How important is it for leaders to be seen by their constituents as well-connected? Does a leader’s perceived status in the network matter less to some followers than others?

A recent study of 42 managers and their 184 employees in the banking industry entitled “Well-Connected Leaders: The Impact of Leader’s Social Network Ties on LMX and Members’ Work Attitudes” recently published in the Journal of Applied Psychology sought to answer these questions. They found that well-connected leaders were indeed more likely to be seen has having high status in the workplace. This perception of status enhanced the leader’s ability to form relationships with their employees, and those high quality relationships were in-turn related to higher job satisfaction and lower turnover intentions for the employees. The authors conclude that “managers would be well served to not only actively engage in networking but to also publicize these connections to create favorable impressions in the minds of members” (p. 1081).

But well-connected leaders did not matter as much for some employees. Employees that were themselves well-connected and sought out by coworkers for advice on work matters and to discuss problems and solutions were less likely to be influenced by well-connected leaders. In order to form high quality relationships with your well-connected followers, other characteristics like competence and trustworthiness are likely more important than your perceived status.

This study once again confirmed something many of us believe about leadership – relationships matter. As a leader, you need to recognize that just because you might be motivated to have good relationships with your followers does not mean they will be equally motivated to reciprocate. You have to give your followers good reasons to like you, and this study suggests that being well-connected at work is something that matters to most of your followers.

If you are well-connected leader or follower, people will be motivated to have a good relationship with you. Use your connections to provide your employees or peers the resources and information they need to do their jobs well and you will earn their approval and commitment.

Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Management in the College of Business at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), where he teaches courses in organizational behavior, leadership, and personal branding to both undergraduate and MBA students. Bret blogs about leadership, followership, and social media at his website Positive Organizational Behavior. You can also find Bret on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin.

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LMX separates these relationships into two groups: the in-group and the out-group. Researches have found that those classified as part of the leaders in-group are often more productive. They are given more trust and take on extra roles within the organization. In contrast, out-group members receive the standard job benefits and respond by performing up to the standard job description. More recent research has identified three phases that each leader-follower dyad goes through as one moves from out-group to in-group: stranger, acquaintance and partner. As the relationship moves from stranger to partner, mutual trust, respect and obligation toward each other develops.

Useful Lies

LMX is widely researched and accurately depicts leader-member relationships. It explains why leaders often develop “go-to” people and utilize their skills more than others. LMX was also the first theory to focus its study on the leader-member relationship, rather than just the leaders attributes or behavior. However, LMX is merely a descriptive theory. While it explains that mutual trust and respect develop as dyads progress, it fails to explain how or why this occurs. Likewise, it accurately explains leader-member interactions but it does not prescribe any method or model for developing in-group relationships.

• Intro to Leadership Theory
• Why Theory
• A Word on Theory
• Trait Theory
• Skills Theory
• Style Theory
• Contingency Theory
• Situational Leadership Theory
• Path-Goal Theory
• Leader-Member Exchange Theory
• Transformational/Transactional Leadership Theory
• Servant Leadership Theory
• Strengths-Based Leadership Theory