Distal and Historical Constraints on Leadership: Loneliness and Leniency from the Leader's Perspective

Abstract

Contextual factors – environmental stimuli external to individuals – are historically understudied loci of leadership. This dissertation comprises two chapters exploring characteristics of distal and historical context that impose constraints on leaders. In the first chapter, I examine distal context in terms of stereotypes associated with leader and gender roles. I propose a gender-contingent effect of leader role occupancy on loneliness, such that the effect is positive only for women but not men, and that experienced authenticity mediates this effect. Across three studies using diverse methods and data, I find support for the hypothesized model. In the second chapter, I examine historical context in terms of leaders’ past misconduct prior to disciplinary decision-making. I propose two mechanisms – hypocrisy avoidance and moral compensation – that provide potentially competing explanations for how leaders’ past misconduct influences their leniency towards subordinates, and suggest social consensus determines when either mechanism occurs. Across three further studies using diverse methods, results suggest hypocrisy avoidance occurs regardless of social consensus, while support for moral compensation is mixed and depends on research methodology. This dissertation furthers understanding of distal and historical contextual factors that shape leaders’ emotions and behavior.