A multilevel study of the dual effects of leader political skill on follower performance

Figures & data

Figure 1. A multilevel model of the dual effects of Leader Political Skill and performance.

Table 1. Exploratory factor loadings of individual-level variables, KMO = 0.90

Scales	Factor loadings
	1	2
Individual-focused leader political skill
My leader finds it easy to envision his/herself in my position.	.779	.107
My leader is able to make me feel comfortable and at ease around him/herself.	.806	.015
It is easy for my leader to develop good rapport with me.	.849	−.003
My leader understands me well.	.842	−.052
My leader is good at getting me to respond positively to him/her.	.811	−.040
My leader usually tries to find common ground with me.	.800	−.016
In-role performance
This employee completes his/her assigned duties properly.	.015	.779
This employee fulfills responsibilities mentioned in his/her job description.	−.039	.820
This employee performs tasks that are expected of him/her.	−.035	.832
This employee meets formal performance requirements of the job.	.035	.787
This employee fails to perform essential duties.	−.014	.859
This employee engages in activities that will directly affect his/her performance evaluation.	.009	.810
This employee neglects aspects of the job that he/she is obligated to perform.	.031	.786

Table 2. Exploratory factor loadings of group-level variables, KMO = 0.84

Scales	Factor loadings
	1	2
Group-focused leader political skill
Our team leader finds it easy to envision his/herself in the position of others in the team.	.786	.014
Our team leader is able to make most people in the team feel comfortable and at ease around him/herself.	.829	−.033
It is easy for our team leader to develop good rapport with the team.	.839	.006
Our team leader understands team well.	.818	.011
Our team leader is good at getting the team to respond positively to him/herself.	.838	.027
Our team leader usually tries to find common ground with the team.	.835	−.029
Team performance
The team under my supervision is very competent.	.031	.908
The team under my supervision works effectively.	−.058	.849
The team under my supervision performs its job well.	.025	.855

Table 3. CFA Loadings & Cronbach’s Alpha (α)

Variables	Loading	Cronbach’s α	CR	AVE
Individual-level
Individual-focused leader political skill	0.74–0.82	0.89	0.89	0.59
In-role performance	0.73–0.83	0.91	0.91	0.60
Team-level
Group-focused leader political skill	0.73–0.81	0.90	0.90	0.61
Team performance	0.71–0.93	0.83	0.84	0.65

Note CR represents Composite Reliability, and AVE represents Average Variance Extracted.

Table 4. Measurement models for main constructs

	Models	Factors	χ^2	df	χ^2/df	RMSEA	SRMR	GFI	NFI	TLI	CFI	Δχ^2
M1	Hypothesized two-factor model (individual-level variables)	Individual-focused LPS; In-role Performance;	153.65**	64	2.40	0.06	0.04	0.92	0.93	0.95	0.96	718.75**
M2	Hypothesized two-factor model (team-level variables)	Group-focused LPS; team performance	76.06**	26	2.92	0.08	0.03	.94	.94	.95	.96	796.34**
M3	Two-factor model	Scales rated by the leader; Scales rated by the followers	872.4**	208	4.87	.10	.07	.78	.79	.81	.83

*p < .05 **p < .01

Table 5. Mean, standard deviation and correlations of individual-level variables

	Variables	Mean	SD	1	2	3	4	5
1	Age	31.42	6.21
2	Gender	.314	.46	−.179**
3	Experience	5.01	4.23	.668**	−.075
4	Individual-Focused Leader Political Skill	5.65	.96	.091	.195**	.104	0.77
5	In-role performance	4.16	.62	−.066	.067	.015	.184**	0.77

Diagonal represents the square root of average variance extracted (AVE); whereas estimated correlations are shown below the diagonal.

NOTE: N = 305. *p < 0.05. **p < 0.01.

Table 6. Mean, standard deviation and correlations of team-level variables

	Variables	Mean	SD	1	2	3
1	Team size	8.70	3.35
2	Group-focused leader political skill	5.51	.67	.041	0.78
3	Team performance	4.11	.55	.175**	.154**	0.80

Diagonal represents the square root of average variance extracted (AVE), whereas estimated correlations are shown below the diagonal.

NOTE: N = 305. *p < 0.05. **p< 0.01.

Table 7. Multilevel statistics

Variables	One way ANOVA	ICC1	ICC2	Mean	SD	F-Ratio	Range
Group-focused leader political skill	Sig	0.34	0.72	0.92	0.14	4.28	0.64–0.99

Table 8. Hypotheses test results

				BC 95% CI^1
	Path	Path coefficient	SE	Lower	Upper
H1	Individual-Focused LPS—> In-Role Performance	0.11**	0.03	0.04	0.19
H2	Group-Focused LPS—> Team Performance	0.12**	0.04	0.03	0.21
H3	Group-Focused LPS—> In-Role Performance	0.18**	0.05	0.07	0.28

*p < .05, **p < .01