A HIERARCHICAL CONSTRUCT OF SELF-MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO QUALITY OF WORK LIFE AND PERCEIVED WORK GROUP EFFECTIVENESS

This study validates the self-management leadership theory as operatio nalized by the Self-Management Leadership Questionnaire (Manz & Sims, 1987) in a large telephone company. The sample for this study is 390 s elf-managing and 412 traditionally managed employees and 94 external l eaders from 58 self-managing and 60 traditionally managed teams. Resul ts support Manz and Sims' 6-factor pattern at the first-order level, a nd in addition, identify a common second-order factor. The hierarchica l factor structure is invariant in employee and leader samples drawn f rom both self-managing and traditionally managed work teams, suggestin g that the construct of self-managing leadership is similar for member s and readers of both types of teams. Respondents perceive slightly mo re self-management leadership behaviors in the self-managing than the traditional work teams. Respondents evaluate self-managing work teams as more effective than traditional work teams, and this difference is moderate in size. Self-managing leadership behaviors are positively as sociated with QWL (mainly employee satisfaction) and self-rated effect iveness for both self-managing and traditional teams. In general, self -managing work teams are not that different from traditionally managed groups in the relationship of self-managing leadership to outcomes. W e conclude that self-management leadership is a hierarchical concept, constituted of specific strategies as well as a general orientation to ward empowering employees. These leadership behaviors are applicable t o managing both traditional and self-managing work teams.