Transformational leadership in perception of subordinates: Personality traits and social identification as predictors

The purpose of this paper is to identify the model that explains transformational leadership in perceptions of subordinates from Lithuanian organizations and to find out the interactive predictive value of perceivers’ personality traits and social identification.

The self-administered questionnaires that consisted of global transformational leadership scale, social identification questionnaire and NEO-FFI from 505 employees provided data for this study. Cross-sectional methodology, group comparison, correlational and linear regression analyses, structural equation modeling were used to answer the main research questions.

Results of this study suggest that integrative model in which social identification and neuroticism are predictors of perceived transformational leadership and extraversion and agreeableness have links with social identification explains how subordinates perceive transformational leadership. More extraverted and agreeable subordinates tend to report higher levels of social identification with work-unit that together with less emotional stability are related to seeing leader as more transformational.

Self-report data may bias the results due to social desirability. Future research should include group’s and individual’s prototypes as important variables in the model that explains perceived transformational leadership.

Data of the study revealed that social characteristics of subordinates are important factors in a process of meaning making about a leader. Moreover, human resource managers should be aware that different team building interventions are recommended to employees with different personality profiles.

This study is based on a leading transformational leadership theory from under-estimated follower-centric perspective. In addition, it specifically examines interactive predictive value of individual and social subordinates’ characteristics to perceived transformational leadership.