What type of leadership behaviors are functional in teams? A meta-analysis

Despite the increased work on leadership in teams, there is a lack of integration concerning the relationship between leader behaviors and team performance outcomes. A framework depicting the relationship between leadership functions, specific leadership behaviors, and conditions which enable team performance was created. Using this framework, a meta-analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between leadership behavior in teams and behaviorally-based team performance outcomes. Results suggest the use of task-focused behaviors is moderately related to perceived team effectiveness and team productivity (.333, .203). Person-focused behaviors were related to perceived team effectiveness (.360), team productivity (.284), and team learning (.560). Sub-group analyses indicated that the specific leadership behaviors investigated were generally related to team performance outcomes. Most notably, empowerment behaviors accounted for nearly 30% of the variance in team learning. Finally, moderator analyses investigating the level of task interdependence were conducted. Study limitations, practical implications, and directions for research are also outlined. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.