Perceptions of U.S. military leadership: are all leaders created equally?

Organisational success is largely predicated upon the ability of leaders to effectively implement strategies that yield competitive advantage in rapidly changing, and sometimes chaotic environments. Hence, an understanding of those leadership characteristics which are perceived by followers as being effective and instilling confidence is imperative. In order to examine the impact of contextual factors on leadership prototypes, 176 U.S. Marines were surveyed regarding their perceptions of leaders of who were either male or female and new or highly experienced. Approximately twenty three percent of the leader characteristics were found to be differently applied to leaders based upon either the gender, tenure, or both characteristics of the leader. In every one of these instances, significant differences were perceived between new female leaders and experienced male leaders, with the more positive characterisation always being of the latter. Suggestions for future training and research are made based upon these findings.