Ronald H. Humphrey

Empathy and complex task performance: two routes to leadership

Abstract When we perceive someone as a leader, it is often because we are impressed with his/her mental abilities and his/her ability to perform complex tasks. Yet, there is a small but growing body of conceptual work suggesting that our perception of someone as a leader is affected by his/her emotional abilities as well. This article develops a model proposing two distinct behavioral routes that influence perception of an individual as a leader in a small group. One route influences people to perceive leadership from displays of emotional abilities, such as empathy. The other route influences people to perceive leadership from displays of mental abilities, such as complex task performance. Our test of the hypothesized model using structural equation modeling showed a good fit and support for the proposed relationships.

Current emotion research in organizational behavior.

Despite a long period of neglect, research on emotion in organizational behavior has developed into a major field over the past 15 years, and is now seen to be part of an affective revolution in the organization sciences. In this article, we review current research on emotion in the organizational behavior field based on five levels of analysis: within person, between persons, dyadic interactions, leadership and teams, and organization-wide. Specific topics we cover include affective events theory, state and trait affect and mood, emotional intelligence, emotional labor, emotional contagion, emotions and leadership, and building a healthy emotional climate. We conclude with suggestions for future research.

Buyer-supplier alliances in the automobile industry: How exit-voice strategies influence interpersonal relationships

Although automobile manufacturers emphasize that they are building more cooperative, long-term relationships with their suppliers, we hypothesized and found that buyers are actually pursuing a dual strategy approach, in which they use threats on out-group suppliers while providing help to in-group members. Our hypotheses were based on the exit, voice, and loyalty typology, and on research from leader–member exchange theory. We also found that the macro-level strategy set the context for the micro-level interactions between buyers and suppliers. The degree to which the buyers and suppliers interacted in a friendly, informal manner depended more on the in- or out-group status of the supplier firm than on the interaction style preferences of the suppliers. These findings are consistent with Mischels (1977) theory that individual differences predict behavior under weak environmental conditions but not under strong environments. Compared to buyers, suppliers were more likely to prefer a friendly, informal interaction style. These findings were predicted based on the research on emotional display rules and emotional labor. Copyright

Career development, collective efficacy, and individual task performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test the hypothesis that perceived collective efficacy would mediate the effects of self‐efficacy on individual task performance.Design/methodology/approach – An assessment center design with 147 participants in 49 three‐person groups was used.Findings – It is found that for individuals working on an assigned group goal, perception of the groups collective efficacy, rather than self‐efficacy, has a direct influence on task performance.Research limitations/implications – Future researchers should examine the extent to which cognitive intelligence influences collective efficacy effects.Practical implications – The research suggests that perceptions of collective efficacy and team support may influence early career developmental task performance.Originality/value – This paper found that collective efficacy might be more important than individual efficacy in predicting individual task performance in some circumstances.

A meta-analysis of emotional intelligence and work attitudes

Our meta-analysis of emotional intelligence (EI) demonstrates that: First, all three types of EI are significantly related with job satisfaction (ability EI: ρ = .08; self-report EI: ρ = .32; and mixed EI: ρ = .39). Second, both self-report EI and mixed EI exhibit modest yet statistically significant incremental validity (ΔR2 = .03 for self-report EI and ΔR2 = .06 for mixed EI) and large relative importance (31.3% for self-report EI and 42.8% for mixed EI) in the presence of cognitive ability and personality when predicting job satisfaction. Third, we found mixed support for the moderator effects (i.e., emotional labor demand of jobs) for the relationship between EI and job satisfaction. Fourth, the relationships between all three types of EI and job satisfaction are mediated by state affect and job performance. Fifth, EI significantly relates to organizational commitment (self-report EI: ρ = .43; mixed EI: ρ = .43) and turnover intentions (self-report EI: ρ = -.33). Sixth, after controls, both self-report EI and mixed EI demonstrate incremental validity and relative importance (46.9% for self-report EI; 44.2% for mixed EI) in predicting organizational commitment. Seventh, self-report EI demonstrates incremental validity and relative importance (60.9%) in predicting turnover intentions.

Individual task choice and the division of challenging tasks between men and women

Challenging experiences are considered important for career development, and previous studies have suggested that women have fewer o f those experiences in their jobs than men have. However, the nature and possible determinants of this gender gap in job challenge have hardly been empirically studied. In the present study, the authors examine (a) gender differences in individuals’ choice to perform challenging tasks and (b) gender differences in the allocation of challenging tasks in opposite-sex dyads. Results show that the men and women in the sample did not differ in their individual choice to perform challenging tasks, but after task allocation in opposite-sex dyads men ended up with more of the challenging tasks, whereas women ended up with more of the nonchallenging tasks. The authors discuss the possible consequences of these results for women’s career development.

The Benefits of Merging Leadership Research and Emotions Research

A closer merging of the literature on emotions with the research on leadership may prove advantageous to both fields. Leadership researchers will benefit by incorporating the research on emotional labor, emotional regulation, and happiness. Emotions researchers will be able to more fully consider how leadership demands influence emotional processes. In particular, researchers can better understand how the workplace context and leadership demands influence affective events. The leadership literature on charisma, transformational leadership, leader-member exchange, and other theories have the potential to shed light on how rhetorical techniques and other leadership techniques influence emotional labor, emotional contagion, moods, and overall morale. Conversely, the literature on emotional labor and emotional contagion stands to provide insights into what makes leaders charismatic, transformational, or capable of developing high quality leader–follower relationships. This review examines emotions and leadership at five levels: within person, between persons, interpersonal, groups and teams, and organizational wide and integrates research on emotions, emotional contagion, and leadership to identify opportunities for future research for both emotions researchers and leadership researchers.

Unraveling the Complexities of Empathy Research: A Multi-Level Model of Empathy in Organizations

Abstract Purpose Empathy, or the process of feeling or knowing how another feels, is a critical component of social interactions, and may be of particular importance to organizational functioning. This chapter addresses a literature gap on empathy in organizational contexts by providing a review of empathy research in a management setting. Methodology/approach We integrate the developing field of empathy research and provide a conceptual framework built on Ashkanasy’s (2003) five levels of analysis in emotions research, emphasizing within-person, between-person, interpersonal, group-level, and organization-level processes. Findings Our model addresses the complaint that empathy definitions are not consistent by illustrating how the level of analysis alters the view of empathy’s role in organizations. Research implications This multi-level model of empathy provides a framework to identify gaps in the empathy literature and make recommendations for future research. Practical implications This new model of empathy will help practitioners use and understand empathy by providing a structure of how empathy is manifested in organizational settings. Originality/value The field of empathy research has been limited by inconsistent definitions and a lack of a model that outlines how empathy is used in organizations. This multi-level model of empathy provides the necessary framework for researchers and practitioners to advance the research and practice of empathy in organizations.

’Emotional Intelligence and Authentic Leadership: : A Meta-Analysis

Authentic leadership is a popular leadership construct that stimulates considerable scholarly interest and has received substantial attention from practitioners. Among different individual difference variables, there has been a growing interest in studying the connection between emotional intelligence (EI) and authentic leadership; nevertheless, most of the existing literature on this relation was atheoretical and the results for this relation were mixed. Thus, the objective of this study is to clarify the relation between EI and authentic leadership. A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the relation between EI and authentic leadership and the moderators that affect this relation. The results of the present study indicated that (1) EI is significantly and positively related to authentic leadership (overall EI: ρ = 0.49; ability EI: ρ = 0.08; self-report EI: ρ = 0.52; mixed EI: ρ = 0.49); (2) self-report EI and mixed EI have larger associations with authentic leadership than ability EI; and (3) the relation between EI and authentic leadership does not differ between male-dominated and female-dominated studies. The present study couches the relation between EI and authentic leadership in theories and identifies important moderators for this relation which explains the heterogeneity in effect sizes for this relation across studies.

Competency Labor: A Conceptual Framework for Examining Individuals’ Effort and Emotions in Projecting an Image of Competence at Work

Abstract This chapter introduces the concept of “competency labor” and illustrates its important role in organizational life for both researchers and practitioners. In the contemporary workplace environment individuals face increasing expectations of competence. However, demonstrating competence is no simple task – rather, to demonstrate competence requires a concerted effort in terms of individuals’ affect, cognition, and behavior. Accordingly, new models are needed that can explain these emergent processes. The present work integrates the literatures related to emotional labor and impression management, and builds a theory-based framework for investigating the processes (affective, cognitive, and behavioral) of making desired impressions of competency at work and how these processes impact critical individual and organizational outcomes. Our conceptual model proposes how growing demands in the workplace for individuals to display competence affect how they think, feel, as well as act. In sum, our work advocates that a new research stream is needed to better understand the “competency labor” phenomenon and its theoretical as well as practical implications.