Boss, you’re making me lose my way! How and when paradoxical leadership hurts employees’ work goal progress

Purpose This paper aims to explore the intersection of leadership and goal-setting research, focusing on the impact of paradoxical leadership (PL) on employees’ work goal progress (WGP). Drawing on social information processing theory and goal-setting theory, our research elucidates how PL influences employees’ WGP through subordinates’ perceptions of leader goal clarity and their clear self-set goals (CSG). Design/methodology/approach The hypotheses of the study were empirically tested using a 4-wave, 2-source survey methodology involving 387 supervisor-subordinate pairs from a large Chinese tourism company. Findings The study reveals that PL negatively impacts perceived leader goal clarity and CSG, thereby impeding WGP. Additionally, it is found that clear organization-set goals (COG) can reduce the reliance on leader goal clarity and mitigate the adverse effects of PL on WGP. Originality/value This research contributes to the literature by demonstrating the potential negative consequences of PL on WGP and highlighting the importance of COG as a boundary condition. It integrates leadership and goal-setting research to provide a comprehensive understanding of the psychological processes through which leaders influence subordinates’ WGP.