Hannes Leroy | Business School | University of Exeter

Professor Hannes Leroy

Distinguished Research Professor

H.Leroy@exeter.ac.uk

0031623739398

Streatham Court

Streatham Court, University of Exeter, Rennes Drive, Exeter, EX4 4PU, UK

Overview

Hannes completed his PhD in authentic leadership development at the University of Leuven in 2012. After that he worked at Cornell University (Johnson School of Business) before continuing his academic journey at Rotterdam School of Management, currently as an Associate Professor.

Hannes Leroy is interested in authentic leadership and how to develop it. That interest includes not only a passionate and critical view of the concept of authenticity but his past work also includes a better understanding of its unique outcomes (e.g., safety, error hiding and work engagement), antecedents (e.g., mindfulness training), and similarities and differences from related concepts (i.e., leader behavioral integrity, leader communication transparency). On the development side he is passionate about authenticity both in terms of developing leaders to use their unique or authentic self as a source of their leadership strength as well as the idea of real (i.e., actually moving the needle) leadership development.

Nationality: Belgian

Qualifications

Research

Research interests

Authenticity.
Leadership
Leadership development

I am interested in authenticity – the extent to which one remains true to oneself – at work: whether individuals feel authentic, are perceived as authentic, and encouraged to be authentic. I study the emergence of authenticity across multiple levels of analysis; for example, I have investigated the individual (e.g. mindfulness), leader (e.g. authentic leadership), team (e.g. psychological safety), and organizational (e.g. climate for inclusion) antecedents of authenticity. In turn, authenticity is associated with important outcomes throughout the employment process. My research has shown that authenticity helps us understand how organizations maintain a credible image as an employer and company, how job candidates manage to portray a credible impression, whether employees internalize organizational values and become fully engaged in their jobs, whether and how employees voice and implement innovative ideas, under what conditions employees are willing to report and learn from work (safety) errors, and finally how authenticity in leadership at different levels helps fosters engagement, trust, and inclusion.

Additionally, I am interested in what constitutes and drives effective leadership development. Aligned with the previous topic, I am interested in leadership development.

Research projects

Most of my research to date focuses on the challenges involved with effective leadership development. In a variety of projects I am engaged in :

A longitudinal endeavour to measure the effects of leadership development
Looking at ways to standardize/accredit effective leadership development
Effect evaluation of experiential leadership development practices.

Former and Existing PhD Students

Marlies Veestraeten, University of Leuven, Assistant Professor at NEOMA Business School.
- Strengths-based leadership
Johannes Claeys, Tilburg University, Assistant Professor at IESEG Business School
- Leadership vulnerability
Jana Deprez, University of Leuven, post-doc researcher at University of Leuven
- Corporated intrapreneurship
Kathleen Vangronsvelt, University of Leuven
- Dark sides of auhtenticity
Pisitta Vongswasdi, Erasmus University
- Effectiveness of Experiential Leadership Development
Jingtao Zhu, Erasmus University
- Leading with Purpose

Publications

Journal articles

Choi E, ten Brummelhuis LL, Leroy H (2024). Honesty is Not Always the Best Policy: the Role of Self-Esteem Based on Others' Approval in Qualifying the Relationship Between Leader Transparency and Follower Voice. JOURNAL OF LEADERSHIP & ORGANIZATIONAL STUDIES Author URL.

Vongswasdi P, Leroy H, Shemla M, Hoever I, Khattab J (2023). Influencing diversity beliefs through a personal testimonial, promotion-focused approach. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 44(1), 1-18. Abstract.

Dragoni L, Leroy H, Peng A, Stam D (2023). Welcoming <i>Fireside Chats</i> to the Field of Leadership. JOURNAL OF LEADERSHIP & ORGANIZATIONAL STUDIES, 30(2), 133-136. Author URL.

Leroy H, Buengeler C, Veestraeten M, Shemla M, J. Hoever I (2022). Fostering Team Creativity Through Team-Focused Inclusion: the Role of Leader Harvesting the Benefits of Diversity and Cultivating Value-In-Diversity Beliefs. GROUP & ORGANIZATION MANAGEMENT, 47(4), 798-839. Author URL.

Leroy HL, Anisman-Razin M, Avolio BJ, Bresman H, Stuart Bunderson J, Burris ER, Claeys J, Detert JR, Dragoni L, Giessner SR, et al (2022). Walking Our Evidence-Based Talk: the Case of Leadership Development in Business Schools. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 29(1), 5-32. Abstract.

Karelaia N, Guillén L, Leroy H (2022). When being oneself is socially rewarded: Social identification qualifies the effect of authentic behavior at work. Human Relations, 75(11), 2058-2090. Abstract.

Veestraeten M, Johnson SK, Leroy H, Sy T, Sels L (2021). Exploring the Bounds of Pygmalion Effects: Congruence of Implicit Followership Theories Drives and Binds Leader Performance Expectations and Follower Work Engagement. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 28(2), 137-153. Abstract.

Leroy H, Hoever IJ, Vangronsvelt K, Van den Broeck A (2021). How team averages in authentic living and perspective-taking personalities relate to team information elaboration and team performance. J Appl Psychol, 106(3), 364-376. Abstract. Author URL.

Cha SE, Hewlin PF, Roberts LM, Buckman BR, Leroy H, Steckler EL, Ostermeier K, Cooper D (2019). Being Your True Self at Work: Integrating the Fragmented Research on Authenticity in Organizations. Academy of Management Annals, 13(2), 633-671.

Lemoine GJ, Hartnell CA, Leroy H (2019). Taking Stock of Moral Approaches to Leadership: an Integrative Review of Ethical, Authentic, and Servant Leadership. Academy of Management Annals, 13(1), 148-187.

Cullen‐Lester KL, Leroy H, Gerbasi A, Nishii L (2016). Energy's role in the extraversion (dis)advantage: How energy ties and task conflict help clarify the relationship between extraversion and proactive performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 37(7), 1003-1022. Abstract.

Leroy H, Anseel F, Gardner WL, Sels L (2012). Authentic Leadership, Authentic Followership, Basic Need Satisfaction, and Work Role Performance. Journal of Management, 41(6), 1677-1697. Abstract.

External Engagement and Impact

Awards and Honours

2018: Best Paper Award AOM Conference -Leadership Development Beyond Developing Leaders,
2018: Best Paper Award ACERE Conference - The Temporal Evolution in Entrepreneurial Intention
2016: Journal of Management Studies Karen Legge Award for Contribution by an Early Career
2013: Best Dissertation Award, Dutch HRM Network, Belgium
2009: Outstanding Reviewer Award, AOM conference, Chicago
2008: Doctoral Fellowship in Intercollegiate Center for Management Science, Belgium (FWO)
2007: Best Paper Award ICSB Conference, Turku, Finland

External positions

Associate Editor GOM
Editorial Board Member
- Journal of Applied Psychology
- Personnel Psychology
- Journal of Management Studies
- Journal of Leadership and Organization Studies

Teaching

I teach leadership development programs across levels – MBA-EMBA-Executive Education. My focus there is typically authentic leadership development, where I work with students to discover and cultivate their unique leadership style.

Additionally, I teach various formats on power and politics in organizations, with a special emphasis on how to maintain one’s authenticity within company politics.

Finally, I have taught courses on “leadership by design” where I help executives in their leadership by designing an HR-system that supports their leadership vision.

Modules

2023/24

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