This new type of leadership behavior is based on traditional Chinese yin and yang philosophical theory, which transcends the limitation of "either-or" from the perspective of power change and shifts to "both-and" to achieve the synergistic effect of integrating contradictions through paradoxical thinking. Paradoxical leadership behavior occurs when a leader uses seemingly competing but interrelated leadership behaviors designed to simultaneously meet competing demands at work. By introducing its conceptual origins and connotations and then sorting out its antecedents, outcome variables, and mechanism of action, this paper systematically compiles and reviews existing studies, constructs an overall framework for paradoxical leadership research and highlights directions for future research.
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