Leadership Predictors of Innovation and Task Performance: Subordinates’ Self-esteem and Self-Presentation as Moderators

This study examined self-related subordinate variables as moderators of relationships between supervisors\u27 leadership behaviours (transformational as well as active-corrective transactional leadership) and subordinates\u27 innovative behaviour and task performance. Based on behavioural plasticity and self-monitoring theory, we hypothesized that these associations would be moderated by subordinates\u27 organization-based self-esteem and by their propensity to modify self-presentation, a major facet of the self-monitoring construct. Field survey data (N=161) collected in research and development, marketing and human resources departments of several German companies revealed that transformational leadership positively predicted both criteria, whereas active-corrective transactional leadership negatively predicted innovation. As hypothesized, transformational leadership related more strongly and positively to innovation for subordinates low in organization-based self-esteem. When subordinates were low in self-presentation propensity, active-corrective transactional leadership was negatively, and transformational leadership was positively associated with task performance