The impact of leadership, teamwork mental models, and affect on team trust and perceived team performance and viability

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of leadership on teams' affective and cognitive processes, and the subsequent impact of these processes on team outcomes. Specifically, it was expected that transformational, contingent reward, and active and passive management-by-exception leadership would have differential impact on teamwork mental models and affect, which, in turn, would influence trust. Trust was hypothesized to influence perceived team performance and viability. The sample was composed of 148 soldiers in the Canadian Forces who were members of 32 military teams. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing their perception of the different variables. Because both leadership and teamwork mental models were conceptualized at the team level of analysis, and the remaining variables were conceptualized at the individual level of analysis, hierarchical linear modeling was used in order to test the hypotheses. Transformational leadership was positively associated with similarity of cognitions within teams, positive affect, and team viability. However, contrary to expectations, active and passive management-by-exception leadership were not related to either cognitions or affect. Furthermore, positive affect was positively associated with trust, whereas negative affect was negatively related to trust. Trust, in turn, was positively related to both perceived team performance and team viability. Finally, trust mediated the relations between affect and perceived team performance. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for leadership theory and practice.