The effect of gender role, attitude toward leadership, and self-confidence on leader emergence: Implications for leadership development

Although research has indicated no substantial differences between the behaviors of male and female leaders, differences exist in perceptions of these behaviors. Leadership continues to be described in stereotypically masculine terms, although some evidence exists that an androgynous leadership style also may be related to perceptions of leadership. This study examined whether self‐perceptions of masculine gender role characteristics would predict individuals who were perceived by others as leaders on a team project and if other self‐report measures might be used instead to predict leadership. Results indicate that both attitude toward leadership and leadership experience were stronger predictors of leader emergence than masculine gender role.