Growing Followers: Exploring the Effects of Leader Humility on Follower Self‐Expansion, Self‐Efficacy, and Performance

• Author: Chia‐Yen (Chad) Chiu,Jianghua Mao,Jacob A. Brown,Bradley P. Owens,Jianqiao Liao
• Date: 01 March 2019
• Published date: 01 March 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12395

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and S ociety for the Advancement of Ma nagement Studies

Growing Followers: Exploring the Effects of Leader

Humility on Follower Self-Expansion, Self-Efficacy, and

Performance

Jianghua Mao, Chia-Yen (Chad) Chiu, Bradley P. Owens,

Jacob A. Brown and Jianqiao Liao

Zhongnan University of Economics and Law; University of South Australia; Brigham Young

University; Boston College; Huazhong University of Science and Technology

ABST RACT Although the effectiveness of leader hum ility has been well docu mented, our

understanding of how leader humilit y influences followers psychologically is limited.

Surpassi ng a mere leader-centric understandi ng of the leader influence process by

more fully understa nding how leadership behavior shapes followers psychological ly has

been identified as a cr itical need by leadership scholars . Drawing on self- expansion

theory, we argue that leader humi lity triggers followers’ self-expansion and that t his

psychological change enhances followers’ self- efficacy, which in turn contributes to

followers’ task performance. We also arg ue that the relationship between leader humil-

ity and followers’ self-expansion is st rengthened when leaders and followers are simil ar

in age and gender. Using a time-lagged research design with response s from 256

leader–follower dyads, we found support for our proposed model. We discuss t he

theoretical implications for our f indings and suggest areas for future resea rch.

Keywo rds: leader humilit y, sel f-efficacy, self-expansion, task performance

INTRODUCTION

In recent years, organizational researchers have paid greater attention to the im-

plications of humility in leadership studies (see a recent review by Nielsen and

Marrone, in press). Leader humility is def ined as an interpersonal char acteristic

rooted in self-transcendence, which is manifested by a willingness to view one-

self accurately, an appreciation of others’ strengths and contributions, and an

openness to new insights, feedback, and advice (Owens et al., 2013). A growing

number of empirical studies have reported that leader humility has a positive

Journal of Manageme nt Studies 56:2 March 2019

doi:10.1111/j oms .12 395

Address for reprints: Jia nghua Mao, School of Busines s Administ ration, Zhongna n University of

Economics and Law, Wuhan, Ch ina (maojh@hust.edu.cn).

344 J. Mao et al.

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and S ociety for the Advancement of Ma nagement Studies

impact on follower work engagement and job satisfaction (Owens et al., 2013),

team performance (Chiu et al., 2016), and fir m performance (Ou et al., 2018). In

a recent study, Ou et al. (2018) further report that CEOs’ humble leadership style

effectively promotes behavioral integration in their top management teams –

even after controlling for their charismatic leadership behaviour, one of the most

dominant leadership styles identified by literature (Dinh et al., 2014). Despite this

empirical support, various researchers (e.g., Crossan et al., 2017; Ou et al., 2017;

Owens and Hekman, 2016) have cautioned that our understanding of leader hu-

mility and its implications in orga nizations is limited in several important ways.

First, leader humility and other positive leadership approaches – e.g., trans-

formational, ethical, servant, and authentic leadership – have been shown to fos-

ter constructive work attitudes, enhance motivation, and improve performance

(Avolio, 2007; Avolio and Gardner, 2005; Brown and Treviño, 2006; Hannah

et al., 2009; Nelson and Cooper, 2007; Ou et al., 2018; Wang et al., in press).

However, we understand little about whether or how these approaches shape

components of followers’ deeper psychology, such as their identity or sense of

self (Van Knippenberg et al., 2004). This is important because not only has re-

search in positive leadership areas been overwhelmingly leader-centric (Ehrhart

and Klein, 2001; Meindl, 1995), but the way in which followers view and define

themselves is the psychological foundation that shapes their subsequent atti-

tudes and behaviours (Alvesson and Willmott, 2002; Van Knippenberg et al.,

2004). As the ‘totality of one’s self-construal’ (Weinreich, 1986, p. 317), identity

is the fulcrum upon which perspectives, desires, attitudes, and ultimately be-

haviours hinge. While positive leadership theories typically propose deep-level,

transformative changes in followers, existing research most often explores its

effects on surface-level job attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction, organizational com-

mitment, job engagement). We believe leader humility holds unique potential

for illuminating the impact of leadership on follower sense of self or identity

because this approach to leading is not only proposed to be ‘follower centred’

(Owens and Hekman, 2016), but also uniquely entails modelling self-transcen-

dence, legitimizing follower growth and development, and facilitating follower

role expansion. We integrate these influencing mechanisms to develop theory

about how humble leadership can explain deep-level, identity-based changes in

followers.

Second, multiple studies have expressed the need for researchers to explore

the boundary conditions of leader humility’s influence (e.g., Ou et al., 2014a;

Owens and Hekman, 2012). But, with sparse exceptions (e.g., Chiu et al., 2016;

Daniels et al., 2014; Ou et al., 2014a; Ou et al., 2017), conditions that strengthen

or mitigate the influence of leader humility remain underexplored. Along the

theme of understanding the follower’s role in the humble leadership process, we

do not yet understand whether and how follower demographic similarity to the

leader may influence followers’ receptiveness to displays of leader humility. Lack

of investigation into construct boundary conditions seriously limits the theoreti-

cal development and practical implications of leader humility (Ou et al., 2017).