35 International Journal of Management and Human Resources, Volume 4, Number 1, Winter 2016 THE MODERATING EFFECT OF SATISFACTION WITH THE LEADER ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEAM DYNAMICS AND FOLLOWER’S EXTRA EFFORT David Notgrass Jacob Heller Tarleton State University Charlene Conner University of North Texas at Dallas ABSTRACT This study, using data from small, fast-forming, short-duration team contexts, examined the moderating effect of the level of group members’ satisfaction with their group leader on the relationship between group cohesion and extra effort, as well as on the relationship between satisfaction with the group and extra effort. The results revealed that team members’ level of satisfaction with their team leader moderated the level of group cohesion (independent variable) and the level of extra effort (dependent variable) relationship as well as the employee level of satisfaction with the group (dependent variable) and the level of extra effort (dependent variable) relationship. In addition, the two variables group cohesion and satisfaction with the group gave good prediction of employee extra effort in both high and low levels of satisfaction with group leader conditions. Keywords: Leadership, group cohesion, group satisfaction, extra effort INTRODUCTION The study of small groups has been a popular topic of researchers for decades. A central pursuit of these studies has been to identify the attributes of small groups that lead to small group performance and success (Beal et al., 2003). This is perhaps due to the important role that small groups play in modern business (Cohen & Bailey, 1997). Small group cohesion in the work place has been a topic of particular interest. In addition to the almost innumerable studies that investigated cohesion in small groups, a number of ‘state of the topic’ articles and meta-analyses were also completed (Beal et al., 2003; Drescher, Burlingame, & Fuhriman, 2012; Evans & Dion, 2012; Greer, 2012). A common research goal of many of these studies was to investigate the relationship between group cohesion and performance (Evans & Dion, 2012). Phillips, Douthitt, and Hyland (2001) wrote that while work teams are commonly used to increase productivity and effectiveness in the workplace, they commonly do not achieve the goals or expected results for which they were created. The small group literature suggests that group performance may be related to affective factors such as long-term commitment, cohesion, and satisfaction (Phillips, Douthitt, & Hyland, 2001). Further, considerable evidence exists to suggest that these affective factors play a salient role in group success. Group cohesion has consistently been a predictor of group performance. A meta-analysis completed by Evans and Dion (2012) demonstrated that cohesive groups performed eighteen percentile points above non-cohesive groups. Satisfaction in small groups is another affective factor that seems to influence success in small work groups. While there is relatively little in the current literature that investigates