The Leader-Member Exchange theory explains the dynamics of the relationships leaders form with each of their group subordinates or members. It categorizes employees under the in-group and the out-group circle. Employees who have the leader's favors are under the in-group, while those who are not under the leader’s support are under the out-group. The LMX theory has different shortcomings. According to Gregory&Osmonbekov(2019). , the theory is bias and does not promote a fairground for all employees. It does not encourage justice as some workers received attention from the leaders more than others. In an organization where the leader applies the LMX theory, some workers do not get the opportunity to perform tasks that place them on the light within the organizations ( Deng et al., 2020). It implies that to such workers, getting a chance to develop or get a promotion is difficult.
Also, a leader who adopts the LMX theory assumes that workers begin at the same point when they come to an organization. It assumes that a leader presents all the workers with equal opportunity to win their trust when they come to an organization. It is an argument that may be misleading because workers are not the same, and they can be impressive in similar work a leader give them when they come to an organization ( Jiang, 2019). Some workers adapt to the new environment slowly, which may affect their productivity at the beginning of their tenure. Applying such a theory while dealing with workers may, therefore, judge them wrongly as they progress within the organization.
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I have never been a member of the out-of-favor group but had an opportunity to share with those who were once unfortunate to fall under such groups in the organization. These people perceive such leaders as unfair because they feel that after being placed under the out-of-favor group, the effort to come out of such a group may not be worthy. They also feel that such a group limits their opportunity to grow within the organization.
References
Deng, G., Zhao, D., Lio, J., Ma, X., Liang, L., & Feng, C. (2020). Linking hospital culture to the training performance of residents: The roles of leader‐member exchange and transactional leadership style. Journal of evaluation in clinical practice , 26 (1), 92-100.
Gregory, B., &Osmonbekov, T. (2019). Leader-member exchange and employee health: an exploration of explanatory mechanisms. Leadership & Organization Development Journal .
Jiang, J. (2019). Authoritarian Leadership and Subordinates’ Performance: The Mediating Role of Leader-Member Exchange. Available at SSRN 3453817 .
