Working at the Top of Their Capabilities: How Teamwork Support Attenuates Leader Role Conflict
Date
2024-01-11
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice
Abstract
Objective: To understand whether team member support reduces team leader stress. Method: In Phase 1, we used hierarchical linear modeling with survey data and administrative records from 45 Veterans Health Administration teams (73 providers and 228 associated members) to investigate how teamwork support mitigates leader stress. In Phase 2, we adopted a parallel/simultaneous mixed methods design, utilizing open- and close-ended responses from 267 additional Veterans Health Administration providers. With the mixed methods design, we first analyzed open-ended responses using directed content analysis and hypothesis coding. Next, we transformed our codes into counts and compared them with closed-ended responses to understand whether teamwork support allows leaders to engage in work aligned with their qualifications. Results: As predicted, providers’ role conflict corresponded with decreased performance under low teamwork support, but this negative relationship was attenuated with high teamwork support as such support allows leaders to focus on tasks they are uniquely qualified to perform. Conclusions: These findings emphasize the facilitative nature of teams in supporting leaders: Followers provide teamwork support that helps leaders navigate role conflict by allowing leaders to work on tasks consistent with their qualifications.
Highlights and Implications:
- Team leaders experience greater role conflict compared to team members during team-based empowerment initiatives.
- Teamwork support from team members attenuates the negative effect of leader role conflict on performance.
- Although leaders might drive team performance, team member contributions should also be acknowledged as an important aspect of the leader–team relationship.
- Drawing from a real organizational issue, we found that having a high-functioning team allows leaders to work on tasks that align with their capabilities.
Description
This article was originally published in Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice. © 2024 American Psychological Association. This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. The final article is available, upon publication, at: https://doi.org/10.1037/gdn0000211.
Keywords
role conflict, job demands resources, teamwork support, mixed methods, health care
Citation
Carter, K. M., Astrove, S. L., Firth, B. M., Stewart, G. L., & Solimeo, S. L. (2024). Working at the top of their capabilities: How teamwork support attenuates leader role conflict.Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/gdn0000211