Perceiving Leadership Structures in Teams: Effects of Cognitive Schemas and Perceived Communication

Abstract

We investigate whether individual differences predict perceptions of leadership patterns during teamwork. Building on information processing theories, we show that team members’ individual cognitive schemas regarding the distribution of leadership in teams, leadership structure schemas, predict the centralization of individual perceptions of team leadership. Team members’ individual perceptions of communication network centralization partially mediates, and team member’s affective motivation to lead moderates this relationship. Our results indicate that leadership structure schemas, as well as motivation to lead, affect perceived patterns of interpersonal communication as well as the centralization of the individually perceived team leadership structure.