Abstract
Leaders often use influence tactics (e.g., pressure and rational persuasion) to foster employee performance. Yet empirical findings regarding their effectiveness remain mixed. Addressing this ambiguity, the present research integrates perceptual alignment, motivational climate, and temporal dynamics to examine how leaders’ influence tactics relate to employee in-role performance. Across two studies, we investigate both the (dis)agreement between leaders’ and employees’ perceptions of influence tactics and the role of the motivational climate in shaping these perceptions over time. Using dyadic data (Study 1), we find a curvilinear relationship for pressure. A multi-wave cross-lagged study (Study 2) further reveals employees’ perceptions of the motivational climate shape how they perceive leaders’ tactics over time, suggesting leaders’ act as proximal representatives of broader organizational values. By addressing perceptual agreement and temporal dynamics, this research clarifies when and how leader influence tactics support performance and explains prior inconsistent findings in leadership literature.