Understanding emergent leader–follower patterns and the role of gender in teams: a micro-temporal account

Purpose By investigating the dynamics of leader and follower behavior during small group interactions, we provide insights into the behavioral patterns that give rise to leadership emergence. We also identify gender-related differences in these behavior patterns that may explain the persistent gap in emergent leadership ascriptions between men and women. Design/methodology/approach We video-recorded verbal interactions of 34 zero-history three-person teams collaborating on a task in the laboratory. One team member was a confederate (male vs. female) trained to show emergent leader behavior. To quantify verbal interaction patterns and examine to what extent these team dynamics depend on the confederate’s gender, we conducted a fine-grained interaction analysis of utterances over the interaction period. Findings We show that leadership claims by one team member evoked subsequent granting behavior in another team member. The more individuals’ claims were granted (counter-claimed) by others, the higher (lower) their level of ascribed emergent leadership. Claims uttered by male or female confederates were equally likely to be granted by team members. However, female confederate leadership claims elicited more counterclaims. Originality/value Findings highlight the importance of considering leader–follower interaction patterns for the discussion around gender differences in leadership processes.