Female Leader Emergence in Shared Leadership. A Social Network Perspective

Abstract

This study examines female leader emergence in teams practicing shared leadership. More precisely, we investigate how and when female team members, who are usually underrepresented in formal leadership positions, emerge as informal leaders in shared leadership. Building on the extant literature on female leadership, leader emergence, and shared leadership, we expect women to be more relied on as leaders in shared leadership than their male peers. Beside direct effects, we specify formal vertical leadership as a moderator of the relation between gender and leader emergence. Thereby, we take a social network perspective on the conditions under which women emerge (i.e., receive leadership ties) as leaders in a settings of plural informal leadership such as shared leadership. Survey data from teams in the German public service and industrial sector is analyzed using temporal exponential random graph models (ERGMs). Contrary to our expectations, women have less incoming leadership ties than their male peers, mirroring findings in initially leaderless teams. However, in line with our hypotheses, the formal team leader may either encourage or deject female leader emergence. While empowering leadership increases the propensity for incoming leadership ties for women, directive leadership has the opposite effect. Implications for the study of female leadership, leader emergence, and shared leadership are presented, accompanied by practical implications for creating a gender inclusive shared leadership environment.