Political skill, participation in decision-making and organizational commitment

Purpose Research has demonstrated that political skill is associated with leadership effectiveness. However, the field still lacks understanding of how political skill makes leaders more effective. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the political skill literature by investigating a specific mechanism through which political skill may relate to follower commitment. Design/methodology/approach The study population was drawn from 148 supervisors and 988 subordinates from top, middle and operational levels in the business organizations. Findings Structural equation model analysis showed that political skill was positively related to Participation in decision making (PDM) and PDM was positively related to organizational commitment (OC). Furthermore, political skill indirectly predicted OC via PDM. In addition, the direct relationship between political skill and OC was not significant, suggesting “full” mediation. Finally, politically skilled leaders’ desire to encourage followers to participate in decision making was amplified by their ability to build strong, beneficial alliances and coalitions, resulting in increased social capital and even greater influence. Practical implications Involving subordinates in decision processes is likely to inspire trust and confidence, promote credibility, help develop a favorable relationship with the leader and enhance pride of participation in the organization. Originality/value The findings in the present study are of great importance for future research on political skill. It may change the approach for testing the validity of the theory by focusing on influence tactics. This approach will, in the authors’ view, constitute the future research avenue for research on political skill.

Role of Leadership in Employees’ Work Engagement: Organizational Identification and Job Autonomy

Transformational leadership is a style of leadership that leads to transformation in the opinions and beliefs of followers. The behaviors of transformational leaders result in higher levels of follower commitment and engagement. Work engagement refers to followers’ feelings regarding their work in terms of what their work means to them and to what extent they want to show full concentration. The present study examines the effect of transformational leadership on work engagement by focusing on the mediator roles of job autonomy and organizational identification. The study data was collected using questionnaires from 252 participants working in higher education. The data was analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results supported study hypotheses, demonstrating that transformational leadership had a positive effect on work engagement, and job autonomy and organizational identification fully mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and work engagement. The findings from this research specifically highlight the significant impact of job autonomy and organizational identification on work engagement within the context of leadership.

Leader Deception Influences on Leader–Member Exchange and Subordinate Organizational Commitment

Deception is a common and daily occurrence in organizations. Despite this, little is known about how leader deception influences follower perceptions and commitment to the leader and the broader organization. This laboratory experiment uses a low-fidelity simulation task to investigate the effects of leader deception on follower perceptions of leader–member exchange (LMX) and follower commitment to the organization. Moderating effects of financial outcomes that resulted from deception, or who gained from deception, were also tested. Results showed negative effects of leader deception on follower LMX perceptions and affective commitment. Leader financial gain worsened the effects of leader deception on LMX compared with organizational financial gain. Implications of these findings are discussed.

The Relationship Between the Mid-Level Leader and Follower Commitment

The major goal of this research was to determine whether the mid-level leader’s emotional competence as perceived by followers influenced commitment. This quantitative research study attempted to establish whether follower commitment, influenced by follower perceptions of the leader’s emotional competence impacted change strategies. Correlation testing of the data indicated a strong relationship between the mid-level leader’s emotional competence and follower commitment. Results of the research suggest that as organizations continue to experience high levels of change, modifications in how the psychological contract is negotiated between mid-level leaders and their followers have created the need for a new paradigm shift. This justified shift may be needed to move from archaic forms of organizational commitment theory to a follower commitment theory that encourages higher levels of follower involvement in and commitment to leader-led vision and goals.