Paradoxical Leadership:Research On The Effectiveness Of Leadership In The Period Of Economic Transition

As organizational environments become more global,dynamic,and competitive,contradictory demands intensify.Paradox is gaining more and more pervasiveness in and around organizations,thus increasing the need for an approach to management that allows both researchers and practitioners to address these paradoxes.In our analyses of organizational phenomena,we have found that paradoxical observations attract our attention.These observations capture some dynamic tension,opposition,or contradiction.When someone points out the presence of such a paradox,we have been required to think more carefully because the statement invariably entails some creative insight that implies understanding beyond the obvious.Becoming aware of paradoxes in organizations had led us to insights that have enriched,and often exceeded,our previous understanding.The literature in organizational studies,however,seldom contains examples or explanations of paradoxes.Even though organizations are complex,dynamic systems,our descriptions and models of them are often superficial.Our explanations of complicated phenomena are sometimes limited by assumptions of linearity(i.e.,one-way,cause-and-effect relationships)and equilibrium.They tend to ignore contradictions,oppositions,and incongruities or quickly resolve them by labeling one side of the contradiction good and the other bad.The literature reveals difficulty accepting simultaneous opposites that are positively defined,mutually-causal relationships,functional incongruities,and paradigm shifts.In short,authors have often not successfully tolerated paradoxical thinking.In this study,we develop the construct of paradoxical leader behavior in people management,which refers to seemingly competing yet interrelated behaviors to simultaneously and over time meet structural and follower demands.In this study,we understand the nature of paradox through the comparative analysis of paradox and contradiction,dialectical and other similar concepts.Before discussing the meaning of paradoxical leadership,we distinguish between paradoxical leadership,traditional leadership and situational leadership.As a result,we promote a model how paradoxical leaders response to complex environment on the basis of role theory.We hypothesize that job diversity and job complexity is a feature of environment,which exerts influences on the role of paradoxical leaders and which has a negative correlation to the effectiveness of leaders.This study provides not only a new research perspective of transformational leadership,but also a new way of thinking for the dual management science research.This research focuses on leadership among middle-level leaders in organizations.It develops hypotheses based on extant literature.Data were collected from middle leaders,their immediate top leaders,and immediate subordinates.Paradoxical leadership was measured in line with systematic dynamics.Finally,237 matched and valid questionnaires were collected.The results showed that,although complex contradictions in environments negatively affected leaders' work,paradoxical leadership was able to attenuate this negative influence via leaders' role positions.This research suggests that leaders,in complex environments,should keep clarity of their role positions and effectiveness of their leadership,increase self-complexity,and relieve external complexity through internal complexity.Combining the hypotheses with practices,this study provides managerial implications for fostering paradoxical leadership.