Leading against gender stereotypes: the positively deviant effect of female leaders’ personal need for structure on average team member performance

This paper investigates the positively deviant effect of female leaders’ personal need for structure (PNS) on average team member performance. Drawing on Kelley’s attribution principles, we propose that female leaders can more effectively stimulate team performance when they are high in PNS than when male leaders are. Using a multi-source, multi-wave survey study of 100 leaders and 439 subordinates across 24 real estate firms, we examine the interactive effect of leader PNS and leader gender on average team member performance via activated team faultlines. Our results suggest that female leaders who are high in PNS exhibit a stronger, negative effect on activated team faultlines when compared to their male counterparts. In addition, female leaders who are high in PNS elicit a stronger positive indirect effect on average team member performance through decreased activated team faultlines than male leaders. Our findings are consistent with, and therefore enhance, the prediction of Kelley’s attribution principles. Implications for theory, practice, and future research are addressed.