A multi-level study of emergent group leadership: Effects of emotional stability and group conflict

Based on theories of self-organization and group evolution, we propose and test a multi-level model of emergent leadership in work groups. We investigated in particular how individual trait emotional stability (emotional disorder threshold, emotional resilience) and perceived group conflict (task conflict, relationship conflict) affect the awareness of emerging as a group leader. Based on data from 230 employees in 56 work groups in eight Chinese firms, and analyzed using structural equation and hierarchical linear modeling, the results support the idea that emotional stability is positively related with emergent leadership, but negatively with group task and relationship conflict. We also found that group task and relationship conflict moderated associations between emotional stability and emergent leadership, although the moderating effect of relationship conflict was marginal. The implications of the findings for theory relate to the relevance of self-organization and group survival theory for understanding leadership emergence. From a practical perspective, our findings suggest that mangers can expect leadership in conflicted groups to emerge from more emotionally stable group members.