Title: Negativity hurts your style? A study of leaders' negative emotions and their leadership style

Authors: Mosad Zineldin; Martin Amsteus

Addresses: School of Business and Economics, Linnaeus University, George Lûckligs väg 4, 351 95 Växjö, Sweden ' School of Business and Economics, Linnaeus University, George Lûckligs väg 4, 351 95 Växjö, Sweden

Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between leaders' negative emotions and leadership styles. Faculty members at a Swedish university between 1995 and 2007 were surveyed. Members who had worked at the same institution the entire period provided a total of 48 assessments regarding the styles and emotions of their leaders (deans). The results show that some negative emotions and leadership styles are related. For an organisation to perform well (e.g., in terms of work environment), leaders should consider managing their emotions.

Keywords: well-being; MLQ; academic staff; university deans; negativity; negative emotions; leadership style; Sweden; emotion management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJWOE.2014.068033

International Journal of Work Organisation and Emotion, 2014 Vol.6 No.4, pp.327 - 337

Received: 06 Feb 2014
Accepted: 04 May 2014
Published online: 26 Mar 2015 *

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