The Leadership Quarterly 12 (2001) 133 ± 152

Leadership, values, and subordinate self-concepts
Robert G. Lorda,*, Douglas J. Brownb a Department of Psychology, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325-4301, USA b University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Abstract This article discusses two means by which leaders can impact on subordinate self-regulatory processes Ð making particular patterns of values salient and activating specific subordinate selfconcepts. Research indicating compatible structures among values and self-identities is discussed, and it is suggested that such structures are automatically related by networks of mutual activation or inhibition. The potential of this framework for advancing leadership practice and research is also discussed. D 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Most definitions of leadership share the common assumption that leaders influence subordinate's task and social behaviors (Yukl, 1992). However, the leadership literature, in general, has paid little attention to understanding the intervening mechanisms by which leaders influence followers. Instead, much of the research has focused on the relationship between a leader's behavior or traits and subordinates' satisfaction, behavior, and performance (Lord & Maher, 1991). In the present paper, we attempt to partially bridge this gap by focusing on two key intervening mechanisms Ð values and self-concepts Ð that link leader characteristics and important outcomes. We focus on these two constructs because of their important role in regulating behavior. Although there appears to be good reason to suspect that both values and subordinate selfconcepts serve important regulatory roles, leadership scholars have devoted little effort to formally explicating how these constructs are interrelated. In the current article, we present a
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