Remote and gig work is prevalent in today’s labor market and calls for skilled digital leaders. Signaling charisma using charismatic-leadership-tactics (CLTs) to increase follower performance works in face-to-face communication. However, technology-mediated communication reduces the signaling opportunities, thereby calling the effectiveness of charismatic signaling into question. In Study 1, I conducted a large field experiment investigating the impact of charismatic signaling (neutral or charisma) and the chosen communication channel (text, audio, video), on follower performance in the gig economy. Video messages led to lower output than text or audio communication in the neutral set-up. In contrast, the output was not significantly different between the communication channels in the charisma set-ups. The data revealed a positive interaction between video communication and CLT presence. The charismatic video led to higher output than the neutral video indicating that leaders need to deliver a coherent picture, especially when using the video channel. In Study 2, I investigated if traditional questionnaires (MLQ) measuring perceived charisma and unrelated participants’ forecasts predict Study 1′s outcomes. Although CLT presence led to higher scores in perceived charisma, follower performance was not predicted by the scores. Thus, the MLQ is not an appropriate instrument for predicting follower behavior.

远程和零工工作在当今的劳动力市场中很普遍，需要熟练的数字化领导者。在面对面的沟通中，使用魅力型领导策略 (CLT) 来展现魅力，以提高追随者的表现。然而，以技术为媒介的沟通减少了发出信号的机会，从而使魅力信号的有效性受到质疑。在研究 1 中，我进行了一项大型现场实验，调查魅力信号（中立或魅力）和所选沟通渠道（文本、音频、视频）对零工经济中追随者表现的影响。在中性设置中，视频消息导致的输出低于文本或音频通信。相比之下，魅力设置中的沟通渠道之间的输出没有显着差异。数据显示视频通信和 CLT 存在之间存在积极的相互作用。魅力视频比中性视频产生更高的输出，这表明领导者需要提供连贯的画面，特别是在使用视频频道时。在研究 2 中，我调查了测量感知魅力的传统问卷 (MLQ) 和无关参与者的预测是否可以预测研究 1 的结果。尽管 CLT 的存在导致感知魅力得分更高，但这些分数并不能预测追随者的表现。因此，MLQ 不是预测追随者行为的合适工具。