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Introduction
Transformational leadership is one of the most influential contemporary leadership theories (e.g. Judge and Bono, 2000; Felfe and Schyns, 2010; van Knippenberg and Sitkin, 2013). In his seminal book, Bass (1985) contrasts transactional leadership, in which leaders clarify expectations and reward followers for fulfilling them, with transformational leadership, in which leaders are able to motivate followers to move beyond self-interest and work for the collective good (Wang et al., 2011). Whereas the outcomes of transformational leadership are well researched, insufficient research has considered the antecedents of transformational leadership (Hu et al., 2012). Only recently, a handful of studies have begun to explore personality bases that explain why some leaders are more likely to engage in transformational leadership behaviors than others (e.g. Judge and Bono, 2000; Khoo and Burch, 2008; Rubin et al., 2005; Hu et al., 2012; Resick et al., 2009). The traits approach to leadership argues that the individual traits of the leader determine his/her leadership behaviors (Northouse, 2010). Northouse (2010) concludes that the important traits that characterize an effective leader are intelligence, determination, integrity, sociability, and self-confidence. Self-confidence appears to be requisite for the initiation of leadership (Bono and Judge, 2004).
In this paper, we extend understanding of transformational leadership by proposing that self-esteem (Rosenberg, 1965) is an important antecedent to transformational leadership behaviors. In a work context, self-esteem is defined as “the degree to which an individual believes him/herself to be capable, significant, and worthy as an organizational member” and is labeled organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) (Pierce et al., 1989, p. 625). OBSE has been shown to be related to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, motivation, corporate citizenship behavior, in-role performance, turnover intentions, etc. (Bowling et al., 2010; Pierce and Gardner, 2004). Transformational leaders articulate a common vision, encourage followers to challenge assumptions, lead through an appropriate model, provide intellectual stimulation, set high performance expectations, set common goals, etc. (Podsakoff et al., 1990; Bass, 1985). Transformational leadership requires followers to trust, admire, and identify with their leaders (Bass, 1985). We argue that leaders with high self-esteem are more likely to transmit positivity and enthusiasm to their followers (Hu et al., 2012).
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