Self-Monitoring and Leadership Emergence

The research described here was directed toward furthering our understanding of the antecedents of leadership emergence in groups. Kenny and Zaccaro (1983) have recently speculated that individuals who emerge as leaders may be able to perceive the needs of their group and pattern their own behavior accordingly. Past research strongly supports the notion that individuals who are high self-monitors possess skills corresponding to both these characteristics. Thus the present research examined the relationship between self-monitoring and leadership emergence in a long-term field study of natural groups. The expectation that high self-monitoring would be associated with leadership emergence received strong support. The implications of these results for furthering our understanding of the nature of self-monitoring and leadership are discussed.