Intergroup anxiety, cultural sensitivity and socio-cultural diverse leaders’ effectiveness

Abstract

This intended to analyze differences in the level of perception –of general population participants- in regards to leaders with diverse socio-cultural characteristics (gender, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, nationality) and also verify by means of structural equations, the influence of intergroup anxiety and the cultural sensitivity in terms of the level of effectiveness perception. Participants: 481 adults from Argentina (52.8% female, 47.2% male; age average = 35.45 years old). Instruments: Intergroup Anxiety scale, Cultural Sensitivity scale, and an ad hoc protocol designed to assess level of effectiveness perception in socio-culturally diverse leaders. Results: Differences in the level of perception of effectiveness according to sociocultural characteristics could not be confirmed. However, a direct effect of cultural sensitivity and an indirect effect of intergroup anxiety on the levels of effectiveness perception were confirmed. This work contributes to previous studies on prejudice and leadership.

Keywords

• leadership
• culture
• intergroup anxiety
• cultural sensitivity
• effectiveness