Paul Tesluk, professor and dean
School of Management
Ambitious employees in informal leadership roles can get burned out when they don’t receive support from their bosses, according to new research from the School of Management.
Recently published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior, the study found that while it’s commonly assumed that informal leaders are satisfied by their unique status and recognition from others, they could lose motivation from overwork and a lack of support.
“To maintain their status and fulfill others’ expectations of them, informal leaders face increased demands to keep claiming their leadership status,” says Paul Tesluk, professor of organization and human resources, and dean of the School of Management. “If formal leadership support is low or absent, informal leaders can struggle to fulfill necessary team needs and feel less control over decisions, skills and resources, which results in greater levels of exhaustion.”