The age factor in leadership

This study was conducted to investigate a set of relationships which comprise a theory of leadership effectiveness based upon time in position and age-related characteristics of leaders. The interrelationships among age; time in position; interiority; conformity to organizational rules; two measures of leadership behavior, initiating structure and consideration; and effectiveness were examined. Appropriate subscales of the California Psychological Inventory; the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire, Form XII; the Purdue Rating Scale for Administrators and Executives; and a Conformity Scale developed by A. P. MacDonald, Jr. were used to measure the variables. Path Analysis was applied to test the relationships.

Of the specific relationships hypothesized in the proposed models, only four were consistent with the theory: conformity was negatively associated with consideration (b = -.155, p < .05), consideration was positively associated with intellectuality (b = .146, p < .01) and productivity (b = .043, p < .05), and initiation of structure was positively associated with orderliness (b = .064, p < .01), intellectuality (b = .164, p < .01), confidence (b = .113, p < .01), and productivity (b = .052, p < .01). The remaining significant relationships—age and consideration (b = .116, p < .01), interiority and conformity (b = -.102, p < .05), conformity and initiating structure (b = .205, p < .01), and time in position and confidence (b = -.040, p < .05)—were inverse to those hypothesized.

With such mixed results, there is only one fair conclusion: The theory explaining the relationship between age and leadership effectiveness proposed in this study is not adequate. The initial assumption that age is negatively associated with leadership effectiveness is cast in doubt. The two significant correlations between age and consideration and age and intellectuality indicate that the relationship, if any, between age and leadership is positive, not negative. In light of the evidence, the theory needs to be recast to consider the relationships that emerged from the analysis.