Women as Leaders

Abstract

Development of organizational leaders has long been the subject of inquiry. Professional socialization has recently become an area of extensive research. The purpose of this research involved organizing professional socialization and organizational leadership around women as leaders. Our interest in this inquiry stems from examining the combination of socialization of women and the changing climate of some organizations which are creating a more positive situation for women who choose to be leaders in the 21 st century. Our inquiry examines the socialization of women as leaders. Also, we discuss the necessary skills for successful "women as leaders" including : communicating anger, competitiveness, persuasiveness, assertiveness and listening as qualities necessary for successful leadership in the future. The underlying philosophical underpinnings for this inquiry include the belief which says women and men do not differ in leadership style when they have been trained, but differ along stereotypical lines when untrained. Leaders can be trained to incorporate both task and consideration in their leadership style, but males will use task as a backup style, while females will use consideration as a backup style . The authors present data here which undoubtedly will raise questions and develop issues---issues worthy of debate. And, to this end they invite responses from readers and researchers alike. Dialogue will be welcomed.