Download FEMALE LEADERS* 360-DEGREE SELF

FEMALE LEADERS’ 360-DEGREE SELF-PERCEPTION ACCURACY FOR
LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS
by
Catherine C Turkel
STEPHEN TVORIK, Ph.D., Faculty Mentor and Chair
MARTIN LEES, Ph.D., M.D., Committee Member
MARTA ELVIRA,, Ph.D., Committee Member
Kurt Linberg, Ph.D., Dean, School of Business & Technology
A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Capella University
January 2008
UMI Number: 3291457
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
1
FEMALE LEADERS’ 360-DEGREE SELF-PERCEPTION ACCURACY FOR
LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS
by
Catherine C Turkel
STEPHEN TVORIK, Ph.D., Faculty Mentor and Chair
MARTIN LEES, Ph.D., M.D., Committee Member
MARTA ELVIRA,, Ph.D., Committee Member
Kurt Linberg, Ph.D., Dean, School of Business & Technology
A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Capella University
January 2008
UMI Number: 3291457
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
2
Leaders with more self-accurate ratings have been
found to be more effective and more successful than
those leaders with self-evaluations that are not aligned
with others (Atwater & Yammarino, 1992; Bass &
Yammarino, 1991). Several reports from the 1980's
suggest that women underrate their own performance
as leaders and managers (Parsons, Meece, Adler, &
Kaczala, 1982; LaNoue & Curtis, 1985, Meehan &
Overton, 1986 as cited in Van Velsor, Taylor, & Leslie,
1993; Beyer, 1990) despite the lack of specific data to
substantiate these inferences. The conclusion that
others likely draw from these repeated messages is that
female leaders have poor self-awareness, and therefore
are less effective
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
3
This study examined contemporary data to test
whether female leaders working in today's business
environment under-rated their own performance as
leaders. Ex Post Facto research using data from an
existing, large database was used to investigate the
relationships of female leaders' self-assessment and
the assessments of other raters (including direct
reports, peers, managers and others). The database
was analyzed to test whether female leaders underrated, over-rated, or were in-agreement with how
others rated their leadership skills and behaviors
using the High Impact Leadership Model™ (Linkage,
2003).
Dedication
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
4
The literature suggests that it is common
knowledge that women are more likely to
underrate their managerial abilities and
leadership competencies than men. However,
there is no direct evidence or study that reports
specific data to substantiate this finding. There is
only one study that has noted that a subgroup of
ten female managers tended to rate themselves
lower than their supervisors rated them, and
lower than male managers rated themselves (p<
0.06) (Wohlers & London, 1989).
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
5
Another study found that women in mixed-sex
situations not only had a lowered expectation than men
about their performance on assigned tasks, but they in
fact did perform worse. However, in same sex or when
performing an assigned task alone, women’s
expectations and performance did not differ from
men’s (LaNoue & Curtis, 1985). In a report published in
1990, more than a decade ago, women consistently
underestimated their performance on masculine-type
managerial tasks (Beyer, 1990).
An obvious issue worth further exploration is an
evaluation of whether female leaders underrate their
performance as leaders (e.g. confirming that they lack
self-awareness), or whether the common belief is in
fact false.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
6
There has been one study that suggests that women are not
more likely to underrate their own skills on measures of
leadership competency (Van Velsor, Taylor & Leslie, 1993). In this
study, however, only ratings from direct reports were analyzed
for congruence. These authors suggest that these results
“…reflect a growing comfort among women with the sex role
appropriateness of managerial roles [that] may reflect the
greater self-confidence of women who tend to enter managerial
jobs” (p 259). These authors conclude that their research
indicates “…we should no longer assume that women’s
inclination is to underrate” (p 259). Data from this study was
collected from a random sample of 816 managers (451 females,
170 males, gender not reported for 195) who had completed a
multi-rater assessment instrument prior to 1990 and an
additional 79 male and female (no gender distribution data
provided) hospital administrators who completed the instrument
in 1990. The study was published in 1993, yet subsequent
literature has continued to infer the common belief that women
underrate themselves as leaders.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
7
In 2003, results from an annual survey of executive
education reported that 134 companies from 20
nations reported enrolling more than 21,000
employees in leadership programs, at a cost of $210
million (Merritt, 2003). Behavioral feedback comparing
the ratings from peers, direct reports and managers to
self-ratings has become increasingly popular
(commonly referred to as 360-degree feedback), and
frequently is a standard practice in leadership training
programs. It is felt that having diverse information from
multiple raters may help the leader become more
aware of how others view their performance as a
leader, and that improved self-awareness may lead to
improved leader performance and effectiveness (Bass &
Yammarino, 1991; Atwater & Yammarino, 1992).
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
8
Shortly after the introduction and adoption of 360degree assessments in mid1980, researchers began
exploring congruence of self-assessment and otherrater agreement (Bass & Yammarino, 1991; Atwater &
Yammarino, 1992). In these studies, self-aware
leaders were defined as those whose self-ratings of
their leadership were in agreement with the ratings
of others. These researchers found that selfawareness acts as a moderator of leadership behavior
performance. They conclude that "self-aware
individuals appear to be using the information they
receive about their leadership to improve their
overall performance ratings" (Atwater & Yammarino,
1992, p. 159). Furthermore, such leaders were rated
as more transformational, and thus able to influence
best performance of their followers.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
9
Additionally, various research studies from the 1980's infer that
there are gender differences in congruence of self versus other
assessments based on data that found women more often display
learned helplessness (Parsons, Meece, Adler, & Kaczala, 1982)
and they underrate their performance on gender-specific tasks
(Beyer, 1990). Other data suggests that women underrate their
performance because they attribute success to external forces
and their effort rather than to their own skills (Meehan &
Overton, 1986 as cited in Van Velsor, Taylor, & Leslie, 1993). There
is also evidence that suggests that women underrate their
performance when they are involved in mixed-sex or opposite sex
performance situations (LaNoue & Curtis, 1985). However, none
of these studies explicitly evaluated leadership behaviors, skills or
performance. Thus, there is no direct evidence that women
underrate themselves on leadership behavior or skills, yet these
and other studies are frequently positioned in various research
papers in the literature as sound evidence that such data exists.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
10
The theoretical conceptual model for the problem
to be studied focuses on whether female leaders
have good self-awareness or not of their
leadership skills and behaviors, and thus are more
or less effective leaders (Figure 1, Model A and B,
respectively). If they lack self-awareness, as
suggested by the literature, then this may
contribute to lack of advancement to more senior
positions. However, if they do not lack selfawareness as leaders, then other yet to be
determined factors, may be contributing to the
lack of advancement. Stereotypical bias may be a
factor (e.g. Figure 1, model B).
11
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
Model A
Model B
Failure to
advance to more senior
positions
Unknown Moderator
Failure to
advance to more
senior positions
Good self
awareness
as a leader
Poor self
awareness as a
leader
Poor performance
Good
performance as a
leader
as a leader
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
12
The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship
between leaders' self-ratings and other-raters' rating of the
leaders by examining contemporary, archived 360degree
feedback data of female leaders' competencies and skills.
An evaluation of this relationship may provide further
insight regarding whether female leaders are inagreement or not with how others perceive their
leadership, and thus may provide information about the
extent of self-awareness by female leaders from a variety
of business settings. Good self-awareness, for purposes of
this research, is defined as being in agreement with other
raters (i.e., direct reports, peers, managers and nondesignated others) regarding their own leadership
competencies and skills. Alternatively, these leaders may
under-rate or over-rate their leadership competencies and
skills compared to others, suggesting that female leaders
have poor self-awareness.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
13
Stereo-typical gender roles have been suggested to have
pervasive effects on leadership perception resulting in
women not typically being perceived as leaders (Brown &
Geis, 1984; Butler & Geis, 1990; Eagly et al., 1992 all cited in
Malloy & Janowski, 1992). It is important to understand if
women leaders themselves have a clear perception of their
own leadership competency and performance, and the way
that others perceive their leadership ability (referred to as
metaperception by Malloy & Janowski, 1992). Research
suggests that accurate self-reports (i.e. congruence with the
perception of others) relate to traits that are deemed
important to be an effective leader. Traits such as selfesteem (Farh & Dobbins, 1989), private self-consciousness
(Gibbons, 1983; Nasby, 1989), intelligence, achievement
status, and locus of control (Mabe & West, 1982)” (Van
Velsor, Taylor, & Leslie, 1993) are examples of traits
frequently associated
with effective leaders.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
14
It has been suggested that negative attitudes stemming from
perceived violations of traditional female roles (homemakers
instead of business leaders) may contribute to hardships that
women managers continue to face in the workplace (Moore,
Grunberg, & Greenberg, 2004). Negative based beliefs or
judgments about female leaders’ roles by direct reports, peers and
managers may result in metaperception incongruence. Further, if
women underestimate their own leadership competencies, this
may contribute to the lack of advancement of women to more
senior leadership positions.
Lastly, despite improved opportunities for women in management, there
continues to be a persistence gender leadership imbalance favoring male leaders
for many business sectors (Eagly, Makhijani & Klonsky, 1992; MacRae, 2005; Ryan
& Haslam, 2007). Academic leadership, for example, continues to be a business
sector with marked sex inequality favoring male leaders versus female leaders
(Ellemers, van den Heuvel, de Gilder, Maass & Bonvini, 2004; Katila & Meriläinen,
1999). Other industries have reported a similar scenario (Maher, 1999).
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
15
Ho1: There is no difference between female leaders and other-raters in ratings of overall
leadership (combination of leadership competency and skill ratings).
Question 1: Do female leaders rate their overall leadership competency and skill
differently than how their direct reports, peers, managers and non-designated others rate
their overall leadership as evaluated by the combination of their competencies and skills?
Ho2: There is no difference between female leaders and other-raters in ratings of
leadership competency.
Question 2: Do female leaders rate their leadership competency differently than how
their direct reports, peers, managers and non-designated others rate their leadership
competency?
Ho3: There is no difference between female leaders and other-raters in ratings of
leadership skills.
Question 3: Do female leaders rate their leadership skill differently than how their direct
reports, peers, managers and non-designated others rate their leadership skill?
And, lastly, because different environmental factors may have a strong influence on any
leader within a given environment, an exploratory analysis of female leaders from
different business sectors was performed. This led to the final hypothesis and question:
Ho4: There is no difference between female leaders from different business sectors and
other-raters in ratings of overall leadership (combination of leadership competency and
skill).
Question 4: Do female leaders from different business sectors rate their overall leadership
competency and skill differently than how their direct reports, peers, managers and nondesignated others rate their overall leadership as evaluated by the combination of their
competencies and skills?
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
16
The primary nature of the study was Ex Post Facto research to
investigate the relationships of female leaders’ self-assessment of
their leadership competencies and skills, and the assessments of
other-raters by examination of an existing database. The
database was analyzed to test whether female leaders rate in
agreement, under-rate, or over-rate their leadership as compared
to assessments by other-raters (i.e., direct reports, peers and
managers) as related to five leadership competencies (focus
drive, emotional intelligence, trusted influence, conceptual
thinking, and systems thinking) and five leadership skills (change
management, coaching/mentoring, communication, negotiation,
and problem solving) that comprise the High Impact Leadership
Model™ (Linkage, 2003). This research also explored the
relationship of the congruence of 360-degree rater evaluations
for female leaders from different business sectors. The data
analyzed in this study was collected using the second revision of
the Leadership Assessment Inventory (LAI) instrument from
leaders who participated in leadership development training
seminars conducted by Linkage from late 2001 through 2006
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
17
Linkage is a for-profit, global organizational
development company that specializes in
leadership development
(http://www.linkageinc.com/
company/about_us.aspx). The company was
founded in 1988 and to date more than 100,000
leaders and managers have attended Linkage
development training programs. The
headquarters for Linkage is in Burlington,
Massachusetts. Regional offices are located in
Minneapolis, Atlanta, San Francisco, Brussels,
Bucharest, Johannesburg, London, Seoul,
Singapore and Tokyo.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
18
Leadership is defined as “…a process whereby an individual influences a group of
individuals to achieve a common goal” (Northouse, 2004, p. 3). Leadership competencies
are defined as focused drive, emotional intelligence, trusted influence, conceptual
thinking, and systems thinking (Linkage, 2003).
Focused drive is defined as "the capability of focusing on a goal and harnessing your
energy in order to meet that goal – a balance between focus and drive" (Linkage, 2003, p.
7).
Focus is defined as "the ability to identify an important goal or vision and to channel
efforts at specific targets that support that goal/vision" (Linkage, 2003, p. 9).
Drive is defined as "the ability to persevere, sacrifice (when necessary), and expend high
degrees of energy to reach high levels of performance” (Linkage, 2003,
p. 9).
Emotional intelligence is defined as "the capability of understanding and mastering your
emotions (and those of others) in a way that instills confidence – a balance between
perception and emotional maturity" (Linkage, 2003, p. 7).
Perception is defined as "the ability to read the emotions and thoughts of others through
the use of insight and analytical skills” (Linkage, 2003, p. 9).
Emotional maturity is defined as "the ability to master emotions and cope with stress in a
way that instills confidence, motivates, and enhances group effectiveness" (Linkage, 2003,
p. 9).
Trusted influence is defined as "the capability of evoking trust from others and placing
trust in others to enable them to succeed – a balance between commitment and
empowerment" (Linkage, 2003, p. 7).
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
19
Commitment is defined as "the ability to evoke trust from others by keeping
commitments, adhering to high ethical standards and principles, and building
shared goals/values" (Linkage, 2003, p. 9).
Empowerment is defined as "the ability to help others reach higher levels of
performance through trust, delegation, participation, and coaching" (Linkage,
2003, p. 9).
Conceptual thinking is defined as "the capability of conceiving and selecting
innovative strategies and ideas for your organization – a balance between
innovation and big picture thinking" (Linkage, 2003, p. 7).
Innovation is defined as "the ability to create/enhance ideas, products, and
services that lead to bottom line success" (Linkage, 2003, p. 9).
Big picture thinking is defined as "the ability to see all of the forces, events,
entities, and people involved in the situation at hand" (Linkage, 2003, p. 9).
Systems thinking is defined as "the capability of connecting processes,
events, and structures – a balance between process orientation and mental
discipline" (Linkage, 2003, p. 7).
Process orientation is defined as "the ability to increase overall learning and
performance by designing, implementing, and/or connecting processes"
(Linkage, 2003,
p. 9). Mental discipline is defined as "the ability to sort through ambiguity
and alternatives in a way that crystallizes and puts ideas into action" (Linkage,
2003, p. 9). Leadership skills are defined as change management,
coaching/mentoring, communication, negotiation, and problem solving
(Linkage, 2003)
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
20
Change management is defined as "the skill of adapting to and
thriving in times of internal and external change" (Linkage, 2003,
p. 6).
Coaching/mentoring is defined as "the skill of mastering a
comfortable coaching style and using it strategically to improve
performance" (Linkage, 2003, p. 6).
Communication is defined as "the skill of communicating and
relating to a broad range of people internally and externally"
(Linkage, 2003, p. 6).
Negotiation is defined as "the skill of arriving at and reaching
understanding and agreements with a broad range of people,
internally and externally" (Linkage, 2003, p. 6).
Problem solving is defined as "the skill of employing analytical
abilities, pragmatism, and other tools to resolve complex
problems in a variety of contexts" (Linkage, 2003, p. 6).
360-degree feedback is defined as a method whereby a person is
provided with feedback from others such as direct reports, peers
and/or managers regarding their performance.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
21
Assumptions and Limitations
Some limitations …Data were analyzed from individuals who
participated in a leadership development conference that
included the 360 degree assessment of the leader. It is
assumed, but cannot be confirmed, that individuals
participating in the conference already had some
experience as a leader and were not in the conference to
learn how to become a leader and therefore the ratings
were obtained from raters who based their assessment on
having observed and/or been led by the leader. By nature,
360-degree feedback relies on subjective information
gathered at a single point in time from respondents who are
expressing their opinion, attitude, experience, expectation
and/or observations about the competencies of the person
being rated. Thus, whatever environmental and/or other
factors that are also occurring at that point in time may
influence the feedback.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
22
Further, the study relied on the leader, as well as his/her direct
reports, peers, managers and non-designated others to report on
the leader’s behavior. It is not known to what extent the
relationship that the raters have with the leader may influence
the subjective rating (e.g. duration of the relationship).
This study was limited to those leaders who completed the LAI
instrument and had at least one subordinate, peer, manager
and/or other person rates them on the same instrument. There
were no demographic data available for the leaders or raters such
as gender, age, race or culture. The gender for the leaders
analyzed in this study was empirically assigned based on the first
name of the leader and an assumption of the gender that name
(e.g. Mary was deemed female, Mike was deemed male) based
on common Anglo-American name-gender assignment. Gender
assignments were made where possible. In some instances, it was
not possible to assign gender due to the possibility that the
person could be male or female based on their first name (e.g.,
Pat, Dana). In such instances, the data were excluded from the
population sample.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
23
Another limitation of this study was that no information was available on the
number of people the leader directed overall. Nor was data available regarding
the number of years that the leader had been in a leadership role overall or
specifically in their current role at the time of completion of the LAI instrument.
Also, educational training and background of the leader was not available. No
information regarding the leaders specific relationship with the raters was
available. For instance, the duration of time of any relationship was not known.
There was no specific information available on the name, size or sector of the
company for whom the leader or raters worked. In other words, it was not clear
if the raters were current or previous direct reports, peers and/or managers for
the leader since the leader themselves designated to whom the other-rater
requests were distributed. An attempt has been made to determine the business
sector in which the leader worked at the time they completed the LAI based on
information from the leaders email address. Information available from the email
address (i.e., any apparent business named after @ sign from their email
address) was used to assign a business sector category. For example, if the email
address was [email protected], then it was assumed that the leader worked for
the company ‘Boeing’, which was assumed to be a part of the business sector
‘Aerospace/Defense’ (www.valueline.com/lookup/current.aspx). Email addresses
that referenced common web browsers, such as ‘@yahoo.com’ or
‘@hotmail.com’, or other names that were not easily confirmed as businesses
were not categorized. Thus, the study is limited in assuming that the information
from the email address accurately reflects the business sector for that leader.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
24
Trait Approach Leadership Theories
These theories put forth that leaders are born with
unique characteristics that qualify them to serve as
leaders. This is in contrast to the viewpoint that one
can learn to become a leader. The trait theory is easy
to conceptualize by simple notation of some of the
dominant traits/characteristics of leaders
Generally, the major leadership traits of leaders that
have been identified include intelligence, alertness,
insight, responsibility, initiative, persistence, selfconfidence, determination, integrity and sociability
(Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1991; Kornør & Nordvik, 2004;
Nordvik & Brovold, 1998; Stogdill, 1948 as cited in
Northouse, 2004;).
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
25
It is important to acknowledge that the focus of these trait theories is
solely on the leader and not on the followers or the situation/context
where/when the leadership occurs. A criticism is that these theories were
generated potentially from a biased view in that the vast majority of
studies conducted to identify leadership traits/characteristics were
performed in the United States (US) of America public businesses, which
were heavily dominated by a Caucasian, male employee base.
Skills Approach Leadership Theories
Leadership skills have also been studied directly or indirectly for years.
The skills approach was first suggested by Katz (1955). He proposed that
certain knowledge, abilities, and behaviors, that can be developed (versus
are innate), are needed for an administrator to be effective. He defined
these skills broadly as “technical, human and conceptual” (Katz, 1955, p.
42). Subsequently, a vast research literature now forms the skills-based
model of leadership (Mumford, et al, 2000) and has helped established
leadership as something that can be learned and/or further developed.
This viewpoint is in contrast to the trait theorists who do not espouse
leadership as something that can be learned.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
26
Situational Leadership Theories
These theories support the basic notation that strategic
deployment of specific skills/talents of a leader can be more
or less effective when environmental factors are taken into
account. In other words, a leader's style can be highly
variable depending on the situation and the leader’s
emotions. This theory suggests that leaders adapt their
style to address needs of a given follower based on how
ready and willing the follower is to performing required
tasks. Thus, the leader takes into account the competence
and the motivations of followers in deciding the best way to
deploy their own leadership skills. These situational factors
are important dimensions of leader-member relations (e.g.
group atmosphere, members’ attitudes toward the leader,
etc.). Other factors such as the task-structure (routine
versus novel) and positional power of the leader may also
influence the leader’s style.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
27
These theorists then went on to develop a new model that
they called The Life Cycle Theory of Leadership. The theory’s
name was inspired by the model of changes in parenting
styles that occurs as children progress from infancy to
adulthood. They felt that the same logic held true for
manager’s who were leading a range of workers including
the inexperienced new worker, the developing worker, and
the experienced worker (Hersey, 1996). As the level of the
maturity (i.e., relative independence, ability to take
responsibility and self-achievement motivation) of the
follower continues to increase, appropriate leader behavior
is less structure (task) and less socio-emotional support
(relationship). Thus, as the maturity of the follower
increases, the leader’s behavior moves from high task plus
low relationship, to high task plus high relationship, to low
task plus high relationship, and finally to low task plus low
relationship.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
28
It wasn’t until 1972 that these researchers began referring to this theory as
Situational Leadership instead of Life-Cycle Theory of Leadership. Others
adapted the theory and developed the managerial grid as an instructional
tool used in organization and management training courses (Blake &
Mouton as cited in Hersey & Blanchard, 1996). The tool creates a 2x2 grid
with interfaces for high/low relationship behavior of the leader against
high/low task behavior of the leader. The interfacing squares are referred to
as ‘telling, selling, participating and delegating’ (Northouse, 2004).
Depending on the development level of a follower (i.e. their maturity), it is
suggested that leaders will adopt one of these leadership styles.
The theory has been evaluated in many studies. One study evaluated 105
health care institution nursing staff (Norris & Vecchio, 1992). The study
setting has practical relevance to the findings since there was an established
supervisor-subordinate hierarchy of authority for performance appraisal,
despite the professional level status of these employees. Like several other
prior studies, results from this study provided only mixed support for this
theory. The information obtained from the nursing staff suggested a level of
maturity that did not match up well with the chosen situational leadership
style as suggested by the nursing supervisor staff. Despite these and others
with similar mixed findings, situational leadership continues to be popular in
organizational business settings and is, in the eyes of many, an optimal style
of supervision (Norris & Vecchio, 1992)
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
29
Transformational Leadership Theory
The essence of transformational leadership is the process by which
the leader changes and transforms individuals through their actions
and behaviors (Bass 1999; Northouse, 2004). This leadership theory
espouses that the emotions, values, ethics, standard and long-term
goals of the leader are focused on the follower in a way that is
considerate of the followers motives and needs (Bass, 1999). The
theory proposes that there is an exceptional influence that a leader
can espouse that motivates followers to accomplish more than what
is expected of them. Leaders’ actions rely on the effective use of sixfactors including: a) charisma/inspiration, b) intellectual stimulation,
c) individualized consideration, d) contingent reward, e)
management-by-exception, and f) laissez-faire leadership (Avolio,
Bass & Jung, 1999). As a result of the leaders’ behaviors, followers
want to identify with the leader and the vision espoused. Further, as a
result, there is an enhanced commitment, more involvement by
followers, loyalty and greater performance. Thus, transformational
leadership “is concerned with emotions, values, ethics, standards,
and long-term goals, and includes assessing followers’ motives,
satisfying their needs, and treating them as full human beings”
(Northouse, 2004, p. 169).
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
30
Emotional Intelligence Leadership Theory
Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been described as the assortment of noncognitive skills that afford individuals the means to succeed in coping
with environmental demands and pressures (Robbins, 2003, p. 111). The
first empirical study of EI (and the first publication that explicitly used
this terminology) examined people’s abilities to identify emotions in
faces, abstract designs and colors (Mayer, DiPaolo, & Salovey, 1990).
These researchers also proposed a framework for EI that they defined as
“the ability to monitor one’s own and other’s feelings and emotions, to
discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s
thinking and actions” (Salovey & Mayer, 1990, p. 189). Further, EI has
been proposed as another dimension of intelligence, complimentary to
intellect (defined as “the ability to carry on abstract thinking”) and social
intelligence (defined as “the ability to understand and manage people”)
(Salovey & Mayer, 1990, p. 189). Gardner in 1983 wrote about personal
intelligence, which includes knowledge about the self and others, and
his theories relate closely to what Salovey and Mayer call EI (as cited in
Salovey & Mayer, 1990). As Salovey and Mayer (1990) describe it
emotional intelligence is the recognition and use of emotional states of
self and others to resolve problems and control behavior.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
31
There are a few similarities between the theories discussed above. First, most have
a core component that addresses a dimension pertaining to the follower. The core
of situational leadership, for instance, is to be cognizant of the needs of followers in
a particular circumstance, and then adapt leadership behavior to meet their needs.
Likewise, transformational leadership requires assessing followers’ motives,
satisfying their needs, and treating them as full human beings. And lastly, a core
aspect of EI is the ability to monitor feelings and emotions of others, to discriminate
among them, and then use this information to guide actions.
Another similarity lies between EI and transformational leadership as related to
actions of initiating, managing and leading change within an organization. Being a
change catalyst is an important social competency in the EI model, and is a core
process for successful transformational leaders. Situational leadership is not similar
in this way, although a situational leader may need to initiate and manage change
in how they lead followers, depending on the situation.
EI, transformational leadership and situational leadership are all similar in requiring
the leader to have some level of social competency and/or awareness of how to
influence others. The methodology of how this is achieved is explained as slightly
different for each of these models. EI model indicates that the leader simply has to
possess a social competency skill that relates to influencing others.
Transformational leadership relies on charisma and communication of vision to
influence others. And, situational leadership will vary their influencing styles
depending on the need to tell, sell, participate or delegate, depending on the
situation.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
32
An interesting relationship between trait theory, transformational leadership and
emotional intelligence has recently been reported (Rubin, Munz & Boomer, 2005).
The study evaluated aspects of emotional intelligence and transformational
leadership. There were five hypotheses tested in the study including whether
leader emotion recognition, agreeableness, extraversion, and positive affectivity
were positively associated with transformational leadership behavior. Also, an
assessment of whether leader extraversion (a trait) moderated the relationship of
emotion recognition and transformational leadership behaviors was evaluated.
A total of 145 leaders met the inclusion criteria and took part in the study (Rubin,
Munz & Boomer, 2005). In turn, a total of 480 subordinates participated. Each
group completed a group-specific survey. The subordinates rated their direct leader
using a survey that consisted of 22 items that pertained to the following 6
dimensions: a) articulating a vision, b) providing a role model, d) communicating
high performance expectations, d) providing individualized support, e) fostering the
acceptance of group goals, and f) providing intellectual stimulation. Overall the
study results supported that personality traits of agreeableness and positive
affectivity predict transformational leadership behavior. Extraversion did not predict
transformational leadership behavior. Emotion recognition was positively related to
transformational leadership behavior (Rubin et al., 2005)
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
33
The High Impact Leadership Model™
As a result of extensive evaluation and synthesis of a variety of leadership
behaviors displayed by ‘best leaders’ from a variety of industries,
organizations and positions the High Impact Leadership Model™ (figure 2)
was proposed by the Linkage Consulting Research Team, which included
Professor Warren Bennis, Ph.D., of the University of Southern California
(Linkage, 2003). The model summarizes five leadership capabilities (i.e.
competencies), five leadership skills, and five leadership responsibilities.
The model describes key areas that were felt to best describe components
that an individual leader must possess to be a more effective.
The five specific leadership competencies defined in the High Impact
Leadership Model™ are defined as focused drive, emotional intelligence,
trusted influence, conceptual thinking and systems thinking (Linkage,
2003). Each leadership competency is comprised of two leadership
components. Focused drive, for example, is comprised of ‘focus’ and
‘drive’. Focus is defined as “the ability to identify an important goal or
vision and to channel efforts at specific targets that support that
goal/vision” (Linkage, 2003, p.7). Drive is defined as “the ability to
persevere, sacrifice (when necessary), and expend high degrees of energy
to reach high levels of performance” (Linkage, 2003, p.7)
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
34
The
High Impact Leadership Model
Figure 2. The High Impact Leadership Model™ (Linkage, 2003)
Linkage (2003). Leadership Assessment Profile Report: The High Impact Leadership Model™ and The
Leadership Assessment Instrument™ (LAI). Burlington, MA: Author. Copyright 1998 by Linkage. Used
with permission of Linkage.
Leadership
Competencies
Leadership
Responsibilities
Leadership
Skills
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
35
Likewise, emotional intelligence is comprised of
perception and emotional maturity. Trusted
influence is comprised of commitment and
empowerment. Conceptual thinking is comprised
of innovation and big picture thinking. And, lastly,
system thinking is comprised of process
orientation and mental discipline (Linkage, 2003).
The model also includes five leadership skills
(change management, coaching/mentoring,
communication, negotiation, and problem
solving) and defines five leadership
responsibilities (creating results, creating the
vision, creating the organization, creating the
people of the future, and creating the knowledge
of the future).
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
36
Multi-Factor Leadership Questionnaire
The Multi-Factor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) is
another example of a leadership measurement tool. The
MLQ was developed in the mid 1980’s to evaluate the
latent variables of the Multifactor Leadership Theory
(Avolio & Bass, 1991 as cited in Antonakis, Avolio, &
Sivasubramaniam, 2003). This theory was first proposed by
Bass as a result of data he collected from surveys
completed by 198 US Army military officers who were
rating their superior officers using an early form of the
MLQ (Bass, 1985 as cited in Avolio, Bass & Jung, 1999).
From this research he identified six factors that included
three transformational factors (referred to as charismaticinspirational, intellectual stimulation, and individualized
consideration), two transactional factors (referred to as
contingent reward and management-by-exception) and a
passive-avoidant factor (also referred to as laissez-faire).
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
37
The MLQ was used in a study reported in 1992 to investigate self versus other
agreement on leadership perceptions (Atwater & Yammarino, 1992). The purposes of
this research were to investigate the extent that individuals inflated their self-ratings
of leadership, as well as to explore contributory factors to inflated self-ratings of
leadership and how self awareness affects the degree of relationship between the
leader behavior and performance outcome. In this study two different samples were
used. The first sample was comprised of 91 student leaders who were in training at
the United States Naval Academy; of whom only 8 were female. A total of 1145
subordinate ratings and 11 superior ratings for these leaders were analyzed for this
study in addition to the leader’s self-assessment. The second sample was comprised
of 158 male, naval officer leaders who were rated by 793 subordinates (90% of
whom were male). Leaders were assigned to one of three agreement groups (underestimator, over-estimator or agreement) relative to the differences between their
ratings and the ratings of their subordinates, and separately of their managers for
sample 1. Deviations from the mean difference between the self versus other ratings
was used to assign the leader to one of the three agreement groups. Leaders whose
difference scores were within one-half standard deviation of the mean were deemed
to be ‘in agreement’; whereas over-estimators were those whose scores were higher
than one-half standard deviation of the mean and likewise under-estimators were
those whose scores were lower than one-half standard deviation from the mean.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
38
Factors That Influence Self and Other Ratings
Because 360-degree leadership measures rely heavily on subjective assessments
of self and other reporting, it is important to consider factors that may adversely
influence such ratings. Self-reports for 360-degree assessments require higherorder cognitive processing of recall, weighting, inference, prediction,
interpretation and evaluation (Podsakoff & Organ, 1986). Thus, while responding
to such an instrument, the individual is working at “a fairly high level of
abstraction” (Podsakoff & Organ, 1986, p. 533) and is essentially providing a
summary judgment that entails many endpoints.
Another well established point of view that emerges from the literature argues
that different raters will observe different dimensions of leadership and
therefore, the congruence between ratings may differ. Further, it has been
suggested that due to the different relationships and greater frequency of
opportunities for some raters to observe the leader than others, one might expect
higher concordance for self-subordinate than self-supervisor, self-peer or peersupervisor. That being said, however, it has been proposed that a rating scale that
is well defined and behaviorally based is likely to show agreement between
different raters (Harris & Schaubroeck, 1988). Meta-analyses that evaluated
congruence of 360-degree feedback have found that ratings by supervisors, direct
reports and peers are similar to each other while they are usually slightly less
positive than the rating that individuals give themselves (Warr & Bourne, 1999).
Also, research has found that self versus other observer differences in ratings
have been shown to be stable over time (Nilsen & Campbell, 1993).
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
39
Gender, Leadership and 360-degree Leadership Assessment
Van Velsor, Taylor and Leslie (1993, p. 249) concluded that
“contrary to common belief, our research shows that women
are not more likely to underrate their own skills on measures
of leadership competency”. This seminal work is frequently
referenced as the first evidence that women are not more
likely to underrate their own skills. The research literature is
replete with statements inferring that there are numerous
consistent findings that women tend to underrate themselves
as compared to others ratings (e.g. peers) in the area of
leadership (e.g., Alimo-Metcalfe, 1998; Fletcher 1999; Van
Velsor, Taylor, & Leslie, 1993) despite the fact that there are
only a few studies that actual report data evaluating gender
differences in self-assessment of any kind. Evidence that
women underrate themselves on leadership effectiveness is,
in fact, absent from the literature.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
40
There is evidence that female leaders’ style of leadership is
different than male leaders. Rosener (1990) found that men tend
to use reward and punishment as means to influence performance.
Women leaders, however, tend to use a more interactive
leadership style that encompasses sharing information and
power. Subsequently, several studies have found that women
tend to be more transformational in their leadership style than
men (Bass, Avolio, & Atwater, 1996; Bass & Avolio, 1994)
So much of early leadership theory development, especially
pertaining to the trait, skill and behavioral approaches, was based
on business models that were highly predominantly influenced by
the white, male leaders. Even today, nearly 50 years after
leadership theory development began in earnest, leadership and
managerial roles and tasks continue to be defined from a
masculine gender perspective. Leadership research literature has
not adequately established whether women leaders do or do not
underrate their own skills on measures of leadership. Thus, Van
Velsor, Taylor and Leslie’s (1993) examination of this issue, while
suggesting that women do not underrate their own skills and
competencies, needs to be confirmed.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
41
It is important to develop leadership theories that
are not biased with regard to gender, or other
characteristics (e.g. race, culture). After all, women
leaders and managers are not as novel in the
workplace as they may have been even 15 years
ago, with approximately 40% of all managers in US
firms being women (Carr-Ruffino, 2003). Also,
developing theories to further examine and
understand sources and effects of bias is important.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
42
Population Sample
The population for this study comes from an existing, archived dataset that
included 1153 female leaders from a variety of business sectors that had survey data from
8141 other-raters (peers, direct reports, managers and non-designated others) who had completed a selfrating of the Leadership Assessment Instrument (LAI™) between late 2001 and August 2006. In this
dataset, there were 862 female leaders that had at least one self-evaluation and one evaluation by
another rater. Since this represented a sample population of this dataset, the analysis included data from
all 862 female leaders. It was estimated, however, that a sample of at least 385 leaders would be needed
to evaluate concordance of the agreement categories with 95% confidence.
Research Instrument
The data analyzed in this study were from female leaders from various business sectors who completed
self-examinations using the Leadership Assessment Instrument™ as well as received 360-degree feedback
as part of a leadership development course conducted by staff from Linkage between late 2001 and August
2006. This instrument was selected since it is a validated instrument, and measures both competency and
skill aspects of leadership. Furthermore, from a convenience standpoint, a dataset from a large group of
female leaders was available for analysis. Since the literature has previously included analyses of
leadership instruments developed and collected predominantly from males (e.g. Bass & Yammarino, 1991),
in order to address the research questions proposed a dataset that included a large representative sample
from female leaders was needed. The Leadership Assessment Instrument™ (LAI)
The LAI was developed to evaluate and quantify the personal characteristics essential to leadership as
defined by the High Impact Leadership Model™ (Linkage, 2003). The intended purpose of the instrument is
to provide multi-rater feedback on the frequency that the leader and others perceive the leader to display
particular leadership competencies and skills. The LAI was developed from an item pool of various
leadership competencies and competencies that were rated for their criticality and importance by content
experts with 5 to 20 years of leadership expertise (Linkage Consulting Research Team, 1998). It was from
this content validity work that the initial version of the LAI was created. The instrument was subsequently
revised after further validation studies using a dataset comprised of 2243 data points (data from 303
individuals designated by their company as someone who was a current or high-potential leader, and data
from 1940 other raters, including peers, direct reports and managers, who evaluated these 303 leaders).
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
43
Main Findings
Samples Population
N = 3580
Male or Gender
unidentified
N = 2427
Female N = 1153
(females with self -rating and at least one rating by
another rater)
N = 862
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
44
The first research question was to ascertain whether female
leaders rated their overall leadership competency and skill
(LAI overall) differently than how their direct reports, peers,
managers or others rated their overall leadership.
This assessment was made by comparing the mean LAI
overall score (combination of competency and skill scores)
for each pair of raters, and then comparing these mean
score differences for significance. A difference (p<0.0001)
was observed between leaders and each of the types of
raters, with the leaders always having a lower mean overall
score than the other rater types (table 3). The leaders mean
LAI overall score was 3.6, compared to 3.9, 3.8,
3.7 and 3.9 for direct reports, managers, peers and nondesignated other raters, respectively.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
45
The second research question was to ascertain whether
female leaders rated their leadership competency
differently than how their direct reports, peers,
managers or others rated their leadership competency.
This assessment was made by comparing the mean
score for the 50 competency questions on the LAI for
each pair of raters, and then comparing the
competency mean score differences for significance. A
difference (p<0.0001) was observed between leaders
and each of the types of raters, with the leaders always
having a lower mean LAI competency score than the
other rater types. The leaders mean LAI competency
score was 3.6, compared to 3.9, 3.8, 3.7 and 3.9 for
direct reports, managers, peers and other raters,
respectively. These mean scores were identical to the
mean LAI overall scores.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
46
The third research question was to ascertain whether
female leaders rated their leadership skills differently
than how their direct reports, peers, managers or others
rated their leadership skills.
This assessment was made by comparing the mean
score for the 25 skill questions on the LAI for each pair
of raters, and then comparing the skill mean score
differences for significance. A difference (p<0.0001) was
observed between leaders and each of the types of
raters with the leaders always having a lower mean skill
score than the other rater types. The leaders mean LAI
skill score was 3.5, compared to 3.8, 3.7, 3.6 and 3.8 for
direct reports, managers, peers and other raters,
respectively. These mean scores were lower than the
mean LAI overall and mean LAI competency scores.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
47
An additional analysis was performed whereby the
sample population of leaders was characterized as
accurate raters, under raters or over raters based on the
mean paired difference for the leader versus all other
raters for their LAI skill ratings. Results from this analysis
are presented in table 8. Most leaders (81.8%) were not
under raters, but were accurate raters (73.1%) or over
raters (8.7%). For the 26.9% of leaders who were not
accurate raters, a difference (p<0.0001) for more underraters (18.2%) than over raters was found. Table 8.
Accuracy of female leader ratings for LAI skill ratings
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
48
Table 8.
Under-Rater
Accurate rater
Over-rater
P-Value
N (%) Mean
1262 (18.2)
5059 (73.1)
599 (8.7)
<0.0001
(SD) Median
3.06 (0.48)
3.56 (0.50)
3.96 (0.48)
----
Minimum
3.08 1.33
3.60 1.80
4.00 2.40
Mean
4.00
5.00
5.00
Maximum
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
49
The last research question was to ascertain whether female leaders from different
business sectors rated their overall leadership differently than how all others
providing 360-degree feedback rated their overall leadership.
The business sector was unknown for 166 leaders. Thus, a business sector was
assigned for a total of 696 (80.7%) of the leaders. A total of 50 different business
sectors were identified. Most sectors, however, had less than ten leaders
represented. There were a total of seven business sectors that had 20 or more
leaders within a given sector. These included banking (N=27), drug (N=75),
education (Ed) (N=57), government (Govt) (N=63), health service plans (HSP)
(N=40), insurance (ins) (N=216), and medical supplies (MedS) (N=76).
Mean scores for the LAI overall, LAI competency and LAI skill scores from leaders in
these business sectors are presented in table 9. The mean LAI competency scores
were higher than the mean LAI skill scores within each of these business sectors
except for the insurance sector (mean scores were the same). The mean LAI
competency score was the same as the mean LAI overall score for most of the
leaders in these sectors, with the exception of the banking sector. In this case, the
mean LAI competency score was higher than the mean LAI overall and mean LAI
skill scores.
Bank
Drug
Educ Govt HSP
Ins
Meds
N 27
N75
N 57
N 63 N 40
N 216 N 76
Table 9. Overall score 3.6
3.5
3.6
3.6
3.7
3.6
3.7
Competency
3.7
3.5
3.6
3.6
3.7
3.6
3.7
Skill
3.4
3.4
3.5
3.5
3.5
3.6
3.6
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
50
The final exploratory analysis was an evaluation of the rating
accuracy of the female leaders for these seven business
sectors versus all of their other raters (direct reports,
managers, peers and others, combined). As was done with the
entire sample population as described above, these female
leaders were characterized as accurate raters, under-raters or
over-raters based on the mean paired difference for the
leader versus all other raters for the mean LAI overall score.
Results from this analysis are presented in table 10. For all
sectors, 86.1% or more of leaders were categorized as
accurate raters. When inaccurate rating did occur, however,
the leader was typically categorized more often as underrating. Indeed, no leaders in the banking, drug, education, or
health service plan sectors were categorized as over raters.
Table 10. Accuracy of LAI overall ratings for female leaders
from seven different
business sectors
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
51
Table 10. Accuracy of LAI overall ratings for female
leaders from seven different business sectors.
Sector
N
Under
rater
Accurate
Over-rater
business
sectors
-rater
Accuracy27 of LAI1 overall
ratings
26 (96.3%) for0 female l
Banking
(3.7%)
69 (92.0%)
Drug
75
6 (8.0%)
different
business
sectors.0
50 (87.7%)
0
Education
57
7 (12.3%) sectors
business
Government
63
5 (7.9%)
55 (87.3%)
3 (4.8%)
Health
Service
Plans
Insurance
40
4 (10.0%)
36 (90.0%)
0
216
24 (11.1%)
76
5 (6.6%)
Medical
Supplies
6 (2.8%)
67 (88.1%)
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
4 (5.3%)
52
Brief Summary of Data Findings
The current research study found that the mean
ratings by the leaders were less than any of the
other rater types (p<0.001). However, the
differences in mean scores between raters and
leaders were very small. The number of female
leaders in the available sample population (N=862)
far exceeded the estimated sample size of at least
385 leaders that would be needed to evaluate
concordance of the agreement categories with 95%
confidence. The very large sample size afforded the
opportunity to detect small differences between
groups..
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
53
Further evaluation to ascertain the meaningfulness of
the small differences was done.
In the study reported herein, the methodology used to
make this assessment was to evaluate the paired mean
score difference between leaders and the other raters
so that statistical analysis could be utilized. If the paired
mean score difference was <+1 to >-1, then the leader
was categorized as an ‘accurate-rater’. If the difference
was < -1, then the leader was categorized as an ‘underrater’. If the difference was > 1, then the leader was
categorized an ‘over-rater’. The between rater category
assessments was compared for concordance using the
Sign test. A P-value < 0.05 was considered significant.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
54
In this study, the vast majority of female leaders
(approximately 84%) were not under raters. Most
were, in fact, accurate raters (76.7%) compared to
how others rated them. This was true for their
accuracy in rating their overall leadership (76.7%),
as well as separately for their leadership
competency (77.6%) and leadership skills (73.1%)
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
55
Interpretive Meaning of Data Results
In prior research, leaders who are accurate self-reporters consistently have
been found to be more successful leaders than those who are not accurate
self-reporters, regardless of whether they under- or over-rate themselves
as leaders (Yammarino & Atwater, 1993). Historically, the literature has
been consistent in finding that subordinate’s rating of leaders predicts
future performance (Atwater & Yammarino, 1992; Bass & Yammarino,
1991). The data from this study suggests that for most female leaders
there are not large differences between how others and the leader rate
the leader’s leadership skills and competencies. However, when
differences occurred between female leaders and their direct reports it was
influenced more by differences in perception of leadership skills than
leadership competencies. The mean between group (leader-direct report)
difference for leadership skill was -0.3 compared to only -0.1 for leadership
competency. This data suggests that direct reports are more confident in
female leaders’ leadership skills (i.e., change management,
coaching/mentoring, communication, negotiation and problem solving)
than the leaders are of themselves. It is worth noting that the mean
(median) LAI skill score by direct-report ratings was quite high (3.8 (3.9) for
these leaders. These scores suggest that from the perspective of the directreport, these female leaders frequently displayed the leadership skills
evaluated in this study
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
56
Across business sectors, the mean LAI overall, LAI
competency and LAI skill scores across the business
sector leaders was very consistent with most sectors
having a mean score between 3.4 and 3.7. Also, a
very high percentage of these leaders were accurate
raters.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
57
Recommendations
Increasingly women are making up a larger percentage of management
leaders within many US organizations. Results from this study provide
evidence to refute the current negative myth perpetuated in the literature
that female leaders are not accurately self-reporting on their leadership
skills and competencies. Awareness of these data may help influence a
more positive perception of female leaders in today's business environment.
This may in turn influence upward mobility and opportunities for future
female leaders.
The next step, however, is to confirm the findings of Yammarino and
Atwater (1993) using a dataset comprised predominantly or solely of female
leaders. As noted earlier, in their study of predominantly male leaders,
accurate self-reporting was associated with more effective job-relevant
decision making. It is recommended that additional research evaluating the
relationship of self-reporting accuracy and job performance for female
leaders also be conducted to confirm the findings.
As predicted, analysis of a more contemporary dataset has confirmed that
female leaders do not frequently under-rate their leadership behaviors and
skills. Results from this study confirm that female leaders have good selfawareness of their strengths and weaknesses. This information needs to be
shared with male and female business leaders so as to begin to change
business leaders perceptions regarding the strength of female leaders.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
58
Conclusions
Overall, this study provides objective evidence that
refutes a ‘common belief’ that most female leaders
underrate their performance. In this regard, the study
substantiates the conclusions of Van Velsor, Taylor and
Leslie (1999) who also found congruence in ratings
between female leaders and their direct reports. From
this study we can conclude that most female leaders
have good self-awareness of their overall leadership,
their leadership competency and their leadership skills.
This study is the first, however, to provide objective
evidence that the minority of female leaders who are
not accurate raters tend to under-rate, rather than
over-rate, their performance as leaders.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
59
These results help to establish that female leaders in
today’s business environment have good awareness of
themselves as leaders, as evidenced by the high
percentage of female leaders who accurately rated
themselves compares to how others rated them. This
data adds substantially to the literature in providing
objective evidence that the vast majority of female
leaders do not underrate themselves as leaders.
Previous exploration of congruence between self
(leaders) and other ratings for 360-degree feedback has
focused primarily on self peer and self manager
evaluations (Atwater & Yammarino, 1992; Bass &
Yammarino, 1991; Brutus, Fleenor & London, 1998;
Nowack, 1997). This study evaluated these same
relationships, as well as self direct reports
(subordinates) and self other reports for 360-degree
feedback congruence.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
60
The study of female leadership is an important topic today.
There have been significant changes in not only the
percentages of women in the work force, but also the
percentage of female business leaders over the last few
decades. Despite these advancements, there continues to be
a shortage of female leaders represented at the highest levels
within organizations (Helfat, Harris & Wolfson, 2006; Hillman,
Shropshire & Cannella, 2007). Bass and Yammarino (1991), as
well as Atwater and Yammarino (1992), were among the first
to establish 360-degree feedback as a surrogate for leadership
performance. It is unclear exactly why the business literature
is replete with inference that female leaders underrate their
performance as leaders, especially when there isn’t objective
data to substantiate these claims. These reports may
contribute to biased views that female leaders are not likely
to be effective leaders.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
61
The overarching focus that business needs to consider
in today’s global, fast-paced environment is clear.
“Success in today’s highly competitive marketplace
calls for organizations to make best use of the talent
available to them. To do this they need to identify,
develop, encourage, and promote the most effective
managers [leaders], regardless of sex” (Powell, 1990, p.
74). Based on the contemporary, 360-degree feedback
data evaluated in this study, there is alignment
regarding leadership skills and competencies between
female leaders and their colleagues (i.e. their peers,
subordinates, managers and other non-designated
raters).
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
62
REFERENCES
Alban-Metcalfe, R. J., & Alimo-Metcalfe, B. (2000). The transformational
leadership questionnaire (TLQ-LGV): a convergent and discrimnant validation
study. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 21(6), 280-298.
Alimo-Metcalfe, B. (Jan 1998). 360-degree Feedback and Leadership
Development. International Journal of Selection & Assessment, 6(1), 35-44.
Alimo-Metcalfe, B, & Alban-Metcalfe, R. J. (2001). The development of a new
Transformational Leadership Questionnaire. Journal of Occupational and
Organizational Psychology, 74, 1-27.
Alimo-Metcalfe, B., & Alban-Metcalfe, J. (Apr-Jun, 2005). The crucial role of
leadership in meeting the challenges of change. Vision, 9(2), 27-39.
Antonakis, J., Avolio, B. J., & Sivasubramaniam, N. (2003). Context and leadership:
An examination of the nine-factor full-range leadership theory using the
Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. Leadership Quarterly, 14(3), 261-295.
Atwater, L., Roush, P., & Fischthal, A. The influence of upward feedback on selfand follower ratings of leadership (Spring 1995). Personnel Psychology, 48(1), 3559.
Atwater, L. E., & Yammarino, F. J. (Spring 1992). Does self-other agreement on
leadership perceptions moderate the validity of leadership and performance
predictions? Personnel Psychology 45(1), 141-164.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
63
Bass, B.M., & Yammarino, F. J. (1991). Congruence of self and others’ leadership ratings of naval officers for
understanding successful performance. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 40(4), 437-454.
Bass, B.M., & Avolio, B. J. (1994). Shatter the glass ceiling: Women may make better managers. Human
Resource Management Journal, 33, 549-560.
Bass, B. M., Avolio, B. J., & Atwater, L. (1996). The transformational and transactional leadership of men and
women. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 45(1), 5-34. ordered from library 1/1/2007.
Becker, J., Ayman, R., & Korabik, K. (2002). Discrepancies in self/subordinates’ perceptions on leadership
behavior. Group & Organization Management, 27(2), 226-244.
Bennis, W. G. (Dec 1959). Leadership theory and administrative behavior: The problem of authority.
Administrative Science Quarterly, 4(3), 259-301.
Beyer, S. (Nov 1990). Gender differences in the accuracy of self-evaluations of performance. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 59(5), 960-970.
Bradley, T. P., Allen, J. M., Hamilton, S., & Filgo, S. K. (2006). Leadership perception: Analysis of 360-degree
feedback. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 19(1), 7
23.
Brutus, S., Fleenor, J, & London, M. (1998). Does 360-degree feedback work in different industries? A betweenindustry comparison of the reliability and validity of multisource performance ratings. Journal of Management
Development, 17(3), 177
190.
Brutus, S., Petosa, S., & Aucoin, E. (2005). Who will evaluate me? Rater selection in multi-source assessment
contexts. International Journal of Selection & Assessment, 13(2), 129-138.
Carr-Ruffino N. (2003). Managing diversity. People skills for a multicultural workplace (6th edition). Boston, MA:
Pearson Custom Publishing.
Carter, D. A., Simkins, B. J., & Simpson, W. G. (2003). Corporate governance, board diversity, and firm value. The
Financial Review, 38, 33-53.
Dunning, D., Heath, C., & Suls, J. (2004). Flawed self-assessment. Psychological Science in the Public Interest,
5(3), 69-106.
Eagly, A. H., Makhijani, M. G., & Klonsky, B. G. (1992). Gender and the evaluation of leaders: A meta-analysis.
Psychological Bulletin, 111(1), 3-22.
Women leaders underrate their skills...wk 5
64
LaNoue, J. B., & Curtis, R. C. (1985). Improving women’s performance in mixed-sex situations by effort
attributions. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 9(3), 337-356.
Linkage Consulting Research Team. (2003). Linkage Assessment Instrument Technical Report, retrieved
November 3, 2005 from http//:www.Linkageinc.com/ research_products/assessment_instruments.aspx.
Linkage, Incorporated. (1998). Leadership Assessment Profile Report: The High Impact Leadership Model™
and The Leadership Assessment Instrument™ (LAI). Burlington, MA: Author.
London, M., & Wohlers, A. J. (Summer 1991). Agreement between subordinate and self-ratings in upward
feedback. Personnel Psychology, 44(2), 375-390.
Mabe, P. A., & West, S. G. (Jun 1982).Validity of self-evaluation of ability: A review and meta-analysis.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 67(3), 280-296.
Macaleer, W. D., & Shannon, J. B. (Autumn 2002). Emotional Intelligence: How does it affect leadership?
Employment Relations Today, 29 (3), 9-19.
MacRae, N. (2005). Women and work: A ten year retrospective. Work, 24, 331-339.
Maher, A. (1999). How many women? Pharmaceutical Executive, 19(11), 144-145.
Malloy, T. E., & Janowski, C. L. (Dec 1992). Perceptions and metaperceptions of leadership: Components,
accuracy, and dispositional correlates. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18(6), 700-708.
Mayer, J. D., DiPaolo, M. T., & Salovey, P. (Summer 1990). Perceiving affective content in ambiguous visual
stimuli: A component of emotional intelligence. Journal of Personality Assessment, 54(3/4), 772-781.
McEvoy, G. M., & Beatty, R. W. (Spring 1989). Assessment centers and subordinate appraisals of managers.
Personnel Psychology, 42(1), 37-52.
Merritt, J. (October 20, 2003). The education edge. Business Week, 3854, 86-92.
Moore, S., Grunberg, L., & Greenberg, E. (Fall 2004). Development and validation of a scale to measure
beliefs about women managers. Current Psychology Developmental, 23(3), 245-257.
Morrison, A. M., & Von Gilinow, M.A. (Feb 1990). Women and minorities in management. American
65
Psychologist, 45(2), 200-208. Women leaders underrate their
skills...wk 5