When leaders ask questions: Can humility premiums buffer the effects of competence penalties?

• Published in: Organizational behavior and human decision processes Vol. 156; pp. 113 - 134
• Main Authors: Cojuharenco, Irina, Karelaia, Natalia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.01.2020
• Subjects: Asking questions; Communication; Leader competence; Leader humility; Practitioners’ beliefs; Questions as information; Social perception; Practitioners’ beliefs; Asking questions; Social perception; Leader humility; Leader competence; Questions as information; Communication
• ISSN: 0749-5978; 1095-9920
• DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.12.001

•Asking questions conveys information about the asker.•Leaders asking questions may face competence penalties and humility premiums.•Competence penalties arise when leader competence is in doubt ex ante.•Humility premiums are pervasive.•Humility premiums buffer effects of competence penalties on trust and helping. We advance a questions-as-information approach to the study of the consequences of asking questions for leader effectiveness. We contend that questions go beyond their instrumental purpose to convey information about the asker’s lack of competence and high humility, and thus inform possible doubts about the leader, producing competence penalties and humility premiums. In Study 1, we find that most practitioners do not ask questions at every opportunity and many do not endorse questions as a way of looking competent, especially if competence is in doubt. In Studies 2–5, we shed light on both the competence and humility repercussions of questioning. We find that competence penalties occur when leader competence is in doubt ex ante, but humility premiums are pervasive. Humility premiums affect leader helping and trust positively and buffer the negative effects of competence penalties. We discuss the implications of our findings for leadership, communication, and decision making in organizations.