Cultivating the Regulatory Focus of Followers to Amplify Their Sensitivity to Transformational Leadership

Abstract

According to regulatory focus theory, one facet of transformational leadership might inspire only followers who direct their attention to their aspirations, called a promotion focus . Furthermore, followers focus their attention on aspirations only when they experience a sense of security. In this study, 160 employees completed a survey evaluating the leadership style of their supervisors and their own regulatory focus, self-esteem, attachment style, belief in a just world, and work engagement. Visionary leadership was positively associated with engagement in followers, especially when these individuals adopted a promotion focus. This promotion focus was related to factors that confer a sense of security—such as attachment style and just world beliefs—which in turn were associated with the leadership style of their supervisors. Findings imply leaders should first foster a sense of security in followers, which evokes a promotion focus and augments the receptivity of employees to a rousing vision of the future.

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