Issue: gender and leadership
Researchers have found some, although not overwhelming, gender differences in leadership. Eagly and Johnson’s meta-analysis (1990) found that women tend to show more people-oriented and democratic styles whereas men were more likely to be task focused and autocratic. The results, however, were more pronounced in laboratory rather than organizational settings. Interestingly, the most consistent gender difference in leadership relates to change- and future-oriented leadership style, often referred to as transformational leadership. Transformational leadership focuses on establishing an emotional connection with followers and inspiring them toward implementing change. A review by Eagly and her colleagues (2003) suggests that female leaders are more transformational, show more individualized attention to their followers, and are more supportive of them than male leaders. Aspects of transformational leadership are viewed less favourably in cultures with low gender egalitarianism.
Given the presence of some gender differences in leadership styles and effectiveness, the questions are:
• Do these differences handicap women, preventing them from being effective and reaching leadership positions, thus providing an explanation for the presence of fewer female leaders?
• To what extent have leadership theories been masculine (continuing the ‘great man’ tradition)?
• What factors explain the lesser roles women play in the leadership of organizations?
• Are more contemporary theories: transformational, authentic, servant more ‘feminine’?
• Does leadership theory explain the relatively low percentage of Australian women in ‘senior leadership’ positions?
Cited references:
Eagly, A.H. and Johnson, B.T., 1990. Gender and leadership style: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 108(2): 233-256.
Eagly, A.H., Johannesen-Schmidt, M.C. and Van Engen, M.L., 2003. Transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles: a meta-analysis comparing women and men. Psychological Bulletin, 129(4): 569-591.
Further resources:
Boonstra, J 2013 Cultural Change and leadership in Organizations, Wiley Blackwell, Chichester UK.
Vinkenburg, C. J., van Engen, M. L., Eagly, A. H., & Johannesen-Schmidt, M. C., 2011. An exploration of stereotypical beliefs about leadership styles: Is transformational leadership a route to women’s promotion?. The Leadership Quarterly, 22(1): 10-21.

Assessment
You should demonstrate understanding of leadership theory, research studies and how to apply these in practice. You will be required to complete this problem-based assessment based on your research, critical analysis of the literature and relevant experience. The purpose of the assessment is to for you to reflect on how you can understand leadership theory and research and effectively apply that understanding to improve leadership in practice. The focus is on the behaviour of managers and employees in enacting and responding to leadership behaviour.
The task is to:
1. Clearly explain what it is and why it is significant to you in your own words rather than material you have read;
2. Provide a clear link to theory/research or model relevant to this unit that is drawn from academic journal(s). Depending on your topic, 2 or 3 references would be appropriate. Only include material that provides the “evidence” for your practical examples;
3. Explain how you could use the knowledge gained from the theory/research to implement a single improvement practice in a workgroup if you were in a leadership role.
4. Explain how you could use the knowledge gained from the theory/research to implement a single improvement in leadership practice an individual employee role.

Assessment Criteria
The assessment criteria are a combination of:
• Demonstrated understanding of the material relevant to the unit;
• Capacity to express the relevance of theory/research to by providing appropriate and practical examples;
• Ability to express yourself clearly, in a well-structured way and free from error and
• The level of insight demonstrated by evidence of reflective practice.

Word Count
An indicative guide for allocating words would be:
Topic and Explanation 240 words
Academic link 360 words
“Leader” example 300 words
“Employee” example 300 words

Short example for your reference (word count 598)

TOPIC & EXPLANATION:
The distinction between Leadership and Management stood out as these were interchangeable in my mind. My understanding was that managers were by default “leaders” inadvertently “leading” their team by performing managerial tasks. This significantly impacted on me as I reflect on my behaviours as a small business owner. I began to appreciate, whilst efforts were made to formulate a vision and identify our culture, much of what we’ve been focussing on has been the tasks of management rather than leadership. The approach of identifying issues within the scope of Operations; Strategy; and Culture particularly resonated as a logical approach to promote better leadership behaviours.

ACADEMIC LINK:
Yukl (1989) highlighted the controversy over the distinction between Leadership and Management noting that some viewed these as mutually exclusive whilst others acknowledged significant overlap. Managers are expected to carry out managerial functions as well as possess leadership abilities. Their effectiveness as “leaders” is often judged interchangeably on both scores.
Kotter (1990) suggested a “complementary system of actions” between management and leadership. He argued both are needed in a careful balance to succeed. Furthermore, he stressed that some are better at managing whilst others leading, and successful organizations seek to develop both skill sets in their leader-managers and/or ensure a mix of good managers and good leaders within their teams. This poses a challenge for owner-operator businesses where the owners are the managers who are also expected to demonstrate leadership qualities.
For small businesses, the “Heart, Head and Hands” model (Nicholls, 1994) provides a workable framework to develop the three aspects of leadership – the “Hands” (Supervisory concerning processes and operations); “Head” (Strategic providing purpose and direction); and “Heart” (Inspirational promoting alignment and clear vision).

MANAGER EXAMPLE:
In our business, too much focus was placed on operations and not enough on aligning members to our purpose and identity resulting in poor team communication. I intend to communicate the “Hands, Head & Heart” leadership model to my business partner and team to promote a more well-rounded picture of why we do what we do. I think that our operational processes should always be communicated with our core values and identity.
An example is the requirement for (particular task). Admin staff struggle with (aspect of task). This has led to staff not following correct procedure. Despite explanations that the procedure discourages (a certain behaviour) staff appear to believe the practice as a ploy for financial gains rather than the genuine rationale to avoid wasting valuable timeslots leading to longer waiting for (certain clients). This is an example of when we have not integrated the “Hands” of providing a policy, with the “Head” of strategically prioritizing certain patients, with the “Heart” of the reason for policy implementation.

EMPLOYEE EXAMPLE:
My role as an “employee” is within my technical capacity. The Hands, Head and Heart model can be applied in my role as supervisor for (a specific group of employees). The challenge with supervision has been the difficulty in communicating why things are done differently from what has been previously taught. The fundamental challenge that supervisors have been facing resulted from not effectively communicating the purpose of the particular procedure. If we more clearly communicated why we emphasise a particular approach, this would create a much more harmonious working relationship between supervisors and employees. Furthermore, it would equip the employees with the ability to reflect on their own work in line with our core purpose. Redesigning our training program based on the model and sharing this with the other senior staff for review will promote leadership skills in both supervisors and employees.

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