Working with creative leaders: An examination of the relationship between leader and team creativity

Little research attention has been paid to the importance of creative leadership for team creativity. We proposed that the leader’s level of creativity would be a core component of effective leadership, and that leader creativity would be positively related to team creativity and moderated by leader empowerment and task complexity. Participants were 382 employees and their leaders from 89 project teams in China. Results showed that there was a positive relationship between leader creativity and team creativity, and that the relationship was fortified by task complexity but weakened by leader empowerment. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.