Leader humility and psychological empowerment: investigating contingencies

Purpose In line with emerging conceptualizations of humility in organizations, the purpose of this paper is to examine how leader humility and distance-based factors (i.e. power distance orientation (PDO) and hierarchical distance) interact to predict follower psychological empowerment. Design/methodology/approach The authors tested the hypotheses using a sample of 294 employees in South Korea. Moderated regression and bootstrapping analyses were conducted to test for direct and moderated relationships. Findings Results indicated that leader humility positively predicted follower psychological empowerment, and followers’ PDO positively moderated this relationship. Results of a three-way interaction indicated that the impact of leader humility on follower psychological empowerment was strongest when both followers’ levels of PDO and hierarchical distance were high. Practical implications Humility can provide a new lens through which to understand the leadership process. Beyond anecdotal accounts, this study provided strong evidence for the value of humility on the list of qualities essential for successful leadership. Originality/value This is the first study to provide empirical evidence for the moderating effect of PDO and hierarchical distance on the relationship between leader humility and follower empowerment. The findings highlight the benefits of understanding the roles of followers’ cultural value orientation and hierarchical position in the effectiveness of leader humility.