Being Aware Of Their Own Leadership Style Helps Managers Succeed

October 8, 2001

Philadelphia, Pa. --- Business managers who are well aware of their leadership style are more likely to succeed at their jobs than their peers, but they don’t necessarily command the greatest loyalty from subordinates, according to a Penn State researcher who studied the issue of 360-degree feedback.

John J. Sosik, associate professor of management and organization at Penn State Great Valley Graduate School, surveyed 83 managers at an information technology-consulting firm, along with three each of their subordinates and their supervisors, to see how the perceptions of each compared with the others. He found that self-aware managers who rated themselves on charismatic leadership on a similar level as subordinates tended to get the best marks from supervisors when stacked up against managers termed as "over-estimators" and "under-estimators."

Over-estimators are those managers who rated themselves more highly than subordinates, while under-estimators rated themselves lower.

"Leaders need to be aware of the way they present themselves to their followers. If they are in tune to the way they present themselves to followers, they tend to exhibit much more trust and organizational commitment in their job," said Sosik. "Self-aware managers tend to be the best performers because they are able to change their behavior and adapt to changes in the organizational environment, whether that's new technology, working with people from different cultures, or leading new business initiatives."

Sosik’s research shows that over-estimators tend to be assertive and aggressive, but much less adaptable and trusted than their self-aware counterparts. Generally speaking, they were the weakest performers on the job. Under-estimators were harder to generalize, with some very strong and very weak performers, he said. On the whole, they tended to be highly rated by subordinates on charismatic leadership, and the subordinates in turn rated themselves to have a high level of organizational commitment and trust -- higher on the last two work attitudes, in fact, than subordinates of self-aware managers.

"The main thing keeping the under-estimators down would appear to be a lack of self-confidence," said Sosik. "Over-estimators are the arrogant types; they tend to self-deceive themselves, and they don't respond well to negative feedback. Under-estimators are seen as humble, altruistic leaders. Because they are altruistic, people like to be around them."

While he wouldn't go so far as to categorize them into the parameters of his study, Sosik noted that a 1999 Fortune Magazine story indicated that Jill Barad, CEO of Mattel, and Desi Desimone, CEO of 3M, seem to have a propensity toward self-deception. On the other hand, Sosik said leaders like William Hewlett and David Packard, whose leadership of Hewlett-Packard focused on developing employee potential, might fit the profile of an under-estimator.

Sosik's study, titled, "Self-Other Agreement on Charismatic Leadership: Relationships with Work Attitudes and Managerial Performance," includes input from 35 managers whose responses were in agreement, 25 who were under-estimators, and 23 over-estimators. They were asked to rate themselves on charismatic leadership, trust and organizational commitment. In addition to rating their managers on charismatic leadership, subordinates were also asked to rate their own levels of trust and organizational commitment.

The study points to the need for companies to develop coaching programs to improve their managers' skills in the areas of charismatic leadership and emotional intelligence, regardless of what category they may fall under, said the Penn State researcher. It's up to managers to pump up their workers and stay cool under fire, especially with the increasingly empowered roles that subordinates are playing in the success of companies.

"The psychological contract between the employer and employee is not as strong as it used to be," said Sosik. "Companies are moving toward shared leadership, and the roles of trust and organizational commitment are very important. It's up to the manager to bring out the best in his or her charges."

His study will appear in the December issue of the journal, Group and Organization Management.

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Contact:

David Jwanier, (610) 648-3276 dxj9@psu.edu

EDITORS: Dr. John J. Sosik is at (610) 648-3254, or at jjs20@psu.edu by email.