Leading at a Distance: Experimental Comparisons of the Effects of Leader Communication Techniques Across Communication Media

Leadership is a communicative process, yet little is known about how communication media shape leader effectiveness. Drawing on media richness theory, we investigated how communication media (written, audio, video) interact with leader communication techniques (cognitive, affective, behavioral) to influence follower reactions. In a preregistered vignette experiment with military recruits ( N = 400), participants received identical leader messages delivered using cognitive, affective, or behavioral communication techniques via written text, audio, or video. We assessed follower reactions, inclu