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Centrality and charisma: comparing how leader networks and attributions affect team performance
Prasad Balkundi1, Martin Kilduff, David A Harrison
1School of Management, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA. balkundi@buffalo.edu
The Journal of Applied Psychology
|September 8, 2011
Summary
Leader network centrality, not charisma, drives team performance. Leaders central in advice networks are perceived as charismatic, boosting team outcomes. This finding highlights the importance of social connections for effective leadership.
Area of Science:
- Organizational Behavior
- Social Network Analysis
- Leadership Studies
Background:
- Social capital built through leader-subordinate interactions positively impacts team performance.
- The role of perceived leader charisma in mediating the relationship between social capital and team performance requires clarification.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate two models explaining the link between leader social capital, charisma, and team performance: the charisma-to-centrality model and the centrality-to-charisma model.
- To determine whether leader charisma leads to network centrality or if network centrality leads to perceived charisma.
Main Methods:
- Study 1: Analyzed time-separated, multisource data from 56 work teams to test the proposed models.
- Study 2: Employed temporally separated data from 79 student teams, measuring leader networking activity, charisma, and team performance at distinct time points.
Main Results:
- Both studies provided support for the centrality-to-charisma model.
- Leaders central in informal advice networks were perceived as more charismatic by subordinates.
- This perceived charisma, stemming from network centrality, was positively associated with higher team performance.
Conclusions:
- Leader network centrality is a key antecedent to perceived charismatic leadership.
- The findings underscore the significance of a leader's position within team communication networks for fostering charisma and enhancing team performance.
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