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Leader Communication Techniques: Analyzing the Effects on Followers' Cognitions, Affect, and Behavior.
Chantal Utzinger1,2, Anna Luca Heimann2, Fabiola H Gerpott3
1Department of Military Psychology and Pedagogics, Military Academy at ETH Zurich, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
|August 28, 2025
Summary
This study explored leader communication techniques, finding few differences in their impact on followers. Affective communication uniquely enhanced perceptions of leader warmth and charisma.
Area of Science:
- Organizational Behavior
- Leadership Studies
- Communication Science
Background:
- Leader communication is central to leadership effectiveness, yet research is fragmented.
- Understanding differential effects of communication techniques on follower outcomes is limited.
- A framework is needed to systematically study leader communication strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and test a framework categorizing leader communication techniques.
- To examine the differential effects of cognitive, affective, and behavioral communication on follower outcomes.
- To investigate how leader communication impacts follower cognition, affect, and behavior.
Main Methods:
- Developed and pre-tested video vignette materials.
- Conducted a between-subjects experiment with 368 military recruits.
- Assigned recruits to cognitive, affective, or behavioral leader communication conditions.
Main Results:
- Few significant differences were found in the impact of the three communication techniques on most follower outcomes.
- Leader perception remained similar across cognitive, affective, and behavioral communication conditions.
- Affective leader communication techniques uniquely enhanced follower perceptions of leader warmth and charisma.
Conclusions:
- Leader communication techniques have limited differential effects on follower outcomes.
- Affective communication strategies show specific benefits for enhancing leader warmth and charisma.
- Future research should further explore nuanced impacts of leader communication on followers.
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