Leadership Research Summary:
• The impact of gender on assessments of leadership performance and leadership potential was examined through two clusters of leadership behaviors, one set related to traditional constructions of leadership labeled directing others and another associated with contemporary constructions of leadership labeled engaging others.
• Based on data collected from a sample of 91 senior leaders in one US financial services organization over a 3-year period prior to Covid-19, the results showed a negative relationship between directing others behaviors and leadership potential ratings for females and a positive relationship between these variables for males.
• A negative relationship between engaging others behaviors and performance assessments was also found for females. This study highlights the continuing bias in leadership assessments of women and explores the contradictions between the perception and the reality of women’s leadership.
Leadership Research Implications & Conclusions:
• First and foremost, it is imperative that organizational decision-makers recognize the overt and covert, as well as the individual and structural biases that prevent women from assuming leadership roles and reaching their full leadership potential. Empirical evidence of these biases abounds (Morrison et al., 1992; Stroh et al., 1992; Powell et al., 2002; Schein, 2007), yet there has been limited progress in dismantling the barriers to women’s advances. Organizational leaders must be proactive in uncovering and diminishing existing biases.
• Beyond continuing to discover the unrecognized and unacknowledged potential of female leaders, organizations need to examine their practices, procedures, and policies on a regular basis to determine whether they are reinforcing gender stereotypes and stereotypical behavior. For example, hiring procedures, training and development opportunities, benefits packages, leave policies, and performance, salary and promotional evaluations can all play a part in contributing to gender stereotypes. One recommendation for performance evaluations would be to include 360-degree assessment tools in the formal assessment process for leaders, to include data from a variety of perspectives and individuals. Leaders in policy-making positions should periodically reflect on their own behaviors, not only for their own learning and development but also to see whether they are behaving in ways that contribute to gender stereotypical practices. Perhaps they are sending subtle messages throughout the organization that sustain and support such behaviors.
• The repertoire of leadership behaviors used in organizational assessments for hiring, training and development, and promotions must be expanded to reflect best practices and include the broadest possible range. Leaders who have the capacity to demonstrate a large repertoire of behaviors are able to effectively respond to a variety of situations. Organizational systems that have a limited framework for essential leadership behaviors will restrict their ability to recruit and develop outstanding leaders.
• Leadership behaviors focused on relationship management, teamwork, collaboration, and empathy must be acknowledged as important for organizational viability, growth and change when demonstrated by both males and females. These behaviors provide the necessary bond for an organization’s continued development. It is not enough to rely solely on leadership behaviors that are germane to one’s gender, particularly if they might be discredited, or to behaviors that strictly match one’s organizational position and are incongruent with gender. What is needed is the recognition of a broad array of leadership behaviors demonstrated by both women and men.
• Special attention needs to be paid to the opportunities for, and pace of, career advancement for women. Career paths for women in particular must be reconsidered to reflect boundaryless (Arthur, 1994) or kaleidoscope (Mainiero and Sullivan, 2005) career perspectives as well as the more traditional linear or hierarchical models. Organizational leaders should expand their notions of careers and career paths to assist in better understanding, motivating, and rewarding all employees. Finally, individual leaders have an obligation to speak up when they observe gender stereotypes in organizations. Silence perpetuates the practice of seeing men and women through narrow lenses, limiting the potential contributions of all organizational members.