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Published Online:https://doi.org/10.1026/0932-4089.52.4.182

Führungsverhalten wird meistens anhand von Befragungen der Geführten erfasst. Eine häufig vernachlässigte Frage bezieht sich in diesem Zusammenhang darauf, inwieweit solche Befragungen das tatsächliche Verhalten der evaluierten Führungskraft oder vielmehr die Wahrnehmungsschemata und -stereotypen der Geführten widerspiegeln. Da Befragungen von Geführten oft als Ausgangspunkt für Feedback an eine Führungskraft und für deren Training verwendet werden, wären oben beschriebene Verzerrungstendenzen als problematisch anzusehen. Dieser Beitrag geht der Frage nach, welche Faktoren neben dem tatsächlichen Verhalten der eigenen Führungskraft die Wahrnehmung von Führungsverhalten beeinflussen. Die bisherige Forschung weist in diesem Zusammenhang auf drei wesentliche Faktoren hin: die Persönlichkeit der MitarbeiterInnen, ihre impliziten Führungstheorien und ihre aktuelle Stimmung. In der Diskussion werden Empfehlungen für zukünftige Forschung und die Praxis abgeleitet.


Influences on the perception of leadership

Behavior of leaders is mostly assessed using follower ratings. A question that is often neglected is whether these ratings assess actual leader behavior or – to a higher degree – reflect the personal schemata and stereotypes of followers. As follower ratings often serve as a starting point for feedback to leaders or training of leaders, these perception biases are problematic. This paper deals with the question which factors besides actual leader behavior influence the ratings of supervisors. Three main factors can be extracted from existing research: followersʼ personality, their implicit leadership theories, and their present mood. In the discussion, recommendations for future research and organizational practice are highlighted.

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