our attitude our choice

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When Politics Meets Ethics: How Political Skill Helps Ethical Leaders Foster

Organizational Citizenship Behaviors

Andréa Gill Doctoral Student

University of Quebec at Montreal

Marie-Ève Lapalme Associate Professor

University of Quebec at Montreal

Michel Séguin Associate Professor

University of Quebec at Montreal

Scandals erupting in the business sector over the last few years have highlighted the need for managers to devote more time and attention to business ethics management (Brown and Treviño, 2006). Increasingly, leaders and first-line managers are being asked to be ethical models in the organization. This situation has resulted in a growing interest in ethical leadership and its effects on individuals’ behaviors within the organization (Brown and Treviño, 2006; Dickson et al., 2001). Still emerging, empirical research on ethical leadership suggests that the presence of a supervisor who adopts and promotes ethical conduct will influence the adoption of positive behaviors by employees (Brown et al., 2005; Detert et al., 2007; Mayer et al., 2009). However, current knowledge regarding factors surrounding the influence of this style of leadership is still limited (Zhu et al., 2004). While some researchers have been primarily interested in the direct effects of ethical leadership, few have actually studied conditions in which such leaders are more or less effective (Avey et al., 2011).

One element that can modulate the influence of ethical leaders is related to their political skill, which can be defined as the ability to read and understand people, and to act on that knowledge in influential ways (Ferris et al., 2005). Research has shown that individuals who possess such attributes have the capacity to effectively influence

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members around them (Kolodinsky et al., 2007; Treadway et al., 2004). As argued by Ammeter et al. (2002), individuals with high political skill not only know what to do in different social situations, but also how to do it, rendering their influence attempts successful. Political skill should thus contribute to ethical leaders’ effectiveness. Accordingly, the main purpose of this study is to assess the moderating role of political skill on the relationship between the supervisor’s ethical leadership and the adoption of organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) by subordinates.

There is now a wide acceptance among scholars that organizations can adequately be described as “political arenas” (Mintzberg, 1983; Pfeffer, 1981). This perspective has led to an increasing interest in organizational politics in the field of organizational behavior. While organizational politics can be construed under very different perspectives, Gotsis and Kortezi (2010) note that it is most commonly equated with selfish, covert, and crafty behaviors in the workplace that are considered inimical to ethics. By looking at the positive interplay between political skill and ethical leadership, this research contributes to the literature by showing that ethics and politics, two constructs that are usually considered contradictory, can be synergistic. This research also contributes to the ethical leadership literature by providing a better comprehension of the conditions under which the influence of ethical leaders is exercised.

ETHICAL LEADERSHIP

Although the notion of ethics has long been discussed in the leadership literature

(c.f., Ciulla, 2005), ethical leadership remains a relatively new concept. According to Brown et al. (2005), ethical leadership can be defined as “the demonstration of normatively appropriate conduct through personal actions and interpersonal relationships, and the promotion of such conduct to followers […]” (Brown et al., 2005: 210). Based on results obtained from structured interviews, Treviño et al. (2000, 2003) suggested that ethical leadership is comprised of two dimensions: moral person and moral manager.

The first dimension, moral person, refers to the personal characteristics of the leader. More specifically, the moral person dimension is the essence of ethical leadership (Treviño et al., 2000). It consists of three components: personal traits, behaviors, and decision-making (Brown and Treviño, 2006). Personal traits are elements that indicate that the individual will act in a predictable manner across time (Treviño et al., 2000); these traits include honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness. Behaviors refer to the leader’s ability to do the right thing according to his values and those that are recognized by the group (Treviño et al., 2000). In other words, behaviors refer to the way the leader will act, even when people are not paying attention to his/her behaviors. To a certain extent, these behaviors define who the leader is as an individual. Finally, the decision- making component implies that leaders who make decisions have strong ethical values, are objective and fair, and that they have consideration for others, for society, and the community (Treviño et al., 2000).

The second dimension, moral manager, is the part of ethical leadership that proactively promotes ethical behavior in others (Brown and Treviño, 2006; Treviño et al., 2000). Moral managers put ethics at the center of their agenda. This dimension is also composed of three components: role model, ethical communication, and reward system. The role model component refers to the capacity to show the importance of

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ethics for the organization in engaging in visible actions that promote ethics. The communication dimension implies that the leader communicates values that guide his or her decision-making process (Treviño et al., 2000). For example, when making a decision, the leader will explain the criteria that guided his decision in terms of ethical principles of equity and justice. Finally, the reward system implies that the leader rewards employees who achieve their objectives in acting in accordance with the organizational values system (Treviño et al., 2000). Conversely, he will discipline an employee who does not act consistently with these accepted values.

The moral person and moral manager dimensions adequately define the ethical leadership construct. However, researchers have struggled to differentiate between these two dimensions empirically, and have thus considered and operationalized ethical leadership as a unidimensional construct (Brown et al., 2005, Brown and Treviño, 2006; Piccolo et al., 2010; Schaubroeck et al., 2012; Walumbwa and Schaubroeck, 2009).

ETHICAL LEADERSHIP AND OCBs

The research on ethical leadership has shown the influence of this concept on

diverse outcomes. For example, ethical leadership has been linked to subordinates’ ethical decision-making (Brown and Treviño, 2006), job satisfaction (Brown et al., 2005; Neubert et al., 2009), affective commitment (Neubert et al., 2009), job dedication (Brown et al., 2005), and reduction in counterproductive behaviors (Mayer et al., 2009). Altogether, these studies have shown that ethical leadership offers positive outcomes for the organization. One important outcome is in the area of OCBs. An OCB is defined as an “individual behavior that is discretionary, not directly or explicitly recognized by the formal reward system, and that in the aggregate promotes the effective functioning of the organization” (Organ, 1988). Examples of such behaviors include helping co- workers, attending non-mandatory meetings, considering how one’s actions affect others’ work, or keeping up with organizational issues. OCBs are particularly rewarding for the organization because employees voluntarily practice them in order to contribute to the organization’s effectiveness. Because such behaviors have been associated with a variety of individual- and unit-level performance outcomes (Podsakoff et al., 2009), they have attracted much interest from both practitioners and academicians. Over the years, there has been debate over the dimensionality of OCBs (Coleman and Borman, 2000; LePine et al., 2002). However, in their meta-analysis, LePine et al. (2002) noted that dimensions of OCB are “highly related to one another and that there are no apparent differences in relationships with the most popular set of predictors” (LePine et al., 2002: 60). Accordingly, following others, this study conceptualizes OCB as an aggregate construct vis-à-vis its dimensions (Farh et al., 2004).

The relationship between ethical leadership and OCB may be explained using two theoretical perspectives, namely, social learning theory (Bandura, 1977) and social exchange theory (Blau, 1964). Social learning theory suggests that individuals learn by reproducing behaviors from a model that they consider to be credible and attractive (Bandura, 1977). According to Mayer et al. (2009), employees will follow their ethical leader and replicate his behaviors because ethical leaders are attractive role models due to their positive behaviors and the importance they give to appropriate ethical conduct. The moral person dimension of ethical leadership implies an ethical leader acts as a role model in terms of ethics (Mayer et al., 2009, Brown and Treviño, 2006, Treviño et al.,

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2000). Thus, if ethical leaders act as role models, it is possible to believe that if they themselves engage in positive behaviors, such as OCB, toward the organization, subordinates will in turn also engage in such behaviors.

Another element deriving from the social learning theory that can help in understanding the link between ethical leadership and the adoption of OCBs by subordinates is the notion of reinforcement (Brown et al., 2005). Social learning theory states that individuals learn to behave in a certain way not only by observing others’ behaviors, but also by observing the outcomes of those behaviors. This process, called vicarious reinforcement, refers to individuals’ propensity to reproduce behaviors that they see others rewarded for performing. Because ethical leaders use rewards to encourage positive conduct that is in accordance with organizational values, they make ethics a leadership message that gets followers’ attention and orient their behaviors (Brown and Treviño, 2006). As mentioned earlier, OCBs represent such positive behaviors, which contribute to organizational effectiveness (Organ, 1988). It is conceivable that ethical leaders will encourage OCBs and foster employees’ willingness to adopt them.

In addition to social learning theory, social exchange theory (Blau, 1964), and more specifically, the concept of reciprocity (Gouldner, 1960), also offer an explanation for the relationship between ethical leadership and OCB (Brown and Treviño, 2006; Brown et al., 2005). The notion of reciprocity stipulates that an individual who adopts a beneficial behavior towards another will create an obligation for reciprocation from the individual targeted. The individual who benefited from the behavior will then offer something in exchange (Blau, 1964), in order to neutralize this obligation. As indicated, ethical leaders are perceived as being fair, honest, and as behaving correctly toward subordinates (Brown et al., 2005). This kind of treatment should thus create a need for reciprocation from subordinates. In order to reciprocate, subordinates may adopt behaviors that are specifically targeted at the leader, such as helping him or her with work-related problems. However, subordinates may also reciprocate the leader’s behavior by adopting positive behaviors targeted towards the organization as a whole. Indeed, as noted by Levinson (1965), actions that are taken by agents of the organization are often considered as stemming from the organization itself. Because leaders represent the organization’s main agents, their actions are often interpreted as reflective of the organization’s intent rather than solely as their own individual actions. This personification of the organization would thus lead subordinates to reciprocate the leader’s actions by adopting behaviors that generally benefit the organization. Based on these arguments, the following hypothesis is proposed:

Hypothesis 1: Ethical leadership is positively related to the adoption of OCB by

subordinates.

THE MODERATING ROLE OF POLITICAL SKILL

While empirical results support the relationship between ethical leadership and positive employee behaviors (Kacmar et al., 2013; Mayer et al., 2009; Shin, 2012), few researchers have studied the conditions under which ethical leadership could be more or less effective (Avey et al., 2011). One such condition could be leaders’ political skill.

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The notion of political skill is grounded in the perspective that work environments are inherently political and that political savvy is a key element to managerial success (Mintzberg, 1983). Indeed, recent research efforts have shown that political skill can be beneficial for both the individual and the organization (Bing et al., 2011; Tocher et al., 2012). Political skill is defined as “the ability to effectively understand others at work, and to use such knowledge to influence others to act in ways that enhance one’s personal and/or organizational objectives” (Ahearn et al., 2004). Ferris et al. (2005) developed the concept of political skill as including four dimensions. Social astuteness refers to the individual’s capacity to understand and interpret social interactions. Apparent sincerity refers to the individual’s personal characteristic that makes him/her appear to be authentic, genuine, and open. Interpersonal influence is the ability to influence people by adapting one’s behavior to each situation in order to obtain this influence. Network ability is the individual’s ability to develop a large network of people with whom he/she can develop beneficial alliances.

Various arguments can be advanced to support the moderating role of political skill on the relationship between ethical leadership and OCB. First, the social astuteness dimension of political skill should enhance the modeling process through which ethical leaders influence their followers’ behaviors. As earlier mentioned, social learning theory posits that individuals will emulate the behaviors of leaders that are deemed attractive and credible. Although it has been suggested that ethical leaders possess such characteristics, it can be argued that politically skilled leaders, because they are socially astute, are most likely to make these characteristics appear more salient. Moreover, as noted by Blass and Ferris (2007), socially astute individuals are extremely observant of others. They can easily understand social dynamics and adjust their behaviors to situational requirements. Therefore, even in situations where behaving and managing ethically is not highly valued by followers, ethical leaders who are socially astute, and thus able to calibrate their behaviors to project the most positive image of themselves to others (Ferris et al., 2007), should increase their attractiveness and enhance their capacity to serve as models.

Secondly, the apparent sincerity dimension of political skill should enhance ethical leadership influence by making ethical leaders’ actions appear genuine and authentic, thereby enhancing the modeling process through which they exercise their influence. Brown et al. (2005) argue that because ethical leaders engage in normatively appropriate behaviors that suggest altruistic motivation, they become legitimate and credible role models for followers to emulate. However, it has been argued that even the most sincere actions may be perceived as manipulative or self-serving (Meurs et al., 2011). This suggests that, in order to exert influence on their followers’ behaviors, not only do ethical leaders need to behave ethically, they also need to do so in a manner that will appear honest, genuine, and not driven by ulterior motives.

Thirdly, as previously argued, ethical leaders promote positive behaviors not only by behaving ethically and acting as role models, but also by setting standards and norms regarding appropriate conduct. This notion of moral manager refers to the leaders’ intentional efforts to influence others and guide the behaviors of followers (Eisenbeiss, 2012). The interpersonal influence dimension of political skill should thus help leaders in their efforts to orient their employees’ behavior. As noted by Ferris et al. (2005), politically skilled individuals who possess high levels of interpersonal influence have the capacity to manage their own behavior in order to get the influence needed to elicit

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desired responses from others. They know how to communicate effectively with others and develop a good rapport with most people, which should strengthen their influence.

Finally, it is argued that in order to orient employees’ behaviors, ethical leaders must gain their attention by making an ethics message salient enough to stand out in the organizational environment (Treviño et al., 2003). One of the key roles of ethical leaders is to institutionalize the organization’s values. Networking ability should enhance ethical leaders’ capacity to do so by helping them build a stronger consensus regarding the importance of ethics among the organizational elite. This recognition of ethics by high-level managers should further encourage employees to adopt normatively appropriate behaviors such as OCB. In light of the arguments presented above, the following hypothesis is proposed:

Hypothesis 2: Leaders’ political skill moderates the relationship between ethical

leadership and OCB such that the relationship is stronger when the leader has high political skill.

METHOD

Sample

Questionnaires were sent to 589 employees working in four branches of a large Canadian financial institution. The employees surveyed occupied a variety of positions, such as cashier, financial consultant, and recovery officer. They were asked to evaluate their supervisor’s ethical leadership and political skill, and to assess their own adoption of OCBs. From the questionnaires distributed, 226 were returned and considered usable, giving a response rate of 38.4%. The average age of the respondents was 41 years old, with a standard deviation of 10.9; 87.5% of the respondents were women, and the average tenure was 10 years, with a standard deviation of 9.63.

Measures

Existing validated scales were used to measure the study variables. All items in this study were measured using a seven-point Likert scale, with 1 being “Do not agree at all” and 7 being “Totally agree.” Due to organizational constraints associated with the size of the questionnaire, some of the scales were not used in their entirety. The shortened scales were built by selecting the most representative items from the original validated ones.

Ethical leadership. Ethical leadership was assessed using the 10-item scale developed by Brown et al. (2005). Respondents were asked to answer items regarding their supervisors, such as “Disciplines employees who violate ethical standards” or “Makes fair and balanced decisions.” The reliability coefficient for this measure was 0.93.

OCBs. OCBs were measured using 11 items from the Podsakoff et al. (1990) scale. Respondents were asked to assess their adoption of four OCB dimensions, namely, courtesy, altruism, conscientiousness, and civic virtue. Examples of items were: “I take steps to prevent problems with others” or “I obey the organization’s rules and regulations even when no one is watching.” The reliability coefficient for this measure was 0.89.

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Political skill. Leaders’ political skill was measured by asking subordinates to give their perception of their supervisor’s political skill using 12 items adapted from the Ferris et al. (2005) scale. Following Treadway et al. (2004), the items were modified so that employees were able to report on the level of political skill of their leader. The items selected are presented in Appendix A. The reliability coefficient for this measure was 0.95.

RESULTS

Confirmatory Factor Analyses

To ensure that the measures properly assessed the study constructs, confirmatory analyses using AMOS 19.0 were conducted. A three-factor model in which all the items were specified to load on their respective constructs was first tested. Following Ferris et al. (2005), political skill was designed as a second-order factor, under which four first- order factors representing each political skill dimension (social astuteness, interpersonal influence, networking, and apparent sincerity) were subsumed. This model provided a good fit to the data ( 2(486) = 1030.70, p < 0.01; CFI = 0.91; TLI = 0.90; RMSEA = 0.07). In order to evaluate the distinctiveness of the study variables, the three-factor model was compared with a one-factor model ( 2(3) = 981.74, p < 0.01), and of a two- factor model, in which the ethical leadership and political skill indicators were brought together, as these items all targeted the leader ( 2(2) = 159.76, p < 0.01). The results presented in Table 1 confirm that the three-factor model, in which all the constructs correspond to separate factors, provides the best fit to the data.

Table 1 Results of Confirmatory Factor Analyses

Models 2 2 df df CFI TLI RMSEA

1. 1-factor model 2012.44 981.74** 489 3 0.74 0.72 0.12

2. 2-factor model 1190.46 159.76** 488 2 0.88 0.87 0.08

3. 3-factor model 1030.70 --- 486 --- 0.91 0.90 0.07

Note. ** p < 0.01 Because the data were collected from a single source, common method variance

bias may be a concern. The correlational marker technique described by Lindell and Whitney (2001) was used to address this issue. This technique requires that a theoretically unrelated marker variable be selected and that the correlation be used between this variable and the substantive variables of the study as an estimate of CMV. If any of the correlations between the variables of the study remain significant after the effect of this estimate is partialed out, researchers can conclude that CMV cannot affect

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results (Lindell and Whitney, 2001). In this study, a seven-point Likert item measuring the extent to which employees hid their emotions when interacting with clients was used. Results indicated that all of the correlations remained significant after the effect of the marker variable was partialed out, suggesting that common variance is probably not a serious problem in this study. Table 2 presents the descriptive statistics and correlations for the study variables.

Table 2 Descriptive Statistics

Variables Mean S.D. 1 2 3 4 5 6

1. Age 41.18 10.90 --

2. Gendera 1.88 0.32 0.10 --

3. Tenure 10.10 9.63 0.57** 0.11 --

4. Ethical

Leadership 5.37 1.06 -0.07 -0.09 -0.03 (0.93)

5. Political skill 5.46 1.07 -0.05 -0.11 -0.06 0.83** (0.95)

6. OCB 5.85 0.76 0.12 -0.11 -0.02 0.40** 0.39** (0.89)

Note: n=226, p < 0.01 ** a Male=1, Female=2. The internal consistency Cronbach’s alpha ( ) are reported in diagonal.

Hypotheses Testing

Multiple regression analysis was used to test the research hypotheses, controlling for age, gender, and tenure in the organization, as these variables have been associated with OCB in previous studies (Ehigie and Otukoya, 2007; Arthaud-Day et al., 2012; Lambert, 2000). Following Cohen et al. (2002), all variables were centered prior to analysis to avoid problems of multicollinearity.

As shown in Table 3, there is a significant main effect of ethical leadership on OCB ( = 0.23; p < 0.05). This result supports Hypothesis 1, which states that ethical leadership is positively related to employees’ adoption of OCBs.

The results also indicate a significant interaction effect between ethical leadership and political skill on OCB ( = 0.19; p < 0.05). Figure 1 and the simple slopes analysis reveal that the relationship between ethical leadership and employees’ adoption of OCB is stronger when political skill is high, and that at low levels of political skill, the relationship becomes non-significant ( high = 0.41, p < 0.01; low = 0.16, p = n.s.). Overall, these results support Hypothesis 2.

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Table 3 Hierarchical Regression Results

OCB Independent Variables

Step 1

t Step 2

t Step 3 t

Step 1 - Control Age 0.20 2.51* 0.22 3.02** 0.23 3.16** Gender -0.12 -1.83 -0.08 -1.35 -0.09 -1.41 Tenure -0.14 -0.42 -0.11 -1.53 -0.11 -1.49

Step 2 - Main effects

Ethical leadership

0.23 2.08* 0.28 2.54*

Political skill 0.20 1.86 0.25 2.30* Step 3 - Interaction effects

Ethical leadership X Political skill

0.19 2.76**

F 3.06* 11.31** 10.97** R2 0.03 0.19 0.21 R2 0.16 0.02

Note. ** p < 0.01, * p < 0.05

Figure 1 Moderating Effect of Political Skill

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DISCUSSION

Ethical leadership and political skill are concepts that have aroused a lot of interest among scholars in recent years. The results of this study show that the positive relationship between ethical leadership and OCBs is strengthened when leaders have high political skill.

This study argues that employees working with ethical leaders would more likely adopt OCBs because of their leaders’ capacity to act as role models and develop positive exchange relationships with their followers. Consistent with previous research, the results from this study demonstrated the positive relationship between ethical leadership and employees’ citizenship behaviors (Bing et al., 2011).

The main contribution of this study lies in its illustration of the moderating effect of political skill on the relationship between ethical leadership and OCB. As mentioned earlier, few researchers have studied the conditions under which ethical leadership is more or less efficient (Avey et al., 2011; Brown and Treviño, 2006). The moderating effect found in this study suggests that possessing political skill is a key element that contributes to the effectiveness of ethical leadership, and can thus be considered as a boundary condition under which ethical leaders can influence their followers. More specifically, the results show that employees are more likely to adopt OCBs when working with an ethical leader who shows strong political skill. This result is consistent with social learning theory, which posits that in order to influence their followers’ behaviors, leaders must be perceived as attractive role models. As argued by Ferris et al. (2005), politically skilled individuals enjoy the respect and liking of their surroundings, which can lead to greater cooperation.

Moreover, the results suggest that ethical leaders who show little or no political skill will not be able to foster the adoption of OCBs among their employees. This is of particular interest as ethical leadership scholars generally assume that because they engage in behaviors that are normatively appropriate and motivated by altruism, ethical leaders are considered as attractive and legitimate role models by their followers, who are more likely to emulate their leaders and engage in behaviors that will help the organization or fellow employees (Brown et al., 2005). The results in this study add nuance to this argument, and indicate that behaving ethically is not a sufficient condition for eliciting discretionary positive behaviors among employees. As stated by Treviño et al. (2003), to be influential, ethical leaders must convey their message in such a way that it stands out and is noticed. Some leaders may be “quietly ethical,” and thus unable to get the attention needed to influence others. In such cases, followers may overlook their message. Because political skill strengthens individuals’ ability to develop high levels of social capital, enhancing their reputation and ability to be influential (Ferris et al., 2005), it can be seen as an essential factor for effective ethical leadership.

In terms of practical implications, the positive relationship between ethical leadership and OCB found in this study points to the need for organizations to develop such a leadership style among their managers. For instance, training activities focusing on ethical awareness and decision-making should increase managers’ capacity to act as ethical models. The results also suggest that organizations must be especially attentive to the political skill of their leaders. They should thus provide opportunities for political skill development or consider political skill assessments in personnel selection decisions.

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Limitations and Future Research

This study has a number of limitations. First, a shortened version of the political skill inventory (Ferris et al., 2005) was used to assess leaders’ political skill. Although the 12 items chosen in this study reflect the four construct dimensions, using the full-scale version would have allowed the concept to be grasped in a more comprehensive manner.

The second limitation is related to common method variance, as all the study constructs were assessed by the same source (Podsakoff and Organ, 1986). Results from Lindell and Whitney’s (2001) correlational marker technique indicate that common method variance should not be a problem in this study. However, it would be interesting to replicate this study using multiple sources of data, such as OCB assessed by the supervisor.

The third limitation concerns the cross-sectional design of the study, which prevents the inference of causality with regard to the relationships between the variables. Although both theoretical arguments and past empirical research support the order of the constructs presented in the current study, the relationships proposed here should be tested using a longitudinal design.

Fourth, the possibility that the results might have been affected by the respondents being predominantly female cannot be ruled out. Indeed, recent research has shown that while both men and women generally engaged in OCB in response to ethical leadership, women responded more positively to ethical leadership in certain circumstances, namely when their perceptions of organizational politics were low (Kacmar et al., 2011). Another particularity of the study’s sample is that although working in four different branches, all respondents were from the financial sector, where employees might be more sensitive to ethical issues. While this should not be a serious limitation to the study due to the fact that positive relationships between ethical leadership and OCB have been found in previous studies conducted among employees from other sectors (Mayer et al., 2009), it still might be of interest to examine the relationships proposed in this study using a more diverse sample both in terms of gender and sector and to integrate the potential influence of various contextual elements.

Finally, the relationships explored in this study were all tested at the individual level of analysis. In addition to the research avenues presented above, another area worth exploring would be using a multilevel approach to the study of ethical leadership. This would allow the delineation of the influence of individual perceptions of ethical leadership from that of the overall pattern of ethical leaders’ behaviors on employees’ OCB.

It has been argued in this study that ethics and politics can go hand-in-hand when it comes to the exercise of leadership. This study provides interesting results regarding the moderating effect of political skill on the influence of ethical leadership. Future research should consider exploring other boundary conditions regarding the effectiveness of ethical leadership. Finally, relying on the social learning and social exchange theories, a direct relationship between ethical leadership and OCB was hypothesized in this study. Future research should expand the understanding developed herein and explore potential mediating variables explaining this relationship, such as trust or ethical climate.

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Appendix A

1. At work, my supervisor knows a lot of important people and is well connected.

2. My supervisor is good at using his/her connections and networks to make things happen at work.

3. My supervisor is good at building relationships with influential people at work.

4. It is important for my supervisor that people believe he/she is sincere in what he/she says and does.

5. When communicating with others, my supervisor tries to be genuine in what he/she says and does.

6. My supervisor tries to show a genuine interest in other people. 7. My supervisor always seems to instinctively know the right thing to say or

do to influence others. 8. My supervisor has good intuition or savvy about how to present him/

herself to others. 9. My supervisor is particularly good at sensing the motivations and hidden

agendas of others. 10. It is easy for my supervisor to develop good rapport with most people. 11. My supervisor is able to make most people feel comfortable and at ease

around him/her. 12. My supervisor is able to communicate easily and effectively with others.

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The JMI in Brief

Volume XXVI Number 3 Fall 2014 When Politics Meets Ethics: How Political Skill Helps Ethical Leaders Foster Organizational Citizenship Behaviors ............................................................ 204

Andréa Gill, Marie-Ève Lapalme, and Michel Séguin

This paper investigates the moderating effect of leaders’ political skill in the relationship between ethical leadership and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Results obtained from a sample of 226 employees working in the Canadian banking sector show that the positive effects of a leader’s ethical leadership are enhanced when the leader has strong political skill. This study contributes to the literature by suggesting that in the context of leadership, ethics and political savvy are not mutually exclusive, but rather, can be synergistic. Ethical leaders are likely to be more effective in stimulating OCBs from others if they learn to mobilize their political skill.

TMT Shared Leadership and Firm Performance: Investigating the Mediating Role of Absorptive Capacity ................................................................... 219

Joshua J. Daspit, Indu Ramachandran, and Derrick E. D’Souza

Research has emphasized the importance of top management team (TMT) characteristics and leadership styles in influencing firm performance; however, less is known about how emerging forms of leadership, specifically shared leadership, influence the firm. Using a capability perspective, the firm’s absorptive capacity is hypothesized to mediate the relationship between TMT shared leadership and firm performance. Empirical results, based on a sample of firms in the software industry, confirm this relationship. Further, empirical findings suggest shared leadership positively influences each capability of absorptive capacity (acquisition, assimilation, and transformation) with the exception of the exploitation capability. The findings extend understanding of how shared leadership influences firm performance noting the value-creating role of the firm’s absorptive capacity and demonstrate the potential for further investigating leadership forms from a capability perspective.

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