n view of these findings, the tendency of women to exceed men on the components of
leadership style that relate positively to effectiveness (i.e., transformational leadership and
the contingent reward aspect of transactional leadership) and the tendency of men to
exceed women on the ineffective styles (i.e., passive management by exception and laissez-
faire leadership) attest to women’s abilities. Thus, research on transformational, transac-
tional, and laissez-faire leadership styles does suggest female advantage, albeit a small
advantage.