The Effect of Hispanic Ethnicity on the Leadership Process

Leadership categorization and relational demography theory suggest that ethnicity has a major impact on how people work together and perceive leaders. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between leader ethnicity (Hispanic) and perceptions of leader behaviors. The results indicated that Hispanic leaders were perceived as equivalent, in terms of leadership, to Euro-American leaders despite a significant difference in ethnic identity scores between Hispanic and Euro-American students. However, the mean perceived effectiveness ratings for leaders whose leadership style matches their followers’ leadership prototype were significantly higher than those in the mismatch condition. Implications for both managers and researchers are discussed.