How Humble Leadership Affects Follower Performance, Creativity, and Innovation
I Abstract
The purpose of this writing is to study the effects of leader humility on follower performance, creativity, and innovation. Research cited in this writing supports that leadership humility drives subordinate performance, creativity, and innovation. Recommended future research topics on leader humility include the following: further study on how humble leadership is perceived by subordinates across different regions and cultures, its impact on employee creativity, and its effects on team innovation.
In recent years researchers have paid greater attention to the subject of leader humility, its associated behaviors, and its impact on team performance to include creativity and innovation (Mao et al., 2019). Humility is described as the ability to see oneself accurately, an appreciation for strengths and contributions of others, and teachability (Owens & Heckman, 2016). In the past, humility in business leadership was conceived as incompatible within the competitive business environment where profit maximization and pursuit of market dominance are the prevailing narratives. Traditionally, humble behavior in business was viewed as personal weakness and associated with shyness, lack of ambition, lack of confidence, or passivity (Zhou & Wu, 2018). These traits were considered a sure sign that an individual would not be capable of making tough decisions in the fast paced, competitive business environment (Rego et al., 2016).
Recently, the narrative has shifted as the advantages of leader humility have been noted by scholars and business leaders alike. In the wake of corporate scandals and management narcissism, the importance of humble leadership has emerged as a critical virtue for firm management. Empirical research from the past decade suggests that leader humility fosters increased employee learnability, job satisfaction, work engagement, and retention (Rego et al., 2016). Research has proven that the characteristics of humble leadership allows firms to adapt to unstable conditions, undergo organizational transformations when necessary, and ensure long term success and survival (Gonçalves & Brandão, 2017). Corporate scandals have unveiled the dangers of the old management persona such as abusive supervision, unethical decision making by managers, toxic climates, and tyranny. Research and real-world case studies have proven this management style is not effective. Society, employees, and management have demanded a better way to enhance employee and firm performance. Researchers and business leaders alike are taking interest in humble leadership as a more powerful way to elevate employee performance, increase creativity, and generate innovation in the workplace (Mallén et al., 2019).
Leader Humility Drives Follower Performance
Leadership has been argued to be the most important factor that affects follower behavior and performance (Owens & Heckman, 2016). Scholars and business leaders continue to search for more effective ways manage employees and improve performance (Rego et al., 2018). Understanding the underlying mechanisms of effective management behaviors, such as humility, and how they impact follower productivity is of great value to corporations and researchers (Owens & Heckman, 2016).
A 2016 article by Owens and Heckman explores how leader humility affects team behavior and if the traits that comprise humility are transmitted to team members. The article describes humility as the ability to see oneself accurately, the ability to appreciate the strength and contributions of others, and willingness for individuals to try new ideas and accept feedback. The authors test the theory that when leadership acts with humility, their subordinates will naturally mirror this behavior leading to an organization that comes closer to reaching their highest potential. Research findings from this study support the authors’ claim. Owens and Heckman conclude that leader behavior may be spread via social contagion to subordinates resulting in an emergent state that drives team performance (Owens & Heckman, 2016).
A 2018 study by Wang, Owens, Li, and Shi examines the antecedents and affective impact of leader humility. The authors hypothesize that humility in leadership improves follower performance by boosting relational energy and reducing emotional exhaustion. The article suggests that humble actions by leadership such as drawing attention to follower strengths, validating follower ideas, and acknowledging follower growth directly enhances employee relational energy, improves affective stamina, and decreases emotional exhaustion thereby enhancing performance. The authors acknowledge the theory that a leader’s expression of humility may be perceived as weakness unless the leader is also perceived as having significant authority within the organization (Wang et al., 2018).
Research data from the authors’ experiments support their hypothesis that leader humility improves follower performance by increasing relational energy and reducing emotional exhaustion. Empirical data from this study also supports the theory that subordinates must view a leader as having significant power or authority for the leader’s humility not to be perceived as weakness (Wang et al., 2018).
A supporting article by Mao, Chiu, Owens, Brown, and Liao explores how leadership behavior shapes follower psychology. The authors cite self-expansion theory and hypothesize that humility in leadership triggers the subordinate’s self-expansion. It is this psychological change that boosts subordinate self-efficacy, thus improving performance. The authors also theorize that the relation between leader humility and follower self-efficacy is stronger when the leader and follower are of the same gender and similar age. (Mao et al., 2019).
The empirical results of this study support the theory that leader humility increases follower self-efficacy via the self-expansion theory. It also provides valuable insight into how the gender and age relationship between a leader and subordinate can affect the successful transmission of leader humility on the follower. This study finds that leader humility has a greater impact on followers when they are the same gender and are of similar age. This effect is diminished when the leader and follower are of different genders or have a significant age difference. These findings add to preceding research and open opportunities for further research on the relationship between the age and gender of the leader and subordinate (Mao et al., 2019).
A 2017 study by Rego, Owens, Leal, Melo, Cunha, Gonçalves, and Ribeiro further explores the relationship between leader humility and team performance. The authors introduce the theory that leader humility leads to team efficacy by building team psychological capital. The article defines psychological capital as a core confidence comprising four dimensions: self-efficacy, resilience, hope, and optimism. The authors suggest (and the results of their experiments support) that psychological capital is a predictor of team member attitudes, behaviors, and performance. Empirical evidence from this study shows strong correlation between leader humility and team psychological capital. Furthermore, data from this study shows a strong positive relationship between team psychological capital and team effectiveness; thus, humble leadership produces more effective teams (Rego et al., 2017).
Leader Humility Drives Follower Creativity
In the dynamic and chaotic global business climate companies must promote creativity within their teams to improve firm market position, excel above competitors, and maintain profitability (Mallén et al., 2019). Essential requirements for team creativity include team member’s awareness of potential problems and flaws in their own work, willingness to and valuing of others ideas and opinions, openness to learn from others, and willingness to evaluate all team members ideas objectively. To promote team creativity, leaders must create conditions that allow teams to become aware of existing problems, to view these problems in a positive light as opportunities, and to be open to working together to develop novel ideas and solutions to these issues (Hu et al., 2018).
A 2017 article by Gonçalves and Brandão examines how the leader humility predicts the team's creativity through the mediating effect of psychological security and psychological capital. The article suggests that leader humility drives team psychological security. Subsequently, psychological security drives team psychological capital, and teams with greater psychological capital are more creative. Data from this study supports this theory an enables the authors to further expand on which specific leadership behaviors associated with humility drive phycological security. Those behavioral characteristics are: being accessible to the team, recognizing they don’t have the answers to every question or challenge, acknowledging the limits of their knowledge, demonstrating a tolerance for failure and their own fallibility, considering failures as opportunities for learning and improvement, and regularly seeking team member input (Gonçalves & Brandão, 2017).
Recent research by Wang, Li, and Yin examines the contributors to team creativity, specifically how leader humility facilitates follower creativity and in turn elevates team performance. Based on prior research, Wang, Li, and Yin define a humble leader as one who displays a willingness to see oneself accurately, has an appreciation of others’ contributions and strengths, and is teachable. The authors hypothesize that humble leaders contribute to the team by demonstrating the value of sharing unique ideas. This encourages team members to contribute their creative thoughts more freely and be more receptive to others’ suggestions thereby boosting team performance (Wang et al., 2019).
Experimental research conducted in this study fully supports the authors hypothesis and preceding research cited in the article. Wang, Li, and Yin conclude with the following organizational suggestions to boost team performance by promoting humility in leadership. First, companies should train leaders on how to acknowledge their own weaknesses and how to recognize the strengths and accomplishments of their subordinates. Second, organizations need to make it clear that humble, self-conscious leaders tend to have more creative and effective teams. Third, companies need to ensure leaders understand how future minded teams lead to increased firm creativity and performance (Wang et al., 2019).
In their 2018 study, Hu, Erdogan, Jiang, Bauer, and Liu suggest that leader humility is a critical component in team creativity as it provides team phycological safety and encourages team information sharing. Phycological safety is described as the extent to which team members feel the team is interpersonally nonthreatening. They also hypothesize that team power distance is a moderator in this interaction. Power distance is defined as the extent to which subordinates see the distance between their position and the position of leadership as legitimate (Hu et al., 2018).
The experimental data from this study confirms the authors’ claims that leader humility has a positive effect on team creativity. In fact, the study shows that leaders with a modest self-view accompanied by an openness to other’s ideas spur information exchange within the team thus promoting team creativity. These findings make a significant contribution to furthering research on the origins of information sharing within teams and how that affects team innovation, thus adding to the understanding of how leader humility relates to team creativity (Hu et al., 2018).
Recent research by Wang, Zhang, and Jia also hypothesizes that leader humility has a positive influence on subordinate creativity. The authors claim that leader humility is a social cue that influences follower cognitive processes and encourages them to adopt traits of humility such as an openness to other perspectives, preferences, needs, and values. The adoption of a leader’s humble characteristics and the cognitive changes that follow are defined by the authors as perspective taking. The article suggests that employee perspective taking creates a healthy collaborative environment that fosters creativity (Wang et al., 2017).
Empirical data from this study supports the authors claim that leader humility has a positive influence on follower creativity. The data also shows that leaders can increase employee creativity by encouraging subordinate perspective taking. The article concludes by stating that leaders seeking to improve the creativity of their followers must focus on modeling humility to their teams while encouraging perspective taking behavior (Wang et al., 2017).
Leader Humility Drives of Follower Innovation
In the modern dynamic and unpredictable business climate firms must seek innovation within their teams to improve firm competitive position, rise above competitors, and generate profits (Mallén et al., 2019). Team Innovation is defined as the intentional introduction and application of new and useful ideas, products, processes, or procedures within a team. Innovation is a critical component of company growth and there is a vast history of research on team innovation and how to cultivate it (Liu et al., 2017). With innovation as a key component to the success and longevity of organizations, there is increased interest in understanding how humility in leadership affects individual and team innovation (Zhou & Wu, 2018).
An article by Mallén, Domínguez-Escrig, Lapiedra, and Chiva builds upon prior research on the effect leader humility has on innovation. The authors theorize that a greater level of innovation is achieved when altruistic leader behavior is encouraged within the firm. The article frames humility similarly to preceding articles as the ability to recognize one’s own shortcomings while being able to appreciate the strengths and contributions of others and the ability to be taught and accept criticism. The authors hypothesize that humility has a positive effect on altruism, altruism has a positive effect on innovation, and the relationship between leader humility and the level of firm innovation is mediated by altruism (Mallén, et al., 2019).
The research experiments conducted in this study fully support all three of the authors’ theories. Humility has a positive effect on altruism, altruism has a positive effect on innovation, and the relationship between leader humility and the level of firm innovation is mediated by altruism. This article provides novel insight that altruism is one outcome of humility in leadership and an underlying contributor to firm innovation (Mallén, et al., 2019).
A 2017 article by Liu, Mao, and Chen further investigates the influence of leader humility on team innovation. Results from this study find that leader humility fosters team voice climate thereby enhancing team innovation. The authors describe team voice climate as an environment where team members feel that speaking up about their ideas and opinions is safe and their input is valued. Leader humility provides critical clues to followers in team voice climate. Characteristics of humble leadership such as valuing the opinions of others, learnability, and willingness to see oneself accurately assure team members their innovative contributions are welcomed (Liu et al, 2017).
The article concludes that the old managerial persona where leaders are aggressive and dominant is not the best choice for encouraging innovation. This study finds that humble leadership builds an environment where subordinates feel safe to contribute their ideas and feel that their contributions are valued, thereby enhancing overall team innovation (Liu et al., 2017).
A 2018 article by Zhou and Wu also studies the relationship between humility in leadership and employee innovation. The authors further examine how leader political skill and core self -evaluation (CSE) serve as mediator in this relationship. Zhou and Wu note that political skill is the leader’s ability to understand and influence others to better achieve personal and organizational objectives. Core self-evaluation is described as the basic evaluation one makes of their own potential value, efficiency, and abilities. CSE is a core trait that governs self-esteem, self-efficacy, neuroticism, and the locus of control. Individuals with high CSE generally have strong internal motivation, positive cognition, good coping skills, positive attitudes, and tempered reaction behaviors (Zhou & Wu, 2018).
Data from this study supports the overall claim that leader humility has a positive influence on employee innovation and the two related theories hypothesized by the authors. First, research from this article verifies that leader political skill strengthens their ability to understand and influence others which allows them to build informal networks to achieve individual and organizational goals. Furthermore, the research confirms that leaders with high levels of political skill are better suited to make use of humble leadership to help drive employee innovation. Second, the data supports the claim that employee CSE serves as a mediator in the relationship between leader humility and employee innovation. In fact, the study finds that employee CSE is an antecedent that spurs the formation, development, and continuity of novel ideas and innovative behavior (Zhou & Wu, 2018).
Further Research
Despite recent increased attention on the importance of humility in leadership, there are ample opportunities for continued study on this topic (Mallén et al., 2019). Specifically, there is still much research to be done to fully understand the importance and impact of leader humility and how it affects follower behavior. Recommended future research topics on leader humility include the following: further study on how humble leadership is perceived by subordinates across different regions and cultures (Hu et al., 2018; Mao et al., 2019; Rego et al., 2017), its impact on employee creativity (Wang et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2019), and its effects on team innovation (Mallén et al., 2019).
One common theme among current articles is the call for research on a broader, globalized scale. Scholars have noted that leaders in Eastern countries, specifically China, are more likely act humble in business situations than their colleagues in the West based on long standing social constructs (Hu et al., 2018). It is possible that cultural factors such as collectivism and traditionalism may influence follower perception of leader humility (Mao et al., 2019). Since notions and values ascribed to humility are largely culturally bound, the impact of leader humility on followers deserves additional research on a larger scale (Rego et al., 2017).
Research on the relationship between humble leadership and team creativity presents some challenges related to experiment design. Researchers have acknowledged that evaluating creativity is largely a subjective measure, but objective results are needed (Wang et al., 2019). Scholars admit that data from prior studies may be subject to self-serving bias as it was pulled from managerial reporting and supervisor surveys (Wang et al., 2017). Future studies should use objective measures to validate the positive relationship between leader humility and team creativity (Wang et al., 2019)
Future research on leader humility and innovation should narrow the scope of the term innovation. Specifically, the research should focus on the effects of humble leadership in radical innovation versus incremental innovation. The antecedents and consequences of these innovation types likely differ, so the impact of humble and altruistic leadership on these two typologies would be of value. It is also important to narrow research specifically to product, process, and service innovations. Each of these can see radical or incremental innovation and the effects of humility in leadership in each of these would be of interest (Mallén et al., 2019).
Conclusion
Recently, the perspective of what traits contribute to effective leadership have changed. Popular opinion has shifted as the advantages of leader humility have been noted by scholars and business leaders alike. In the aftermath of corporate scandals and management narcissism, the importance of humble leadership has emerged as an essential virtue for company leaders. Studies from the past decade reveal that leader humility fosters increased employee learnability, job satisfaction, work engagement, and retention (Rego et al., 2016). Research has proven that the characteristics of humble leadership allows firms to adapt to unstable conditions, undergo organizational transformations when necessary, and ensure long term success and survival (Gonçalves & Brandão, 2017). Corporate scandals have unveiled the perils of the old management persona such as abusive supervision, unethical decision making by managers, toxic climates, and tyranny. Research and real-world case studies have demonstrated that this management style is not effective. Society, employees, and management have demanded a better way to enhance employee and firm performance. Researchers and business leaders alike have taken interest in humble leadership as a more powerful way to elevate employee performance, increase creativity, and generate innovation in the workplace (Mallén et al., 2019).
Considering this recent attention on the importance of humility in leadership, there are many opportunities for further research on this subject (Mallén et al., 2019). Specifically, there is still much research to be done to fully understand the importance and impact of leader humility and how it affects follower behavior. Recommended future research topics on leader humility include the following: further study on how humble leadership is perceived by subordinates across different regions and cultures (Hu et al., 2018; Mao et al., 2019; Rego et al., 2017), its impact on employee creativity (Wang et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2019), and its effects on team innovation (Mallén et al., 2019).
References
Gonçalves, L., & Brandão, F. (2017). The relation between leader’s humility and team creativity: The mediating effect of psychological safety and psychological capital. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 25(4), 687-702. https://www.doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-06-2016-1036
Hu, J., Erdogan, B., Jiang, K., Bauer, T., & Liu, S. (2018). Leader humility and team creativity: The role of team information sharing, psychological safety, and power distance. ournal of Applied Psychology, 103(3), 313-323. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000277
Mallén, F., Domínguez-Escrig, E., Lapiedra, R., & Chiva, R. (2019). Does leader humility matter? Effects on altruism and innovation. Management Decision, 57(5), 967-981. http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1108/MD-11-2018-1180
Mao, J., Chiu, C., Owens, B. P., Brown, J. A., & Liao, J. (2019). Growing followers: Exploring the effects of leader humility on follower self-expansion, self-efficacy, and performance. Journal of Management Studies, 56(2), 343-371. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12395
Owens, B. P., & Heckman, D. R. (2016). How Does leader humility influence team performance? Exploring the mechanisms of contagion and collective promotion focus. Academy of Management Journal, 59(3), 1088-1111. https://doi-org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.5465/amj.2013.0660
Rego, A., Cunha, M. P. e., & Simpson, A. V. (2018). The perceived impact of leaders’ humility on team effectiveness: An empirical study. Journal of Business Ethics, 148(1), 205-218. https://doi-org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1007/s10551-015-3008-3
Rego, A., Owens, B., Leal, S., Melo, A. I., Cunha, M. P. e., Gonçalves, L., & Ribeiro, P. (2017). How leader humility helps teams to be humbler, psychologically stronger, and more effective: A moderated mediation model. The Leadership Quarterly, 28(5), 639-658. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2017.02.002
Wang, J., Zhang, Z., & Jia, M. (2017). Understanding how leader humility enhances employee creativity: The roles of perspective taking and cognitive reappraisal. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 53(1), 5-31. https://www.doi.org/10.1177/0021886316678907
Wang, L., Owens, B. P., Li, J., & Shi, L. (2018). Exploring the affective impact, boundary conditions, and antecedents of leader humility. American Psychological Association, 103(9), 1019-1038. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000314
Wang, X., Li, H., & Yin, H. (2019). Antecedents and consequences of creativity in teams: When and how leader humility promotes performance via team creativity. The Journal of Creative Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.410
Wenxing L., Jianghua M., & Xiao C. (2017). Leader Humility and Team innovation: Investigating the substituting role of task interdependence and the mediating role of team voice climate. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1115. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01115
Zhou, F., & Wu, Y. J. (2018). How humble leadership fosters employee innovation behavior: A two-way perspective on the leader-employee interaction. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 39(3), 375-387. https://www.doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-07-2017-0181
