Leadership in Groups of School-Age Girls

This study examined correlates and predictors of leadership in groups of school-age girls. Subjects were 304 4th-, 5th-, and 6th-grade girls enrolled in 16 Girl Scout troops. Measures of leadership included formal election, nomination by peers, and ratings by adults. Personal characteristics were assessed by adult ratings and peer nominations. Results showed a strong and consistent relation between leadership status and characteristics associated with a managerial leadership style (e.g., organization and goal orientation). A 9-month longitudinal component showed informal leadership, but not elective leadership, to be relatively stable and to be predictable from the assessed personal characteristics. Implications of the findings for the role of female leaders in homogeneously female groups are discussed, and the bases for children's leadership selections are examined.