Leadership Style and Activating Potential Moderators of the Relationships (1)

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Leadership style and activating potential moderators of the relationshipsamong leader emotional displays and outcomes

Shane Connelly a,, Gregory Ruark b

a The University of Oklahoma, USAb The United States Army Research Institute, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

The present study argues that leader emotional displays are important to consider both within

and outside of transformational/charismatic paradigms and must look beyond positive and

negative affect. Accordingly, this experiment examined the effects of emotion valence as

moderated by leadership style (transformational vs. transactional) and activating potential

(high vs. low) on follower satisfaction, evaluations of the leader, andcreative task performance.

Findings showed differential effects of positive and negative emotions for different leader

styles for evaluations of transformational leadership and leader effectiveness and for follower

performance. Additionally, positive emotions with higher-activating potential resulted in more

desirable outcomes than those lower in activating potential, but the reverse was true for

negative emotions. Findings are discussed in light of research and practical implications.

2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords:

Transformational and transactional leadership

Leader emotion displays

Follower performance

Follower evaluations of leader

1. Introduction

Some of the world's most influential leaders throughout history are remembered in part by their impassioned communications

regarding their beliefs, causes, and leadership vision. From Martin Luther King's eloquent and passionate I have a dream speech,

to Nelson Mandela's declaration that I amprepared to die in the opening defense statement at his1964 trial, emotions have been

used to convey some of the very best and worst (e.g., Nazism) of leader ideals. There has naturally been a greater emphasis on

studying leader emotion within charismatic and transformational leadership paradigms, given the importance of and sometimes

reliance on emotional expression as a way forthese leaders to connect with followers. However, one obvious point has been rather

neglected in the literature on leadership and emotions. Simply put, emotional displays and exchanges occur on a regular basis

between everyday leaders and their followers, but little research has examined this (Brotheridge & Lee, 2008).

Other compelling reasons also exist for furthering the research on emotions and leadership, both within and outside of a

transformational leadership paradigm. Much of the empirical research to date focuses on the contrast between positive and

negative leader affect (e.g., Bono & Ilies, 2006; Newcombe & Ashkanasy, 2002). Few leadership papers examine discrete emotions

or dimensions of emotion other than valence, despite studies in the general emotions literature linking different appraisals and

outcomes with different same-valence emotions (e.g., Bodenhausen et al., 1994; Lerner & Keltner, 2000, 2001; Lerner & Tiedens,

2006; Nabi, 2003; Seitz et al., 2007). These observations and recent studies demonstrating the importance of moderators in

examining the impact of leader emotions (Damen et al., 2008; Sy et al., 2005; Waples & Connelly, 2008) suggest that emotion type

and leadership style may both be important to take into account in empirical studies seeking to further our understanding of how

followers respond to leader emotions.

The Leadership Quarterly 21 (2010) 745764

Corresponding author.

E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Connelly).

1048-9843/$

see front matter 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2010.07.005

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This study contributes to the literature on leadership and emotions in several specific ways. First, it compares the effects of

emotional displays from transformational leaders to those of transactional leaders. We argue that followers may perceive and

respond differently to the emotional displays of transformational and transactional leader because some emotions may be viewed

as more congruent with the mechanisms through which these leaders exert influence (e.g., contingent reward vs. charisma,

intellectual stimulation, etc.) (Bass, 1985, 1990; Burns, 1978). Second, this study expands the number and nature of leader

emotions examined, focusing on the independent and joint effects of two differentiating aspects of emotionsvalence (Russell,

1978; Watson & Tellegen, 1985) and activating potential (Mesquita & Frijda, 1992; Roseman, 1984). Third, follower performance is

included as an outcome. Studies of discrete leader emotions to date have not examined follower task performance, with one

notable exception having looked at team performance (see Van Kleef et al., 2009).

Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to increase understanding of how positive and negative leader emotions impact

important leadership outcomes when two potentially important moderators are in playdifferent leadership approaches or styles

and the activating potential of the emotions. The potential effects of leader displays of positive and negative emotions are first

contrasted for transformational and transactional leaders with respect to follower satisfaction, perceptions of the leader, and

performance on a creative task. In making this comparison, we take into account the observation that behaviors characterizing

these styles of leadership are not mutually exclusive in the sense that transformational leaders build upon a transactional base

(Avolio, 1999; Bass, 1998; Bass & Avolio, 1993; Judge & Piccolo, 2004). Effects of positive and negative leader emotions are then

considered with respect to the activating or motivational potential of different emotions.

1.1. Emotion valence and leadership style

Some leadership scholars have noted that both positive and negative emotions have the potential to be functional ordysfunctional for leaders (e.g., George, 2000; Sy et al., 2005). Part of being an effective leader may well lie in knowing how one's

emotional displays resonate with individual followers and work groups, especially when an organization faces difficult challenges.

In line with this, recent studies have suggested that a variety of factors may change how people perceive and respond to positive

and negative emotions (Damen & van Knippenberg, 2007; Van Kleef et al., 2009; Waples & Connelly, 2008).

Emotion perception does not occur in a vacuum. Frijda (2005) notes that situational meaning structures are part of every

emotional experience. These structures represent information regarding an event or object's valence, benefits or harms that might

come from the event or object, and states of action-readiness. Knowledge of the leader's individual style, preferences, and

behavior, as well as information about the context in which an emotional display is made, contribute to follower perceptions of

leader emotions. For example, knowledge of or experience with the leader's attributesand general approach to leadership can help

followers to evaluate whether the emotional display is typical or atypical with respect to how the leader commonly behaves.

Likewise, knowing that there is intense time pressure or severe consequences for underperforming with respect to a particular

objective may also influence how followers perceive and respond to a leader's emotional displays. This is consistent with

Weierter's (1997, 1999) research, which proposes that charisma is not only a function of the leader, but also depends on followerattributes (e.g., self-awareness, self-monitoring) and the situation (e.g., congruence of preexisting follower values with leader

values/message). While there has been a fair amount of research focusing on the emotions of transformational and charismatic

leaders, many other kinds of leaders also show emotions to their followers. Accordingly, we consider follower responses to

emotional displays of both transactional and transformational leaders.

1.2. Transactional leaders

Emotional displays of transactional leaders and their impact on followers must be considered in light of the key behaviors

characterizing this approach to leadership. Transactional leaders provide stable, risk-averse leadership in exchange for follower

effort and performance (Avolio, 1999; Bass, 1985; Burns, 1978; Howell & Avolio, 1993; Levy et al., 2002 ). Leaders ascribing to this

approach focus on the effective and efficient exchange of information intended to: a) clarify objectives and expectations, and b)

identify contingencies in the form of rewards and punishments for when followers meet or fail to meet those objectives. In

essence, this kind of exchange forms the basis for leaderfollower interactions and relationships. In managing the exchange

relationship, transactional leaders may take an active role, stepping in before problems become serious, or may be more passive,

only taking corrective action after problems are serious. A recent review of transactional leadership studies by Podsakoff et al.

(2006) demonstrated that consistency in providing rewards and punishments contingently, based upon performance, is central

for transactional leaders to be perceived as fair, and to earn the trust, satisfaction, commitment, and effort of their followers. While

some leaders may use multiple styles or approaches, our consideration of transactional leaders in this study rests on the

assumption that transactional behaviors are a central part of how they exercise influence.

When transactional leaders display positive emotions, such as happiness or optimism, followers are likely to interpret this as an

indication that things are going well and that their performance is meeting expectations. This is consistent with recent affect as

information approaches to emotion which suggest that leader emotions provide social information about the task or one's

relationship with the leader (DeSteno et al., 2000; George & Zhou, 2002; Martin et al., 1993; Schwartz, 1990; Schwartz & Clore,

1983; Van Kleef et al., 2009). When leaders display positive affect, followers may infer that they are correctly understanding and

meeting task requirements, and assume no need for changing the status quo. Alternatively, positive affect communicated during a

discussion of unmet expectations may still leave followers feeling good about their relationship with the leader and can havepositive effects. This perception that the work is going well, or that the leaderfollower relationship is still intact despite

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performance shortfalls, is likely to influence positive attitudes on the part of followers, such as satisfaction with the leader and

perceived leader effectiveness.

However, when transactional leaders provide honest, critical feedback to subordinates about performance that doesn't live up

to organizational expectations, they may also display negative emotions. The authenticity of displaying negative emotions when

things are not going well may be beneficial, depending on what followers expect from the leader. However, negative emotions

may be detrimental when they require subordinates to cope with those emotions and their implied sense of threat. The reduced

cognitive resources may prevent followers from fully hearing or comprehending the content of the feedback ( Baron, 1990; Frijda,

1993; Gaddis et al., 2004; Kluger & DeNisi, 1996; Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996). With transactional leaders, followers may see

negative emotional displays as a form of punishment, one that may be viewed as non-contingent. Implicitly, followers may view

displays of anger and frustration as going beyond the parameters of common reward and punishment structures, such as financial

rewards, special recognition, and changes in work assignments and responsibilities. Further, followers may see negative emotional

displays as violations of interpersonal justice (Greenberg, 1993) regardless of whether they are tied to performance or not.

Interpersonal injustice, in turn, has been associated with lower job satisfaction and more critical evaluations of those in positions

of authority (Colquitt et al., 2001).

Other research suggests follower reactions to a leader's emotional displays may be due to mood contagion. Leaders may

consciously or unconsciously spread their positive or negative emotional state to followers. Several studies have found that

leaders can significantly influence the overall affective state of the groups they lead (Cherulnik et al., 2001; George, 1995; George &

Bettenhausen, 1990; Totterdell, 2000; Totterdell et al., 1998). More recently, Bono and Ilies (2006) demonstrated that leaders

positive emotional expressions increased followers positive moods, and that follower positive moods led to higher ratings of

leader charisma and effectiveness. Similarly,Johnson (2008) found that leader positive and negative affect was related to follower

positive and negative affect through emotional contagion, and that follower emotions impacted perceptions of leader charisma.

The foregoing observations suggest several hypotheses:

H1. Followers will be more satisfied with a transactional leader who displays positive emotions versus negative emotions.

H2. Followers will rate a transactional leader who displays positive emotions as more effective than a transactional leader who

displays negative emotions.

H3. Followers will rate a transactional leader who displays positive emotions as exhibiting more transformational leadership

behavior than one who displays negative emotions.

Transactional leader emotional displays may also have important implications for follower motivation and performance on

work tasks. Given the transference of leader affect to followers through mood contagion, a second way leader emotions may exert

influence on followers is through their effect on cognitive performance. There have been numerous studies on the effects of

emotional states on cognitive processing (Clore et al., 1994; Isen,1993; Isen & Labroo,2003). In general, positive affect has resulted

in small but persistent facilitative effects on idea production, problem solving, information-processing, and decision-making (Isen& Labroo, 2003; Isen et al., 1987). Transactional leaders displaying positive emotions may create a positive affective climate that

spreads to followers ultimately enhancing cognitive performance. Accordingly, we propose:

H4. Followers will perform better on a creative task when a transactional leader displays positive emotions versus negative

emotions.

1.1.2. Transformational leaders

The nature of transformational leadership has a somewhat different set of implications for the impact of emotional displays.

Once again, follower reactions must be viewed in light of the behaviors characteristic of this style. Building on a transactional base,

transformational leaders exhibit charisma, provide inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation, and consider the unique

needs of followers (Avolio, 1999; Bass, 1985, 1990, 1998; Burns, 1978). Followers identify with these leaders in part because of

their charisma, conviction, promotion of ethical standards and emotional appeals. Additionally, transformational leaders provide a

vision for the future that is meaningful, challenging, and optimistic, expecting followers to move beyond the status quo and to

think in new ways about organizational objectives and how to accomplish them. Transformational leaders exert influence by

emphasizing shared goals and values, helping followers to transcend self-interests to pursue group goals (Bass & Steidlmeier,

1999; Shamir et al., 1993). Transformational leadership has accounted for unique variance in follower satisfaction, motivation, and

leader effectiveness beyond what is accounted for by transactional behaviors (Judge & Piccolo, 2004; Rowold & Heinitz, 2007).

Additionally, transformational leaders have been rated by followers as more likable, competent, and effective than transactional

leaders (Avolio & Yammarino, 1990; Dubinsky, Yammarino, & Jolson, 1995). Other research has shown that transformational

leaders are trusted by followers and provide role clarity (Podsakoff et al., 1990).

Certainly, positive emotional displays such as optimism go hand-in-hand with charisma and the articulation of an appealing

vision (Ashkanasy & Tse, 2000). Positive emotional displays by transformational leaders may boost follower self-efficacy

(Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1996) and, as with transactional leaders, communicate a sense that things are going well and followers are

doing what they need to do. Followers may be more satisfied and see transformational leaders who display positive emotions as

more effective. Moreover, emotional contagion may be even more likely given the identifi

cation followers tend to have withtransformational leaders. Interestingly, at least one aspect of transformational leadership can result in lower follower satisfaction

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and trust. Podsakoff et al. (1990) showed that intellectual stimulation negatively correlated with these outcomes, suggesting that

it creates stress, ambiguity, and conflict in the short term. Followers may find this less satisfying and less predictable, despite

positive leader emotions.

When it comes to actually changing the status quo and challenging followers to meet high expectations and standards,

transformational leaders may be just as likely to display negative emotions as positive ones. Real change is not easy in

organizational settings, and negative emotions may sometimes be necessary to communicate the need for new directions, shared

goals, and higher levels of performance. Additionally, some negative emotions have been linked to ethical behavior ( Connelly et

al., 2004; Haidt, 2003; Kligyte, 2008). Negative emotions may transmit to followers via emotional contagion. However, followers

who recognize these emotions as necessary for change may feel less threatened by negative emotional displays, seeing them as

part of the process of meeting challenging goals. In line with this, recent research has demonstrated that followers respond better

to negative leader emotions when they have higher epistemic motivation or desire a rich, accurate understanding of the situation

(Van Kleef et al., 2009). Transformational leaders may instill greater epistemic motivation in followers compared to other types of

leaders through communicating a meaningful and shared vision to followers. Additionally, followers respond more favorably to

negative leader emotions that are appropriate (i.e., when they match negative content of the message) than those that are

inappropriate (Newcombe & Ashkanasy, 2002). Finally, when the leader is considerate of individual needs and when followers are

able to transcend self-interests for the good of group goals, followers may feel less personally threatened by a leader's negative

emotional displays. In essence, the nature of the relationship between transformational leaders and followers enables not only a

greater tolerance for negative emotions, but may enable followers to see a broader purpose for these emotions.

Recent empirical studies demonstrate that the relationship between transformational leader displays of negative emotions and

follower responses is moderated by different factors such as gender (e.g., Lewis, 2000), follower emotional competence (Waples &

Connelly, 2008), message valence (Newcombe & Ashkanasy, 2002) and follower trait affect (Damen et al., 2008). Followers

responded better to negative leader affect when the leader was male, when followers had lower emotional competence, when the

valence of the message content was negative (matching the leader's affective display) and when follower trait affect matched the

valence of the leader's display. Finally, distance from which leadership is exerted may play a moderating role. Bucy (2000) showed

that people respond more favorably to public leaders negative versus positive affect, perceiving them as more honest, credible,

and trustworthy. Taken together, these observations suggest there may be benefits to both positive and negative emotions for

transformational leaders. Thus, the valence of a transformational leader's emotional displays may have little effect on follower

satisfaction and perceptions of the leader.

While transformational leadership has been linked to achievement of organizational objectives and positive performance

outcomes (e.g., Barling et al., 1996; Dubinsky, Yammarino, Jolson, et al., 1995; Yammarino et al., 1993 ) no studies have looked at

how the emotions of transformational leaders affect individual follower performance. Transformational leaders are likely to

emerge or be hired into an organization during times of crisis and change. They are dedicated to pursuing a vision that will lead the

organization in new directions so that it will survive the crisis and thrive in the long term. Leaders who display predominantly

positive emotions during such periods may not only be perceived as inauthentic, they may provide followers with the wrong

message that the nature and level of task performance is acceptable. Again, considering this from an affect as information

perspective (Schwartz, 1990; Schwartz & Clore, 1983), negative emotions may be necessary for transformational leaders to

communicate the enormity of new challenges and tasks, and that current approaches will not meet these demands.

If negative leader emotions spread to followers, consideration of how they impact cognitive performance is warranted. Some

studies have shown beneficial effects of negative emotions for certain kinds of tasks under certain conditions. For example,

Vosburg and colleagues have shown that negative affect improves quality but not quantity of ideas (Vosburg, 1998) and that

negative affect hinders initial ideagenerationbut facilitates idea evaluation (Kaufmann & Vosburg, 2002). More direct evidence for

the beneficial impact of negative leader emotions on follower performance has been established in a few studies. Sy et al. (2005)

found that leaders in a negative mood elicited more follower persistence on a group task than those in a positive mood. Likewise,

Damen et al. (2008) showed that a match between follower trait affect and leader affect resulted in better follower task

performance than a mismatch, even when controlling for the valence of the leader's message. Additionally, George and Zhou

(2002) demonstrated that negative moods were associated with creative performance when people recognized how they felt and

when they perceived creative performance was rewarded by the organization. Transformational leaders may help to foster a

climate for creative performance and clarify follower moods through communicating and developing a shared vision and goals and

providing accurate feedback. When the status quo will not achieve desired effects, transformational leaders may have a greater

impact on follower creative performance through negative emotional displays, suggesting a fifth hypothesis.

H5. Followers will perform better on a creative task for a transformational leader who displays negative versus positive emotions.

As mentioned earlier, leadership style may only be one of several kinds of factors moderating the effects of emotional valence.

Studies in the broader emotions literature have found different patterns of results for discrete emotions that share the same

valence, but differ in other respects such as certainty, control, and activating potential (e.g., DeSteno et al., 2004; Keltner et al.,

1993; Lerner & Keltner, 2000, 2001; Nabi, 2002; Raghunathan et al., 2006; Rucker & Petty, 2004 ). In a leadership context, one

aspect of emotion that may be particularly important is the capability for increasing arousal and motivating behavior. Connelly et

al. (2002) argue that once initial infl

uence patterns are established with followers, transformational leaders are capable of gainingfollower support for goals through active emotions, both negative and positive.



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1.2. Emotion valence and activating potential

The ability of an emotion to motivate behavior may be related, in part, to the internal feelings of arousal characterizing the

experience of that emotion. Arousal is defined as the degree of intensity of the feeling state ( Russell, 1978; Watson & Tellegen,

1985). Circumplex theories of emotion commonly arrange emotions along two axes, positive/negative valence and high/low

arousal. For example, anger, fear, and excitement are some emotions associated with higher arousal, while relaxation,

contentment, boredom and sadness are associated with lower arousal. While circumplex theories still debate the bipolarity of

emotion valence (e.g., see Russell & Carroll, 1999a,b; Watson & Tellegen, 1999) there is general recognition that emotions are

multidimensional and capable of being described on several dimensions.

Related to arousal is the characterization of emotions in terms of action-readiness (Cacioppo et al., 1999; Frijda, 1986, 1993;

Frijda et al., 1989) or readiness to engage in interactions with the environment. The activating potential or impulse to respond

either internally or behaviorally is often goal-oriented and the nature of the response may depend on other aspects of the

situational meaning structure (i.e., valence and expected benefit/harm) (Frijda, 2005).

In fact, some leadership research has examined this dimension of emotion in the presence of other moderators. Lewis (2000)

found that male leaders displaying sadness (low-activating emotion) were rated as less effective than those displaying anger

(high-activating). However, the reverse was true for female leaders, possibly due to the inconsistency of anger displays with

female role expectations. Similarly, Damen and van Knippenberg (2007) demonstrated that both valence and arousal levels

influenced the relationship between leader affect and follower perceptions of the leader. Leaders displaying positive high arousal

emotions were seen as more charismatic than those displaying negative high arousal emotions or low arousal emotions of either

valence. Finally, Waples and Connelly (2008) found that more activating leader emotions (when externally focused) resulted in

better follower performance than less activating ones, regardless of their positive and negative valence.

Both transformational and transactional leadership behaviors suggest that emotions associated with higher activation will

result in more favorable follower perceptions and performance. High-activating emotions such as pride and challenge are

consistent with motivating followers to achieve goals (e.g., setting high standards, persuading followers to try new approaches,

inspiring followers to persist in the face of obstacles). Emotions associated with lower activation such as contentment and

happiness may result in satisfaction and liking, but leaders may be perceived as lower in initiative and willingness to take on new

challenges. Low-activating emotions are consistent with management by exception-passive and laissez-faire behaviors, which

have been negatively related to follower satisfaction, motivation, and evaluations of leader effectiveness (Judge & Piccolo, 2004).

The impact of high- and low-activating negative emotions is not as straightforward. Because negative high-activating emotions

such as anger and frustration are so salient, followers may feel more threatened when leaders use them compared to low-

activating emotions such as sadness and pessimism. However, it is also possible that followers will respond to threatening

negative emotions in ways that attempt to minimize them (Taylor, 1991). This could include distorting one's perceptions about

the leader to be more positive, providing a legitimate explanation for the display, or working harder on tasks to improve the

leader's mood (Gaddis et al., 2004; Gibson & Schroeder, 2002). Negative emotions lower in activation such as pessimism and

anxiety may fail to inspire confidence and could result in less satisfaction, more negative evaluations of a leader's effectiveness,

and less effort on tasks. However, since these emotions do convey dissatisfaction with the status quo and may be perceived as less

threatening to followers, they may motivate follower performance. We propose several additional hypotheses regarding

activating potential:

H6. Followers will be more satisfied with leaders who display high-activating positive emotions than with those displaying low-

activating positive emotions.

H7. Followers will rate leaders who display high-activating positive emotions as more effective than those who display low-


H8. Followers will rate leaders who display high-activating positive emotions as more transformational than those who display

low-activating positive emotions.

H9. Followers will perform better on a creative task for leaders who display high-activating positive emotions versus low-


1.3. Follower attributes

Research on the effects of emotions in organizational settings (e.g., affective events theory) leader emotions suggests that

individual differences can directly impact the perception of affective events, affective experiences, and subsequent responses to

these experiences (Damen et al., 2008; Gaddis et al., 2004; Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996). Several individual differences may be

particularly important to measure and control in the present study, including follower trait emotions, follower positive and

negative affect, gender, and aspects of personality known to correlate with either affective reactions or perceptions of leaders. For

example, Weiss and Cropanzano (1996) suggest that affective disposition can influence how intensely a person feels negative and

positive emotions, such that a person high in negative trait affect may feel and react to events triggering these emotions moreintensely. Likewise, a person with higher positive trait affect may increase the intensity of positive emotions in response to events



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triggering them. Finally, some research suggests that follower gender may impact the perception of and response to leader

emotional displays (Hamann & Canli, 2004; Newcombe & Ashkanasy, 2002).

When considering follower responses to leader emotional displays, aspects of follower personality may also be important to

consider. It is well-established that extraversion correlates positively with positive affect and neuroticism correlates positively

with negative affect (Diener & Lucas, 1999; McCrea & Costa, 1991; McNiel & Fleeson, 2006; Watson & Clark, 1997). Personality may

directly influence levels of trait affect, or, indirectly influence it by impacting the situations an individual chooses to enter and

interactions in those situations (Lucas et al., 2008). Either way, these aspects of personality may influence perceptions of and

responses to a leader's affective displays. Additionally, recent research has shown significant correlations between follower

personality attributes (extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness to experience, and neuroticism) and perceptions

of leadership (Schyns & Sanders, 2007). Given the potential impact of these individual differences on follower perceptions of

leader emotional displays and follower responses to those displays when evaluating their own satisfaction, assessing leader

effectiveness and transformational behavior, and performing for the leader, these individual differences will be measured and

included as covariates in this study.

2. Method

2.1. Participants

Two hundred and eighty-eight participants (92 male, 196 female)were given credit in a psychologyclass that fulfilled a general

education requirement. Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental conditions. A variety of academic majors were

represented in this sample (e.g., business, nursing, computer science, marketing, psychology, undeclared) and the mean age of the

sample was 19.0. Average years of work experience and number of jobs held were 2.1 and 3.22, respectively. Seventy-two

participants had supervisory experience on a prior or current job.

2.3. Design

A 2 2 2 between subjects design was used to manipulate leadership style (transformational vs. transactional), leader

emotion valence (positive vs. negative), and activating potential (high vs. low) in an organizational scenario where participants

were assigned the role of a subordinate working in the marketing division of the fictitious organization. Dependent variables of

interest included follower ratings of satisfaction, leader effectiveness, and transformational leadership, as well as follower

performance on a creative marketing task. It is of note that transformational leadership is used in two different ways in this study.

First it is manipulated as an independent variable to reflect leadership style, something we think will moderate how followers

respond to leader's emotional displays. Second it is measured as an outcome using the Multi-factor Leadership Questionnaire (Bass

& Avolio, 1995).

2.4. Procedure

The experiment was conducted in two sessions. During the first session, participants read and signed an informed consent

form, then individually completed a battery of covariate questionnaires assessing personality and trait affect. This session took

approximately 30 min.

During a second session 1 week later, participants worked individually to generate a marketing plan for an organization that

sells technological personal care products and gadgets for the home. They were first given a description of the organization's

market focus, their own position within the organization, characteristic behaviors exhibited by their boss or leader (leader style

manipulation), and a description of past interactions with and observations of this leader (emotion valence and activating

potential manipulations). In order to ensure participants would attend to the leader description and emotion manipulations, they

were told that they would be given feedback on the appropriateness of their responses to their leader. In actuality, no feedback was

provided. The organizational description provided to all participants is shown in Appendix A.

Participants then read a memo from the leader (boss) requesting that they come up with a marketing plan to reinforce the

current customer base and to draw in new customers. The assignment involved: 1) developing a strategy for advertising and

providing product information to customers, 2) identifying issues that may need to be discussed with the research and

development division, and 3) convincing senior management that this is a good plan. The only other guidance given was that the

solution must use the latest technological advances as a means to both enhance the store's image and to replace the current

strategy of mailing catalogs. Participants were given 30 min to develop a plan, after which they filled out the Multi-factor

Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ 5X-short) to evaluate the leader. Finally, participants completed a manipulation check

questionnaire and were debriefed. This session lasted about 1 h.

2.5. Manipulations

2.5.1. Leadership style

Half of the participants were assigned to conditions where the leader was depicted as transactional and the other half wereassigned to conditions where the leader was depicted as transformational. The transactional leader description included behaviors



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discussed by Bass (1985) and Burns (1978), indicating that the leader clearly lays out expectations for performance, ensures access

to resources, offers recognition and rewards when goals are accomplished, and closely monitors performance, taking corrective

action as needed.

In accordance with transformational leadership theory (Avolio, 1999; Bass, 1998; Bass & Avolio, 1993) the description of the

transformational leader included core transformational leader behaviors as well as transactional behaviors. The transformational

leader description indicated that the leader points out how employee work contributes to broader departmental and

organizational goals, meets with people individually regarding work assignments, ensures access to resources, gives discretion for

employees to handle problems on their own but provides back-up support, challenges and inspires people to reach high standards

of quality, praises successes, discusses areas where improvements are needed and uses individually tailored approaches for

addressing performance issues.

2.5.2. Emotion valence and activating potential

Two aspects of leader emotionvalence and activating potentialwere manipulated through a description of prior interactions

that participants were told they had with the leader directly or that they observed. Examples for two conditions are shown in

Appendix B. Emotional content of these prior interactions included either positive emotions or negative emotions for the valence

manipulation. Additionally, emotional content either reflected emotions with high- or low-activating potential (Frijda, 1986,

1993; Frijda, 1993; Russell & Carroll, 1999a). Three specific emotions were embedded in each condition. Positive active emotions

included pride, challenge, and responsibility. Positive passive emotions included happiness, contentment, and optimism. Negative

active emotions included anger, frustration, and guilt. Negative passive emotions included hopelessness, anxiety/worry, and

pessimism. Emotions were drawn from various lists of emotions in the broader literature (Frijda, 1986; Izard, 1971, 1989;

Roseman, 1984, Scherer, 1988; Shaver et al., 1987) and were chosen based on valence, hypothesized activating potential and

likelihood of occurrence in organizational and leadership settings.

2.6. Dependent measures

2.6.1. Transformational leadership

Transformational leadership was measured using Bass and Avolio (1995) Multi-factor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ 5X-

Short). Respondents judged the leader in the scenario on a range of specific behaviors. A number of studies support the construct

validity of this measure for assessing transformational leadership (Bass et al., 2003) and there is evidence that students are able to

effectively rate a written description of a leader using the MLQ ( Bass et al., 1987). Each behavior was rated on a 5-point scale

ranging from Not at all (1) to Frequently, if not always (5). Twenty items from five subscales of the MLQ were averaged to create

an overall transformational leadership score. These items reflected idealized influenceattributed, often referred to as charisma,

idealized influencebehavioral, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. Scores on this

variable ranged from 1 to 4.85.

Prior research using the MLQ guided the decision to combine the subscales into one overall construct representing

transformational leadership (Bass & Avolio, 2000; Bono & Judge, 2004; Carless, 1998; Dubinsky et al., 1995; Judge & Piccolo, 2004;

Nemanich & Keller, 2007). Principle components analysis (no rotation) of the 20 items in the five relevant scales produced a four

component solution where thefirst component had the largest eigen value (9.33) and accounted for 47% of the variance. Loadings

for seventeen items on this component ranged from .60 to. .85. Additionally, correlations among the subscales were large, ranging

from .69 to. .83. Accordingly, we averaged the 20 items in these scales to create an overall transformational leadership score, which

had a coefficient alpha of .94.

2.6.2. Leader effectiveness

Three items from the MLQ were averaged to assess leader effectiveness with scores ranging from 1 to 5. The coefficient alpha of

this scale was .81.

2.6.3. Follower satisfactionTwo items from the MLQ were averaged to assess follower satisfaction with scores ranging from 1 to 5. The coefficient alpha for

this scale was .82.

2.6.4. Task performance

The performance task required participants to create an original marketing/advertising strategy based on the needs of the

organization as described in the scenario. Five-point benchmark ratings scales were developed to evaluate the quality and

originality for the three aspects of the marketing plan (the actual plan, issues to discuss with research and development, and

convincing senior management that the plan is good). Benchmark rating scales define the construct of interest and its related

facets and include sample behaviors or responses to mark each point on the scale. These kinds of rating scales have been employed

in a number of studiesto evaluate creative tasks (Borman, 1986; Osburn & Mumford, 2006; Redmond et al., 1993; Scott et al., 2005.

Development of the benchmark rating scales was done in conjunction with two doctoral students in the school of business who

had expertise in marketing. The authors read several book chapters and articles dealing with the topic of effective/creative

marketing, particularly as it pertains to selling new technology. The exerts assisted the authors in selecting examples fromparticipant data to exemplify low to high quality responses and low to high original responses and provided a review of the final



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benchmark scales. Each scale point included a specific example of what type of answer would be assigned this rating so that raters

could easily match the open-ended responses to the performance task to points on the rating scales. Example responses for plan

quality and plan originality scale points are shown in Appendix C.

Three raters evaluated each participant's marketing strategy, including one undergraduate research assistant who had

completed two courses in marketing and two doctoral students in I/O psychology who had completed MBAs prior to starting their

doctoral work. Prior to conducting these ratings, raters were trained on how to use the benchmark scales and how to avoid rating

biases. They practiced making ratings on responses for 15 participants resulting in an average interrater reliability of .80 (Shrout &

Fleiss, 1979). For the full sample, interrater reliabilities for the quality and originality across the three aspects of the plan ranged

from .68 to .77, averaging .74. While reliabilities were smaller than those obtained during training, these levels are still considered

acceptable for research purposes (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994).

An overall quality score was created by averaging judges ratings and summing across the three quality scores. An originality

score was created in a similar way. Given the high intercorrelation (r= .91) of quality and originality, these scales were averaged

to form an overall task performance score. Scores on this variable ranged from 1 to 4.22.

2.7. Covariates

2.7.1. Trait affect

It was expected that follower positive and negative affect might impact appraisals of and reactions to leader emotional displays.

Accordingly, the Discrete Affect Scales (DAS) (Diener et al., 1995) were administered to assess overall positive (=.82) and

negative affect (= .92). This measure consists of 24 adjectives, with 16 marking negative affect, and 8 marking positive affect.

Respondents indicated how often they have felt this way (for each item) during the past month PA and NA scores were calculatedby averaging responses to the adjectives marking each.

2.7.2. Follower personality and gender

Personality was assessed using John et al. (1991) Big Five Inventory. This is a 44-item instrument measuring extraversion

(=.88), agreeableness (=.79), conscientiousness (=.82), neuroticism (=.84), and openness to experience (=.81).

Items are rated on a 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) scale. Follower gender was assessed through a basic demographics

questionnaire.

2.8. Analyses

The data were analyzed using SPSS-15, to calculate reliabilities, correlations, t-tests for the manipulation checks, and ANCOVAs

to test the hypotheses. Simple effects contrasts using GLM were performed to compare condition means for significant

interactions. The ANCOVAs indicated that agreeableness was the only covariate significantly (and positively) influencing thedependent variables and was retained as a control for these analyses.

3. Results

Means, standard deviations, reliabilities and intercorrelations among the dependent variables and covariates in the total

sample are shown in Table 1. Transformational leadership, satisfaction, and leader effectiveness are strongly and positively

correlated, but do not correlate with task performance. Overall, personality and trait affect variables are uncorrelated with

transformational leadership, satisfaction with the leader, leader effectiveness, and task performance, except agreeableness, which

showed small positive correlations with each. Personality and trait affect variables were correlated in meaningful ways.

Neuroticism was negative related to other Big-5 variables, but positively related to negative affect. Positive affect showed a

positive correlation with extraversion and negative correlation with negative affect. Appendix D includes correlation matrices for

these variables by condition.

3.1. Manipulation checks

The effectiveness of the manipulations was assessed in a series oft-tests. Participant responses to questions about the extent to

which the leader displayed positive, negative, high-activating, or low-activating emotions served as checks for the manipulations.

People in the positive emotion conditionsrated the leader as displaying more positive emotions (M=3.66,SD = .73)than those in

the negative emotion conditions (M= 3.48, SD = .73) t(1, 286)=2.09, p b .05 (e.g., leader was hopeful about the future of the

department; followers less likely to look for another job with a boss like this). Likewise, people in the passive emotion conditions

rated the leader higher on questions pertaining to passive emotions (M=3.12, SD = .69) than those in the active emotion

(M=2.90, SD = .65) conditions t(1, 286)=2.79, p b .01 (e.g., leader seemed content, was satisfied with the department's

performance, thought things were unlikely to change). Finally, people in transformational leader conditions gave the leader higher

ratings of transformational leadership on the 20-item composite (M=3.30, SD = .66) than those in the transactional leader

conditions (M=3.12, SD = .77) t(1, 286)= 2.00,pb

.05. This pattern of results suggests that the manipulations were perceived asintended.



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3.2. Tests of the hypotheses

3.3. Leadership style as a moderator of emotional valenceoutcome relationships

The first three hypotheses dealt with expectations about follower satisfaction with and perceptions of a transactional leader

who displays positive emotions. ANCOVA results for satisfaction with the leader, leader effectiveness, and transformational

leadership are shown in Table 2. The covariate agreeableness was positively related to these three outcomes. Leadership style had

a significant main effect on follower satisfaction with the leader (F(1, 287)=9.44, 2=0.03, p b .01) such that transformational

leaders had more satisfied followers. Leadership style did not interact with emotion valence as expected, so hypothesis 1 was not

supported. However, leadership style and emotion valence did significantly interact to influence follower perceptions of leader

effectiveness and transformational leadership, supporting hypotheses 2 and 3. Leadership style and valence interacted to influence

leader effectiveness (F(1, 287) =4.82,2=0.02,p b .05), such that a transactional leader displaying positive emotions was viewed

as more effective (M=3.41, SD = .85) than one displaying negative emotions (M=3.05, SD=.86) and was rated higher in

transformational leadership (F(1, 287)= 4.55,2=0.02,p b .05; M=3.24, SD= .75 vs. M=3.00, SD = .77). In fact, MLQ ratings of

transformational leadership did not significantly differ for transactional and transformational leaders who displayed positive

emotions. The leadership styleemotional valence interactions are shown in Fig. 1a and b, and effect sizes were small.

Hypothesis 4 suggested that followers would perform better on a creative performance task for a transactional leader who

displays positive emotions versus negative emotions. ANCOVA results for task performance are shown in Table 3. Leadership style

significantly interacted with emotion valence (F(1, 287)= 4.76, 2=0.01, p b .05) for task performance, however, follow up

contrasts showed no significant performance differences for transactional leaders displaying positive versus negative emotions.

Thus, hypothesis 4 was not supported.

There was a small significant difference in the expected direction with regard to follower performance for a transformational

leader displaying positive versus negative emotions, supporting hypothesis 5. Contrasts showed that followers performed better

on the creative marketing task when a transformational leader displayed negative emotions (M= 2.82, SD = .61) versus positive

ones (M=2.52, SD = .86). This interaction is shown in Fig. 2.

3.4. Activating potential as a moderator of emotional valenceoutcome relationships

Hypotheses 6, 7, and 8 suggested that high-activating positive emotions would produce greater follower satisfaction, ratings of

leader effectiveness, and evaluations of transformational leadership than low-activating positive emotions. The satisfaction

Table 1

Descriptive statistics, reliabilities, and intercorrelations among study variables.

M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Transformational leadership 3.21 .72 .94

Satisfaction with leader 3.15 1.17 .85** .82

Leader effectiveness 3.32 .87 .81** .79** .81

Task performance 2.73 .71 .04 .06 .04 .74

Agreeableness 3.82 .55 .12* .16** .16** .11 .79

Conscientiousness 3.49 .56

.03

.04 .00 .05 .32** .82

Extraversion 3.46 .74 .02 .03 .00 .03 .13* .14 .88

Neuroticism 2.83 .71 .06 .04 .04 .03 .29** .36** .29** .84

Openness 3.37 .60 .04 .01 .02 .06 .20** .04 .21** .15** .81

Trait PA 5.17 .90 .06 .05 .06 .05 .04 .04 .16** .20** .04 .82

Trait NA 3.08 .99 .03 .04 .05 .01 .08 .17** .13* .40** .06 . 34** .92

Note. N=288. *p b .05; **p b .01; Coefficient alphas are presented on the diagonal; Average interrater reliability is shown for task performance.

Table 2

Effects of leadership style, emotion valence, and emotion activating potential on MLQ ratings.

Transformati onal leadership Satisfact ion with leader Leader effect iveness

F df p 2 F df p 2 F df p 2

Agreeableness 7.77 1, 287 .00 .03 12.61 1, 287 .00 .04 9.44 1, 287 .00 .03

Leadership style 7.35 1, 287 .01 .03 9.44 1, 287 .00 .03 5.28 1, 287 .02 .02

Emotion valence .46 1, 287 .50 .00 1.12 1, 287 .29 .00 1.27 1, 287 .26 .01

Activating potential .87 1, 287 .35 .00 1.47 1, 287 .23 .01 .69 1, 287 .41 .00

Leadership style x Valence 4.55 1, 287 .03 .02 2.60 1, 287 .11 .01 4.87 1, 287 .03 .02

Leadership style x Activating potential 2.12 1, 287 .14 .01 1.53 1, 287 .22 .01 1.93 1, 287 .17 .01

Valence x Activating potential 76.53 1, 287 .00 .22 67.71 1, 287 .00 .20 36.82 1, 287 .00 .12

Style x Valence x Activating potential .12 1, 287 .73 .00 .43 1, 287 .52 .00 .64 1, 287 .42 .00

Note. 2=partial eta squared.



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ANCOVA (Table 2) revealed a significant interaction between activating potential and emotion valence (F(1,287)= 67.71,2 = .20,

p b .001). Contrasts showed that followers were more satisfied with leaders who showed high-activating positive emotions

(M=3.66, SD = .92) versus low-activating positive emotions (M=2.94, SD = .99), supporting hypothesis 6. While we had no

hypothesis comparing negative emotions, contrasts showed a pattern opposite to that seen with positive emotions. Followers were

more satisfied with leaders showing low- (M= 3.64, SD = .92) versushigh-activatingnegative emotions (M=2.61, SD = .99). This

interaction is shown in Fig. 3a. This pattern of results was also replicated with leader effectiveness (F(1, 287)= 36.58,2 = .12,p b

.001) and transformational leadership (F(1, 287)=76.53, 2 = .22, p b .001), supporting hypotheses 7 and 8. Leaders displaying

Fig. 1. a. The moderating influence of leadership style on the relationship of leader emotion valence to follower evaluations of leader effectiveness. b. The

moderating influence of leadership style on the relationship of leader emotion valence to follower evaluations of transformational leadership.

Table 3

Effects of leadership style, emotion valence, and emotion activating potential on task performance.

Task performance

F df p 2

Agreeableness 3.76 1, 287 .05 .01

Leadership style 1.73 1, 287 .19 .00

Emotion valence 2.95 1, 287 .09 .01

Activating potential .12 1, 287 .73 .00

Leadership style Valence 4.76 1, 287 .03 .02

Leadership style Activating potential .06 1, 287 .81 .00

Valence Activating potential .84 1, 287 .36 .00

Style Valence Activating potential 1.39 1, 287 .24 .00

Note. 2=partial eta squared.



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high-activating positive emotions were seen as more effective (M=3.62, SD = .79 vs. M=3.12, SD = .90) and transformational

(M=3.52, SD = .65 vs. M=2.97, SD = .69) than those displaying low-activating positive emotions. These interactions had

moderate effect sizes and are shown in Fig. 3b and c. While we didn't have expectations aboutthe effects of negative high- and low-

activating emotions, they showed a similar pattern to the satisfaction analysis, where followers saw leaders who displayed low-

activating negative emotions as more effective and transformational than those displaying high-activating negative emotions.

The expectation that followers would perform better on a creative task for a leader displaying high- versus low-activating

positive emotions (hypothesis 9) was not supported as there was no significant interaction between emotion valence and

activating potential for task performance.

4. Discussion

The present experiment contributes to the literature on emotions and leadership by testing causal relationships of leader

emotions on follower responses. Specifically, we examined the impact of positive and negative leader emotional displays on

follower satisfaction, evaluations of the leader, and performance on a creative task in the presence of two moderatorsleadership

style and the activating potential of the leader's emotions. Overall, emotions make a difference for both transformational and

transactional leaders. We found that followers responded to negative leader emotions more favorably across three out of four

outcomes for transformational leaders than transactional leaders, suggesting that these leaders can express a broader range of

emotions without negative consequences to follower perceptions of the leader and creative task performance. On the other hand,

negative emotional displays from a transactional leader reduced follower evaluations of the leader's effectiveness and

transformational behavior. Thesefindings are in line with Dasborough and Ashkanasy (2002) propositions that followers attribute

more transformational qualities to transactional leaders when they display positive emotions as well as other findings that more

charisma and transformational leadership is attributed to leaders who display positive emotions (Bono & Ilies, 2006; Johnson,

2008).

Interestingly, while emotion valence did not affect follower performance for transactional leaders, negative emotions produced

higher quality performance for transformational leaders. Followers of transformational leaders may have performed well because

emotional appeals are anticipated and accepted from this type of leader as one mechanism used to inspire, motivate, promote

ethical standards, and rally people around a vision. When leaders convey a broader sense of purpose to followers and when

emotional appeals are expected, goal discrepancies highlighted by negative emotions may have a stronger impact than for leaders

operating within a transactional framework. While effect sizes were small, these findings indicate a clear difference in the impact

of negative and positive emotions for these two leadership styles.

A second key finding was that the effects of emotion valence were moderated by the activating or motivating potential of the

emotion across leadership styles for follower satisfaction and evaluations of the leader. Positive emotions with high-activating

potential (pride, challenge, responsibility) elicited better reactions than low-activating emotions (contentment, happiness,

optimism). Perhaps not surprisingly, high-activating negative emotions (anger, frustration, guilt) produced the lowest scores on

these measures. Anger is a particularly salient emotion that can be perceived as aggressive and threatening (Booth & Mann, 2005;

Springer et al., 2007; Taylor, 1991) reducing feelings of well-being (Baron, 1990; Fitness, 2000). Of particular interest, however, is

the finding that low-activating negative emotional displays (pessimism, worry and hopelessness) resulted in outcomes similar to

the high-activating positive emotions. Followers may have felt less of a sense of threat from these emotions, possibly interpreting

them as a leader's worry/concern for organization's welfare. While follower emotions were not measured as an outcome in thisstudy, it would be interesting to know whether these emotions evoked a sympathetic response in followers, rather than inducing

Fig. 2. The moderating influence of leadership style on the relationship of leader emotion valence to follower performance.

http://image%20of%20fig.xn--1rc/


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negative affect. Additional research is needed on the nature of reciprocal emotions experienced by followers in response to leader

displays of emotion. Effect sizes of these interactions were moderate, suggesting this may be more important in moderating

emotion valence than leadership style.

Fig. 3. a. The moderating influence of activating potential on the relationship of leader emotion valence to follower satisfaction. b. The moderating influence of

activating potential on the relationship of leader emotion valence to follower evaluations of leader effectiveness. c. The moderating influence of activating

potential on the relationship of leader emotion valence to follower evaluations of transformational leadership.



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4.1. Research implications

Beyond the general connotation that leader emotions merit additional consideration outside of transformational and

charismatic paradigms, findings from this study contribute to the research on leadership and emotions in a number of ways.

Much of the theoretical and empirical research to date has emphasized the benefits of positive versus negative emotions in

leadership contexts (e.g., Erez et al., 2008; Gaddis et al., 2004; Johnson, 2008; Newcombe & Ashkanasy, 2002). This study

qualifies and extends those findings suggesting that research needs to look beyond valence in understanding the effects of

leader emotions, this study shows that certain positive emotions may do more harm than good. The same applies to negative

leader emotions. Our findings are consistent with recent research showing effects for other moderators of leader emotional

displays, such as epistemic motivation (Van Kleef et al., 2009) distance (Bucy, 2000) and suggest that other dimensions

associated with the appraisal and experience of emotions merit consideration. For example, control, certainty, responsibility,

and effort have been identified by various appraisal theories as important dimensions of emotional experience beyond

pleasantness (Roseman et al., 1990; Smith & Ellsworth, 1985) and have shown effects in the broader emotions literature (e.g.,

Bodenhausen et al., 1994; DeSteno et al., 2000; Keltner et al., 1993; Lerner & Keltner, 2000, 2001; Tiedens & Linton, 2001 ). Our

findings are also interesting because they highlight the differential effects of emotions for follower performance outcomes, at

least for transformational leaders.

The observed differences in follower responses to discrete leader emotions imply the potential importance of other moderators

that might influence emotion perception. For example, physical, perceived social and interactional distance (Antonokis & Atwater,

2002; Howell et al., 2005) of leaderfollower relationships may impact follower perceptions of emotional displays. Followers who

have distant relationships with leaders may perceive and respond to leader emotions differently than those with close

relationships. It is possible that physical and interactional distance can reduce feelings of threat potentially associated with

negative emotional displays. Or, these forms of distance might reduce the salience of the emotion and possibly the importance of

the message, either positive or negative. Similarly, psychological distance might have advantages and disadvantages. Followers

who are emotionally or socially close to the leader may give him or her more emotional latitude with negative displays. However,

they may also feel they have more to lose (e.g., social bond) when the leader displays negative emotions than followers who are

not as close.

Level of analysis might also be important to consider. Leader emotions can be powerful influences on both individual followers

and groups of followers. In light of a growing number of studies showing the effects of leader mood on group affective tone

(George, 1990; Totterdell, 2000), group effort (Sy et al., 2005) and group coordination (Barsade, 2002; Sy et al., 2005) it would be

interesting to explore the impact of discrete leader emotions on groups.

4.2. Practical implications

Taking into consideration that replication of these findings in organizational settings is needed, this study has some utility forleadership practices. First, it is critical for leaders to understand that their emotional displays are viewed, interpreted, and

responded to through a variety offilters, one of which is leadership style. Second, recognizing that not all positive emotions have

desirable effects (and not all negative ones have undesirable effects) may help leaders to better tailor their emotional displays to

achieve desired outcomes. Future research is needed to examine additional outcomes of interest, such as other forms of follower

performance, leader performance, and organizational outcomes.

These results also have implications for emotional intelligence and leadership, particularly with respect to emotion

management (Mayer & Salovey, 1997; Mayer et al., 2000). Leaders need to know when to use different types of emotions to

accomplish different purposes with different followers, integrating both individualized consideration and emotion

management. Part of being an effective transformational or transactional leader may involve tailoring one's emotional

displays according to the emotional dispositions and other attributes of followers. However, this also places greater emotional

labor requirements on leaders (Humphrey et al., 2008). Leader development efforts aimed at enhancing emotion management

and emotion understanding might benefit from knowing more about the unique and interactive effects of discrete leader

emotions.

4.3. Limitations

This study has some limitations. First and foremost, this study was conducted in a laboratory setting where participants

responded to an artificially created leadership situation, potentially limiting the generalizability of the findings. However, as

others have pointed out (Dipboye, 1990; Ilgen, 1986), laboratory research has a place in theory development and testing,

especially when there are few studies or untested theories. Ilgen (1986) noted that the direction of effects across field and lab

studies has been highly similar, despite some differences in magnitude. Given that little is known about the effects of specific

leader emotions on followers as well as factors that moderate their influence, laboratory studies may provide valuable insight. In

fact, Brown and Lord (1999) argued that experimental methodologies are particularly appropriate for investigating non-

conscious aspects of leadership such as emotions. Finally, recent research has demonstrated correspondence between the

effects of leadership styles and behavior across laboratory experiments andfi

eld studies (De Cremer et al., 2005; vanKippenberg& van Knippenberg, 2005).



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Second, the use of a paper-leader may have presented participants with a weak situation (Mischel, 1977) potentially

limiting the effects of leader style and leader emotions, and, enabling individual differences to have a greater impact on study

outcomes. Our effect sizes for the valence by leadership style interaction were small. Indeed, use of a live leader may have

increased the salience and effects of leader emotions as indicated in a recent meta-analysis which found that visual and auditory

emotion manipulations produce larger effect sizes (Angie, 2008). This is one potential reason we did not see any significant

effects for follower gender as a covariate. However, research on E-leadership has shown that written information (i.e.,

description of leader's behavior, e-mail) is enough for the individual to understand the leader's intent and style as long as the

information portrays the presence of the leader (Avolio & Kahai, 2003; Avolio et al., 2000; Bass et al., 1987). With respect to

individual differences, only one of the covariates examined in this study (agreeableness) was significantly related to the

dependent variables and had relatively small effects.

A third potential limitation is that we did not explicitly measure the emotional reactions of followers or other mediating

mechanisms that would explain why leader emotions had the impact they did. However, several studies now have found mood

contagion operating with respect to leaders spreading their emotional state to followers (Bono & Ilies, 2006; Cherulnik et al., 2001;

Erez et al., 2008). Additionally, Lewis (2000) observed that high activation leader emotions led followers to experience greater

arousal, while low activation emotions led them to feel greater fatigue. An alternative explanation is that followers responded well

to leader emotions that matched what might be expected for the leader's particular style. The idea of affective congruence is

intriguing and consistent with other research showing more beneficial outcomes for leader affect that matched message valence

(Newcombe & Ashkanasy, 2002) and follower affect (Damen et al., 2008). More research is needed on these mechanisms and how

they operate with specific kinds of emotions.

This study examined just a few possible combinations of leader emotions for the purpose of examining the effects of

valence and activation potential. Other combinations of emotions, including a mix of both positive and negative, are both

probable and may have different effects. It would be interesting to look at different patterns of emotional expressions in

organizational leaders and how followers interpret and respond to these. Additionally, more insight is needed into the short

and long-term effects of different kinds of leader emotions. As Sy et al. (2005) noted, negative leader emotions may produce

short term gain in terms of group effort, but might have more negative effects if displayed on a frequent basis or over a long

timeframe.

5. Conclusions

Bearing these caveats in mind, this study adds to the body of data on emotions and leadership, particularly with respect to the

role of emotion valence. We showed that leader emotions have the potential to influence follower satisfaction, perceptions of the

leader and follower performance on creative tasks. We hope this research stimulates new investigations examining other types of

leader emotions, follower emotions, and other types of work behavior.

Appendix A

Name of Organization: The Luxuries of Life

Type of Organization: National chain-store

Products: Various novel items ranging from sonic-care toothbrushes to Sony's robotic dog Robitic-1.

Current Customer Base: Products from this store are priced fairly high, given that they cannot be found in other stores; after all,

the products not necessities are in fact true luxuries. For example, the sonic-care toothbrush is priced at $99.99, whilethe Sony dog

goes for $750. Some of the other popular items, including the personal massage recliner, can be priced as high as $2,000.

Levels of Division: The firm is composed of six distinct divisions: (1) research & development; (2) production; (3) marketing;

(4) shipping; (5) sales; and (6) management.

History: The company began in 1988 and consisted of only 12 stores equally distributed between San Francisco, Los Angeles,

Chicago, and New York City. The store has grown to nearly 60 stores nationwide. Successful growth can be contributed to both the

creation of innovative, but high quality products along with successful marketing. Company growth leveled off two years ago, and

the firm is now exploring new sources of revenue to stimulate organizational growth once again. Previously, the firm focused

production to appeal to consumers with a yearly income of no less than $80,000, but now have decidedthat growth can only occur

by expanding its consumer base.

Primary Goal for this Year: To expand its current customer base to increase name recognition, market share, and profitability.

Your Role: You have been a member of the Marketing Department for 12 years. The department consists of 15 members, all but

three having started at the same time you did. This has provided the department with a stable working environment. Employee

responsibilities include conducting market surveys, designing advertising strategies, suggesting product improvements/designs

based on collected information, informing the senior management and executive committee about market demands, andfi

nallyresponding to senior management requests.



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Appendix B

Manipulation of Positive, High-Activating Emotionsa

(Responsibility, Pride, Challenge)

Prior Interactions with Your Boss:

Over the last several years, you have had an opportunity to work closely with your boss. You have observed your boss in many

different situations and you know exactly what to expect in terms of your boss's reactions and behavior in a variety of

circumstances. Some examples include:

Your boss recently met with your department as a group to relay the primary strategic emphasis of reaching more customers in

the coming year. Although your boss expressed pride in the group's efforts, your department did not implement suggested

strategies last year, which would have begun to expand the customer base. Your boss accepted responsibility for not providing

better direction and oversight for the department and promised to remedy this, pointing to several things that could be done to avoid

some of the specific mistakes made by individuals in your group. The boss felt accountable for not keeping up with the progress made

by direct competitors who have successfully reached out to a wider customer base and challenges your group to perform better

than competitors next year. Your boss then communicated the strategic emphasis of the department for the coming year.

Last month, you overheard your boss talking to another manager about an employee in your department who has not been

performing well. Your boss told the manager about the employee's unfinished projects, inaccurate market surveys, and problems

getting along with other staff members. Realizing that a different approach would have to be taken, your boss asked the other

manager for advice in how to change this employee's behavior to get her to be more dependable and take ownership of her work. The

boss admits it will be difficult for this employee to change, but takes pride in trying to turn her performance around.

You recently had a performance evaluation meeting with your boss. Generally, you have been doing a good job, but you have a

few areas that need improvement. After listing the things you did well, your boss's tone changes. Although I am continually

telling other senior managers about your capabilities and accomplishments, you need to be more consistent. It's my job to help

you stay focused and to ensure you handle your poor performing subordinates. You could be the next Vice President of

Marketing. Specifically, your boss tells you that you need to instill a stronger sense of pride and responsibility to meet challenges in

your subordinates who don't get work completed on time or miss important meetings.

Manipulation of Negative, Low-Activating Emotionsa

(Hopelessness, Pessimism, Anxiety)

Prior Interactions with Your Boss:

Over the last several years, you have had an opportunity to work closely with your boss. You have observed your boss in many

different situations and you know exactly what to expect in terms of your boss's reactions and behavior in a variety of

circumstances. Some examples include:

Your boss recently met with your department as a group to relay the primary strategic emphasis of reaching more customers in

the coming year. Your boss expresses pessimism and uncertainty regarding your department's future efforts given that the

department did not implement suggested strategies last year, which would have begun to expand the customer base. Your boss

expresses doubt and worries that your department will not perform better in the coming months, reminding the group about speci fic

mistakes made by individuals in your group. The boss also seems to feel that the progress made by direct competitors , who have

successfully reached out to a wider customer base, will only increase in the future, making competition more intense and the future

of your company more uncertain. Your boss then communicated the strategic emphasis of the department for the coming year.

Last month, you overheard your boss talking to another manager about an employee in your department who has not been

performing well. Your boss told the manager about the employee's unfinished projects, inaccurate market surveys, and problems

getting along with other staff members. Given these performance problems, your boss sounded as if the employee was a lost cause,

saying that she was unlikely to change in the coming months and there was not much that could be done about it. Your boss is anxious

about what problems this employee will cause next.

You recently had a performance evaluation meeting with your boss. Generally, you have been doing a good job, but you have a

few areas that need improvement. After listing the things you did well, your boss's tone changes. You do your job well most of

the time, but I have serious doubts about your inconsistency. I'm not sure that this is a problem that can be fixed. I used to think

you had the potential to be the next Vice President of Marketing if you stay focused and handled your poor performing

subordinates, but it would take a miracle for this to happen. Specifically, your boss tells you that there isn't much hope for doing

anything aboutyour subordinates who don't get work completed on time or miss important meetings. Your boss is anxious about

your performance and the impact your subordinates might have.

Notea: Text was not italicized in any of the materials given to participants.



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Appendix C

Benchmarks for Evaluating Quality and Originality of Marketing Plan

Quality Considerations

Completeness: Did the person appear to fully understand the task instructions? Did the person follow the instructions fully and

completely in recommending the marketing strategy? Did the person recommend a strategy in sufficient detail?

Coherence: Did the person's strategy clearly address the requests of the senior management? Was the person's strategy well

thought out and logical?

Originality Considerations

Novelty: Did the strategy approach the problem in an unexpected, imaginative, unpredicted, or creative way?

Descriptiveness: Did the person expand upon basic ideas and suggestions to help the reader understand the details of the

suggested strategy?

Newness: Did the person reach beyond the current strategy of catalog mailing, and included suggestions that utilized additional

sources to market the company and its products?

Appendix D

Intercorrelations among study variables for conditions within each manipulation

Example anchors.

1 2 3 4 5

Make the

catalog pictures

bigger with more

detailed descriptions

of the products

Develop a

coupon/advertisement

will be located in

the coupon section

all national Sunday

newspapers

Advertise store products using

electronic billboards

in metropolitan areas

Use internet pop-up advertising

devices that will give the

viewer product information

and a direct link to the online store

Coordinate with a major motion

movie production so that one of

the company's trade-marked

products is extensively used by

the leading role(s)

Transformational (lower diagonal) and transactional leadership style.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Transformational leadership .87** .80** .19* .07 .11 .06 .15 .09 .04 .01

Sat isfact ion wit h leader .82** .78** .19* .06 .18* .17* .19* .02 .07 .10

Leader effectiveness .83** .81** .17* .17* .01 .04 .12 .04 .04 .11

Task performance .09 .04 .06 .24** .09 .03 .03 .09 .03 .06

Agreeableness .21** .30** .18 .02 .30** .17* .30** .17* .08 .13

Conscientiousness .10 .15 .04 .00 .32** .22** .39** .02 .15 .29**

Extraversion .12 .11 .05 .02 .09 .07 .36** .18* .12 .17*

Neuroticism .07 .15 .08 .09 .27** .33** .21** .20* .15 .43**

Openness .00 .01 .10 .03 .23** .05 .24** .09 .07 .09

Trait PA .09 .04 .08 .07 .01 .06 .20** .28** .16* .37**

Trait NA .06 .01 .01 .05 .06 .07 .08 .37** .03 .30**

Note. Transformational leadership style, N=144; transactional leadership style, N=144; *p b .05; **p b .01.

Example Anchors.

1 2 3 4 5

Target

the product

for the intended

market group

Utilize graphic designs

to enhance the catalog's

images and details

Develop a new slogan/jingle

that can be aired on radio

and television programs

sponsored by the company

Design celebrity based infomercials

that will be aired on public

television, and include contact

information emphasizing

the online store

Coordinate with Net-product sites

that correspond with the company's

products to establish direct links

to the online store

(e.g., Consumer review on

electronic toothbrushes

contains a link to our Sonic-care Brush



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