Leader’s intention to support followers’ self-worth

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the role of the followers’ competence, will to achieve, and self-determination on a leader’s intention to support a followers’ sense of self-worth. Design/methodology/approach – Using an experimental scenario study design with a sample of 316 managers, a mediated three-way moderation model was investigated that tested the extent to which a new subordinate’s competence, self-determination, and will to achieve would influence the manager’s positive expectations of them and their willingness to support this subordinate’s sense of self-worth. Findings – The results showed that a subordinate’s competence plays a key role and that a subordinate’s will to achieve and self-determination played an additional role that was mediated by positive expectations of the leader. Practical implications – The key findings emphasize that leaders can benefit from understanding how dyadic relationships form and are influenced by the earliest phases of the development of such relationships. Originality/value – By taking the perspective of the leader, the paper provides empirical evidence of key determinants of the leader-follower relationship.

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