[Empowering Communication thru the Leadership-Followership Process at a Southern Christian Organization]

By

Acknowledgement

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

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ABSTRACT

We sought to establish whether mean level within-team assessments of a leader's transformational behavior and the extent of perceived variability (i.e., consensus) among team members' ratings around this mean level are separate yet related indicators of leader quality. To this end, using data from 108 work teams in a multinational field setting, we explored the relationship between managers' transformational leadership behavior and team performance as moderated by the extent of variability among team members' leadership behavior ratings. Recognizing that the relationship between leader behavior and team performance is indirect, we further examined whether team empowerment served as a mediating mechanism through which transformational leadership is evoked. Study results, based on ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analyses and bootstrapped estimates, were consistent with the hypothesized conceptual scheme of moderated mediation, in that the joint effects of transformational leadership behavior and consensus about transformational leadership were found to have an indirect effect on team performance through team empowerment. These findings broaden the focus of transformational leadership theory by illustrating that, within a team context, the transformational leadership-performance linkage is more nuanced than previously believed.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Aims of the Study2

Follower-Centric Approach to Leadership: Conceptual Issues and Empirical Findings3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW5

Theoretical Foundation and Construct Definition of IFTs6

Theoretical Relevance of IFTs8

Analytic Issues12

Leadership and Perceptions13

Level of analysis17

Leadership Behavior18

Social Influence22

Underlying processes23

Partitioning of variance24

Level of analysis25

Comparison of Leadership Perceptions, Behavior, and Influence26

Consensus among Team Members' Leadership Perceptions29

Empirical Research on Leadership Consensus30

Theoretical Model And Hypotheses32

The Mediating Role of Team Empowerment33

The Moderating Role of Consensus about Transformational Leadership35

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLGY38

Participants and Procedure38

Measures40

Transformational Leadership Behavior40

Transformational Leadership Consensus40

Team Empowerment40

Team Performance41

Controls42

Data analyses43

Data Aggregation and Confirmatory Factor Analyses45

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS48

Preliminary Tests48

Integrated test of the Study's Hypotheses49

Possibility of alternative models53

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION54

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION60

Limitations and Future Research62

Contributions to the Literature64

Implications for Research and Practice66

Summary68

REFERENCES69

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

In an effort to understand the antecedents of job performance, leadership research has traditionally emphasized the relationship between managers and subordinates as individuals. With the widespread shift to team based organizations, however, there is mounting evidence that a manager's leadership behavior in supervising subordinates as a group influences the performance in and of teams. Recognizing this shift in emphasis has observed that a focus on group methods of leadership raises a series of yet unanswered questions (Chen, 2007). For example, what compromises may occur when managing both individuals and teams as a whole? Do efforts to lead and motivate teams affect individual leader-follower interactions, and what are the likely consequences for one-on-one relationships between team members?

Are the behaviors necessary for ...