A Look at Leadership Styles and Workplace Solidarity Communication

Abstract

Leadership styles that promote upward and downward communication have been shown to foster a plethora of positive outcomes within the workplace, group collaborations, and team contexts. Similarly, supervisor-subordinate solidarity communication has been related to desirable workplace outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate leadership styles as related to solidarity communication. The authoritarian leadership style was associated with the lowest solidarity and consistently yielded the least job satisfaction and highest burnout in subordinates. Furthermore, subordinates with authoritarian leaders did not fit the supervisor-subordinate solidarity model. A more nuanced explanation of leadership communication as related to solidarity is discussed.

Organizational Citizenship Behaviors as Influenced by Supervisor Communication: The Role of Solidarity and Immediate Behaviors

“…Future research should also consider the potential moderating effect of supervisors' leadership styles on OCB. Prior research has identified that an authoritarian leadership style lacks the two-way communication necessary to develop solidarity (Kelly & MacDonald, 2016). As such, it is possible that leadership style would moderate the model supported by this data.…”

“…Itzkovich and Heilbrunn (2016) found that a lack of solidarity among co-workers was associated with increased workplace incivility, which led to increased deviant behavior toward the organization. MacDonald et al (2014) and Kelly and MacDonald (2016), found that supervisor solidarity led to increased job satisfaction, which ultimately decreased subordinates' sense of burnout. Within the workplace, subordinates who perceive low solidarity with their supervisors have been observed to remain silent, particularly in terms of sharing negative feelings, for fear of political consequences (Diefendorff, Morehart, & Gabriel, 2010;Milliken, Morrison, & Hewlin, 2003;Sanders, Flache, van der Vegt, & van de Vliert, 2006).…”

“…Rather, subordinates must wait for their supervisor to decrease the formality of their interactions, allowing interpersonal conversation to take place. Therefore, assessment of how much solidarity a subordinate believes he or she has with his or her supervisor is an assessment of supervisor interpersonal communicative behaviors (Kelly & MacDonald, 2016;MacDonald et al, 2014).…”

Administrator Leadership Styles and Their Impact on School Nursing

“…Organizational psychology literature has a plethora of scholarly research articles about leadership styles and their effect, both positively and negatively, on myriad organizations, including schools, and individuals that make up the staff of these organizations (Aydin, Sarier, & Uysal, 2013;Carter & Greer, 2013;Jing & Avery, 2011;Kelly & MacDonald, 2016;Singh, 2013;Wegge et al, 2010). For instance, in a school-based setting, it has been shown that the building administrator's leadership style can be directly correlated to staff satisfaction, the building's climate and well-being, and the overall effectiveness, productivity, and commitment of the staff (i.e., organizational commitment), including that of the school nurse (Fallen, 2001;Watkins, 2013).…”

Analysis of factors affecting project communications with a hybrid DEMATEL-ISM approach (A case study in Iran)

“…Choosing the most effective leadership style for different situations requires the ability to correctly assess the situation and apply the appropriate style to communicate effectively ( Zulch, 2014 ). “Leadership styles that promote upward and downward communication, have been shown to foster a plethora of positive outcomes within the workplace, group collaborations, and team contexts” ( Kelly and MacDonald, 2019 ).…”