The effects of leadership styles on individuals' time use orientation, well-being and effectiveness

Abstract

The present study aims to examine the effects of leadership styles on the relationship between individuals' time use orientation, well-being and effectiveness. On the basis of the literature review, a theoretical model was developed for examining the effects of transformational and transactional leadership styles on the relationship between polychronicity, subordinates' work stress and job performance. Hypotheses were then formulated to test the validity of the model. Measures on five forms of transformational leadership (idealized attribute, idealized behavior, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation, and intellectual stimulation), three forms of transactional leadership (contingent reward, active management-by-exception and passive management-by-exception), polychronicity, work stress, and self-rated performance were obtained from 260 sales agents working for seven multinational life insurance companies in Hong Kong. Corresponding evaluations on the performances of these sales agents were obtained from 94 immediate supervisors as the objective performance measure to overcome the common method biases. The results of the hierarchical regression analysis indicated that transformational leadership had weaker positive effects on subordinates self-rated performance than transactional leadership. Polychronicity was negatively related to work stress and found to be unrelated to the two forms of performance measures (self-rating and supervisory rating). The interaction between transactional leadership and polychronicity was found to have significant effects on self-rated performance but not on subordinates' work stress and supervisor-rated performance. The present study has contributions to the theory and practice of leadership. It provides preliminary evidences to support the interaction effects of transactional leadership and polychronicity on subordinates' job performance. The evidences also suggest that transactional leadership may be superior to transformational leadership in managing subordinates in the Asian context. Thus, organizations should revisit and evaluate the effectiveness of their leadership training by increasing the practices of transactional leadership among sales managers. Finally, future researches should continue to examine the present model in different jobs and organizational contexts as well as the effects of leadership styles on work attitudes and behaviors at both the individual and group levels.