Trust as a mediator of the relationship between character and perceptions of leader effectiveness during the COVID-19 crisis.

Abstract

Character is a leadership quality that is often scrutinized yet poorly understood Our research focuses on several questions relating to character and perceived leader effectiveness during the COVID-19 crisis First, does the character of the prime minister matter to voters during major crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic? Second, are all dimensions that comprise the leader character framework we examined considered essential for political leadership in times of crisis? Third, is character related to perceptions of leadership effectiveness? Fourth, what role does identification-based trust play in the relationship between character and perceptions of leadership effectiveness in times of crisis? The results of our survey taken during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic reveal that character is considered among Canadians of voting age as an important ingredient of political leadership We also found that there is a significant gap between the perceived importance of the dimensions that comprise character and the belief that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lives up to the expectations The congruence between the perceived importance of the character dimensions and the belief that Trudeau demonstrated these dimensions predicted leadership effectiveness, and this relationship was mediated by trust Our results are based on perceptions of leadership effectiveness;that is, we do not have objective measures of performance (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement This study advances our understanding of the importance of character in political leadership during crisis situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic Our findings explicate the behaviors associated with leader character Additionally, the study reveals that trust helps to explain the effect of character on perceived effectiveness of leaders (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)