Inconsistent leadership: Overview, measurement and an agenda for future research

While inconsistent leadership has received little attention in the past, growing interest in the dark side of leadership has also stirred up concerns regarding potential problems of varying supervisor behaviour. After giving an overview of existing concepts and prior studies in a rather disjointed field of research, we will present a comprehensive theoretical model of inconsistent leadership. Based on this model, inconsistent leadership is defined. We then describe the different stages of how followers try to comprehend their leader’s (varying) behaviour and under which circumstances ascriptions of inconsistency are likely to be made. Based on this understanding, a new scale to measure inconsistent leadership and first evidence regarding its validity is presented. The chapter closes with implications on necessary theoretical advancements and future empirical studies in a promising field of leadership research able to broaden and complement existing approaches.