Multi-group Analysis in the Relationships between Leadership Stereotypes, Leadership Competencies, and Achievement Motivation in Leadership Role by Agriculture Extension Agents

This study has been conducted having two main purposes including examining the structural model of leadership stereotype, leadership competency, and achievement motivation in leadership role and investigating the moderating effects of gender on the overall model. Using a sample of 303 extension agents from three Jihad-e-Agriculture Organizations of Tehran, Kermanshah, and Khorasan Razavi provinces in Iran, we conducted a survey using structured questionnaires. The data were collected and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) multivariate technique. The results showed that leadership stereotype and leadership competency significantly influence achievement motivation in leadership role of extension agents while the relationship between leadership stereotype and leadership competency was not significant. The results further demonstrated that the relationships among leadership stereotype with leadership competency and achievement motivation in leadership role have been moderated by gender. In fact, it has been concluded that leadership stereotype favors men in developing leadership competency and achievement motivation in leadership role while it is negative for women. This study, in regard to leadership stereotype, suggests that although the pressures of stereotypical thinking have not gone away but changing them is time consuming and needs constant negotiations, and therefore, presenting the training program on how to correct these stereotypes in a person is a strategy for starting this action.