Affective Match in Leadership: Leader Emotional Displays, Follower Positive Affect, and Follower Performance¹

Abstract

Leader emotions may play an important role in leadership effectiveness. Extending earlier research on leader emotional displays and leadership effectiveness, we propose that the affective match between follower positive affect (PA) and leaders’ emotional displays moderates the effectiveness of leader emotional displays. Leader display of emotions has more positive effects on follower behavior if the match between the valence of leader emotion and follower PA is strong rather than weak. Support for this hypothesis was found in 2 experiments. Congruency between leader emotional displays and follower PA determined follower task performance and extra‐role compliance. Results from the second experiment indicated that this effect is a due to affective aspects of leader behavior and not to the valence of message content.

The Two-Faced Leader: Effects of Leader Emotional Inconsistency on Follower Creative Performance

“…Furthermore, Sy et al (2005) found that groups with leaders in a positive mood exhibited better group coordination, whereas leader negative mood was related to increased group effort, both of which are outcomes that can be viewed as determinants of group performance. However, other studies failed to establish a direct effect between leader emotional displays and work performance, both on the individual (Damen, van Knippenberg, & van Knippenberg, 2008;Van Kleef, Homan, Beersma, & van Knippenberg, 2010;Venus, Stam, & van Knippenberg, 2013) and group level (Seong & Choi, 2014).…”

“…Second, compared to a mismatch, a match between leader emotional expressions and follower trait affect is proposed to result in increased leadership effectiveness (Damen, van Knippenberg, & van Knippenberg, 2008). The CIM's propositions describing a match or mismatch situation could be interpreted as a line of argumentation to the end of exploring the effects of consistency versus inconsistency between various leader and follower variables.…”

“…(2005) found that groups with leaders in a positive mood exhibited better group coordination, whereas leader negative mood was related to increased group effort, both of which are outcomes that can be viewed as determinants of group performance. However, other studies failed to establish a direct effect between leader emotional displays and work performance, both on the individual (Damen, van Knippenberg, & van Knippenberg, 2008;Van Kleef, Homan, Beersma, & van Knippenberg, 2010;Venus, Stam, & van Knippenberg, 2013) and group level (Seong & Choi, 2014).Focusing on extra-role performance, Koning and van Kleef (2015) showed that leader displays of anger (compared to displays of happiness) decrease follower willingness to engage in organisational citizenship behaviours.Investigating group-level relationships, George and Bettenhausen (1990) found that leader displays of positive emotions are positively related to group prosocial 45 behaviour, defined as behaviour that is beneficial to the person, group, or organisation at which they are directed.Recently, researchers additionally aimed to shed light on the relationship between leader displays of discrete emotions and creativity. Visser et al (2013) found leader displays of happiness to be positively related to creative performance.…”

Charismatic and Affective Rhetoric in a Presidential Campaign

“…Several researchers have found that leaders who express positive affect are rated more favorably than leaders who express negative affect (Barsade & Gibson, 2007;Bono & Illies, 2006;Dasborough and Ashkanasy, 2002) and that these favorable ratings are a result of emotional contagion (Barsade & Gibson, 2007;Bono & Illies, 2006;Damen, Van Knippenberg, & Van Knippenberg, 2008). According to these researchers, leaders' positive affect arouses positive emotion in followers, which in turn results in positive mood.…”

The Emotion of Admiration Improves Employees’ Goal Orientations and Contextual Performance

“…Despite the increasing research interest that in recent times has concerned the positive emotions involved in the leadership processes (see e.g . [3,5,6,7], the examin at ion of the ro le o f pos it ive other-directed emotions involved in the leader-fo llo wer relationship has been undeservedly neglected. Especially, if some exceptions are related to the study of empathy (8), gratitude [9], and moral elevation [10], there is a nearly complete lack of research concerning leadership and admiration.…”