The Power and Peril of Awe in Leadership: Transforming Follower Identity and Behavior
提出一个概念框架，解释领导者通过四种行为激发追随者的敬畏，进而通过追随者认同过程影响其身份和行为，并指出领导者的零和信念会调节这些效应。
Awe is a profound emotion that has captured significant attention within psychological research. While the potential for leaders to inspire awe in followers has received some recognition, systematic research on the nature and effects of awe in leadership—and within organizational contexts more broadly—remains limited. In this article, we offer a conceptual framework that explains the multifaceted and transformative nature of leadership through the power of awe. Specifically, we identify four leader behaviors—charismatic leadership tactics, exceptional performance, problem reframing, and self-sacrificial behavior—that elicit awe among followers. We further propose three variants of awe-inspiring leaders, describing how variation in a leader’s self-construal (independent, collective-interdependent, or humanity) differentially orients followers toward hero worship, in-group favoritism, or universal prosociality through follower identification processes. Finally, we argue that a leader’s zero-sum beliefs either intensify or weaken these behavioral consequences. By advancing this framework, we hope to stimulate further research on the effects of awe within organizations and deepen our understanding of how this transformative emotion shapes identity, behavior, and more.