The moderating role of trust on the relation between a leader’s calling and an employee’s calling

Purpose Approaching work as a calling is associated with numerous positive outcomes; yet, we know little about how callings develop. Grounded in social cognitive career and meaning-making theory, this study explores whether leaders who are called to their roles foster the development of calling in their employees. Design/methodology/approach Using a three-wave longitudinal design with a sample of 285 US employees, we examined whether perceiving a leader as called – and trusting that leader – predicts growth in employees’ sense of calling over time. Findings Results indicate that perceiving calling in a leader fosters the development of calling when the leader is trusted and lowers calling in employees when the leader is not trusted. We found evidence that this process is incremental and slow compared to other modeling processes, requiring four to eight months to be detected. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by identifying leaders as potential socialization agents in the development of calling. The practical and theoretical implications of these results are discussed.