Leader effectiveness may depend on emotional expression
When they don't express negative emotions, women are seen as more
effective leaders than men

Date:
July 27, 2021
Source:
University of California - Riverside
Summary:
Women leaders must often battle sexist stereotypes that label them
'too emotional' for effective leadership. A surprising new study
shows that when they express calm, happy emotions, however, women
are perceived as more effective leaders than men. The effect is
most pronounced for leaders in top positions in an organization.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Women leaders must often battle sexist stereotypes that label them "too emotional" for effective leadership. A surprising new study shows that
when they express calm, happy emotions, however, women are perceived
as more effective leaders than men. The effect is most pronounced for
leaders in top positions in an organization.


==========================================================================
The study, conducted by psychology professor Thomas Sy at UC Riverside
and management professor Daan van Knippenberg at Drexel University, is
the first to examine prototypes for the types of emotions displayed by
leaders and concludes that people use implicit theories of leadership
emotions when evaluating leader effectiveness.

Cognitive leadership prototypes, known as implicit theories of leadership,
have been well-studied. Research consistently finds that effective
leaders are seen as intelligent, dynamic, and charismatic, among other qualities. Men are also thought to be seen as possessing more of these qualities than women.

It is commonly understood that some types of emotional expression can
diminish perceptions of leader effectiveness. Sy, an organizational psychologist who studies leadership, wondered if people also have
implicit emotional prototypes, or schemas, that influence how they react
to leaders.

With van Knippenberg, he designed a series of studies that asked
respondents to describe what types of emotions leaders feel and
express. The results revealed six emotional schemas associated with
leadership. Three of them -- cheer, calm, pride -- were associated with effective leadership. The other three -- anger, fear, remorse -- were associated with ineffective leadership.

"Every role has emotions that must be expressed, including leaders. To
be effective, leaders must perform emotional labor," Sy said. "What was surprising in our research is that women were rated more effective, and
this could be explained by implicit theories of leadership emotions."
Although men have more leeway for expressing negative emotions, Sy and
van Knippenberg found that when women don't express negative emotions
they are seen as more effective than men.

Implicit theories of leadership emotions had the most impact on
perceptions of leadership effectiveness for leaders at the highest levels
of management.

Moreover, expression of negative emotions did not undermine the
effectiveness of top leaders to the same extent they did for low-ranking leaders. Low-ranking leaders, both men and women, were penalized for
expressing anger.

"When we interact with a leader regularly, such as our immediate boss
or supervisor, we have enough firsthand information to evaluate their effectiveness," Sy said. "But we usually have little contact with leaders
at the highest levels and less information about them. Therefore we tend
to rely on schemas. Schemas are powerful. Even in the absence of data they shape our behavior." Implicit theories of leadership emotions influence perceptions of effectiveness, with positive schemas associated with
positive outcomes and negative schemas associated with negative outcomes.

"Past research shows the emotions of a leader affect performance of
followers," Sy said. "The leader's emotions are contagious, spread
throughout the team, and affect effectiveness of the whole group."
The findings should help leaders manage their emotions to maximize effectiveness, improve the performance and satisfaction of team members,
and provide a roadmap for future leadership researchers.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_California_-_Riverside. Original written by Holly
Ober. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Thomas Sy, Daan Knippenberg. The emotional leader: Implicit
theories of
leadership emotions and leadership perceptions. Journal of
Organizational Behavior, 2021; DOI: 10.1002/job.2543 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210727121302.htm

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