Abstract
In this experiment, we manipulated leadership appointment in 3 ways for both a woman and a man. In accord with status characteristics theory, we found that interventions designed to increase the status of the appointee allow the new leader to be more influential and thus more effective. In addition, we found that when a woman is appointed leader with no reason offered for her appointment, followers are willing to be led by her, but, following the theory of motivated reasoning, they will search the context for a plausible reason for their decisions. Suggestions are offered for organizations that want to facilitate the effectiveness of new women leaders; additional recommendations are made for assisting new women leaders.
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Hogue, M.B., Yoder, J.D. & Ludwig, J. Increasing Initial Leadership Effectiveness: Assisting Both Women and Men. Sex Roles 46, 377–384 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020457312806
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020457312806