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PurposeThe research aimed to uncover leader profiles based on combinations of transformational (TFL), transactional (TAL) and passive leadership (PAL) and to examine how such constellations affect safety. Leader adaptability was tested as an antecedent of leader profiles.Design/methodology/approachUsing latent profile analysis, the effect of different leader profiles on workplace safety was investigated in two survey studies.FindingsIn total, four leader profiles emerged: “active,” “stable-moderate,” “passive-avoidant” and “inconsistent” leader. A stable-moderate leader profile was identified as the optimal leader profile for safety performance. Leader adaptability was identified as a predictor of leader profile membership.Practical implicationsSafety leadership development should focus on training managers in optimal combinations of leadership practices.Originality/valueThe research calls into question the existence of a transformational or transactional leader. The findings suggest that higher frequency of leadership practices is not always more beneficial for workplace safety.

In this study, we predict that higher levels of relative deprivation and higher levels of task mastery constitute two pathways through which perceived overqualification (POQ) has indirect and opposing effects on task performance. Further, we predict that occupational instrumentality, the degree to which the individual regards the job as a stepping stone to future career opportunities, will serve as a moderator for both pathways. Across two studies, as well as a supplementary study, we found evidence that POQ is positively associated with followers’ perceptions of both task mastery and relative deprivation. In both studies we also found consistent evidence for a positive indirect effect between POQ and task performance via perceptions of task mastery. This indirect relationship was observed for both self-rated (Studies 1 and 2) and manager-rated task performance (Study 2). Further, occupational instrumentality mitigated the positive relationship between POQ and relative deprivation. Overall, the results suggest that POQ-task performance relationship is a function of dual pathways that work in opposing directions, and that the ability to see the job as a stepping stone is instrumental in determining the strength of these pathways.

Summary The concept of empowering leadership (EL) has seen increasing scholarly interest in recent years. This study reports a meta-analysis investigating the effects of EL on employee work behavior. On the basis of data from 105 samples, we found evidence for the positive effects of EL on performance, organizational citizenship behavior, and creativity at both the individual and team levels. We further examined these relationships by exploring potential boundary conditions and the incremental contribution of EL over transformational leadership and leader–member exchange. Furthermore, at the individual level, both trust in leader and psychological empowerment mediated the relationships of EL with task performance, organizational citizenship behavior, and creativity. We also found evidence that leader–member exchange was a significant mediator between EL and task performance. At the team level, empowerment mediated the effects of EL on team performance, whereas knowledge sharing showed no significant indirect effect. Our results have important theoretical and practical implications and suggest some areas that require further research.

Within the existing leadership literature, the role of context for shaping the effectiveness of leadership is yet to be fully understood. One type of context that poses particular challenges for leaders is an environment where safety is highly critical (i.e., high exposure to risk and likelihood of an accident). We hypothesize that such environments call for specific transformational and transactional leadership behaviours, which differ from those behaviours most effective in less safety-critical contexts. We tested for moderating effects of perceptions of hazard exposure and accident likelihood on the relationship between transformational leadership and Management-By-Exception-Active with safety and job performance outcomes. The moderation effects of accident likelihood on the link between transformational/MBEA leadership and subordinate performance were supported, demonstrating variation in the effectiveness of leader behaviours dependent on followers’ perceptions about the likelihood for an accident. MBEA leadership was found to be more strongly linked to contextual performance and safety participation if accident likelihood was high, but not under low accident likelihood conditions. Transformational leadership was found to be less strongly related to these performance outcomes in contexts where safety was perceived as highly critical. Our findings have important theoretical and practical implications, and call into question the universality of the transformational–transactional leadership framework. Practical considerations focus on the implications for managers and supervisors who operate in safety-critical contexts. Practitioner points Safety-critical contexts pose particular challenges to leaders. If safety is perceived as highly critical, leaders and/or followers may hold different expectations about leadership and different leadership styles could be required compared to contexts where safety is not critical. Perceived effectiveness of transformational leadership and Management-By-Exception-Active for employees’ safety participation and contextual performance is influenced by employees’ perceptions of the risk for an accident within their work context. Management-By-Exception-Active is effective for enhancing team members’ extra effort for safety and contextual performance if the perceived risk of an accident is high, but less effective if perceptions of accident likelihood are low. Managers and supervisors should therefore pay attention to employees’ perceptions of risk of an accident and the factors that determine how employees perceive their context.