Team Diversity and the Importance of Considerate Leadership

Three studies examined the role of leadership behaviors in diverse teams. Based on the Categorization-Elaboration Model (van Knippenberg, De Dreu, & Homan, 2004), I argue that diverse teams might benefit the most from relational, considerate leadership behaviors. These types of leaders might limit the negative group processes that can results from categorization processes and resulting intergroup biases. Study 1 and 2 focus on leadership preferences of members of diverse vs. homogeneous teams. Results show that participants who are confronted with a diverse team have a higher preference for a considerate leader than participants who are confronted with a homogeneous team. In study 3, I aspired to test whether this preference indeed results in better outcomes for diverse teams. An interaction between group diversity and considerate leadership behaviors shows that within diverse teams but not in homogeneous teams, high considerate leadership behaviors are positively related to work motivation and satisfaction. Implications for theory and practice will be discussed.