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Group & Organization Management
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Employees' Perceptions of Their Leaders

Is Being Similar Always Better?

Caren Goldberg

American University, Washington, DC

Christine M. Riordan

Texas Christian University, Fort Worth

Lu Zhang

George Washington University, Washington, DC

Using a sample of middle and upper level managers, the authors examined the effects of employee—supervisor demographic similarity on employees' perceptions of their supervisor's leadership ability. The authors also examined the moderating effects of individuals' needs for self-continuity and the status of the demographic groups on these relationships. Very little evidence was found for direct similarity effects. However, the authors found strong and consistent evidence that employees in high-status demographic groups exhibited a positive relationship between self-continuity and perceptions of their leaders when the leader was demographically similar, whereas employees in low-status demographic groups exhibited a negative relationship between self-continuity and perceptions of their leaders when the leader was demographically similar. Implications for social identity theory and relational demography research are discussed.

Key Words: demographic similarity • self-continuity • status • perceptions of leadership behaviors

Group & Organization Management, Vol. 33, No. 3, 330-355 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1059601108318232
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