Supervisor--Supervisee Relationships: Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder?

Authors

Katrina Tamvakologos, Fordham UniversityFollow
Anthony Cavanna, Fordham UniversityFollow
Edwin Selby, Fordham UniversityFollow
John Houtz, Fordham UniversityFollow

Abstract

As part of a larger study, it was possible to compare teachers' perceptions of their supervisor-supervisee relationships between current and previous supervisors. Two samples of teachers completed the LMX-7 survey of leader-follower relationships. Reliability of the LMX-7 survey was high and no differences due to gender, age, or length of time teaching were observed. But, with both samples, previous supervisors were rated significantly more highly. Despite limitations to the study, one interesting explanation possible is that over time and for a variety of reasons, previous supervisors' negatives are forgotten while current supervisors' negatives are fresh, perhaps a case of "absence making the heart grow fonder?" Implications for supervisor training and supervisor—supervisee relationship research are offered.

Recommended Citation

Tamvakologos, Katrina; Cavanna, Anthony; Selby, Edwin; and Houtz, John (2019) "Supervisor--Supervisee Relationships: Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder?," Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership: Vol. 4: Iss. 3, Article 3.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/joel/vol4/iss3/3