Todd J. Weber

Leadership: Current Theories, Research, and Future Directions

This review examines recent theoretical and empirical developments in the leadership literature, beginning with topics that are currently receiving attention in terms of research, theory, and practice. We begin by examining authentic leadership and its development, followed by work that takes a cognitive science approach. We then examine new-genre leadership theories, complexity leadership, and leadership that is shared, collective, or distributed. We examine the role of relationships through our review of leader member exchange and the emerging work on followership. Finally, we examine work that has been done on substitutes for leadership, servant leadership, spirituality and leadership, cross-cultural leadership, and e-leadership. This structure has the benefit of creating a future focus as well as providing an interesting way to examine the development of the field. Each section ends with an identification of issues to be addressed in the future, in addition to the overall integration of the literature we provide at the end of the article.

The challenge of leading on unstable ground: Triggers that activate social identity faultlines

Today’s leaders face unprecedented challenges in attempting to manage interactions between social identity group members with a history of tension in society at large. Research on faultlines suggests that social identity groups often polarize in response to events that make social identity salient, resulting in negative work outcomes. The current research extends the faultlines literature by examining precipitating events (triggers) that activate a faultline. Qualitative interview data were collected from two samples of employees working in multiple countries to identify events that had resulted in social identity conflicts. In the first study (35 events), an exploratory approach yielded a typology of five types of triggers: differential treatment, different values, assimilation, insult or humiliating action, and simple contact. A second qualitative study (99 events) involved a more geographically varied sample. Research findings are discussed in terms of implications for the faultlines literature and for practicing leaders.

Driven to Work and Enjoyment of Work: Effects on Managers’ Outcomes

The authors examined the effects of two types of motivation, driven to work and enjoyment of work, on managers’ (N = 346) performance, career satisfaction, and psychological strain. Performance was assessed using 360-degree performance ratings. The authors also tested the effects of self-esteem on the two motives. They found that the enjoyment motive was positively related to career satisfaction and performance and negatively related to strain. Driven to work had no main effects but appeared to interact with enjoyment of work to influence performance and strain. When enjoyment of work was high, driven to work was unrelated to performance or strain. When enjoyment of work was low, increases in driven to work were associated with increases in both performance and strain. Self-esteem was positively related to enjoyment of work and negatively related to driven to work. Overall, the authors’ findings suggest that being motivated by enjoyment of work facilitates both effectiveness and well-being.

Illuminating a cross-cultural leadership challenge: When identity groups collide

When societal conflicts between social identity groups spill over into organizations, leaders face the formidable challenge of attempting to bridge differences and manage the conflict in order to accomplish work. After reviewing the literature on intergroup conflict, workplace diversity and social identity theory, we examine four potential leadership strategies for managing identity-based conflicts. The four leadership strategies are decategorization, recategorization, subcategorization and crosscutting. Examples drawn from an interview-based study are used to illustrate theoretical constructs found in the literature. We then consider each of these strategies in cross-cultural contexts and generate propositions to reflect differences in the effectiveness of the strategies in collectivist versus individualist cultures.

Leadership responses to a conflict of gender-based tension: A comparison of responses between men and women in the US and South Africa

Conflicts are an inherent part of organizational life, particularly when diverse people work together. When conflicts based on social identity arise (e.g. a conflict of gender-based tension) how one would respond as a leader to deal with the conflict may be influenced by one’s group membership. A comparative field study using 218 male and female employees from the United States and South Africa examined the influence of gender and national culture on how helpful leadership responses indicative of respect and equality are to a hypothetical scenario depicting a conflict of gender-based tension. Results show a main effect of gender: women believed acting as a leader in a manner indicative of respect and equality would be more helpful in dealing with the conflict of gender-based tension than men believed. There was no main effect for national culture, but an interaction of gender and national culture existed. A discussion of findings, limitations, and future research conclude this study. Réponses du leadership dans un climat de tension sexiste : une comparaison des réponses entre hommes et femmes aux Etats-Unis et en Afrique du Sud William A. Gentry, Lize Booysen, Kelly M. Hannum & Todd J. Weber Les conflits font partie inhérente de la vie de l’organisation, tout particulièrement lorsque des gens différents travaillent ensemble. Lorsque les conflits surgissent sur la base de l’identité sociale (par exemple un conflit basé sur la tension entre genres), la réponse qui leur sera apportée par la personne qui fait office de leader/manager sera peut-être influencée par le groupe auquel la personne appartient. asonstance de la communication Une étude comparative de terrain auprès de 218 employés des deux sexes aux Etats-Unis et en Afrique du Sud s’est attachée à un examen de l’influence de la culture de genre et de la culture nationale. L’objectif était de déterminer si des réponses de respect et d’égalité de la part du leadership de l’entreprise sont utiles dans un scénario de tension sexiste. Les conclusions montrent que le genre a un effet déterminant : les femmes perçues comme agissant en tant que leader et d’une façon qui envoie des signes de respect et d’égalité traiteront d’un conflit émanant de tensions sexistes mieux que les hommes ne le pensaient. Il n’y a pas d’effet probant en ce qui concerne la culture nationale, mais il y a une interaction entre le genre et la culture nationale. Cette étude se termine sur une discussion des conclusions, des limites et de la recherche future possible.