While previous research has assumed that intense leader anger displays result in negative consequences, researchers have recently
started to outline their potential for prompting followers to improve their performance. We explain these conflicting positions by
demonstrating that leaders’ anger intensity positively affects both deviance and work effort through triggering anger and anxiety
in followers. We conducted two critical incident studies, replicating our results with different methodologies and controlling for
potential alternative explanations. In line with theories on reciprocal emotions, supervisor-directed deviance became more likely
with higher leader anger intensity because followers reacted with correspondingly more anger. However, in line with theories on
complementary emotions, leaders’ anger intensity was also positively related to followers’ work effort due to followers’ anxiety.
These results were replicated when taking leaders’ anger appropriateness into account as a potential moderator of the deviance-
related path and when controlling for followers’ feelings of guilt (an alternative explanation for followers’ work effort). Our paper
provides evidence that intense anger displays increase followers’ work effort but also cautions leaders to show these, as the work
effort caused by them is based on followers’ intimidation and likely to be accompanied by deviant reactions. By considering the
affective reactions triggered in followers, our paper integrates diverging theoretical perspectives on followers’ reactions to
leaders’ anger intensity. Moreover, it is one of the first to disentangle the interpersonal effects that different expressions of the
same emotion may have.

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• Sparking Anger and Anxiety: Why Intense Leader Anger Displays Trigger Both More Deviance and Higher Work Effort in Followers