An empirical examination of personal learning within the context of teams

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)....

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of organizational behavior Vol. 37; no. 5; pp. 654 - 672
Main Authors Jiang, Yuan, Jackson, Susan E., Colakoglu, Saba
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Chichester Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.07.2016
Wiley (Variant)
Wiley Periodicals Inc
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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.
Bibliography:istex:9F1324F64A19C79F87FB14FA57C0258D62FDC0B4
ark:/67375/WNG-VN6CMLR7-G
ArticleID:JOB2058
ISSN:0894-3796
1099-1379
DOI:10.1002/job.2058