August 4, 2003
Women
Effective Leaders for Today’s World
EVANSTON, Ill. — Much
has been written about the glass ceiling, the double standard
and other barriers to women in management.
A related question that has consumed both academic and popular
writers is whether men and women have the same leadership abilities.
The answer suggested by a comprehensive meta-analysis published
in the current Psychological Bulletin (Vol. 129, No. 3) might surprise
you. On average, women in management positions are somewhat better
leaders than men in equivalent positions, according to the study.
This project, “Transformational, Transactional and Laissez
Faire Leadership Styles: a Meta-Analysis Comparing Women and Men,” statistically
combines the results of 45 published and unpublished studies on
leaders in business, academics and other areas to examine whether
the typical leadership styles of men and women differ.
“The meta-analysis revealed relatively small sex differences,
which is to be expected since the men and women compared are in
equivalent roles with relatively similar responsibilities,” said
Alice Eagly, lead author of the study and professor of psychology
at Northwestern University.
“Thus, the differences in male and female managerial behavior
are in the discretionary aspects of behavior, because all managers
have to carry out basic tasks required by their roles,” she
said. “Still, the implications of our findings are encouraging
for female leadership when you consider that all aspects of leadership
style on which women exceed men relate positively to effectiveness.”
In addition
to Eagly, the co-investigators of the study include Northwestern’s
Mary C. Johannesen-Schmidt and Marloes L. van Engen, Tilburg
University, the Netherlands.
The meta-analysis
showed that women are more likely than men to use leadership
styles that other studies have shown produce
better worker performance and effectiveness in today’s world.
Specifically, women were more likely to be transformational leaders,
defined as those who serve as role models, mentor and empower workers
and encourage innovation even when the organization they lead is
generally successful.
Eagly’s meta-analysis grows out of a substantial body of
research that attempts to identify leadership styles that are especially
attuned to contemporary conditions. Gaining momentum in the 1990s,
that research showed that transformational leadership strengthens
organizations by inspiring followers’ commitment and creativity.
Leadership
researchers found that, in contrast, “transactional” leaders
appeal to subordinates’ self-interest by forming exchange
relationships, based on using reward and punishment as incentives.
The researchers also distinguished a laissez faire style that is
marked by an overall failure to take responsibility for managing.
In Eagly’s
study, women also scored higher than men on one measure of transactional
leadership -- rewarding employees
for good performance.
“That is the only aspect of transactional leadership that
is associated with positive outcomes,” Eagly noted.
Men scored higher than women on the other transactional aspects,
such as using punishment, and on laissez faire leadership -- behaviors
that do not appear to produce more effective organizations.
“Giving women equal access to leadership roles obviously
would increase the size of an organization’s pool of potential
managers,” Eagly said. “What people may not realize
is that adding women to that pool likely increases the proportion
of candidates with superior leadership skills.”
In synthesizing the 45 leadership studies, the researchers conclude
that the causes of the sex differences in leadership may lie in
several factors.
A transformational leadership style may be especially congenial
to women because this way of leading is relatively androgynous
and has some nurturing, feminine aspects. A considerable body of
research has shown that women can be disliked and distrusted in
leadership roles, especially when they exert authority over men,
appear to be extremely competent or use a dominant style of communication.
Transformational behavior may lessen suspicion of female leaders
and alleviate problems of lesser authority and legitimacy that
they sometimes face.
Another reason
women may favor a transformational style is that such a leader
operates more like an excellent teacher than a traditional
boss. Women’s past socialization may give them more ability
to lead by teaching -- that is, by developing and nurturing workers’ abilities
and inspiring them to be outstanding contributors.
And the glass ceiling itself may produce more highly skilled
female leaders. Research shows that higher standards are often
imposed on women to attain leadership roles and to retain them.
Because transformational leadership constitutes skillful leadership,
women may be more skillful leaders than men because they have to
meet a higher standard. |