Can Supportive Coaching Behaviors Facilitate Boundary Spanning and Raise Job Satisfaction? An Indirect-Effects Model

Abstract

As organizations encounter unpredictable external environments, expectations are changing for managers and team leaders toward providing more facilitative, less directive coaching in order to stimulate more flexibility and adaptability. Prior research has underscored the role of team leader supportive coaching behaviors in reinforcing and growing team member capabilities to work independently from the leader. What is not yet understood, however, is if and how supportive coaching behaviors relate to team member engagement in boundary-spanning behaviors, which are team member efforts to establish and maintain relationships with key parties external to their team. This study examines how team leaders’ supportive coaching of boundary spanning—defined as a set of behaviors that (a) encourages team members to engage in frequent and open collaborations with key parties external to the team and (b) grants team members the latitude to engage external parties in ways the team members deem necessary—relates to team member boundary-spanning behavior and job satisfaction through a motivational pathway. We test a hypothesized indirect-effects model within a field sample of 256 engineering employees working in teams. Results indicate that leaders’ supportive coaching of boundary spanning is positively related to team member boundary-spanning self-efficacy, which in turn is positively related to team member engagement in boundary-spanning behavior for their teams. Also, team members who reported more boundary-spanning behavior experienced greater job satisfaction. The findings have important implications for organizations, team leaders, and team members.