Leadership and innovation among teams - The impact of empowerment

This study investigated the effects of leader-empowering behavior on the level of innovation among professional project teams. The study was conducted in two phases. Phase I used extensive field-based interviews to develop measures of leader-empowering behavior and team-level innovation. Phase II applied the scales to test the relationship between the two variables. Ratings of team-level innovation were supplied by the principals of 20 firms. Ratings of leader-empowering behavior were supplied by members of 60 teams within the 20 firms. The results demonstrated a significant relationship between leaders' empowering behavior and evaluations of team innovation made by the firms' principals. The study identifies explicit behaviors managers can employ to stimulate innovation among teams.