A multilevel perspective on leaders’ feedback-seeking

Purpose: Feedback from followers is important for leaders’ effectiveness, but leaders rarely ask their followers for (negative) feedback. We extend research in this area and investigate the effects the leader-follower relationship quality has on leaders’ negative feedback-seeking from their followers.Design/methodology/approach: Leaders (n = 33) answered multiple web-based surveys. Besides a general survey, they answered a second survey referring to individual leader-follower relationships (n = 170). Leader-follower dyads were analyzed using hierarchical linear regression analyses. Findings: Results show that followers’ appreciation was positively related to leaders’ negative feedback-seeking behavior (NFSB). Leaders’ trust in their followers’ feedback mediated the positive relationship between followers’ appreciation and leaders’ NFSB. This effect was moderated by leaders’ self-esteem. For leaders with low self-esteem, the relationship between followers’ appreciation and leaders’ trust in their followers’ feedback was stronger than for leaders with high self-esteem.Originality: This study contributes to our understanding of feedback-seeking and demonstrates the importance of the leader-follower relationship quality in leaders’ feedback-seeking.