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Effects of Leader Humility on the Performance of Virtual Groups
Author(s) -
Swain Jordon E.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of leadership studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.219
H-Index - 14
eISSN - 1935-262X
pISSN - 1935-2611
DOI - 10.1002/jls.21552
Subject(s) - humility , psychology , social psychology , context (archaeology) , mediation , task (project management) , affect (linguistics) , interdependence , communication , political science , management , paleontology , law , economics , biology
Personal humility contributes to leadership effectiveness in a number of situations. However, causal mechanisms linking leader humility to positive outcomes appear to vary by task and by context. The present study investigated a mediation model where leader humility was hypothesized to lead to both a sense of psychological safety in the group and an increased sense of liking for the leader when conducting a highly interdependent task in a virtual environment. In turn, psychological safety and liking for the leader were theorized to positively affect the flow of information in the group, thereby improving group performance. Findings from three experimental studies supported the idea that leader humility positively affects psychological safety in virtual groups and increases liking for the leader. However, psychological safety and liking for the leader only mediated the intent to improve the flow of information in the group. While actual information flow and group performance under a humble leader were in the anticipated direction, the results were not statistically significant, even after controlling for the age and gender of group members. Reasons for humble leaders’ lack of effect on information flow and group performance during the conduct of a conjunctive task in a virtual environment are discussed and future research directions are identified.