Are we on the same wavelength? Supervisor-subordinate cognitive style congruence and its association with supervisors’ self-awareness through leader member exchange

Introduction: Leaders’ self-awareness is essential to leadership effectiveness. Cognitive styles—how individuals perceive and process information—are key factors in fostering self-awareness. Drawing on Social Identity Theory (SIT), this study explores whether cognitive style congruence between supervisors and subordinates enhances supervisors’ self-awareness, and whether Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) mediates this relationship. Methods: We used a time-lagged dyadic design and multilevel polynomial regression to analyze data from 189 subordinates and 36 supervisors. Cognitive styles were measured across three dimensions: knowing, planning, and creating. We assessed congruence between supervisors and subordinates and tested LMX as a mediator of its relationship with supervisors’ self-awareness in the context of transformational leadership. Results: Findings show that LMX fully mediates the relationship between cognitive style congruence (for knowing and creating styles) and supervisors’ self-awareness. Additionally, LMX is highest when supervisors and subordinates share high congruence in these styles. No significant effects were found for the planning style. Discussion: The study highlights the value of aligning cognitive styles in leader–follower pairs. High cognitive congruence enhances LMX quality, which in turn fosters leader self-awareness—an important precursor to transformational leadership effectiveness.