Inspired to inspire : An attachment theory view of family enrichment and inspirational leadership

Inspirational leadership represents a foundational and vital set of leader behaviors for both scholars and practitioners. However, leaders often struggle to inspire their followers. And when they do, such inspiration is often inconsistent from day to day. In the present research, we draw on attachment theory to explore family-work enrichment (FWE) as an antecedent of inspirational leadership and propose a process that highlights how and when FWE impacts this important leader behavior. Results taken from a three-week experience sampling study largely support our hypothesized model. Specifically, the daily experience of FWE was positively associated with inspirational leadership through daily leadership self-efficacy and daily promotion focus. These effects were also contingent on leaders’ attachment style, with the positive effects of FWE being stronger for those higher in attachment anxiety and weaker for those higher in attachment avoidance. This paper expands our understanding of how the family affects leadership by highlighting the positive effects of the family on leader behavior, while also uncovering a new theoretical process underlying the display of inspirational leadership in organizations.