Predictive and Perceived Empathy as Predictors of Leadership Style
Research on leadership has suggested a possible relationship between style of leadership and being able to understand the viewpoints of others. The present investigation sought to determine the relationship between two measures of empathy and style of leadership. 127 undergraduate students, participating in small groups, were given Hobart and Fahlberg's predictive empathy measure, Barrett-Lennard's Relationship Inventory (perceived empathy), and Fiedler's Least Preferred Co-worker Scale (leadership style). A multiple regression analysis indicated that predictive empathy was a significant but moderate predictor of style while perceived empathy was not a significant predictor. The results were discussed in terms of future research and theory building.