‘‘top-down communication’’ are replaced by ‘‘insist on making final
decisions on key issues’’; ‘‘information secrecy’’ is changed into ‘‘guard
key information tightly’’; ‘‘reprimand subordinates for poor perform-
ance’’ is changed into ‘‘do not tolerate low performance.’’ In addition,
we propose to add a couple of behaviors (i.e. ‘‘expect obedience’’ and
‘‘apply strict discipline’’) that are central to the definition of authoritar-
ianism. Four other core behaviors (‘‘tight control,’’ ‘‘act in a dignified
manner,’’ ‘‘exhibit high self-confidence,’’ and ‘‘insist on high perform-
ance standards’’) are retained without modification.
Benevolent leadership
Leader benevolence refers to behavior that demonstrates individual-
ized, holistic concern for a subordinate’s well-being (Farh and Cheng,
2000 ). The original domain of benevolence includes six behaviors,
five of which focus on the supervisor’s concern for employees in the
non-work domain and only one in the work domain. To correct this
imbalance, we propose to partition the domain of benevolence into
‘‘individualized care in the non-work domain’’ and ‘‘individualized
care in the work domain’’. Among the original six behaviors, four
are under the non-work domain, one is in the work domain (‘‘provide
job security’’), and one is dropped due to the ambiguity of its meaning
(‘‘leave room even in extreme cases’’). We propose to add a few
supportive behaviors in the work domain, including ‘‘concern about
career advancement’’; ‘‘provide constructive feedback, coaching, and
mentoring’’; and ‘‘allow chances for correcting mistakes.’’
Moral leadership
In the original model, only two behaviors were listed under moral
leadership: (i) avoiding acting selfishly; and (ii) leading by example.
To make moral leadership more relevant for a broad range of mana-
gers, we propose to broaden its construct domain. Using an open-
ended questionnaire, Farh and Liang ( 2005 ) surveyed over 300 PRC
managers/employees from a variety of organizations about key behaviors/
attributes of the moral leaders they had encountered. More than 600
moral behaviors or attributes were collected. The ensuing content
analysis identified six clusters of moral leader behaviors. Besides
unselfishness and leading by example, they also found ‘‘job devotion’’
and ‘‘personal integrity’’ to be key elements of moral leadership. ‘‘Job
devotion’’ refers to being competent for the job, leading by example,
196 Jiing-lih Farhet al.