Abstracts Category : Other

Is There a Time and Place for Transformational Leadership? The Daily Impact of Leader Behaviors on Follower Task Performance

by Tracy Rothwell

The purpose of this study was to weigh the value of Transformational Leadership (TFL) and Contingent-Reward Leadership (CRL) behaviors in determining followers' objective task performance. Past empirical evidence has suggested that TFL behaviors were relatively less important for influencing individual task performance in comparison to CRL behaviors. This study was designed to test the boundaries of this empirical conclusion. There were two main goals: 1) to investigate the daily effects of TFL and CRL behaviors on follower task performance given a "chaotic" work context, and 2) to address a temporal issue related to the measurement of TFL and its influence on individual task performance. Daily data were collected from a sample of 46 Canadian tree planters over a period of nine work days. The sample was composed of novice and experienced personnel. The data were hierarchically cross-classified, with days nested within individuals, and individuals nested between leaders. Hierarchical multiple regression and PROCESS moderation analysis results point to short-term effects of CRL and long-term effects of TFL for influencing task performance in both groups. Interestingly, the vision item from the inspirational motivation dimension of TFL demonstrated both a significant daily and lingering association to the task performance of novice and experienced tree planters. Implications of the results for leadership theory and practice are discussed, along with a review of the study strengths and limitations. To conclude, the author offers suggestions for the direction and focus of future leadership research given the changing nature of 21st century work environments.