Abstract
Organizations are increasing their use of sophisticated techniques, including video, to communicate with employees. They are also relying more on the use of "stories" and "legends" about leaders as a way of reinforcing their culture. An important issue in both of these trends is the relationship between the actions or behavior of the leader as depicted in the story or message and the values of the individuals who are the target of the story or message. This study examined this issue as it related to interpersonal affect. Sixty-three banking executives, 61 evening MBA students, and 102 full-time undergraduate students completed a work values survey and later viewed one of two video-taped presentations of leadership behavior. Results showed that congruence between a subject's values and the rated values of a leader was associated with greater anticipated satisfaction with the leader. This effect did not depend on the uncertainty of the leader's behavior, but seemed to be contingent on the subject having had substantial prior experience with the type of leadership behavior illustrated.
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