Does anger expression help or harm leader effectiveness? The role of competence-based versus integrity-based violations and abusive supervision

The question of how leaders' expressions of anger influence their effectiveness has long intrigued researchers and practitioners alike. Drawing on Emotions as Social Information (EASI) theory, we suggest the effects of leaders' expressions of anger depend on both the type of violation about which anger is expressed and the type of leader who expresses it. We tested these ideas in a programmatic series of studies using both experimental and field methods. Study 1 shows that a leader's anger expression in response to followers' integrity-based violations enhances observers' perceptions of leader effectiveness, whereas anger in response to followers' competence-based violations diminishes observers' perceptions of leader effectiveness. Study 2 provides evidence that these divergent effects occur because anger in response to integrity-based violations elicits beneficial inferential reactions among followers who observed the anger, whereas anger in response to competence-based violations provokes harmful affective reactions. Study 3 further demonstrates that the negative effects of anger expressed towards competence-based violations are exacerbated and positive effects of anger expressed towards integrity-based violations are weakened when a leader is perceived to be abusive. Together, these findings help reconcile divergent perspectives on the effects of leader anger expression, and suggest that anger can indeed enhance perceived leader effectiveness when it is expressed in the right situation and by the right person.