Dr. Troy Smith, assistant professor of management, joined Nebraska Business in 2016 after earning his Ph.D. in management from the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University. His research focuses on the intersection of leadership and motivation across levels of analysis, job attitudes and employee engagement and spillover effects of work and non-work factors. He has published in multiple academic journals, including
Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Personnel Psychology, Journal of Social Psychology and
Sex Roles.
His most recent research uses an experiment and two field studies from the People’s Republic of China and the U.S. to explore the role of leaders in motivating members to contribute proactively across team boundaries and not just within the teams to which they belong. The results reveal a team leader’s empowering leadership has a unique and positive influence on an employee’s psychological empowerment and proactive behaviors across multiple teams led by other leaders. This translatable influence can substitute for lower levels of empowering leadership experienced by the same employee within different teams. Subsequently, Smith and his co-authors provide practical guidance for leaders managing employees with multiple team memberships.
Every organization has a limited number of effective leaders. When employees are on multiple teams under multiple leaders, the motivational capabilities of an empowering leader can span across team boundaries, allowing the most effective leaders to be strategically aligned to go above and beyond less effective leaders.
"Every organization has a limited number of effective leaders. When employees are on multiple teams under multiple leaders, the motivational capabilities of an empowering leader can span across team boundaries, allowing the most effective leaders to be strategically aligned to go above and beyond less effective leaders."
Dr. Troy Smith
Assistant Professor of Management
Published: November 9, 2018