Jacob Matić

The aim of this project is to investigate whether feedback on participants’ predictive validity in a prediction task can stimulate algorithm use over time and reduce the better-than-average-effect. Participants will predict the job performance of 40 applicants based on their assessment information, either with or without algorithmic advice. Afterwards, participants will receive feedback on their own predictive accuracy, other people’s accuracy, or no feedback. Two weeks later, participants will predict another set of 40 applicants and receive algorithmic advice. We hypothesize that participants who received accuracy feedback, especially on their own accuracy, will deviate less from the advice, make more accurate predictions, and become less overconfident. We ran a pilot study (N = 258) to investigate how different presentations of predictive validity estimates affect perceptions of hiring procedures, using a 2 (holistic vs. clinical synthesis) × 2 (visual and numeric display vs. numeric display only) × 2 (correlation vs. BESD) between-subjects design. The results revealed that participants are more likely to select an algorithm after they have seen that prescribed algorithms result in more accurate judgments than holistic approaches. Participants perceived larger accuracy differences between hiring procedures when accuracy was communicated numerically and visually, rather than only numerically.

Denisa Semeráková

This three-wave longitudinal study examined whether transformational leadership predicts employees’ job crafting and well-being over time, and whether job crafting explains (mediates) the leadership–well-being link. Job crafting refers to employees’ proactive changes to their tasks, relationships, or demands in order to improve person–job fit, and prior research suggests it is associated with higher well-being and performance. Transformational leaders may encourage such proactivity by inspiring, supporting, and intellectually stimulating employees, yet most evidence so far has been cross-sectional, leaving the direction of effects unclear. To address this gap, we surveyed a representative sample of Czech employees at three points in time (September, October, and December 2024). The final longitudinal sample consisted of 225 participants, half of whom were women. At each wave, respondents completed measures of transformational leadership (Czech Leadership Questionnaire), job crafting (Job Crafting Scale), and well-being (Mental Health Continuum–Short Form). We analyzed the data using three-wave cross-lagged structural equation modeling with autoregressive and reciprocal paths, and model fit was acceptable. Results showed that transformational leadership predicted increases in job crafting at the next wave and also predicted increases in well-being at the next wave. However, job crafting did not mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and later well-being. Overall, the findings indicate that transformational leadership fosters both employees’ proactive job redesign and their well-being over time, but the improvement in well-being is not explained by job crafting in this study. Future research should test additional multilevel mechanisms and boundary conditions that may clarify how leadership translates into sustained employee mental health.

Luuk Snijder

The first victim of conflict is often the truth. Using 261 manifestos from real-world conflicts, we show that attacking leaders frequently misrepresent strategic intentions in their calls to arms: they often hide their primary objective for exploitation behind claims of self-defense. Using experiments, we show that self-defense rhetoric in real war speeches, true and false, is readily believed by naïve participants (n = 252, pre-registered), and increases support for the leaders’ stated cause. Furthermore, in intergroup contest experiments (n = 312; pre-registered), leaders frequently invoke the need for self-defense even when outgroups pose no actual threat. This leads followers to increase their costly contributions to fight non-threatening outgroups, making their (deceptive) leaders prevail in increasingly intense and wasteful intergroup conflicts. Our findings elucidate when leaders resort to false signalling, why they do so, and how it can escalate conflicts that benefit warring leaders at significant cost to society.

Sophie Hudspith

Workplace power and gender dynamics may shape how individuals interpret ambiguous behaviours as potentially conveying sexual intent. To examine these influences, we conducted two studies using the Workplace Sexual Intent Scale (WSIS): an initial pilot study (N = 112) and a larger follow-up with a Prolific sample (N = 309). Together, these studies explored how gender and relative power affect perceptions of sexual intent in cross-gender workplace interactions. After randomly assigning participants to a higher-, lower-, or equal-power condition and instructing them to recall a colleague of a different gender in that role, we then asked them to rate how much sexual intent they would perceive if that colleague enacted 30 ambiguous behaviours towards them. The results revealed a gender difference consistent with prior findings: women perceived greater sexual intent from male colleagues’ ambiguous behaviours than men did from female colleagues. This gender difference was influenced by participants’ relative power, with the most pronounced effect observed in the lower-power condition, where women perceived the most intent and men the least. Although this interaction reached significance only in the pilot study, the same pattern emerged across both studies. Three-way interactions with Dominance Motivation, Emotionality, and Contingencies of Self-Worth were examined, but no significant effects were found (although the patterns were in line with our hypotheses). 

Lorenzo Cupri

Throughout their daily lives, people encounter many situations, which they may increasingly select or avoid based on the way they perceive and interpret them. Individual differences in perceptions and interpretations may thus relate to the selection of these situations. Some individual differences that may be related to situation selection have been explored, with personality recently receiving an increase in attention. Similarly, the pursuit of certain goals can also lead people to select situations that may make it easier to achieve those goals. These choices tend to take place throughout adult daily life, and they may play out differently based on the context, such as work and non-work contexts. In this study, we investigated how personality and goals relate to situation selection using the HEXACO domain specific situational affordances (De Vries et al., 2016), and whether situation selection differs across work and non-work environments. A HEXACO goal scale was developed, based on Talevich et al. (2017) list of goals, to better understand how personality is related to goal selection. A cross-sectional study was conducted, with a mixed within-subjects (selected and imposed situations) and between-subjects (work vs. non-work) design. A sample of working US residents participated in two waves of data collection (N = 426), collected roughly a week apart. Results indicated that there were significant differences in the type of situations selected, with certain traits being significantly related to the goals and situations reported by participants. Based on the findings, future research may like to explore if the relation between personality, goals, and situations differs across traits, with some traits being more strongly related to situation selection than other traits.

Annika Frach

Personality is consistently associated with many important life outcomes. However, workaholism research reports no or only weak association between personality and workaholism. We investigated two possible explanations for the weak relationship. Firstly, whether personality facets might mask or cancel each other. Secondly, the possibility of trait activation in situations with or without deadlines, both during work and in free time. We collected workaholism state and trait measures, and HEXACO responses, from 455 participants in the UK and the USA. We used hierarchical multiple regression to detect masking and cancellation, and conducted within-subject (work vs. free) and between-subject (deadline vs. no-deadline) moderation analyses to detect trait activation. We found various masking and cancellation effects. Situations significantly moderated the association between workaholism state and trait, supporting a possible activation of workaholism trait. We discuss the potential of the findings to facilitate the detection of stronger and more consistent personality-workaholism associations.

Reinout de Vries

The COTAN (Commissie Testaangelegenheden Nederland) is a Dutch national committee that evaluates Dutch tests and questionnaires. It is funded by the professional association of psychologists in the Netherlands, the NIP (Nederlands Instituut van Psychologen), and it is run by academic and professional volunteers with a background in testing and psychometrics. In the past years, I have experienced COTAN from different angles: as a committee member, as a reviewer, and as a (HEXACO-personality) test publisher. For publishers who want to get their test or questionnaire recognized, the COTAN is an important regulating body. A positive evaluation by COTAN is associated with a much higher demand for a test or questionnaire. Especially governmental organizations rely heavily on COTAN evaluations to determine which tests and questionnaires they use. In this presentation, I want to share with you my experience with the COTAN as a member, a reviewer, and a publisher. I'll discuss the criteria on which tests and questionnaires are evaluated, how the evaluation process takes place, and the extraordinary effort and data that is needed to be positively evaluated by COTAN for the use of a test or questionnaire in selection and assessment.

Maral Darouei

Many employees today work in a hybrid model, alternating between home and office days. While hybrid work offers clear benefits, such as greater autonomy, it also reshapes how employees interact with their organization. Research suggests that remote work may weaken social relationships at work (Beckel & Fisher, 2022; Vacchiano et al., 2024). This raises a key question: why do employees decide to work from home or in the office?

I argue that work location choices are shaped both by internal factors (such as daily motivational strivings) and external factors (such as organizational incentives and social context), and often by the interaction of the two. In this talk, I will share work-in-progress on two fronts: (1) how employees’ daily motivations and social environments influence their work location decisions, and (2) how organizational performance incentives affect where employees choose to work.

Sanne Feenstra

Workplace conflict is an inevitable yet costly challenge, and disagreements with supervisors are particularly consequential given their detrimental impact for employee well-being. While much research has focused on peer or team-level conflict, little is known about how employees manage process, relationship, and task conflicts with their supervisors. In this talk, I present findings from a field-based and experimental study that examine how different types of conflict influence employees’ use of constructive versus destructive conflict management strategies through the psychological mechanism of mutual concern. Importantly, I highlight the role of impostorism, showing that employees higher in impostorism maintain greater concern for their supervisors’ needs during a conflict, and are therefore more likely to adopt constructively. These findings offer new insights into how employees navigate conflicts with their supervisors and reveal a surprising upside of the impostor phenomenon.

Mark van Vugt

Europe is grappling with significant challenges—declining fertility, work-life imbalances, and rising authoritarianism—each potentially rooted in a common psychological factor: status anxiety, or the fear of failing to meet societal standards of success and respect. This proposed research project aims to provide new insights into both the causes and consequences of status anxiety by investigating how modern ecological factors like economic uncertainty, social media, and urbanization amplify this anxiety and influence decisions related to reproduction, work and politics. Using a transdisciplinary approach, I will organize the research into four integrated subprojects: (1) measuring status anxiety’s impact on stress, health and fertility decisions; (2) assessing its socio-political consequences, such as shifts in leadership preferences; (3) identifying ecological and developmental triggers of status anxiety, including digital environments and existential threats; and (4) examining how individual differences, including gender and socioeconomic status, shape the experience and consequences of status anxiety. Ultimately, the proposed research aims to inform theory-grounded interventions to mitigate the psychological burdens of modern status competition and enhance societal resilience.

Agnieszka Bojanowska  

Some managers and professionals seem to thrive amidst change, while others are affected by stress and lose their focus, energy and drive, leading to disengagement or burnout. Are these differences only a matter of natural talent or predispositions, or can we identify trainable skills responsible for thriving at work? Based on a review of studies and observations from cognitive-behavioural approaches to psychological practice, we have developed a practical framework that lists seven skills contributing to Sustainable Performance - the ability to balance long-term goals with short-term needs, maintaining engagement and well-being while pursuing work-related goals. These skills are: (1) staying flexible in stress, (2) motivation and engagement skills, (3) value alignment, (4) adequate self-talk, (5) feedback and recognition skills, (6) change resilience and (7) growth mindset. Measured together these skills constitute the Sustainable Performance Index (SPI). The SPI is a practical tool that provides immediate feedback to participants and on each of the seven pillars and allows for targeted training focusing on the skills that require attention. We have developed immersive training methods for each of the Seven Pillars that allow the participants to build cognitive and behavioural skills allowing for sustained engagement at work.  

Bo Wang

The core proposition of contingency theories of effective leadership is that different situations require different leadership behaviors. However, existing theories are limited by their heavy reliance on meta-categories to classify concrete leadership behaviors. These frameworks may overlook important behaviors that fall between meta-categories and often fail to clarify their relations. Moreover, the operationalizations of existing contingency theories—many of which were developed decades ago—no longer meet contemporary standards for leadership measurement. To address these limitations, we introduce the Situated Appraisal of Leadership Tool (SALT; http://leadwithsalt.nl), which is based on a circumplex approach to leadership. SALT consists of eight systematically varied descriptions of hypothetical leaders, each reflecting one of eight “octant styles” within a circumplex structure. These descriptions can be evaluated using different criteria, such as perceived leadership effectiveness. The SALT circumplex space is defined by two interpersonal dimensions: interpersonal agency on the vertical axis and interpersonal communion on the horizontal axis. Thus, the eight SALT leadership styles systematically differ from one another in terms of interpersonal agency and communion. The development and validation of SALT adhered to best practices for scale construction and validation—both in general (e.g., evaluating content validity) and in leadership research specifically (e.g., ensuring behavioral counterfactuals). Following multiple rounds of revision and validation (total N = 1699), the final version of SALT was tested in three studies (total N = 1468), which will be the primary focus of this presentation.

Claudia Buengeler 

Younger leaders are often perceived as less prototypical and legitimate, particularly by older evaluators and in traditional leadership contexts. Integrating leadership categorization theory with a connectionist perspective on prototype activation, we examine how age bias in leadership perception is shaped by organizational context and evaluator age. In an experiment (N = 658), we manipulated CEO age and leadership role (traditional vs. change-oriented) to test the underlying mechanism of prototype (mis)match. Older evaluators rated younger CEOs as significantly less prototypical in traditional roles but not in change-oriented roles, whereas younger evaluators showed no consistent bias. In a complementary archival study of 1,573 CEO successions in S&P-listed firms (2000–2020), higher average board age predicted a lower likelihood of appointing a younger CEO—an effect attenuated under conditions of organizational change (dismissal of the predecessor and external succession). Together, the findings show that age bias is context-dependent, amplified by evaluator age and stability-focused settings, but attenuated in change-oriented contexts. This research identifies key boundary conditions under which younger leaders can overcome prototype incongruence.

Wendy Andrews

Deepfake technology has become both increasingly effective at creating realistic audio and video images and increasingly accessible. I will present results from two studies that shed light on potential uses of charisma signaling by deepfakes. In the first study (N = 1064 online participant), we assessed to what extent people perceive deepfakes that engage in charismatic signaling as charismatic and to what extent they are convinced by their message. In the second study (N = 77 trainees, N = 308 online raters), We developed an online charisma training in which we incorporated personalized, charisma-enhanced deepfakes (i.e., manipulated videos depicting trainees engaging in charisma signaling) and assessed whether 1) we could teach trainees to effectively use Charismatic Leadership Tactics (CLTs) in a fully online training, 2) viewing charisma-enhanced deepfakes of themselves in the training enhanced trainee learning, and 3) narcissism and intelligence moderated these effects.

Vasiliki Kentrou

Collaborative partnerships are often formed following a first encounter. In a professional setting, for example, unacquainted individuals may collaborate to complete a project, develop a product, or solve a problem. Using target- and relationship-specific effects from the Social Relations Model (SRM), we examined whether first-encounter perceptions of extraversion, honesty-humility, and competence are related to partner preferences for collaborative tasks and whether the roles of honesty-humility and competence in shaping partner preferences vary as a function of task type. Previously unacquainted participants (N = 297, 55 groups, 55.9% female) engaged in dyadic interactions and provided round-robin ratings of personality, competence, and partner preferences for either a trust-based or competence-based task. Individuals who were consensually viewed as extraverted and/or competent were preferred as partners, regardless of task type. Individuals who were uniquely viewed as honest-humble, extraverted, and/or competent were uniquely preferred as partners. Task type moderated the positive relation between relationship-specific honesty-humility and competence on the one hand and partner preference on the other, albeit not in the hypothesized directions. Findings underscore the relevance of relationship-specific extraversion, competence, and honesty-humility in shaping collaborative partner preferences in first encounters. Notably, the importance of these relationship-specific trait perceptions may vary depending on task type.

Loes Abrahams

In this talk, I will present findings from four studies based on an experience sampling study involving (student) teachers, their supervisors, and their students. Using both self- and observer-reports, I will discuss how personality traits, states, and situational experiences interact to shape performance evaluations. Beyond traits and states, I will highlight the role of within-person personality variability—the extent to which personality fluctuates over time—and how it is perceived differently by self and others. Additionally, I will discuss how daily sleep quality, duration, and vitality influence teachers’ performance from both self- and observer perspectives. To conclude, I will briefly share a recent experience sampling study I am currently working on related to working parents returning to work after maternity leave.

Mary Hausfeld

Charismatic leadership remains a focal point in discussions on effective leadership across various domains, from politics to sports. Grounded in signaling theory, charisma functions as a values-based, symbolic, and emotionally charged leader signal that conveys competence and intelligence, thereby motivating followers. While research has established the importance of charismatic signaling, critical gaps remain regarding its boundary conditions—specifically, how factors such as leader gender, formal authority, and industry context influence its effectiveness. This study tests three theoretical boundary conditions of charismatic leadership as a signal. First, followers interpret charismatic signals in conjunction with leader gender (a cue), affecting perceptions of competence and authenticity. Second, formal authority may either bolster or undermine charismatic women leaders by influencing stereotype activation. Third, industry context shapes the reception of charismatic leadership, with gendered industries affecting signal credibility. Through a series of pre-registered experiments (n = 3,013; k = 16), we analyze these conditions to refine signaling theory’s application to leadership. Meta-analytic findings contribute to theoretical advancements in leadership research and inform evidence-based training practices. By identifying when and for whom charisma is most effective, this study enhances our understanding of leadership dynamics and the role of signaling in shaping leader-follower interactions.

Julia Sonnevend

Politics is a site of performance, and contemporary politicians often perform the role of a regular person—perhaps someone we would like to have a beer with. They win elections not because of the elevated rhetorical performances we often associate with charisma (“ask not what your country can do for you”), but because of something more ordinary and relatable. This everyday magic spell that many politicians cast using mass and social media is what I call “charm.” This talk will explore charm (and the related “charm offensive”) as a keyword of contemporary global politics. Successful political leaders deploy this form of personal magnetism—which relies on proximity to political tribes and manifests across a variety of media platforms—to appear authentic and accessible in their quest for power. I consider how charm (or the lack of it) is wielded as a political tool, and the ways charm is weaponized to shape the international image of a country. I argue that charm will shape the future of politics worldwide, as political values will be increasingly embodied by mediated personalities. These figures will rise and fall, often fading into irrelevance; but if we do not understand charm’s political power, we cannot grasp diplomacy and politics in the 21st century. 

Jon Gruda

This study explores how organizational culture influences the prevalence of managerial behaviors associated with the Dark Triad (i.e., narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy). Based on 15,000+ ratings of 3000+ Glassdoor job reviews, we analyze how performance-focused and diversity-focused cultures shape these behaviors. We find that performance-oriented cultures amplify controlling, manipulative, and competitive behaviors in managers. And while diversity-focused cultures somewhat mitigate such behaviors, this effect is limited and dependent on the performance orientation of the organization. These results challenge the notion that diversity and inclusion initiatives alone can counteract toxic managerial behaviors, underscoring the critical role of performance focus in organizational culture. 

Sarah Boukarras

Emotions and moods are not solely private experiences; they are often shared and transmitted among individuals during social interactions. In organizational settings, emotional contagion plays a significant role, influencing both productivity and well-being. In particular, the emotions expressed by leaders can spread to their followers, shaping the group’s emotional tone and affecting collective efficacy. In this talk, I will share preliminary findings from a research project that explores the transmission of emotions from managers to employees and vice versa. Using pre-recorded videos and methodologies from interpersonal neuroscience—such as physiological contagion—we investigate how emotions propagate within workplace environments. Additionally, I will discuss the potential of leveraging social and interpersonal neuroscience techniques to advance research in organizational contexts. 

Aneta Lisowska

In this talk, we’ll dive into the development of AI tools that support decision-making for clinicians and patients, based on my experiences in both industry and academia. From medical imaging and wearable technologies to coaching systems, I’ll share how these tools tackle challenges like automating routine tasks and personalizing behaviour change interventions. We’ll explore how they might influence key decisions—like diagnosis, treatment, and adherence. Finally, I’ll invite you to join me in exploring the next research steps, focusing on how we can work together to make AI a true partner in healthcare to improve patient outcomes.

Susan Niessen

We present four experimental studies aimed at investigating the effect of transparency on perceptions of mechanical hiring procedures. It is well established that combining information mechanically (via a pre-defined decision-rule) results in better hiring decisions than holistic combination. Nevertheless, mechanical combination is perceived negatively and rarely used in practice.  Inspired by research conducted on AI-based hiring tools, we investigated the effect of various operationalizations of transparency in mechanical procedures on the perceptions of two important stakeholder groups: decision-makers and applicants. For each group, we used between- and a within subject’s design. Moreover, we explored the relative importance of several perception constructs in relation to trust and use intentions, and supplemented quantitative analyses with thematic analysis of open-ended responses. In the between-subjects studies, we mostly found near-zero differences. However, the open-ended responses indicated a strong emphasis on ‘filler information’. Within-subjects replications conducted to solve this issue did show the expected positive effects of transparency on perceptions, but mostly with small effect sizes. However, both groups indicated a strong preference for transparent algorithms over holistic judgment when asked to choose. Moreover, the open question responses indicated that both groups generally perceived algorithms positively regarding fairness, but negatively or mixed in terms of validity. 

Marvin Neumann

Law graduates in the Netherlands who want to become a judge in court have to complete a four-year training after their studies. Since there are often more applicants than positions, the council for the judiciary (Raad voor de rechtspraak) has the aim to select applicants who are most likely to complete the training successfully and are thus eligible to become a judge. This constitutes a high-stakes selection decision, and applicants, the council, and society have an interest in optimising these decisions. The council tasked me and colleagues to evaluate the selection procedure for judges in training. The main aim was to investigate whether a whole range of selection instruments such as cognitive ability tests, personality questionnaires, interviews, and games can predict the performance of judges in training. Furthermore, the aim was to investigate how selection decisions are made, and how these can be improved. To achieve these aims, I analysed data from the selection procedure, interviewed 19 stakeholders, and surveyed previous candidates how they perceived the selection procedure. In this talk, I will present these results, focusing on the results of the validation study (N ‎ =  169) that I have conducted. I will also review the process of working together with various stakeholders such as hiring managers, assessment consultants, the client organisation, and the diverging perspectives between science and practice that arose. Implications for the science-practice gap and solutions how to narrow it will be discussed.

Amber Brizar

Managers play a pivotal role in fostering a healthy workplace culture and supporting employees experiencing mental health problems. However, many managers lack the confidence, skills, and knowledge needed to effectively address these issues. In this presentation, I will introduce a novel World Health Organization (WHO) intervention designed to equip managers with practical tools and strategies to address and prevent mental health problems in the workplace. Additionally, I will share findings from an online cross-sectional study conducted to validate and refine outcome measures for an upcoming randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluating the intervention's effectiveness in Dutch small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs).

Marloes van Engen

Inclusive leadership is increasingly recognized as a cornerstone for fostering well-being, equity, and collaboration within teams and organizations. Yet, understanding and embodying inclusive leadership requires not only an understanding of its principles but also the ability to navigate its inherent complexities as well as awareness of the boundary conditions for inclusive leadership. In this talk, I will explore the foundations of inclusive leadership, providing a comprehensive overview of its defining characteristics and the concrete behaviors that underpin it. Furthermore, I will address the underlying paradoxes of inclusive leadership—such as balancing the need for fair and consistent decision-making with the flexibility required to adapt to diverse perspectives—offering a nuanced analysis of the challenge leaders face in navigating these tensions.

Sofya Isaakyan

Prior voice research highlights the leader-like nature of voice behavior and shows that those who speak up with change-oriented ideas, concerns, and opinions enjoy enhanced status and emerge as leaders in their groups—especially when voicing individuals are men. Acknowledging that perceptions of leadership are not only external, but also internal, we ask whether voicing individuals are more likely to see themselves as leaders—that is, whether voice behavior positively affects their leader identity. This is especially important from a gender perspective, because building a strong leader identity is a challenging and critical developmental task for women. Drawing on the behavioral perspective of identity construction, we propose that voice behavior enhances leader identity, and that such benefits are particularly pronounced for women whose voice is endorsed. Furthermore, we propose that over time, leader identity has positive downstream effects on how others evaluate the leadership effectiveness of voicing individuals. Findings from two studies—a field study using a within-person repeated measures design and a pre-registered experiment—support our conceptual model. Our results delineate unique intrapersonal benefits of voice for women and provide novel insights into how individuals and organizations can maximize the benefits of voice for leadership development.

Annika Frach

Working hard is perceived as a valued behavior. However, working hard may develop into workaholism, which is a syndrome that is associated with many negative mental and physical problems that are known to undermine performance and well-being in the workplace. The topic has stimulated many publications on its prevalence, personality predictors, and cultural invariance. Unfortunately, concomitant with the number of publications, the number of workaholism measures has increased dramatically, limiting between-study comparison. Therefore, this study aims to provide a much-needed update and proposal on the conceptualization and operationalization of workaholism. For the operationalization of workaholism, we systematically searched for all published workaholism measures and their items. We processed identified items using an R-coded algorithm to select a representative item subset that considered semantics and item quality. In a cross-sectional online study, we administered the selected items to a sample of 461 participants. We used a second algorithm to select items with good convergent and discriminant validity. A factor analysis on this subset yielded a three-factor solution consisting of Work-Life Tension, Work Overinvestment, and  Work Overdependency. Lastly, we used a greedy search algorithm, semantic overlap, and item correlations to select the five least tautological items for each factor. Together, the five items from each factor form a new Core Workaholism Scale. In the discussion, we reflect on the data-driven objective approach, how our three dimensions connect to previous theories, and how to use the Core Workaholism Scale in organizational and clinical research.

Emma Gerittsen & Djurre Holtrop

Destructive leadership behaviors have serious consequences for both organizations and employees, yet their emergence remains largely understudied. Current research predominantly focuses on the employee’s perspective, offering a limited view of how destructive leadership behaviors arise. To develop a more comprehensive understanding, it is crucial to also consider the leader’s perspective. Given the scarcity of research from this viewpoint, we employed a qualitative approach to explore how leaders retrospectively make sense of their destructive leadership behaviors. We conducted 25 semi-structured interviews with leaders from diverse hierarchical levels and industries in the Netherlands. Using the Gioia methodology, we developed a theoretical model explaining destructive leadership behaviors based on the leader’s viewpoint. Our findings reveal that leaders often navigate conflicting demands from organizational, team, employee, and personal interests, and frequently rationalize their destructive actions as necessary responses to these pressures. Furthermore, specific factors within leaders’ subjective realities—such as work stressors, value-based discrepancies, and perceived performance deficiencies—contribute to enabling these behaviors. Compared to the employee-focused view, our study provides unique insights into how leaders reflect on their own shortcomings and misperceptions that partially explain their engagement in destructive behaviors. By integrating the leader’s perspective, our study shifts the focus from static, trait-based explanations to a more dynamic understanding of how destructive leadership behaviors emerge, offering new insights for both research and practice.

Bo Wang

Communicating commitment to specific organizational cultures (e.g., integrity or ethical culture) to job applicants is a common marketing strategy for organizations seeking to attract talent. However, previous research suggests that organizations may strategically misrepresent their stated organizational culture. Notably, there is a negative relation between advertised and actual ethical culture—organizations that claim a commitment to an ethical culture are more likely to operate unethically in practice. In this study, we explore an overlooked negative consequence of such an inconsistency between stated and actual ethical culture on organizational attractiveness. We conducted a vignette-based experiment using a 2x3 between-subject design. The first factor was manipulated by Vignette 1, which simulated a company’s overview in a recruitment advertisement. This advertisement presented the company as committed to either both ethical and customer-oriented cultures (Ethical Advertisement condition) or solely a customer-oriented culture (Non-Ethical Advertisement condition). The second factor was manipulated by Vignette 2, which simulated employees or managers reviews of the company, describing its culture as either ethical (Ethical Review condition), unethical (Unethical Review condition), or efficiency-oriented without mention of ethics (Non-ethical Review condition) culture. Six hundred participants were recruited to complete the HEXACO personality inventory and then rate the company on perceived moral hypocrisy, behavioral hypocrisy, and organizational attractiveness after reading Vignettes 1 and 2. Compared to all other conditions, the company in the Ethical Advertisement-Unethical Review condition was rated higher on both moral hypocrisy and behavioral hypocrisy, which were in turn associated with lower organizational attractiveness. Despite strong theories and solid empirical evidence suggesting that people high in HEXACO honesty-humility have a preference for ethically sound organizations, we did not find this personality trait to moderate the relations between perceptions of moral hypocrisy or behavioral hypocrisy and organizational attractiveness. We welcome any insights that may help explain these surprising findings.

Florence Bernays

Charismatic leaders have been depicted as heroic figures who are “endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities” (Weber, 1968; 241) because they leave people mesmerized by signaling charisma (House & Shamir, 1993). While existing research paints an overly positive picture of charisma, we highlight a potential dark side of taking people under the spell. In six randomized experiments with more than 600 participants in which we manipulated charisma, we found evidence that charisma disrupts memory in such a way that people become susceptible to recalling information that was never presented but is consistent with the speaker's message, leading to the creation of memories. In addition, we find that although people exposed to charisma have faulty memories, they are more convinced that their memories are actually true. Finally, we show that the more convinced people were that their false memories were true, the more likely they were to support the speaker's political campaign and the more money they were willing to spend to meet the speaker. Our findings reveal a dark side of charisma that may explain why people choose to follow those leaders blindly.