The Necessary Role of Leader‐Employee Exchange Relationships on Employee Performance

Do employees need a favorable relationship with their leader to excel at work? Research indicates that to perform at work it is nice to have a favorable relationship with one's leader, but in the current study we test whether it is necessary . Utilizing a different paradigm, necessity logic across two samples ( N 1 = 127, N 2 = 131) of leader‐employee dyads, we test the extent to which the leader‐employee exchange relationship is a necessary condition for employee performance (i.e., work effort, work quality, work engagement, and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)). We find that very high work engagement and OCBO rarely occur unless leaders are satisfied with their exchange relationship with the employee. We also find that very low work effort and work quality rarely occur unless leaders are dissatisfied with their exchange relationship with the employee. Finally, very low work quality appears primarily when leader and employee perceptions of the exchange relationship are misaligned; when their perceptions align, the lowest levels of work quality are largely absent. Thus, there are significant benefits for managers in maintaining alignment in perceptions of the exchange relationship.