Faculty & Research
Knowledge creation on China, from proven China experts.
Faculty & Research
Knowledge creation on China, from proven China experts.
Befriending your enemies: When your leader treats your colleagues better than you
Abstract:
Leader-member exchange (LMX) differentiation has consistently been shown to have detrimental effects on team functioning. In this seminar, I will present the latest insights from a series of studies conducted by myself and my co-authors over the past 15 years, focusing on the micro-foundations of its effects on team functioning. Specifically, we examine how leaders' differential treatment of their subordinates shapes interpersonal interactions among the subordinates.
In our first published paper (JAP, 2013), we draw from balance theory to theorize and demonstrate that leaders' differential treatment of subordinates is likely to induce interpersonal contempt, thereby undermining interpersonal relationships within work groups. In our recently published paper (PPsy 2022), we discovered that interpersonal social comparison of LMX quality between two subordinates may actually bring them closer together instead of driving them apart.
In this seminar, I will primarily focus on a follow-up project in which we delve deeper into why and when LMX differentiation stimulates interpersonal political behavior, specifically the act of befriending one's enemies. We propose that when a subordinate perceives a coworker to have a higher level of LMX with the leader, she is more likely to ingratiate herself with that coworker. Through multiple studies, we have uncovered a series of psychological mechanisms underlying this befriending-enemy effect, further shedding light on the micro-foundations of the detrimental effects of LMX differentiation.
In our first published paper (JAP, 2013), we draw from balance theory to theorize and demonstrate that leaders' differential treatment of subordinates is likely to induce interpersonal contempt, thereby undermining interpersonal relationships within work groups. In our recently published paper (PPsy 2022), we discovered that interpersonal social comparison of LMX quality between two subordinates may actually bring them closer together instead of driving them apart.
In this seminar, I will primarily focus on a follow-up project in which we delve deeper into why and when LMX differentiation stimulates interpersonal political behavior, specifically the act of befriending one's enemies. We propose that when a subordinate perceives a coworker to have a higher level of LMX with the leader, she is more likely to ingratiate herself with that coworker. Through multiple studies, we have uncovered a series of psychological mechanisms underlying this befriending-enemy effect, further shedding light on the micro-foundations of the detrimental effects of LMX differentiation.
Contact Emails:
cgrace2@ceibs.edu
