The power to ignite change in organizations does not rest solely with managers—it can also stem from employees. Employee voice, the upward communication of change-related information, can be a powerful catalyst for inspiring managers to be transformational. To examine how this process unfolds, we utilize the transmission model of inspiration as a theoretical foundation for identifying when and for whom employee voice inspires managers to exhibit change-oriented behavior. Using experience sampling (Study 1) and critical incident (Study 2) methods, we find that employee promotive voice evokes manager inspiration, which in turn motivates managers to enact transformational behavior. In contrast, prohibitive voice, by itself, is not associated with managers’ inspiration and transformational behavior. However, manager trait construal level serves as a critical boundary condition. Managers with a higher-level construal are more likely to be inspired by prohibitive voice because they are more likely to recognize the potential value of such voice, approach it with great interest, and link it to organizational goals. Our study extends knowledge on the consequences of voice by elucidating its impact on managers’ transformational behavior and addresses a critical gap in leadership research by spotlighting the influence that followers have on leaders.

中文翻译：

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激发变革精神：员工声音类型与管理者解释层面之间的相互作用


在组织中点燃变革的力量不仅仅取决于管理者，也可能来自员工。员工的声音，即与变革相关的信息的向上沟通，可以成为激励管理者进行变革的强大催化剂。为了研究这个过程是如何展开的，我们利用灵感的传递模型作为理论基础，以确定员工的声音何时以及为谁激励管理者表现出以变革为导向的行为。使用经验抽样（研究 1）和关键事件（研究 2）方法，我们发现员工晋升的声音会唤起管理者的灵感，进而激励管理者实施变革行为。相比之下，禁止性的声音本身与管理者的灵感和变革行为无关。然而，经理特质解释水平是一个关键的边界条件。具有更高层次解释的管理者更有可能受到令人望而却步的声音的启发，因为他们更有可能认识到这种声音的潜在价值，以极大的兴趣接近它，并将其与组织目标联系起来。我们的研究通过阐明声音对管理者变革行为的影响来扩展关于声音后果的知识，并通过强调追随者对领导者的影响来解决领导力研究中的关键差距。