Gender and leadership : a comparison of Division I athletic directors

This study examined gender differences in the leadership styles of Division I athletic directors. Perceptions of coaches and the athletic directors, themselves, regarding these styles were assessed. Ten Division I athletic directors (five male, five female) and six coaches (three male, three female) from each of the 10 schools completed a demographic questionnaire and a revised form of the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire - Form XII.Six separate independent groups t-test indicated no significant differences between the self-perceptions of male and female athletic directors on any of the six factors of leadership. A 2 x'2 x 3 (AD Gender x Coach Gender x Coach) ANOVA with repeated measures on the final two factors showed no significant difference in the perceptions of all coaches of male athletic directors versus all coaches of female athletic directors. The results did demonstrated that the perceptions of male coaches were significantly different from female coaches on the leadership factors of structure, production emphasis, and integration, regardless of the gender of the athletic director.