Leadership predictors of innovation and task performance: Subordinates’ self-esteem and self-presentation as moderators

This study examined self related subordinate variables as moderators of relationships between supervisors’ leadership behaviours (transformational as well as active corrective transactional leadership) and subordinates’ innovative behaviour and task performance. Based on behavioural plasticity and self monitoring theory, we hypothesized that these associations would be moderated by subordinates’ organization based self esteem and by their propensity to modify self presentation, a major facet of the self monitoring construct. Field survey data (N 1⁄4 161) collected in research and development, marketing and human resources departments of several German companies revealed that transformational leadership positively predicted both criteria, whereas active corrective transactional leadership negatively predicted innovation. As hypothesized, transformational leadership related more strongly and positively to innovation for subordinates low in organization based self esteem. When subordinates were low in self presentation propensity, active corrective transactional leadership was negatively, and transformational leadership was positively associated with task performance.