Start with why: The transfer of work meaningfulness from leaders to followers and the role of dyadic tenure

Abstract

Leaders are expected to enhance the work meaningfulness of followers, but little insight exists on the role of leaders' own experience of meaningfulness in that process.We propose a leader-follower transfer model of work meaningfulness through visionary leadership, grounded in self-concept-based theory, in which leader-follower dyadic tenure shapes the effects of visionary leadership on followers. Moreover, we suggest that work meaningfulness can enhance followers' goal achievement and reduce turnover intentions. We tested and confirmed our moderated-mediation model in two independent, multisource, multilevel field data sets of 79 mid-level leaders and 871 employees in Study 1 and 68 CEOs and 596 mid-level leaders in Study 2. We also empirically ruled out a series of alternative transfer mechanisms, including transformational and transactional leadership, leader-member exchange, and all subdimensions of transformational leadership. This research contributes to the scholarly discussions on work meaningfulness and visionary leadership and offers novel insights for practitioners to enhance work meaningfulness in their organizations.

How does supervisor developmental feedback make employees sense the meaning of work?

“…Based on SDT, and combining LMX, a supervisor-subordinate interaction context, this article explores the influence mechanism of supervisor developmental feedback on employees' work meaningfulness from the level of employees' internal psychological needs satisfaction. We further verify and deepen prior research conclusions that the LMX quality (Chaudhary 2021) and supervisors' other management behavior (Kipfelsberger et al 2022) profoundly affect employees' work meaningfulness. The results contribute to the discussion of the role of supervisor developmental feedback in activating employees' work meaningfulness.…”

Antecedents and Effects of Visionary Leadership: When and How Leader Work Centrality is Linked to Visionary Leadership and Follower Turnover Intentions

“…As van Knippenberg and Sitkin (2013) noted, such research on the broader construct transformational leadership should not be viewed as direct evidence for the effects of visionary leadership (also see van Knippenberg & Stam, 2014). Moreover, although we acknowledge the contributions of this line of research, including those of the recent study by Kipfelsberger et al (2022), especially with regard to theory development, the measures used in these studies blur the distinction between leader vision communication and follower reactions (e.g., by asking about the extent to which a leader “optimistically” or “enthusiastically” provides a “compelling” or “inspiring” vision). To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to examine whether “pure” visionary leadership—defined more narrowly by van Knippenberg and Stam (2014) as the communication of a future image for a collective with the intention of persuading others to contribute to its realization—is positively linked to follower meaningfulness and, in turn, negatively related to follower turnover intentions.…”

“…Thereby, they become strongly committed and attached to their organization and feel obligated to continue their work even when other factors, such as unpleasant coworkers, low pay, or more attractive job alternatives would otherwise motivate them to leave (Tse et al, 2013). Indeed, previous research has shown that meaningfulness reduces follower turnover intentions (Kipfelsberger et al, 2022), and that this association can be explained by increased engagement and commitment (Allan et al, 2019;Arnoux-Nicolas et al, 2016;Clausen & Borg, 2010;Leunissen et al, 2018).…”

“…While some destructive leaders might exploit such leadership to win over followers to their amoral endeavors (e.g., Padilla et al, 2007), most research has highlighted the positive potential that visions have in fostering follower motivation (e.g., Sully De Luque et al, 2008) and commitment (e.g., Dvir et al, 2004; Kohles et al, 2012). Scholars have argued that one of the main mechanisms through which visionary leadership exerts its effects is by providing followers with a sense of meaning (Carton, 2018; Kipfelsberger et al, 2022; Stam et al, 2010). It has been argued that perceptions of work meaningfulness are driven by two elements: a work-related purpose that provides a justification for one's work, and the personal importance that one attaches to this purpose (Robertson et al, 2020).…”

“…Third, it is often argued theoretically that visionary leadership provides followers with meaningfulness (e.g., Carton, 2018;Stam et al, 2010). However, the only empirical evidence for this claim comes from research in which vision communication is combined with other leadership elements to form a broader measure of transformational leadership (e.g., Frieder et al, 2018) or where visionary leadership is defined partly in terms of its effects (i.e., "behaviors through which leaders […] inspire others;" Kipfelsberger et al, 2022Kipfelsberger et al, , p. 1288. The former stream of research tells us little about the specific effects of visionary leadership on followers (Alvesson & Einola, 2019;Carton, 2022;van Knippenberg & Sitkin, 2013).…”