ABSTRACT
Although there is certainly anecdotal evidence that one can point to when it comes to stories in the popular press about various leaders, when one looks at the history of scientific evidence on gender differences across a host of domains, the absolute levels of difference between the genders is often small relative to the wide differences one sees within each gender. Most people have a difficult time expressing exactly what the word leadership means. Indeed, even experts offer conflicting definitions of this term. Nevertheless, when asked to name strong leaders throughout history, people respond in a remarkably consistent way. Not all theories about leadership emphasize the three-dimensional character of the leadership process as proposed by Hollander. The earliest probes into the nature of leadership focused almost exclusively on leader characteristics. The authoritarian leader is almost the opposite of the laissez-faire leader and makes virtually all decisions by himself or herself.
