An empirical examination of personal learning within the context of teams. (5th November 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jiang, Yuan; Jackson, Susan E.; Colakoglu, Saba
• Is Part Of: Journal of organizational behavior. Volume 37:Number 5(2016)
• Page Start: 654
• Page End: 672
• Publication Date: 2015-11-05
• Subjects: adult learning -- transformational leadership -- task routineness -- task interdependence; Industrial sociology -- Periodicals; Organizational behavior -- Periodicals; Psychology, Industrial -- Periodicals; 302.35
• DOI: 10.1002/job.2058
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0894-3796

Abstract

Summary: Using a sample of 588 employees in 59 work teams, we tested a model that situates personal learning within the context of teams, viewing it as a joint function of teams' leadership climate (i.e., transformational leadership) and task characteristics (i.e., task routineness and task interdependence). Consistent with our hypotheses, we found that the positive relationships between transformational leadership climate and the two dimensions of personal learning (relational job learning and personal skill development) were moderated by the nature of the teams' tasks. Specifically, transformational leadership climate was more strongly associated with personal learning for members of teams working on tasks that were less routine, rather than more routine. However, no significant moderation was found for leadership climate and task interdependence. Our findings underscore the importance of taking into account the contextual conditions within which leadership influence occurs while also demonstrating the potential role that leaders can play in promoting employees' personal learning. Overall, our study bolsters theories that conceptualize adult learning as a transaction between people and their social environments and points to a practical need to match leadership styles with team task characteristics to unleash transformational leadership effects. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.