UW Researchers Find Attachment For Leaders Beneficial

According to research by a University of Wyoming faculty member and colleagues, positive daily experiences with their families generally help leaders in their efforts to be transformational in the workplace.

But some leaders benefit more from positive family experiences than others.

The research by UW College of Business Assistant Professor Shawn McClean, along with co-authors from Texas A&M University, the University of Iowa, and Purdue University, was detailed in a recent article published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.

The researchers explored why managers face difficulty in being consistently transformational to their subordinates.

McClean and colleagues’ main question, then, was: What helps managers consistently rise to the challenge of being transformational leaders?

To that end, the researchers looked to the family as a potential source of encouragement that enables managers to be more consistently transformational.