ANTECEDENTS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP:
Analytics
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Abstract
Robust, positive relationships have been evidenced between transformational leadership and several workplace outcomes; however, less is known about the individual differences that predispose some individuals to engage in transformational leadership behaviors. The purpose of the study was twofold: (1) to examine social skill as an antecedent of transformational leadership, and (2) to examine the relationship between social skill and self-awareness of one's transformational leadership ability. Multi-level data were obtained from 124 mid- to upper-level managers (Level 2) and 346 of their direct reports (Level 1) working for a mid-sized utilities company in the Southeastern United States. The results of Part One replicated the positive relationship between transformational leadership and both perceptions of leader effectiveness and trust in the leader. Additionally, three dimensions of social skill were found to be positively related to transformational leadership, but only when same source ratings (focal leader ratings) of both variables were used. The results of Part Two indicated that there were discrepancies between leader- and direct report-ratings of transformational leadership, with leaders tending to over-rate their transformational leadership ability. However, using a polynomial regression and response surface analysis framework, social skill was not significantly related to transformational leadership self-awareness (i.e., discrepancies between focal leader and direct report ratings of transformational leadership). Despite the largely non-significant results obtained in the present study, there is strong theory (e.g., Riggio & Reichard, 2008) to support the hypothesized relationships between the six dimensions of social skill and transformational leadership. Based on the strength of the theory combined with limited empirical evidence from the present study, I argue that further investigation into the relationships between social skill and both transformational leadership and transformational leadership self-awareness represents a productive avenue for future research.