Although non-managerial employees are increasingly seen as valuable sources of leadership in public organizations, their leadership behavior is rarely studied. This study zooms in on the leadership behavior of non-managerial employees and assesses whether leadership identity and previous experience in formal leadership positions affect their engagement in leadership. According to identity theory, seeing oneself as a leader may be a crucial component in behaving as one. Survey data collected among public servants ( n = 976) in The Netherlands show that non-managerial employees with a more central leadership identity use all types of leadership behavior from the repertoire more often, which can partially be explained by their experience. This demonstrates that leadership identity is a meaningful lens to explain why this group engages in leadership behavior. Leadership development can be stimulated by helping non-managerial employees identify with a leadership role.

中文翻译：

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与领导一起加入？公共组织中非管理雇员的领导行为和身份调查

尽管非管理员工越来越被视为公共组织中领导力的宝贵来源，但他们的领导行为却很少被研究。本研究重点关注非管理员工的领导行为，并评估领导身份和以前在正式领导职位上的经验是否会影响他们的领导参与度。根据身份理论，将自己视为领导者可能是领导者行为的一个重要组成部分。在荷兰公务员 (n = 976) 中收集的调查数据显示，具有更核心领导身份的非管理员工更频繁地使用所有类型的领导行为，这在一定程度上可以用他们的经验来解释。这表明领导身份是解释该群体为何从事领导行为的一个有意义的视角。通过帮助非管理员工认同领导角色可以刺激领导力发展。