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Leadership, Power, and Gender

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Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender

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Background

Leadership and power are related to each other in multiple ways. Leadership refers to public power, that is, positions people hold in organizations and society which provide them means to use power over other individuals, groups, and organizations. Leadership is defined as personal influence over other people, that is, having an effect on their behavior with the aim of better results in their work (Weiss, 1996). Power can be defined as a person’s ability to influence other people (Hoskings, cited in Cornforth, 1991). Leadership is a value-laden activity, whereas management is more practically orientated. Management is more about administering and controlling, whereas leadership is about innovation and inspiration (Hughes, Ginnett, & Curphy, 1999). The main difference between the two is that leaders lead people, whereas managers manage tasks. However, the two do overlap, and it is often hard to separate leadership from management (Hughes et al., 1999). There is no management...

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Heljä Huuhtanen and Saara Patoluoto, of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, for their help in collecting material and preparing the article.

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  1. Kaisa Kauppinen
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Kauppinen, K., Aaltio, I. (2003). Leadership, Power, and Gender. In: Ember, C.R., Ember, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-29907-6_10

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