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Effects of Exemplification, Delivery, and Ethical Reputation
"What a leader says may, at times, be less important to fostering a charismatic image than how he or she says it."
This study explored the extent to which a leader who claims to be either exemplary or pragmatic and is revealed to have a reputation for either deception or honesty is perceived to be charismatic, effective, and morally worthy. The effects of message delivery and participants' scores on the Romance of Leadership Scale (RLS) were also examined. The results revealed that (a) a strong versus weak delivery produced higher ratings of leader charisma and effectiveness; (b) exemplary versus pragmatic self-presentations yielded higher levels of perceived effectiveness and integrity; (c) the strong delivery x ethical reputation combination produced the highest levels of perceived leader effectiveness and integrity; and (d) only high RLS individuals perceived the leader to be most effective when delivery was strong and least effective when delivery was weak.
Keywords: charisma; leadership; exemplification; integrity; reputation
For practitioners, academics, and laypersons alike, "leading by example" is revered as a highly noble form of leadership. With the rise (Lowe & Gardner, 2000) of what has been called the "new leadership" (Bryman, 1992) or "neocharismatic" (House & Aditya, 1997) paradigm, which encompasses theories of charismatic (Conger & Kanungo, 1987; House, 1977; Shamir, House, & Arthur, 1993) and transformational (Bass, 1985) leadership, this emphasis on exemplary behavior has grown. For example, theories of charismatic leadership consider the modeling of exemplary behavior through the leader's words and deeds to be a key determinant of the charismatic relationship (Bryman, 1992; Gardner & Avolio, 1998).
Exemplification consists of "behavior [that] presents the actor as morally worthy and may also have the goal of eliciting imitation by others" (Tedeschi & Norman, 1985, p. 301). Because integrity and moral worthiness are nearly universally valued ideals, exemplifiers typically portray themselves as unusually trustworthy and ethical persons. Prototypical examples of charismatic and exemplary leaders include Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi (Bass, 1985; Gardner & Cleavenger, 1998; Jones & Pittman, 1982). These leaders secured extraordinary levels of follower trust and inspired followers to emulate their behavior by making personal sacrifices for the collective good.
Despite its potential benefit as a self-presentation strategy, exemplification has...