Men and Women, Perceptions of the Leader's Characteristics Necessary for Leadership

This study was an examination of the perceptions of men and women concerning seven specific leadership characteristics, and whether these characteristics have a bearing on the ability to assume increased leadership responsibility. The primary challenge for the conduct of this study was finding a way to measure employee perceptions. The survey used in this study came from the Pew Research Group. This data gave the necessary support for accepting or rejecting of each hypothesis. Within the academic community, The Pew Research Group is a trusted source for research and the resultant data. Since each participant had no relationship to any other participant, there was no possibility of any participant influencing the answers of any other participant. The analysis of the data was through optimal scaling, creating frequency charts, model summaries, and ANOVA’s. To explore outliers in the data, a set of histograms displayed in chapter four show a clear picture of the perceptions of the participants. The findings showed women having stronger perceptions for all seven leadership characteristics being absolutely essential. There was more variation in the percentages of support of men for the seven leadership characteristics, but by combing the percentages for both men and women, there was strong support for the perception that all seven leadership characteristics are absolutely-essential for leadership. Leadership training programs should include instruction in the seven leadership characteristics examined in this study, and there is a need for continued study of how the diverse workforce of the 21st century perceives the need for leadership training. A good path for future research is an examination of the leadership perceptions of workers from the full demographic range of the American workforce.