Disentangling the relationship between empowering leader behaviors and adaptive performance in work teams
When teams operate in a dynamic and complex environment, their ability to adapt to changing demands is crucial for organizational success. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of empowering behaviors exhibited by team leaders in team adaptive performance by taking into account the mediating role of shared leadership displayed by team members and the moderating effect of access to resources. Data were collected from 82 work teams (i.e., 394 members and 82 immediate supervisors) in a public safety organization. Results of path analyses show that the relationship between empowering leader behaviors and team adaptive performance is mediated by shared leadership. Moreover, we found that the relationship between empowering leader behaviors and shared leadership is moderated by access to resources, such that this relationship is stronger when the level of access to resources is high. Overall, the findings shed light on the process through which team leaders can enhance the adaptive performance of their team.