To Keep Close or to Let Loose: Recipe for Sustainable Quality Dyad

Abstract

This study’s objective was to determine factors that that sustain a quality dyad. Leaders are known to consciously and sub consciously form two groups; in-group and outgroup members. Studies have revealed that in-group members work overtime and perform extra duties and in turn, get favours from the leaders including career mobility and access to information, among other favours. Literature is unclear on how these groups are formed and this paper embarked on finding out the recipe of the formation and sustainability of a quality dyad. It was hypothesised that being a male member, trust and competence are not recipes of a high-quality relationship. Descriptive survey was employed; a population of 19 leaders were responding to questions about their 169 employees who report to them directly. Primary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires.122 pairs of leaders and their direct reports was the response rate (72.2%). Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. The hypothesis was tested using logistical regression technique. The results showed that competence and trust are the recipe for an inclusion into the in-group of a leader. Gender, on the other hand, was not a recipe for a sustainable quality dyadic relationship. It is recommended that employees should ensure high level trustworthiness and competence for them to be kept close by the leader. The paper suggests that more variables can be considered as recipes for the quality dyadic relationship. These findings add significant value on both theory, policy and practice.