Leadership styles, mentoring functions received, and job-related stress

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366 J. J. SOSIK AND V. M. GODSHALK insurance (Gibson, 1993; Laws, 1996). Moreover, stress-related costs may approximate 10 per cent of the U.S. Gross National Product (Sullivan and Bhagat, 1992). At issue for organizations is how to reduce job-related stress and its detrimental consequences. Mentoring is a form of social support which may allay job-related stress of organizational members (House, 1981; Kram and Hall, 1989). Mentoring is de®ned as `a deliberate pairing of a more skilled or experienced person with a lesser skilled or experienced one, with the agreed-upon goal of having the lesser skilled person grow and develop speci®c competencies' (Murray, 1991, p. xiv). Mentors provide both career development and psychosocial support functions to proteÂ geÂ s (Kram, 1985; Noe, 1988). Psychosocial support functions include acceptance, role modelling, coaching, and counselling. These functions parallel leadership behaviors identi®ed by Yukl (1990) such as supporting, motivating and inspiring, and developing. Career development functions include sponsorship, protection, challenging assignments, exposure, and visibility. These functions parallel leadership behaviors identi®ed by Yukl (1990) such as clarifying roles and objectives, monitoring, and networking. Prior research (e.g., Bass, 1998; House, 1996; Scandura and Schriesheim, 1994; Yukl, 1994) suggests that mentors may exhibit a variety of leadership behaviors or styles while interacting with proteÂ geÂ s. Leadership style is de®ned here as acts or behaviors exhibited by the mentor which in¯uence proteÂ geÂ s (Bass, 1990). A key question, however, is what leadership styles/behaviors distinguish mentors who are inclined to foster mentoring functions e€ective in allaying proteÂ geÂ job-related stress from those who are less inclined to do so. In answering this question, direct implications for recruitment, selection, and training of mentors can be found. For example, if key leadership behaviors which allay job-related stress via mentoring can be identi®ed, then individuals who exhibit these behaviors can be selected or trained as mentors. Scholars in organizational behavior (e.g., Bass, 1990, 1998; Yukl, 1994) have encouraged researchers to explore relationships between mentor leadership styles, mentoring functions, and work-related stress. Yet no research has focused on how mentor leadership style(s) and the development of mentor±proteÂ geÂ relationships may a€ect stress as experienced by the proteÂ geÂ . Given that mentoring programmes have gained increased importance in today's competitive business environment (Burke, McKenna and McKeen, 1991; Scandura, 1992), it appears necessary to investigate how mentor leadership style(s) may in¯uence the e€ectiveness of mentoring functions in allaying perceived job-related stress. Accordingly, this paper focuses on adding to our understanding of mentoring behavior by identifying from the leadership literature behaviors that mentors could use to be more e€ective in their mentoring roles. This paper extends prior work in three ways. First, it examines the conceptual similarities and di€erences between leadership and mentoring. Second, it presents a theoretical model which integrates aspects of the leadership, mentoring, and occupational stress literatures. Third, it examines whether transformational leadership (cf. Bass, 1985; Burns, 1978) has a more favorable e€ect on job-related stress, directly and via mentoring functions, as compared to other leadership styles such as laissez-faire and transactional contingent reward. No previous published work has explored these linkages. Leadership and mentoring The literatures on leadership (e.g., Bass, 1990; Yukl, 1990, 1994) and mentoring (e.g., Kram, 1985; Noe, 1988) have established similarities between leadership and mentoring. For example, Schein (1978) described leaders as creators and manipulators of culture, while Wilson and Elman Copyright # 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Organiz. Behav. 21, 365±390 (2000)
LEADERSHIP, MENTORING AND STRESS 367 (1990) described mentors as transfer agents of culture. Gladstone (1988) argued that mentors behave as leaders when they shape values, act as an example, and de®ne meanings for proteÂ geÂ s. Thibodeaux and Lowe (1996) found convergence of in-group Leader±Member Exchange (LMX) relations and mentoring functions. At the same time, the leadership and mentoring literatures have established several di€erences between the two constructs. First, leadership involves a performance-oriented in¯uence process, while mentoring involves a long-term role-model relationship which is primarily career and development-oriented (Burke et al., 1991). Second, leadership involves one leader and one or more followers, whereas mentoring usually involves one mentor and one proteÂ geÂ . Leadership may be a more formal, overt, and direct in¯uence process, while mentoring may be a more informal, subtle, and indirect in¯uence process (Appelbaum, Ritchie and Shapiro, 1994). Graen and Scandura (1986) suggested that leadership is distinct from mentoring but e€ective LMX relations may be a function of being mentored by a leader. Third, not all experienced leaders become e€ective mentors (Ragins and Cotton, 1993). Fourth, empirical distinction between leadership and mentoring has been found by Scandura and Schriesheim (1994), Eisenbach (1992, `An exploration of mentoring and leadership as interrelated concepts'. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Miami), and Morgan (1989). Given the ambiguity regarding the distinctiveness of leadership and mentoring, we relied upon the work of Yukl (1990, 1994) and Noe (1988) to propose approximate conceptual similarities and distinctions between speci®c leadership behaviors and mentoring functions shown in Table 1. Yukl (1990) developed a taxonomy of leader behavior which integrates several earlier taxonomies (e.g., Mintzberg, 1973; Stogdill, 1963) of initiating structure (i.e., task-oriented) and consideration (i.e., relationship-oriented) leader behaviors. Some leader behaviors are primarily task-oriented (e.g., planning and organizing, problem solving, clarifying roles and objectives, monitoring), while others are primarily relationship oriented (i.e., supporting, developing, networking, recognizing). Yukl (1994) argued that certain leader behaviors include some Table 1. Approximate conceptual similarities and distinctions between leadership behaviors and mentoring functions Leader behavior Primary behavior Mentoring function (Noe, 1988) (Yukl, 1990) orientation Career development Psychosocial support Planning and organizing Task Coaching Problem solving Task Clarifying roles and objectives Task Challenging assignments Role modelling Informing Task Monitoring Task Protection Motivating and inspiring Mixed Role modelling Consulting Mixed Delegating Mixed Supporting Relationship Counselling Developing and mentoring Relationship Sponsorship Coaching Challenging assignments Managing con¯ict and Relationship team building Networking Relationship Exposure/visibility Sponsorship Recognizing Relationship Acceptance/con®rmation Rewarding Relationship Acceptance/con®rmation Note. Primary behavior orientation based on Yukl (1994). Speci®c mentoring function indicates area of overlap with leadership behavior. Copyright # 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Organiz. Behav. 21, 365±390 (2000)
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