In a groundbreaking study published in BMC Psychology in 2025, researchers Ma, Liu, and Song have illuminated a nuanced mechanism behind how employees’ perceptions of their relationships with leaders shape their willingness to take proactive, change-oriented actions within organizations. Their work probes deep into the dynamics of relative leader-member exchange (LMX), emphasizing the role of self-perception in motivating employees to engage in “taking charge” behavior, which is critical for driving innovation and adaptability in contemporary workplaces.
Leader-member exchange theory has long been recognized as a pivotal framework for understanding workplace relationships. However, previous studies often treated LMX as a uniform construct without considering the relative comparisons employees make regarding their exchange quality compared to peers. This new study nuances this understanding by revealing how employees’ self-perceptions and comparative judgments modulate their motivation to step beyond routine roles and initiate constructive changes.
The researchers employed rigorous quantitative methodologies to capture subtle variations in perceived leader-member exchanges among employees. By focusing on relative LMX, the study shifts the lens from absolute relationship quality to comparative assessments, uncovering that employees who perceive themselves as having higher-quality relationships relative to their peers feel more empowered and confident to take charge. This relative perception acts as a psychological catalyst, boosting self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation essential for proactive workplace behavior.
Furthermore, the study demystifies the psychological underpinnings of these phenomena through a self-perception perspective framework. Self-perception theory posits that individuals infer their attitudes and dispositions by observing their own behavior and the context of social interactions. Applied here, employees interpret the quality of their exchanges with their leaders relative to coworkers as informative feedback about their own status and capability within the organization, which in turn fuels their readiness to engage in change-making actions.
One of the key technical insights of this study lies in its integration of social comparison processes within leader-member exchange dynamics. The authors argue that it is not merely an absolute empathetic connection or support from leaders that fosters taking charge behavior, but rather the relative hierarchical positioning based on LMX perceptions vis-à-vis colleagues. This comparative framework illuminates new pathways for understanding motivational drivers in organizational settings, especially regarding discretionary behaviors that significantly impact organizational effectiveness.
Methodologically, Ma, Liu, and Song employed multi-source data collection, including employee self-reports and supervisor assessments, enhancing the robustness of their findings. They controlled for potentially confounding variables such as tenure, job complexity, and organizational culture to isolate the effects of relative LMX on employees’ proactive behaviors. This analytical rigor helps clarify the genuine impact of social relational perceptions on workplace initiative, eliminating alternative explanations.
The implications of this research extend broadly to leadership practices and organizational development strategies. Leaders who recognize the importance of fostering equitable and visibly high-quality exchanges with all team members may cultivate an environment where employees feel valued and motivated to contribute beyond their formal duties. This perspective urges organizations to reassess traditional leadership evaluation metrics and encourages fostering transparency and fairness to amplify employees’ constructive engagement.
Moreover, this study’s findings align with emerging trends in positive organizational scholarship, which emphasize strengths-based approaches and psychological capital. By identifying self-perception rooted in relative LMX as a catalyst, interventions could be designed to enhance employees’ self-efficacy and perceived social standing, translating into greater organizational change agility and sustained competitive advantage.
The study also challenges some prevailing notions about intrinsic motivation by highlighting the social comparison element. It suggests that the social context—particularly perceptions of fairness and relative treatment by leaders—plays a crucial role in shaping an individual’s internal drive to initiate change. Understanding this, organizations may devise more nuanced motivational strategies that go beyond individual rewards and focus on relational equity.
Additionally, the researchers stress the importance of leader awareness regarding how differential treatment or favoritism can influence team dynamics and employee initiative. While some degree of differentiation is inevitable, leaders must balance these variations conscientiously to prevent perceptions of inequality that could stifle proactive behaviors and harm team cohesion.
Further technical discussions in the study elaborate on the moderation mechanisms between relative LMX and taking charge behaviors, identifying potential mediators such as self-esteem and psychological empowerment. These mediators deepen our understanding of the psychological pathways through which comparative social exchanges influence behavior, offering fertile ground for future research.
In exploring future directions, Ma, Liu, and Song highlight the opportunity for longitudinal designs to track how evolving perceptions of leader-member exchanges affect long-term employee innovation and organizational adaptability. They also suggest expanding research across diverse cultural and organizational contexts to validate the universality of these mechanisms.
It is essential to recognize that proactive employee behaviors like taking charge have significant implications for organizational resilience, especially in rapidly changing environments. This study’s insights help map the social-relational terrain that underpins such behaviors, thus contributing vital knowledge to organizational psychology and leadership literature.
The authors conclude by emphasizing that leadership is not solely about directive influence but also about shaping social perceptions and relational dynamics that empower employees to act as change agents. Fostering positive, equitable, and comparative leader-member relationships appears not only desirable but essential for sustaining proactive organizational climates.
Given the increasing complexity and volatility in global markets, this research supplies actionable intelligence for leaders intent on harnessing the full potential of their teams. When employees perceive themselves as fairly and favorably positioned relative to peers, they unlock latent capacities for initiative-taking and positive disruption, thereby fueling continuous improvement and innovation.
In summary, this pioneering study by Ma, Liu, and Song presents a sophisticated view of how relative leader-member exchange, interpreted through the lens of self-perception theory, shapes employees’ proactive behaviors critical for organizational success. It charts a path for leaders and researchers alike to explore relational influences on workplace dynamics with unprecedented depth and practical relevance.
Subject of Research: The study investigates the mechanism by which relative leader-member exchange (LMX) influences employees’ taking charge behavior, focusing on the role of self-perception.
Article Title: A study on the mechanism of relative leader-member exchange on employees’ taking charge behavior: from self-perception perspective.
Article References:
Ma, L., Liu, L. & Song, X. A study on the mechanism of relative leader-member exchange on employees’ taking charge behavior: from self-perception perspective. BMC Psychol 13, 1369 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-03641-9
Image Credits: AI Generated
