African American Women Executives’ Leadership Communication within Dominant-Culture Organizations

Abstract

This research examined African American women executives’ leadership communication within majority White, male-dominated organizations in the United States. Study participants were 15 African American women executives, one or more of their subordinates, and, in four cases, their supervisors. Analyses of in-depth interviews, observations, and archival data revealed five themes related to the executives’ leadership communication that challenge views of women as master collaborators who shun control-oriented leadership. From participants’ perspectives, collaboration is worked out at the intersections of control and empowerment, where control is (re)defined as interactive and personal rather than as competitive and distant, and is viewed as a necessary strategy for managing their positions as Black women leaders within dominant-culture organizations. Implications of this study for leadership theory, research, and practice are offered.