University of Twente Student Theses
A linguistic perspective on leadership effectiveness : the role of word-use and verbal mimicry on perceived leadership effectiveness
Westdijk, D.K. (2018) A linguistic perspective on leadership effectiveness : the role of word-use and verbal mimicry on perceived leadership effectiveness.
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| Abstract: | This empirical study explores if the word-use of leaders and the verbal mimicry between leaders and followers are connected to perceptions of leadership effectiveness. In a multi-method observational study, the word-use and verbal mimicry of 52 managers, who work in a Dutch public-service organization, are analyzed with a quantitative content analysis. There are six hypotheses constructed based on an extensive literature review. None of the hypotheses are supported. However, contrary to previous findings, there was a negative significant effect of the use of first-person pronoun plural and words of affiliation on the perceived leadership effectiveness in this study. In addition to the hypothesis testing, an explorative test was conducted for both word-use and verbal mimicry in order to exploit the data-set. An explorative analysis was executed to explore whether there is a difference in verbal behavior between the five most effective and five least effective leaders. The five most effective leaders used more words bigger than six letters and the least effective leaders used more positive words and had more non-fluencies in their speaking. Since there was no relation found between verbal mimicry and perceived leadership effectiveness, the relation between verbal mimicry and trust, a vital aspect of perceived leadership effectiveness, was explored and a significant effect of verbal mimicry on trust (both cognitive and affective) was found. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 05 communication studies, 17 linguistics and theory of literature |
| Programme: | Communication Studies MSc (60713) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/76510 |
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