Simultaneously and Over Time? A Temporal Investigation of Paradoxical Leader Behavior
Journal
Academy of Management Proceedings
ISSN
0065-0668
2151-6561
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2024-08
Author(s)
Abstract
Paradoxical leader behavior (PLB), or leaders adopting contrasting behaviors to address apparently conflicting demands (Zhang, Waldman, Han, & Li, 2015) has been linked to outcomes such as increased follower performance and creativity: But how does it influence employee health? And—does it make a difference how leaders enact such behaviors? I begin to address these questions by differentiating between two PLB strategies: longitudinal PLB (adopting contrasting behaviors over time) and momentary PLB (adopting contrasting behaviors concurrently at a particular moment). I then interrogate daily experience sampling and biometric data from individuals at a multinational company to find that longitudinal, but not momentary, PLB by managers decreases employees’ daily feelings of emotional exhaustion and increases heart-rate variability during sleep. My results also show a cross-level interaction effect between longitudinal- and momentary PLB on employees’ emotional exhaustion, but in contrast to what current “both-and” theorizing predicts: paradoxical behavior in the moment weakens the apparently protective effects on employee emotional exhaustion of PLB over time. These findings shed light on the homology of PLB theory and emphasize the importance of understanding not only if but also how leaders engage in PLB.
Language
English (United States)
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Volume
2024
Number
1
Event Title
84th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management
Event Location
Boston, IL