Reciprocal relationship between newcomer task performance and leader–member exchange: The moderating role of political skill

Although research has extensively examined how leader–member exchange (LMX) influences employees’ performance, little is known about the reciprocal relationship between these variables during the initial phase of the leader–member interaction. Drawing on social exchange theory, we propose that newcomers’ task performance has a positive time-lagged effect on LMX and vice versa. We further incorporate the political skill literature and propose that political skill strengthens both directions of this reciprocal relationship, such that newcomers with higher political skill more effectively signal competence to facilitate LMX development and leverage leader-provided resources to improve their task performance. We test these predictions using a three-wave longitudinal study of newcomers during the organizational socialization stage and find partial support for our proposed model. We also discuss the theoretical implications for understanding LMX development and newcomer research, and the practical implications for facilitating effective socialization.