How do humble leaders unleash followers' leadership potential? The roles of workplace status and individualistic orientation

Abstract

While leader-expressed humility has received an upsurge in attention in recent years, a fundamental issue that remains unaddressed is whether leader-expressed humility, as a bottom–up leadership approach, could indeed elevate followers' workplace status and eventually unleash their leadership potential; if so, how and when? Drawing on expectation states theory (EST) and using two multi-wave datasets, including one from 216 one-to-one matched supervisor–subordinate dyads in China (Study 1) and the other from 210 subordinates in Western countries (Study 2), we provide evidence that leader humility is effective in elevating followers' workplace status, particularly when followers' individualistic orientation is high. This elevated perception of workplace status also increases followers' leadership potential, demonstrated by their motivation to lead and taking charge behaviors. These findings offer novel theoretical and practical insights into the implications of leader humility for followers' leadership potential.