Effects of gender differences and selection agent expertise on leader influence and performance evaluations

The effects of selection agent expertise and various gender factors upon the influence and perceived expertise of male and female leaders, and upon group cohesiveness, were examined. Leaders (male or female) were selected by an agent (male or female, expert or nonexpert) to lead groups working on either a masculine or a feminine task. While the influence of the leaders was unaffected by the manipulations, ratings of expertise and group cohesiveness were affected. Leaders selected by experts were given higher expertise ratings than were those selected by nonexperts, as were leaders working on masculine as opposed to feminine tasks. Also, in the feminine task condition, perceived expertise was higher for female leaders and for leaders chosen by female agents. Cohesiveness ratings were highest for groups with leaders chosen by experts, except for groups with male leaders and masculine tasks, where cohesiveness ratings were higher when the agent was a nonexpert. The implications of these results for the effects of selection agent and task characteristics in leader selection, and issues of criterion selection in leadership research, are discussed.