Humble leader, successful follower: Linking leader humility with follower career outcomes via leader competence from an implicit leadership theory perspective

Abstract

Drawing on implicit leadership theory, this study examines the key conditions under which leader humility facilitates the career outcomes of employees. First, considering both similar-attraction and opposite-attraction perspectives within implicit leadership theory, we propose two competing hypotheses, and suggest that leader humility interacts with follower narcissism to predict perceived leader competence. Second, in accordance with implicit leadership theory, we propose that humble leaders are perceived to be more competent when the power distance climate is relatively lower. Further, we suggest that perception of their leaders as competent is positively related to followers' career satisfaction and proactive career behavior. To test our model, we implemented a multi-wave, time-lagged survey with 187 subordinate–supervisor dyads from 79 teams. The results demonstrate that followers who are highly narcissistic or who are members of groups with a lower power distance climate are more likely to regard humble leaders as competent, which allows them to experience enhanced career satisfaction and engage in more proactive career behavior. Both the theoretical and practical implications are discussed.