Eckloff, T., & van Quaquebeke, N. (2007). Identifying with leaders: The role of subordinates’ felt respect for their leaders and the mutual respect they feel returned. Paper presented at the 13th European Congress of Work and Organizational Psychology, Stockholm, SWE, May 9th – 12th.

The more subordinates identify with their leaders the more group serving behaviour and endorsement they have been shown to exhibit for these. It is thus desirable for leaders and organizations alike to understand the mechanisms which lead to subordinates' identification with their leaders. Whereas previous researchers have emphasized the role of a shared vision or other more classic in-group / out-group mechanisms to evoke subordinates' identification with their leaders, we take a different approach. In

two studies with employees (N = 573 and N = 645), we illustrate that personal identification with a leader derives itself in part from the respect that subordinates feel for their leaders. Moreover, integrating the notion of Self-Determination, we propose that this relationship is moderated by the respect that leaders show in return towards their subordinates. Results of both studies confirm that the relationship between the felt respect for a leader and the identification with the leader becomes stronger the more that leader also respects his or her subordinates. Consequences for identification research and organizational practices and interventions are discussed.