Wisdom and narcissism as predictors of transformational leadership

Purpose – Although leadership and organizational scholars have suggested that the virtue of wisdom may promote outstanding leadership behavior, this proposition has rarely been empirically tested. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between transformational leadership, narcissism, and five dimensions of wisdom as conceptualized by the well-established Berlin wisdom paradigm. General mental ability and emotional intelligence were considered relevant control variables. Design/methodology/approach – Interview, test, and questionnaire data were obtained from 77 employees of a high school and from two or three colleagues of each employee. Data were analyzed using hierarchical regression analyses. Findings – After controlling for general mental ability and emotional intelligence, narcissism and the wisdom dimension relativism of values and life priorities were negatively related to transformational leadership, and the wisdom dimension recognition and management of uncertainty was posit...

[1]  U. Staudinger,et al.  Wisdom. A metaheuristic (pragmatic) to orchestrate mind and virtue toward excellence. , 2000, The American psychologist.

[2]  U. Kunzmann,et al.  Wisdom-Related Knowledge: Affective, Motivational, and Interpersonal Correlates , 2003, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[3]  Eric H. Kessler.  Organizational Wisdom , 2006 .

[4]  T. Judge,et al.  Five-factor model of personality and transformational leadership. , 2000, The Journal of applied psychology.

[5]  T. Judge,et al.  Loving yourself abundantly: relationship of the narcissistic personality to self- and other perceptions of workplace deviance, leadership, and task and contextual performance. , 2006, The Journal of applied psychology.

[6]  M. Seligman,et al.  Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification , 2004 .

[7]  U. Staudinger,et al.  Personal Wisdom: Validation and Age-related Differences of a Performance Measure a Conception of Personal Wisdom , 2022 .

[8]  G. Loewenstein,et al.  Brief report: Physician narcissism, ego threats, and confidence in the face of uncertainty , 2010 .

[9]  U. Staudinger,et al.  The Search for a Psychology of Wisdom , 1993 .

[10]  E. Kelloway,et al.  Transformational leadership and emotional intelligence: an exploratory study , 2000 .

[11]  David Rooney,et al.  Wisdom principles as a meta-theoretical basis for evaluating leadership , 2009 .

[12]  V. Prewitt.  Wisdom In The Workplace , 2008 .

[13]  B. Bass,et al.  Predicting unit performance by assessing transformational and transactional leadership. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[14]  R. Kilburg.  Executive Wisdom: Coaching and the Emergence of Virtuous Leaders , 2006 .

[15]  Robert J. Sternberg,et al.  Why Schools Should Teach for Wisdom: The Balance Theory of Wisdom in Educational Settings , 2001 .

[16]  D. Mackinnon,et al.  Equivalence of the Mediation, Confounding and Suppression Effect , 2000, Prevention Science.

[17]  Chi-Sum Wong,et al.  The construct and criterion validity of emotional intelligence and its potential utility for management studies. , 2004, The Journal of applied psychology.

[18]  J. Webster.  Wisdom and Positive Psychosocial Values in Young Adulthood , 2010 .

[19]  Mark P. Kriger,et al.  Making Sense of Managerial Wisdom , 1998 .

[20]  Barbara D. Mandell,et al.  Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Transformational Leadership Style: A Gender Comparison , 2003 .

[21]  J. Steyrer,et al.  Transformational Leadership and Objective Performance in Banks , 1998 .

[22]  David L. Cooperrider,et al.  Organizational Wisdom and Executive Courage , 1998 .

[23]  Shih-ying Yang.  Real-Life Contextual Manifestations of Wisdom , 2008, International journal of aging & human development.

[24]  Tim Kastelle,et al.  Abstract Knowledge and Reified Financial Innovation: Building Wisdom and Ethics Into Financial Innovation Networks , 2013 .

[25]  U. Staudinger,et al.  The Psychometric Location of Wisdom-Related Performance: Intelligence, Personality, and more? , 1997 .

[26]  Michael E. Brown,et al.  Ethical leadership: A review and future directions , 2006 .

[27]  J. Bigelow.  Developing Managerial Wisdom , 1992 .

[28]  Manual for the assessment of wisdom-related knowledge , 1994 .

[29]  R. Sternberg.  Wisdom: Its Nature, Origins, And Development , 1990 .

[30]  M. Griffin,et al.  Dimensions of transformational leadership: Conceptual and empirical extensions , 2004 .

[31]  B. Bass.  Two Decades of Research and Development in Transformational Leadership , 1999 .

[32]  Leslie A. DeChurch,et al.  Searching for Outcomes of Leadership: A 25-Year Review , 2011 .

[33]  T. Judge,et al.  Intelligence and leadership: a quantitative review and test of theoretical propositions. , 2004, The Journal of applied psychology.

[34]  Dennis J. Moberg.  Practical Wisdom and Business Ethics , 2007 .

[35]  B. Bass.  LEADERSHIP AND PERFORMANCE BEYOND EXPECTATIONS , 1985 .

[36]  J. Bono,et al.  Charisma, positive emotions and mood contagion , 2006 .

[37]  P. Baltes,et al.  The Fascination of Wisdom: Its Nature, Ontogeny, and Function , 2008, Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

[38]  Laura M. Bogart,et al.  Feeling Superior but Threatened: The Relation of Narcissism to Social Comparison , 2004 .

[39]  P. Bierly,et al.  Organizational learning, knowledge and wisdom , 2000 .

[40]  B. Avolio,et al.  Context and leadership: An examination of the nine-factor full-range leadership theory using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. , 2003 .

[41]  U. Staudinger,et al.  Interactive minds : A facilitative setting for wisdom-related performance ? , 1996 .

[42]  J. Webster.  Measuring the character strength of wisdom. , 2007, International journal of aging & human development.

[43]  Helena C Kraemer,et al.  Expert consensus on characteristics of wisdom: a Delphi method study. , 2010, The Gerontologist.

[44]  Ikujiro Nonaka,et al.  The wise leader. , 2011, Harvard business review.

[45]  Ronald F. Piccolo,et al.  Transformational and transactional leadership: a meta-analytic test of their relative validity. , 2004, The Journal of applied psychology.

[46]  Leanne E. Atwater,et al.  360° feedback: Accuracy, reactions, and perceptions of usefulness. , 2001 .

[47]  D. Forsyth.  Judging the morality of business practices: The influence of personal moral philosophies , 1992 .

[48]  U. Staudinger,et al.  What predicts wisdom‐related performance? A first look at personality, intelligence, and facilitative experiential contexts , 1998 .

[49]  B. Schwartz,et al.  Practical Wisdom: Aristotle meets Positive Psychology , 2006 .

[50]  Coy A. Jones.  Wisdom Paradigms for the Enhancement of Ethical and Profitable Business Practices , 2005 .

[51]  Shih-ying Yang,et al.  Wisdom displayed through leadership: Exploring leadership-related wisdom , 2011 .

[52]  B. Bass,et al.  Re‐examining the components of transformational and transactional leadership using the Multifactor Leadership , 1999 .

[53]  Ursula M. Staudinger,et al.  Do advanced moral reasoners also show wisdom? Linking moral reasoning and wisdom-related knowledge and judgement , 2001 .

[54]  B. Avolio,et al.  Impact of Transformational Leadership on Follower Development and Performance: A Field Experiment , 2002 .

[55]  Barbara J. Bird,et al.  THE PRACTICAL INTELLIGENCE OF ENTREPRENEURS: ANTECEDENTS AND A LINK WITH NEW VENTURE GROWTH , 2011 .

[56]  B. Bass,et al.  Improving Organizational Effectiveness through Transformational Leadership , 1993 .

[57]  D. Ames,et al.  The NPI-16 as a short measure of narcissism , 2006 .

[58]  Jennifer Rowley,et al.  What do we need to know about wisdom , 2006 .

[59]  Thomas E. Becker.  Potential Problems in the Statistical Control of Variables in Organizational Research: A Qualitative Analysis With Recommendations , 2005 .

[60]  Antonio Pierro,et al.  Leadership and Uncertainty: How Role Ambiguity Affects the Relationship between Leader Group Prototypicality and Leadership Effectiveness , 2009 .

[61]  Randall P. White,et al.  Acceptance of uncertainty as an indicator of effective leadership. , 2010 .

[62]  Scott B. MacKenzie,et al.  Transformational leader behaviors and their effects on followers' trust in leader, satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behaviors , 1990 .

[63]  D. Rooney,et al.  Effects of Self-Reported Wisdom on Happiness: Not Much More Than Emotional Intelligence? , 2013 .

[64]  Fred O. Walumbwa,et al.  Leadership: current theories, research, and future directions. , 2009, Annual review of psychology.

[65]  Diether Gebert,et al.  Managing diversity and enhancing team outcomes: the promise of transformational leadership. , 2009, The Journal of applied psychology.

[66]  U. Staudinger,et al.  Wisdom-related knowledge in a life review task: age differences and the role of professional specialization. , 1992, Psychology and aging.

[67]  Joey T. Cheng,et al.  Authentic and Hubristic Pride: The Affective Core of Self-esteem and Narcissism , 2009 .

[68]  Ethan Kross,et al.  Boosting wisdom: distance from the self enhances wise reasoning, attitudes, and behavior. , 2012, Journal of experimental psychology. General.

[69]  E. Kelloway,et al.  Effects of Transformational Leadership Training on Attitudinal and Financial Outcomes: A Field Experiment , 1996 .

[70]  M. Mumford.  A hale farewell: The state of leadership research , 2011 .

[71]  Shih-ying Yang.  A Process View of Wisdom , 2008 .

[72]  Paul B. Baltes,et al.  Occupational settings facilitating wisdom-related knowledge: the sample case of clinical psychologists. , 1994, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[73]  C. Bassett.  Understanding and teaching practical wisdom , 2011 .

[74]  Edwina Pio,et al.  Wise Up: Creating Organizational Wisdom Through an Ethic of Kaitiakitanga , 2011 .

[75]  Kenneth S. Law,et al.  The effects of leader and follower emotional intelligence on performance and attitude: An exploratory study , 2002 .

[76]  Judith Glück,et al.  Psychological wisdom research: commonalities and differences in a growing field. , 2011, Annual review of psychology.

[77]  M. Kriger,et al.  Shifting Paradigms , 1993 .

[78]  R. Sternberg.  A systems model of leadership: WICS. , 2007, The American psychologist.

[79]  J. Hays,et al.  Dynamics of Organizational Wisdom , 2007 .

[80]  Joyce E. Bono,et al.  Self-Concordance at Work: Toward Understanding the Motivational Effects of Transformational Leaders , 2003 .

[81]  U. Staudinger,et al.  People nominated as wise: a comparative study of wisdom-related knowledge. , 1995, Psychology and aging.

[82]  Robert J. Crutcher,et al.  The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. , 1993 .

[83]  P. Baltes,et al.  Using the concept of wisdom to enhance the expression of wisdom knowledge: not the philosopher's dream but differential effects of developmental preparedness. , 2006, Psychology and aging.

[84]  Denise C. Park,et al.  Reasoning about social conflicts improves into old age , 2010, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[85]  Robert J. Sternberg,et al.  A Balance Theory of Wisdom , 1998 .

[86]  I. Nonaka,et al.  Strategic management as distributed practical wisdom (phronesis) , 2007 .

[87]  Monika Ardelt,et al.  Wisdom as Expert Knowledge System: A Critical Review of a Contemporary Operationalization of an Ancient Concept , 2004, Human Development.

[88]  Linda Jarvin,et al.  The Meaning of Wisdom and Its Development Throughout Life , 2010 .

[89]  Paul B. Baltes,et al.  Theoretical propositions of life-span developmental psychology : On the dynamics between growth and decline , 1987 .

[90]  R. Trowbridge.  Waiting for Sophia: 30 Years of Conceptualizing Wisdom in Empirical Psychology , 2011 .

[91]  J. Greene,et al.  The Wisdom Development Scale: Further Validity Investigations , 2009, International journal of aging & human development.

[92]  M. Frese,et al.  Establishing the next generation at work: leader generativity as a moderator of the relationships between leader age, leader-member exchange, and leadership success. , 2011, Psychology and aging.

[93]  P. Bliese.  Within-group agreement, non-independence, and reliability: Implications for data aggregation and analysis. , 2000 .

[94]  D. Forsyth.  A taxonomy of ethical ideologies. , 1980 .

[95]  D. Rooney,et al.  Wisdom in Organizations: Whence and Whither , 2007 .