Article in Group & Organization Management · January 014 citations reads 13,031 authors: Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects

Theory and Hypotheses
Self-leadership consists of three distinct but complimentary categories of 
strategies—behavior-focused, natural reward, and constructive thought pat-
tern strategies—through which people control their own actions and thinking 
to reach personal and organizational goals (Manz & Sims, 2001; Neck & 
Manz, 2010; Prussia, Anderson, & Manz, 1998). Behavior-focused self-
leadership is related to the set of self-influence strategies proposed by early 
self-management scholars (Manz & Sims, 1980). These strategies operate 
within the framework of Bandura’s (1986) social learning theory, which 
argues that a person’s behavior is influenced not only by external environ-
mental factors, but also by the individual’s self-regulation processes. Based 
on the premise of social learning theory, Manz and Sims (1980) delineated 
various self-management strategies such as self-goal setting, self-observa-
tion, self-reward, self-punishment, and self-cueing (Manz, 1986; Neck & Manz, 
2010) that are used by individuals to manage their goal-striving behaviors.
Self-goal setting involves the process of setting challenging and specific 
goals (Locke & Latham, 1990). Self-observation involves gathering informa-
tion related to when and why one engages in specific behaviors (Manz & 
Sims, 1980), which heightens an individual’s self-awareness in changing or 
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Ho and Nesbit 
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eliminating unproductive behaviors. As self-observation also provides infor-
mation for individuals to evaluate their success in reducing the performance 
discrepancy from their self-set standards or goals (Manz, 1986; Manz & 
Sims, 1980), it also establishes the basis for the administration of self-reward 
and self-punishment. Self-reward consists of self-applying motivational 
rewards for goal achievement, whereas self-punishment involves self-criti-
cism that leads to the elimination of undesirable behaviors. Self-cueing 
involves the activity of constructing environmental cues used for shaping 
desirable behaviors.
In short, behavior-focused strategies are designed to heighten one’s prog-
ress in reducing performance deviations from existing standards and to 
enhance self-directed efforts in performing intrinsically unappealing but nec-
essary tasks (Neck & Houghton, 2006). A number of studies have shown that 
increased behavioral-focused self-leadership results in positive organiza-
tional outcomes, such as reduced absenteeism (Latham & Frayne, 1989), 
increased organizational citizenship, innovative work behavior (Jensen & 
Raver, 2012), and greater job satisfaction (Uhl-Bien & Graen, 1998).
Natural reward self-leadership strategies involve building more pleasant 
and enjoyable features into goal-striving actions as well as shaping one’s 
perceptions by focusing attention on the rewarding aspect rather than the 
unpleasant features of tasks (Manz & Sims, 2001; Neck & Manz, 2010). 
Ilgen and Hollenbeck (1991) argue that while most jobs involve some aspects 
that are non-routine, most employees have the opportunity to redesign their 
job to enrich their work activities. For example, nurses could enjoy the mun-
dane tasks (e.g., bathing patients) more by noticing how such tasks promote 
patient comfort and health (Gagné & Deci, 2005). Natural reward strategies 
align with the research of Deci and Ryan (1985), who argue that the need for 
competence and self-determination are the primary mechanisms that drive 
intrinsic motivation toward goal achievement. A number of research studies 
have shown that once employees learn to structure their work or focus their 
attention on the inherently enjoyable features of their job, they are more moti-
vated to perform well and feel more satisfied with their job (Fuller & Marler, 
2009; Neck & Manz, 2010).
Constructive-thought self-leadership strategies focus on the formation of 
constructive thought patterns that can positively impact performance (Neck 
& Manz, 2010). Constructive thought strategies include evaluating beliefs 
and assumptions, the use of mental imagery, and positive self-talk. Evaluating 
beliefs and assumptions aims to help one recognize one’s dysfunctional 
thinking and destructive beliefs as well as to learn to challenge these beliefs 
and replace them with more constructive thoughts. Self-talk incorporates 
optimistic self-dialogues associated with these more constructive thoughts 
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394 
Group & Organization Management 39(4)
and supports intended actions. The strategy of using mental imagery refers to 
imagining successful performance of the task prior to actual performance 
efforts (Neck & Manz, 1996) to guide actions and support motivation.
A number of scholars have also argued that individuals who utilize con-
structive-thought self-leadership strategies to eliminate dysfunctional, nega-
tive thoughts are more likely to experience job satisfaction (Houghton & 
Jinkerson, 2007; Neck & Manz, 1996). In addition, some field studies and 
experimental studies suggest a positive relationship between self-leadership 
and academic performance (Prussia et al., 1998), individuals’ performance in 
teams (Hauschildt & Konradt, 2012; Konradt et al., 2009), and multi-team 
system productivity (Millikin, Hom, & Manz, 2010). We expect, therefore, 
that self-leadership has positive main effects on both subjective and objective 
performance measures as well as job satisfaction. Thus, the following hypoth-
eses will be tested.