Leadership & Organization Development Journal

Purpose – This study aims to investigate how leaders report enacting individually considerate transformational leadership behaviour. More specifically, the extent to which they report engaging in supportive, developmental or self-sacrificial aspects of this behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 51 senior leaders (21 female and 30 male) in the public and private sectors across five provinces in Canada. A blended grounded theory approach was utilised and suggestions for future research are presented.

Findings – Leaders reported being more likely to engage in supportive (59 percent) than developmental (41 percent) individually considerate transformational leadership behaviour. Further, male leaders were less likely than female leaders to report engaging in development in self-sacrificing ways (21 percent versus 62 percent).

Research limitations/implications – This study extends the leadership literature to better understand the behavioural aspects of individual consideration and explore a new dimension of this behaviour (self-sacrifice). Sample size is a possible limitation.

Practical implications – Developing employees has been identified globally as a pressing concern for leaders. However, in the study, leaders reported engaging in less developmental than supportive behaviours. Male leaders in particular were less likely to sacrifice their personal interests to develop employees.

Originality/value – An in-depth examination of how leaders support and develop employees clarifies an important aspect of individual consideration and uncovers potential gender differences that previously have gone undetected.