Transcending the here and now: Examining the impact of leader’s future oriented communications on employee voice


Dr. Priyanka Joshi

Fellow since July 2022

Priyanka Joshi is an assistant professor in the Lam Family College of Business at San Francisco State University. Professor Joshi received her PhD from the Marshall School of Business at University of Southern California. Her research interests include leadership, business ethics, and entrepreneurship. In one line of research, she examines the role of cultural interdependence on tolerance of corruption in organizations. Her more recent work examines the role of gender in communication and its effects on numerous interpersonal outcomes, including effectiveness of physician-patient interactions, leadership attributions, and ability to obtain funds from venture capitalists.

Professor Joshi routinely collaborates with industry leaders to engage in research and consulting work. Her most recent work has examined strategies to improve patient experience at Optum Healthcare, University Medical Center at Las Vegas, and UNLV Medicine Clinics. Professor Joshi’s research work has been published in reputed journal including Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Psychological Science, Journal of Experimental Psychology-General, Social and Personality Psychology Science, and Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

The Research Project

Leaders differ in the extent to which they routinely communicate about the future goals, objectives and larger organizational vision. A leader may choose to focus on immediate pressing issues such as current expectations and job responsibilities, or instead a leader may choose to transcend the immediate present and instead focus on the broad future, or anticipated outcomes, future objectives, and larger purpose. Leaders who effectively transcend the here and now are more likely to propel their followers to consider future gains of prohibitive voice.

Dr. Joshi’s research involves two studies examining the relationship between leader communication style and follower voice. The research can provide specific guidelines for how leaders can encourage voice within the organization and enhance our understanding of leader communication, employee voice and job performance. The research draws attention to the underexplored role of leader’s use of temporal communication in helping individuals transcend immediate gains and goals, and in helping organizations become more principled, purpose driven, and sustainable.