High in the Hierarchy: How Vertical Location and Judgments of Leaders' Power are Interrelated

49 Pages Posted: 1 Jun 2007

See all articles by S.R. Giessner

S.R. Giessner

Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM)

T.W. Schubert

Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM)

Date Written: March 21, 2007

Abstract

Leadership implies power. We argue, from a social embodiment perspective, that thinking about power involves mental simulations of vertical location. Three studies tested whether judgments of leaders’ power and information on a vertical location are interrelated. In Studies 1a-c, participants judged a leader's power after being presented with, among other information, an organization chart containing either a long or a short vertical line. A longer vertical line increased judged power. Study 2 showed that this effect persists when longer (vs. shorter) vertical lines are presented in an independent priming task and not in an organization chart, and that horizontal lines do not have the same effect. Finally, Studies 3a and 3b showed the reverse causal effect: Information about a leader’s power influenced participants’ vertical positioning of a leader’s box in an organization chart and of a leader picture into a team picture. Implications for leadership communication are discussed.

Keywords: Power, Leadership, Metaphor, Embodiment, Person perception

Suggested Citation

Giessner, Steffen R. and Schubert, Thomas W., High in the Hierarchy: How Vertical Location and Judgments of Leaders' Power are Interrelated (March 21, 2007). ERIM Report Series Reference No. ERS-2007-021-ORG, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=981294

Steffen R. Giessner (Contact Author)

Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM) ( email )

P.O. Box 1738
3000 DR Rotterdam
Netherlands

Thomas W. Schubert

Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM)

P.O. Box 1738
3000 DR Rotterdam
Netherlands

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
190
Abstract Views
1,381
Rank
289,349
PlumX Metrics