To Go or Not to Go for the Sell:Regulatory Focus and Personal Sales Performance

Selling products and services is a central function in organizations. Although explaining sales success has mainly been approached from broad trait perspectives, tactical decision-making potentially explains additional variance in this crucial outcome. We propose and find that promotion focus positively predicts sales agents’ success, while prevention focus negatively predicts sales success. These relations were significant while controlling for five-factor traits. Predictors were measured before participants started on the job; outcome was the total number of sales participants made. As such, results evidence incremental validity of regulatory focus in predicting objective sales performance

What’s in a word? Using construal-level theory to predict voice endorsement

Voice endorsement is a pivotal means by which employees can influence leadership processes and the organization at large. Up till now, research on voice endorsement has lacked unified theoretical frameworks that can shed light on antecedents of voice endorsement in a more integrative way as well as help identify new and relevant antecedents in a systematic and theory-based manner. We propose that construal-level theory can serve as one such unifying framework and showcase this potential by applying it to voice endorsement. Drawing on construal-level theory we propose that when an employee frames his/her voice messages in a manner that is compatible with the psychological distance between the employee and the supervisor, the supervisor will find the employee’s voice messages easier to process and, consequently, will be more likely to endorse them. Three experiments using different manipulations of voice message frame and psychological distance, and a mini meta-analysis of the three experiments, provide support for our construal compatibility hypothesis and initial evidence for the experienced ease-of-processing logic. We discuss how our construal-level approach to voice endorsement can shed light on previous findings as well as open up new avenues for future research

'Big' men: Male leaders' height positively relates to followers' perception of charisma

Physical height is associated with beneficial outcomes for the tall individual (e.g., higher salary and likelihood of occupying a leadership position), presumably because being tall constituted an adaptive characteristic in ancestral societies. Although this account hinges on the presence of an evolved positive social-perceptual bias toward tall people, little direct evidence exists for this claim. Physical height literally implies the ability to reach higher, see further, and have greater overview; it also affords dominance, which others may equate with ability as well. Hence, leaders’ physical height may be positively related to followers’ belief that a leader has extraordinary talents, that is, charisma. However, because leadership positions were, in ancestral societies, occupied by males, an evolutionary perspective might further suggest that height is less relevant to followers’ perceptions of female leaders. In line with this reasoning, the current study found a positive relationship between male leaders’ height and their followers’ perceptions of charisma, while no such relationship was found for female leaders

Imagining Success: Multiple Achievement Goals and the Effectiveness of Imagery

Imagery (richly imagining carrying out a task successfully) is a popular performance-enhancement tool in many domains. This experiment sought to test whether pursuing two achievement goals (vs. one) benefits performance after an imagery exercise. We examined mastery goals (aiming to improve skill level) and performance goals (aiming to outperform others) among 65 tennis players who were assigned to a mastery goal condition, a performance goal condition, or a mastery goal and performance goal condition. After reading instructions for a service task, which included the goal manipulation, participants completed 20 tennis services. They then completed an imagery exercise and, finally, completed another 20 services. Postimagery service performance was better in the dual-goal condition than in the other conditions

Room for advancement: The regulatory fit of bottom-rank intermediate feedback

This research tests the hypothesis that promotion-focused individuals experience regulatory fit from bottom rank, intermediate performance-feedback. Prior research suggests promotion-focused individuals experience fit in high social ranks (power). Bottom performance ranks may appear psychologically opposite to high power, which might lead one to expect that promotion-focused individuals experience fit at top ranks. We propose that the opposite occurs in intermediate performance ranking feedback, in that promotion-focused individuals experience regulatory fit at a bottom rank, because bottom rank implies having something to gain (yielding eagerness), whereas top rank implies having something to lose (yielding vigilance). Study 1 (n = 261) supports the notion that ranks affect eagerness/vigilance. Study 2 (n = 199) extends these findings by examining engagement from regulatory fit

Subordinate regulatory mode and leader power: Interpersonal regulatory complementarity predicts task performance

This research examines the implications of locomotion regulatory mode (orientation toward making progress on goals) and assessment regulatory mode (orientation toward critically evaluating alternatives) for employees' performance. Regulatory mode theory suggests that, although these are both integral to self-regulation, they may also function independently of one another and affect distinct, but equally important, performance aspects. We propose and find that performance of locomotion-oriented employees is complemented by their leader's expert power (ability to provide superior knowledge and information), whereas performance of assessment-oriented employees is complemented by their leader's coercive power (ability to administer negative consequences). These findings support the regulatory mode interpersonal complementarity hypothesis and show that complementarity plays a role in self-regulation of objective performance

What's in a word? Using construal-level theory to predict voice endorsement

Voice endorsement is a pivotal means by which employees can influence leadership processes and the organization at large. Up till now, research on voice endorsement has lacked unified theoretical frameworks that can shed light on antecedents of voice endorsement in a more integrative way as well as help identify new and relevant antecedents in a systematic and theory-based manner. We propose that construal-level theory can serve as one such unifying framework and showcase this potential by applying it to voice endorsement. Drawing on construal-level theory we propose that when an employee frames his/her voice messages in a manner that is compatible with the psychological distance between the employee and the supervisor, the supervisor will find the employee''s voice messages easier to process and, consequently, will be more likely to endorse them. Three experiments using different manipulations of voice message frame and psychological distance, and a mini meta-analysis of the three experiments, provide support for our construal compatibility hypothesis and initial evidence for the experienced ease-of-processing logic. We discuss how our construal-level approach to voice endorsement can shed light on previous findings as well as open up new avenues for future research

Employees’ perceptions of their manager’s authentic leadership:Considering managers’ political skill and gender

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test whether managers' political skill is relevant for employees' authentic leadership perceptions. Political influence theory assumes that political tactics seek to affect others' interpretations of a person or situation. Thus, what matters for employees' perceptions of their manager's authentic leadership may be whether the manager actively seeks to show behavior that can be interpreted as authentic leadership. Combining political influence theory and gender stereotypes research, it is further suggested that manager gender moderates the employees' interpretation of political influence attempts that are ambiguous. Design/methodology/approach Managers (n=156; 49.5 percent female) completed measures of their political skill. Employees (n=427; 39.1 percent female) completed measures of the manager's authentic leadership. Findings Managers' apparent sincerity was positively related to employees' perceptions of managers' authentic leadership; managers' networking ability was negatively related to employees' perceptions of female managers' authentic leadership, but not of male managers. Research limitations/implications - The methodology does not allow claims about causality. Originality/value Findings add knowledge of authentic leadership, such as difficulties that female managers face, and show the value of a fine-grained approach to political skill. Female managers should be aware that networking might have disadvantageous side effects. Conversely, sincere behavior attempts seem favorable for authentic leadership perceptions

Everyday risk taking as a function of regulatory focus

Uncertainty is an inherent aspect of everyday life. However, faced with uncertainty, some individuals take risks more eagerly than others. Regulatory focus theory may explain such differences because risky behavior may arise naturally from the eagerness of promotion focused individuals, while safe behavior may arise naturally from the vigilance of prevention focused individuals. A highly relevant real-life context for studying risk is mobility, as engaging in traffic inherently carries uncertainty about negative outcomes. We present two studies showing a direct link between regulatory focus and risky behavior going beyond traditional laboratory approaches. In both naturalistic speeding behavior (Study 1) and simulated risk taking (Study 2) promotion focus was positively, and prevention focus was negatively related to actual risky behavior. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved