The Power of Peer Leaders: Exploring the Link between Peer Leadership Behaviors and Sustainable Work Outcomes

Most leadership studies primarily focus on formal leaders, often overlooking the influence of leaders within the team. While prior research has shown that peer leaders can have a beneficial impact on various team outcomes, it is yet unclear which peer leadership behaviors precisely foster a supporti...

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Main Authors: Charlotte M. Edelmann, Filip Boen, Jeroen Stouten, Gert Vande Broek, Katrien Fransen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-12-01
Series:Behavioral Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/14/1/2
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author Charlotte M. Edelmann
Filip Boen
Jeroen Stouten
Gert Vande Broek
Katrien Fransen
author_facet Charlotte M. Edelmann
Filip Boen
Jeroen Stouten
Gert Vande Broek
Katrien Fransen
author_sort Charlotte M. Edelmann
collection DOAJ
description Most leadership studies primarily focus on formal leaders, often overlooking the influence of leaders within the team. While prior research has shown that peer leaders can have a beneficial impact on various team outcomes, it is yet unclear which peer leadership behaviors precisely foster a supportive and sustainable work environment. Building upon the recent identification of 10 peer leadership roles and 37 underlying functions, the current study aims to investigate the relationships between these peer leadership roles and functions and key outcomes (i.e., job satisfaction, team cohesion, team effectiveness, and OCB). A total of 31 organizational teams, comprising 182 employees from diverse sectors, participated in a quantitative survey. Employing multilevel modeling analysis, the findings demonstrated that each leadership role and nearly every function predicted at least one outcome, highlighting their significance within organizational teams. Additionally, Necessary Condition Analysis revealed that specific roles and functions were necessary for generating one or more outcomes. Finally, we found that most of the significant relationships remained consistent across teams, regardless of their size, tenure, or level of team identification. These findings refine our understanding of shared leadership and how peer leaders can create a sustainable workplace by fostering employee well-being and productivity in organizational teams.
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spelling doaj.art-c11b2cddd94744eb9407eb4cc18b84352024-01-26T15:05:36ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2023-12-01141210.3390/bs14010002The Power of Peer Leaders: Exploring the Link between Peer Leadership Behaviors and Sustainable Work OutcomesCharlotte M. Edelmann0Filip Boen1Jeroen Stouten2Gert Vande Broek3Katrien Fransen4Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Tervuursevest 101, P.O. Box 1500, 3001 Leuven, BelgiumDepartment of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Tervuursevest 101, P.O. Box 1500, 3001 Leuven, BelgiumFaculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Dekenstraat 2, P.O. Box 3725, 3000 Leuven, BelgiumDepartment of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Tervuursevest 101, P.O. Box 1500, 3001 Leuven, BelgiumDepartment of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Tervuursevest 101, P.O. Box 1500, 3001 Leuven, BelgiumMost leadership studies primarily focus on formal leaders, often overlooking the influence of leaders within the team. While prior research has shown that peer leaders can have a beneficial impact on various team outcomes, it is yet unclear which peer leadership behaviors precisely foster a supportive and sustainable work environment. Building upon the recent identification of 10 peer leadership roles and 37 underlying functions, the current study aims to investigate the relationships between these peer leadership roles and functions and key outcomes (i.e., job satisfaction, team cohesion, team effectiveness, and OCB). A total of 31 organizational teams, comprising 182 employees from diverse sectors, participated in a quantitative survey. Employing multilevel modeling analysis, the findings demonstrated that each leadership role and nearly every function predicted at least one outcome, highlighting their significance within organizational teams. Additionally, Necessary Condition Analysis revealed that specific roles and functions were necessary for generating one or more outcomes. Finally, we found that most of the significant relationships remained consistent across teams, regardless of their size, tenure, or level of team identification. These findings refine our understanding of shared leadership and how peer leaders can create a sustainable workplace by fostering employee well-being and productivity in organizational teams.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/14/1/2shared leadershippeer leadersteamsleadership rolesnecessary conditionemployee well-being
spellingShingle Charlotte M. Edelmann
Filip Boen
Jeroen Stouten
Gert Vande Broek
Katrien Fransen
The Power of Peer Leaders: Exploring the Link between Peer Leadership Behaviors and Sustainable Work Outcomes
Behavioral Sciences
shared leadership
peer leaders
teams
leadership roles
necessary condition
employee well-being
title The Power of Peer Leaders: Exploring the Link between Peer Leadership Behaviors and Sustainable Work Outcomes
title_full The Power of Peer Leaders: Exploring the Link between Peer Leadership Behaviors and Sustainable Work Outcomes
title_fullStr The Power of Peer Leaders: Exploring the Link between Peer Leadership Behaviors and Sustainable Work Outcomes
title_full_unstemmed The Power of Peer Leaders: Exploring the Link between Peer Leadership Behaviors and Sustainable Work Outcomes
title_short The Power of Peer Leaders: Exploring the Link between Peer Leadership Behaviors and Sustainable Work Outcomes
title_sort power of peer leaders exploring the link between peer leadership behaviors and sustainable work outcomes
topic shared leadership
peer leaders
teams
leadership roles
necessary condition
employee well-being
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/14/1/2
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