The Interpersonal Benefits of Leader Mindfulness: A Serial Mediation Model Linking Leader Mindfulness, Leader Procedural Justice Enactment, and Employee Exhaustion and Performance

Sebastian C. Schuh (First Author), Xue Zheng (Participant Author), Juan Antonio Fernandez (Participant Author), Katherine R. Xin (Participant Author)

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal

46 Citations (Web of Science)
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Abstract

Although it is an increasingly popular assumption that leader mindfulness may positively affect leader behaviors and, in turn, employee outcomes, to date, little empirical evidence supports this view. Against this backdrop, the present research seeks to develop and test a serial mediation model of leader mindfulness. Specifically, we propose that leader mindfulness enhances employee performance and that this relationship is explained by increased leader procedural justice enactment and, subsequently, reduced employees’ emotional exhaustion. We conducted three studies to test this model. Study 1 involved employees from a wide range of organizations in the USA (N = 275 employees). Study 2 used a sample of leaders and employees from China and measured our model variables at three different points in time (N = 182 employees and 54 leaders). Both studies provide consistent support for our hypotheses. Finally, Study 3 involved a laboratory experiment in which 62 senior executives were assigned to either a mindfulness induction or to a control condition. Again, results revealed a significant and positive link between leader mindfulness and leader procedural justice enactment. In sum, these findings expand our understanding of mindfulness to the domain of leadership, a key area of organizational research. Moreover, they complement prior studies by showing that mindfulness dynamics go beyond intrapersonal effects but also influence the attitudes and behaviors of others. We discuss our findings in light of their contributions to the mindfulness, ethics, and leadership literatures and point out implications for practice.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1007-1025
JournalJournal of Business Ethics
Volume156
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Corresponding author email

sschuh@ceibs.edu

Keywords

  • Emotional exhaustion
  • Employee performance
  • Experiment
  • Field study
  • Justice rule adherence
  • Leadership
  • Mindfulness
  • Procedural justice enactment
  • Serial mediation

Indexed by

  • FT
  • ABDC-A
  • Scopus
  • SSCI

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