Charismatic leadership and follower effects

Does talking the talk help walking the walk? An examination of the effect of vocal attractiveness in leader effectiveness

“…We argue that a person's vocal attractiveness is a relevant aspect of the leader prototype. Previous research on leaders' communication has shown that the use of images conveyed in words strongly influences follower perceptions (Emrich, Brower, Feldman, & Garland 2001) and that the manner in which images are conveyed in political speeches can have impacts on attributions of leadership quality through follower reactions such as trust in the leader (Conger, Kanungo, & Menon 2000). However, to the best of our knowledge, no research has investigated the effects of vocal attractiveness on perceptions of leadership effectiveness.…”

“…Previous research on vocal attractiveness has shown that personal reactions such as liking and trust mediate the relationship between vocal attractiveness and job performance evaluations of subordinates (DeGroot & Motowidlo 1999). Similarly, those personal reactions of followers have been studied in the leadership literature as follower effects (Conger et al 2000;Kirkpatrick & Locke 1996;Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Moorman, & Fetter 1990) and as mediating mechanisms in the relationship between leadership and followers' evaluations of leaders (Yukl 1989).…”

“…Another way in which Study 2 extends the goals of Study 1 is by exploring the mediating mechanisms that may explain the effects of voice attractiveness on perceptions of leadership effectiveness. Study 2 also shows that consistent with findings about the mechanisms through which charisma affects perceptions of leadership effectiveness (Conger et al 2000;Yukl 1989), personal reactions mediate the relationship between vocal attractiveness and leadership effectiveness behaviors. This helps our understanding of the mechanisms that are at play when adding vocal attractiveness as a predictor of leadership effectiveness and clarifies the follower effects that are related to vocal attractiveness.…”

When is brand orientation a useful strategic posture?

“…The kind of commitment, dedication, and advocacy required to ensure that an MNE subsidiary's branding activities are successful is facilitated when transformational leader style is increasingly demonstrated by the top management team. Conger et al (2000) found that when high group task efficacy is required to ensure positive performance results, the presence of a transformational leadership can be particularly helpful in motivating organizational members to act in a desired manner. Task efficacy allows leaders to set higher performance targets for personnel and increase acceptance rates.…”

“…This leader-follower bond may generate a strong fondness and commitment that goes beyond transactional compliance (Javidan & Waldman, 2003), thus organizational members may be more willing to change their attitudes, values, and behaviors to be consistent with the leader's expectations. Employees likely will be more receptive to the idea of brand orientation if they are convinced that their transformational leader is supportive of their branding activities (Conger, Kanungo, & Menon, 2000). The kind of commitment, dedication, and advocacy required to ensure that an MNE subsidiary's branding activities are successful is facilitated when transformational leader style is increasingly demonstrated by the top management team.…”