What type of leadership behaviors are functional in teams? A meta-analysis

Despite the increased work on leadership in teams, there is a lack of integration concerning the relationship between leader behaviors and team performance outcomes. A framework depicting the relationship between leadership functions, specific leadership behaviors, and conditions which enable team performance was created. Using this framework, a meta-analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between leadership behavior in teams and behaviorally-based team performance outcomes. Results suggest the use of task-focused behaviors is moderately related to perceived team effectiveness and team productivity (.333, .203). Person-focused behaviors were related to perceived team effectiveness (.360), team productivity (.284), and team learning (.560). Sub-group analyses indicated that the specific leadership behaviors investigated were generally related to team performance outcomes. Most notably, empowerment behaviors accounted for nearly 30% of the variance in team learning. Finally, moderator analyses investigating the level of task interdependence were conducted. Study limitations, practical implications, and directions for research are also outlined.