Dirk Lindebaum

‘It’s good to be angry’: Enacting anger in construction project management to achieve perceived leader effectiveness

There is considerable evidence to suggest how positive and negative leader emotions influence a variety of positive and negative follower outcomes. However, little empirical evidence exists to suggest under what circumstances the enactment of negative emotions can yield desirable outcomes for individuals operating in a given organizational context. Drawing upon a series of semi-structured interviews with construction project managers (n = 19) from the UK, this study offers valuable insights into how anger is frequently enacted to help individuals ensure the progress of the project, be it in negotiations with other parties or affairs on site with operatives.

A Critical Examination of the Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Transformational Leadership

The buoyant research interest in the constructs emotional intelligence (EI) and transformational leadership (TFL) is a testament to the crucial role of emotional skills at work. EI is often described as an antecedent of TFL, and several empirical studies report a positive relationship between these variables. On closer inspection, however, there may be methodological factors, such as common method variance, that potentially undermine the validity of findings. Using a multi-rater assessment (N = 227), this study sought to overcome the problem of method variance, whilst at the same time evaluate its potential presence by comparing same-source and non-same-source data. Findings suggest that, when using a strong methodological design, no relationship between EI and TFL is found. Thus, these findings renew the demand for scientific rigour in the design of studies to enhance their validity. The theoretical ramifications of this study are such that management scholars need to re-conceptualize the relationship between EI and TFL.

Rhetoric or Remedy? A Critique on Developing Emotional Intelligence

I examine the feasibility of developing emotional intelligence (EI) from the vantage point of organizational endeavor versus individual initiative. I challenge the view that organizations can readi...

Not quite a revolution: Scrutinizing organizational neuroscience in leadership studies

Several provocative studies on organizational neuroscience have been published of late, many in the domain of leadership. These studies are motivated by the prospect of being able to better explain what causes and constitutes ‘good’ leadership by examining brain activity. In so doing, these studies follow an established path in organizational research that seeks to reduce complex social phenomena to more basic (neurological) processes. However, advocates of organizational neuroscience reveal very little about the fundamental problems and challenges of reductionism. Therefore, our aim in this article is to scrutinize the reductionist assumptions and processes underlying the fast-evolving domain of organizational neuroscience as it is applied to the study of leadership. We maintain that without explicit consideration of, and solutions to, the challenges of reductionism, the possibilities to advance leadership studies theoretically and empirically are limited. In consequence, inferential ambiguities that flow from such insights run the danger of informing organizational practice inadequately. Thus, we find suggestions that we are at the brink of a neuroscientific revolution in the study of leadership premature, and a sole focus on neuroscience, at the expense of insights from other social science disciplines, dangerous.

When it can be good to feel bad and bad to feel good: Exploring asymmetries in workplace emotional outcomes

Within the field of Management and Organizational Studies, we have noted a tendency for researchers to explore symmetrical relationships between so-called positive discrete emotions or emotion-infused concepts and positive outcomes, and negative emotions or emotion-infused concepts and negative outcomes, respectively. In this Special Issue, we seek to problematize this assumption (without aiming to entirely discard it) by creating space for researchers to study what we term asymmetrical relationships. In particular, we explore the topic of when it can be good to feel bad and bad to feel good. The articles presented in this forum demonstrate both theoretically and empirically that appreciating these asymmetrical relationships holds considerable promise for enhanced understanding of a range of management and organizational phenomena, ranging from leadership and followership to emotional labor and dirty work. These unique theoretical and empirical insights have important relevance for organizational practice.

Pathologizing the Healthy But Ineffective Some Ethical Reflections on Using Neuroscience in Leadership Research

A number of studies seek to integrate leadership research with the field of neuroscience, arguing that neuroscience can aid scholars and practitioners to identify and develop leaders with what I refer to as socially desirable brain characteristics, whereas those leaders not equipped with such characteristics can be subjected to interventions based on neuroscientific principles or methods. Scrutinizing an emerging body of research, I argue that many leadership scholars and practitioners overlook the wider ethical implications of neuroscientific approaches to identifying and developing effective leaders. Given the mounting interest in the topic, I also outline a number of useful sources and debates to better respond ethically to the use of neuroscience in leadership research.

I Rebel—Therefore We Exist: Emotional Standardization in Organizations and the Emotionally Intelligent Individual

In this analysis, I associate the commodification of emotions at work with an increasingly imposed standardization as far as emotional displays are concerned. I refer to this process as a form of emotional convergence operating within organizations. I contrast this tendency with another buoyant construct in organizational behavior and psychology studies: Emotional Intelligence (EI). Individual emotional and intellectual evolution lies at the heart of the ability EI model, which I interpret as a form of emotional divergence that individuals harness in managing their daily lives. Hitherto, scholars have largely ignored the potential conflict between both research strands, especially the possibility of high EI individuals as non-conforming actors in the organizational arena. The latter leads me to propose an interaction model between individual behavior and organizational norms. Implications for theory and suggestions for future research are detailed.

Symmetrical and asymmetrical outcomes of leader anger expression: A qualitative study of army personnel:

Recent studies have highlighted the utility of anger at work, suggesting that anger can have positive outcomes. Using the Dual Threshold Model, we assess the positive and negative consequences of anger expressions at work and focus on the conditions under which expressions of anger crossing the impropriety threshold are perceived as productive or counterproductive by observers or targets of that anger. To explore this phenomenon, we conducted a phenomenological study (n = 20) to probe the lived experiences of followers (as observers and targets) associated with anger expressions by military leaders. The nature of task (e.g. the display rules prescribed for combat situations) emerged as one condition under which the crossing of the impropriety threshold leads to positive outcomes of anger expressions. Our data reveal tensions between emotional display rules and emotional display norms in the military, thereby fostering paradoxical attitudes toward anger expression and its consequences among followers. Within this paradoxical space, anger expressions have both positive (asymmetrical) and negative (symmetrical) consequences. We place our findings in the context of the Dual Threshold Model, discuss the practical implications of our research and offer avenues for future studies.

Critical Essay: Building new management theories on sound data? The case of neuroscience

In this critical essay, I contend that accelerating demands for novel theories in management studies imply that new methodologies and data are sometimes accepted prematurely as supply of these novel theories. This point is illustrated with reference to how neuroscience can inform management research. I propose two demand forces that foster the increased focus on neuroscience in management studies, these being (i) the direction of public research funding, and (ii) publication bias as a boost for journal impact factor. Looking at the supply side, I note that (i) the statistical power of studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (or fMRI, the ‘gold’ standard) is unacceptably low, (ii) the use of imprecise ‘motherhood’ statements, and (iii) the dismissal of ethical concerns in the formulation of management theories and practice informed by neuroscience. I then briefly outline the bad consequences of this for management theory and practice, emphasize why it is important to prevent these consequences, and offer some methodological suggestions for future research.

Leadership effectiveness: the costs and benefits of being emotionally intelligent

Purpose – This paper serves two purposes: first, it is an apology for a failure to produce a planned special issue, along with the rationales as to why the authors decided to withdraw it; and second, a commentary on the apparent failure of the research community to address a neglected area of inquiry in emotional intelligence (EI) research.Design/methodology/approach – The authors provide a commentary.Findings – The authors draw attention to the possiblity that employing highly emotionally intelligent individuals may not always yield desirable outcomes for organisations, thus seeking to ignite a more balanced debate as to the merits of EI in management and leadership studies. The authors also detail briefly several avenues for future research.Originality/value – The theme of the planned special issue was situated at the forefront EI research, so this commentary succinctly highlights the theorising that informed the background to it.