The Strength of Vulnerability: How Does Supervisors’ Emotional Support-Seeking Promote Leadership Influence?

Most academic work concludes that supervisors are typically viewed as providers rather than seekers of emotional support, as emotional support-seeking may be seen as a threat to their status in the workplace. However, this conclusion is incomplete due to two limitations in prior studies: (1) the tendency to interpret emotional support-seeking by high-status individuals as a lack of task-oriented competence, overlooking the relational dimension inherent in such behavior; and (2) neglecting subordinates' expectations of authentic and approachable leadership prototypes. This study focuses on how and when supervisors' emotional support-seeking enhances their leadership influence, from a leadership perspective that integrates relations-oriented and task-oriented dimensions. Drawing on a social network approach and regression analysis, we tested our hypotheses using data from 93 teams in 51 Chinese organizations, comprising 150 supervisors and 525 direct subordinates. The results reveal that supervisors' emotional support-seeking is positively associated with their leadership influence via LMX efficiency. Furthermore, managerial competence moderates the relationship between supervisors' emotional support-seeking and their LMX efficiency. This study challenges the prevailing assumption that emotional support-seeking undermines status, highlighting the positive impact of supervisors' emotional support-seeking on their relationship and leadership in the workplace.