A multilevel examination of leader emergence

This study used a multi-wave longitudinal design to test a number of hypotheses related to gendered leader dynamics in small self-managing teams. Specifically, my predictive model examined the claiming and granting of leadership within the purview of specific team processes in project team dyads and how these interactions may be different for females versus males. By drawing on current social-psychological theories of leadership construction (DeRue & Ashford, 2010; DeRue, 2011; DeRue, Nahrgang, & Ashford, 2015), which emphasize the claiming and granting of leader roles as a dynamic social process, I examined leadership claims and grants among team members over the course of a five week project. Specifically, I leveraged the functional perspective of leadership which focuses on team processes and specific team need satisfaction (Marks, Mathieu, & Zaccaro, 2001; Morgeson, DeRue, & Karam, 2010) and examined how gender may have different effects on leader emergence depending on 1) the type of team process leadership under examination, 2) the stage in which the project team is in, 3) and whether one is claiming or granting leadership.