Abstract
Age-inverted supervision is increasingly common as workforces age, yet theory offers limited guidance on when leading older subordinates hinders or helps leaders. We develop and test a status–resource equilibrium model proposing that the proportion of older subordinates simultaneously activates status threat and experiential resources, producing nonmonotonic leadership responses. Using four-wave survey data from 893 Japanese managers with stable team membership, we find that the linear effect is negligible, but older-subordinate proportion shows an inverted-U relationship with paradoxical leader behavior. Paradoxical leader behavior predicts leader relational energy and mediates the curvilinear effect of vertical age composition on energy. Extraversion amplifies the curvature and strengthens the indirect effect, whereas cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression attenuate the curvature and weaken the indirect effect at higher levels.