Thinking Through and Holding Paradoxes: Cognitive–Emotional Microfoundations of Paradoxical Leadership

Organizations increasingly confront persistent tensions that require leaders to pursue competing demands simultaneously. Although prior research highlights paradox mindset as an orientation toward embracing tensions, less is known about the capabil-ity-based microfoundations that enable leaders to enact paradoxical leadership behaviors in practice. Addressing this gap, this study develops a cognitive–emotional capability framework that focuses on two developable resources: integrative complexity (IC)—a cognitive ca-pacity for differentiating and integrating competing demands—and emotion regulation (ER)—an affective capacity for sustaining engagement under tension. Using survey data from 264 Japanese managers, we examine the independent and joint effects of IC and ER strategies on paradoxical leader behaviors (PLB). Results show that IC and cognitive reappraisal are positively associated with PLB. Pol-ynomial regression and response surface analyses further reveal that PLB increases as IC and cognitive reappraisal rise together. However, when the two capabilities are im-balanced, PLB tends to be higher in profiles where IC exceeds reappraisal than in the opposite configuration. These findings suggest an asymmetric form of complementarity in which integrative complexity functions as a foundational capability while reappraisal provides supportive leverage. Overall, the study shifts attention from trait-like mindsets to trainable lead-ership capabilities and clarifies how cognitive–emotional capability configurations enable the enactment of paradoxical leadership.