Effective Leadership: How Power And Status Effect Perceived Trustworthiness And Behaviors

We are often faced with situations where there is more than one leader that has influence at a time. A leader can lead through official authority and power, but just as often they use inspiration, persuasion, and personal connections to influence their followers. The current study’s purpose is to investigate how, when there is more than one leader present, the type of influence (i.e. status or power) a leader has affects the perceptions and behaviors of followers. Some research has been done to highlight the practical differences between power and status, with the results leading to two core hypotheses: Hypothesis 1: Participants will rate low-power, high-status individuals as more trustworthy than the high-power, low-status individuals. Hypothesis 2: Participants will follow the directions given by high-power, low-status individuals more often than those given by low-power, high-status individuals. A third exploratory hypothesis investigated the role dominance-motivation and status-aspiration may have on behavior and perceptions of trustworthiness. These hypotheses were tested using a vignette, where participants were required to rate perceived trustworthiness of a high power, low status and low-power, high-status leader. The current study will contribute valuable information on how followers react when there is more than one leader present.