Leading Machiavellians on the road to better organizational behavior

Abstract

PurposeStudies highlighting negative behavioral influences of Machiavellians are plentiful; however, those prescribing their management are scarce. Machiavellians are intelligent, adaptable and resourceful people with negative, self-serving and unethical persona traits. Their abundance in organizations poses a challenge for managers in minimizing negative consequences of Machiavellian's manipulative behaviors and tap into their true potential. Leadership can play a crucial role in this regard. This purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating effects of transformational leadership (TFL) versus transactional leadership (TSL) styles on the relationship between subordinates' Machiavellianism and their organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and counterproductive work behavior (CWB). The aim was to highlight the style that better adept in managing high-Mach subordinates.Design/methodology/approachThis cross-sectional study used multiple surveys administered to 90 managers and their 269 subordinates from 56 organizations. Multiple regression was used for testing and hypothesize linear and supplementary nonlinear relationships between the study variables.FindingsAfter a detailed data analysis, authors posit that, as compared to TFL, the TSL style is better suited for managing Machiavellian subordinates.Practical implicationsBy employing transactional tactics, leaders can reign in the divergent behavior of Machiavellians, thus, transforming them into useful organizational assets.Originality/valueThis study expands on limited body of knowledge on managing Machiavellians. It advocates using TSL for improving the OCB of Machiavellians while countering their CWBs. Furthermore, this study contributes to transactional/transformational theories as it lends credence to the situational theory of leadership.

Avoiding the scenario of “The farmer and the snake”: the dark side of servant leadership and an intervention mechanism

“…In fact, the mean of Mach was close to those of samples from Western countries. For example, out of a maximum score of 7, the mean Mach scores were 4.4, 3.1, and 3.3 in Shah et al (2021), Belschak et al (2018) and Belschak et al (2015), respectively, suggesting that Machiavellians are common in both China and Western countries.…”

“…In fact, the mean of Mach was close to those of samples from Western countries. For example, out of a maximum score of 7, the mean Mach scores were 4.4, 3.1, and 3.3 in Shah et al. (2021), Belschak et al.…”

Understanding dark side personality at work: Distinguishing and reviewing nonlinear, interactive, differential, and reciprocal effects

“…Regarding Machiavellianism, research by both Zettler and Solga (2013) and by Shah et al (2022) reported curvilinear (inverted U‐shaped) associations with OCBs, such that intermediate levels of this trait yielded the highest OCB compared to both lower and higher levels. For other outcomes, the patterns of results were less equivocal.…”

“…Here the idea is that (mal)adaptive leader characteristics or behaviors can mitigate or amplify the negative effects of employee dark traits on their work performance and adjustment. The leadership characteristics studied entail transformational and/or transactional leadership styles (Belschak et al, 2013; Shah et al, 2021), high involvement management style (Webster & Smith, 2019), leader dark side personality traits (Belschak et al, 2018; Wisse et al, 2015), and abusive supervision (Greenbaum et al, 2017; Hurst et al, 2019; Khan et al, 2020). Reviewing these studies yields a complex picture of how leadership styles and behaviors interact with employee dark triad traits.…”

Machiavellian leadership in organisations: a review of theory and research

“…strategies and leadership styles for managing Machiavellians (Shah et al, 2021;Linuesa-Langreo et al, 2019). Like leader Machiavellianism, high Machiavellianism in employees is also linked to negative work behaviours, emotions and attitudes (such as stress and burnout).…”