The interactive effects of leader humility and abusive supervision on team silence and team performance

Part of the Future of Work Institute (FOWI) Thursday Seminar Series

Although there is growing evidence supporting the positive relationship between leader humility and successful organizational outcomes, the boundary conditions by which leader humility impacts outcomes, such as team performance, remains unclear. This paper aims to better understand the effects of leader humility, along with its potential barriers, on team performance by unpacking how leader humility can help reduce one of the most common causes leading to poor team performance via team communication breakdowns, that is, when team members deliberately withhold important thoughts, suggestions, and concerns (i.e., team silence). We conducted a multi-wave study on 202 teams, consisting of 1506 team members, 202 team leaders, and measured objective team performance (through financial and customer key performance indicators) and leader-rated team performance. We found that higher levels of leader humility were associated with lower levels of team silence, and that team…