Group Members' Self-Monitoring as a Possible Neutralizer of Leadership

Abstract

Data derived from responses of 195 staff nurses indicated that the impact of a leader's behavior was neutralized among group members who were low self-monitors, but intensified among group members who were high self-monitors. Correlations between staff nurses' job performance and their ratings of the head nurses' leadership behaviors were not significant for low self-monitoring nurses but were significant for high self-monitoring nurses. Low self-monitoring individuals, who guide their behavior by monitoring internal cues, tended to ignore the leader's behavior but produced effective work when they felt the work was important. High self-monitoring individuals, who guide their behavior by situational cues, depended upon the leader's behavior for effective job performance regardless of the importance of the job.