsSupport and partial support is found for some aspects of the theoretical model.Originality/valueThe briefing saves busy executives, strategists, and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

The impact of task-oriented leadership to subordinates' knowledge creation behavior – based on organismic integration theory

PurposeCompetitiveness of pharmaceutical companies hugely depends on new knowledge because of ever-changing technologies and forefront of knowledge. Leadership styles appear to influence knowledge management behavior, but there has been little empirical research on employees' knowledge creation behavior as an outcome of leadership. The study examines how task-oriented leadership affects subordinates' knowledge creation behavior. Based on organismic integration theory (OIT), the study proposes that perception of competitive climate and achievement motivation can conduct as mediators.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 877 full-time working employees in five pharmaceutical companies in China. Participants answered demographic questions and completed the task-oriented leadership, perception of competitive climate, achievement motivation, as well as knowledge creation behavior scale. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized relationships.FindingsThe results review that task-oriented leadership will significantly promote subordinates' knowledge creation behavior. Perception of competitive climate and achievement motivation play mediator roles between task-oriented leadership and subordinates knowledge creation behavior. Perception of competitive climate and achievement motivation have a serial mediating effect between task-oriented leadership and subordinates knowledge creation behavior.Practical implicationsBy adopting a task-oriented leadership style through training and development, leaders may stimulate employees more knowledge creation behaviors by transmitting the organization's vision, clarifying their work tasks and setting relatively high-performance standards. Then, organizations should establish a competition mechanism to promote competition among employees, while also preventing malicious competition. Finally, organizations should arouse employees' achievement motivation to stimulate their internal pursuit of success and needs.Originality/valueBecause of the improvement of information technology and the acceleration of knowledge dissemination, the need for new knowledge is becoming more and more urgent in organizations. Knowledge, as a resource that needs to be managed in an organizational environment, has regained researchers' attention. However, a flourishing number of studies explain the organizational knowledge management from the macro level, there is a need to explore how leaders influence their subordinates to create knowledge. From the perspective of extrinsic motivation internalization, this study’s findings contribute to the literature on task-oriented leadership and knowledge creation behavior and expand our understanding of why task-oriented leadership promotes subordinates' knowledge creation behavior.

A Meta-Analysis of the Relative Contribution of Leadership Styles to Followers’ Mental Health

It is well-established that different leadership styles are associated with followers’ mental health. However, little is known about the relative strength of the relationship of different leadership styles with followers’ mental health. So far, there is no meta-analysis comparing the incremental contribution of different leadership styles to mental health and studying potentially problematic construct proliferation. We included studies that compared at least two leadership styles in view of their relationships with followers’ mental health and directly estimated the relative contribution of seven leadership styles (i.e., transformational, transactional, laissez-faire, task-oriented, relationship-oriented, and destructive leadership, as well as leader-member exchange) to followers’ mental health. Using meta-analytical regression models, we compared the strength of the relationships between these leadership styles and followers’ overall mental health as well as positive (well-being and psychological functioning) and negative aspects of their mental health (affective symptoms, stress, and health complaints). Fifty-three studies with 217 effect sizes comprising 93,470 participants met the inclusion criteria. Transformational and destructive leadership were the strongest predictors of overall and negative aspects of mental health among followers. In contrast, the strongest predictors of positive mental health outcomes among followers were relations-oriented and task-oriented leadership, followed by transformational leadership. In sum, our results suggest that various leadership styles make unique contributions to explaining followers’ mental health and thus construct proliferation mostly does not pose a major problem when predicting relevant outcomes in this domain of leadership research. Our results are relevant for leadership development programs and for future organizational leadership models.

Leadership and Workplace Aggression: A Meta-analysis

AbstractWorkplace aggression (bullying, incivility, and similar forms of interpersonal mistreatment) has been established as a prevalent and detrimental issue in organizations. While numerous studies have documented the important role of leaders in inhibiting or accelerating workplace aggression, a systematic overview of the associations between different leadership styles and workplace aggression as well as its boundary conditions is still lacking. This study reports a meta-analysis investigating the associations between leadership and workplace aggression. Drawing on data from 165 samples (N = 115,190), our results revealed that change-oriented, relational-oriented, and values-based and moral leadership (but not task-oriented leadership) were associated with reduced workplace aggression. In contrast, passive and destructive leadership (i.e., abusive, narcissistic, uncivil, and authoritarian) were associated with increased workplace aggression. Importantly, relative weights analyses revealed that ethical leadership was most strongly negatively associated with workplace aggression. Additionally, moderation analyses revealed that the associations between leadership and workplace aggression were, in some cases, moderated by power distance (for transactional leadership) and rating sources (for transformational and abusive supervision), but independent of measurement time lag. Overall, the findings of this meta-analysis highlight the important associations between leadership and workplace aggression. Implications for future research and policy recommendations aiming to reduce workplace aggression are discussed.

Leadership coaching: enhanced emotional intelligence, leadership self-efficacy and task-oriented leadership behavior

PurposeThis paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.Design/methodology/approachThis briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.FindingsA significant positive association is found between enhanced EI and enhanced LSE. A weaker significant positive association is found between enhanced LSE and enhanced task-oriented leadership behavior. Little support is found for LSE acting as a mediator for the positive association between enhanced EI and task-oriented leadership behavior.Originality/valueThe briefing saves busy executives, strategists, and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

The Influence of Principal Leadership on Students’ Academic Achievement: A Case Study of A School

This research was conducted at 15 government schools in Addis Ababa. The objectives of this research are to identify principal style and its effect on academic achievement. The “Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire” (LBDQ) formed by Halpin (1966) was used. Meanwhile Academic achievement was measured using the “School Certificate Examination Results from 2017-2020. A total of 191 teachers and 15 principals from government school in Addis Ababa were randomly chosen. Pearson correlation was used to analyze the data. To support data obtained from questionnaire given 10 teachers were interviewed. The results showed that most of the school leaders adopt a democratic style of leadership. There was a significant correlation between the structure of task-oriented leadership style and students’ performance in the examinations. Correlation analysis also showed that principals practice task- oriented structure and consideration-oriented structure in relation to their work responsibilities. Furthermore, findings also showed that majority of the principals are more likely to practice consideration-oriented leadership style compared to structure-oriented leadership style.

ФОРМУВАННЯ ФАХОВИХ КОМПЕТЕНТНОСТЕЙ ФАХІВЦІВ ІЗ ТУРИЗМУ ПІД ЧАС УПРОВАДЖЕННЯ ПРОГРАМ ІЗ ОРГАНІЗАЦІЇ РЕКРЕАЦІЙНИХ ПОСЛУГ У ХОДІ ВИРОБНИЧОЇ ПРАКТИКИ

The article describes emotional intelligence of a university lecturer. It is given the definition of the term «emotional intelligence», revealed its origin. The work describes the main emotional intelligence skills: self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, motivation, social skills. The author pays attention to Johari Window technique, which helps people better understand their relationship with themselves and others. The article gives a possibility to get acquainted with a list of questions which could be used to assess teacher’s work in a class, content of the course, students’ satisfaction with the course, recommendations of improving the course etc. These questions are divided into the following categories: 1) instructor-specific question themes; 2) course-specific question themes; 3) student self-evaluation questions; 4) open-ended questions. The author of the article also represents some emotional self-regulation strategies, which can be applied in a class. It is explained the difference between a teacher, who is a leader and a usual teacher, who is just an executor of the demanded actions. There is an example of a questionnaire, which helps to determine leader’s style. According to Hersey and Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory a leader’s ability to lead depends upon situation factors. These scientists focused a great part of their research on the characteristics of followers in determining appropriate leadership behaviours. According to this theory, leader’s styles are divided into: directing, coaching, supporting, delegating. The author also explains the difference between a relation-oriented and a task-oriented leader. Key words: emotional intelligence, university lecturer, leader’s style, leadership behavior, questionnaire.

The relationship between communication apprehension and leadership styles in a job recruitment process

Nowadays, many organizations seek to accelerate the employees’ communication effectiveness. However, only a few put efforts into reducing communication apprehension and understanding their potential in leadership. This paper seeks to investigate the correlation between communication apprehension and leadership styles, and consequently tries to investigate its impact on individuals’ success in a job recruitment test. A total of 114 participants were gathered in an online survey from a government institution’s recruitment process. The inferential statistic tests (ANOVA) were used to determine differences in leadership styles and their communication apprehension based on respondents’ success in the recruitment process. Results showed that respondents who have high communication apprehension would display task-oriented leadership behaviors and were tended to be more focusing on their role and performance, while the lower communication apprehension indicated more relation-oriented leadership behaviors. Moreover, applicants with a relational leadership style would likely pass a job recruitment test and were more likely to have a successful result in a recruitment process than ones with a task-oriented leadership style. Additionally, this research also gives a glimpse of communication apprehension study in non-western countries. The findings suggest a need for organizations in addressing these issues in order to develop their employees’ communication capacity. Limitations and future research are also discussed in this paper.