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Widespread narratives about leadership often emphasize the importance of exhibiting agentic traits like assertiveness, ambition, and confidence. Counter to this perspective, the present research suggests that when evaluating leaders, followers especially value communal traits, such as honesty, open-mindedness, and compassion—even at the expense of agentic traits. Eight preregistered studies (N = 3,682) support our theorizing. In Study 1, we find that people describe their ideal leader as more communal than the typical leader, representing a divide between preferred versus prototypical leaders. We then examine the preference for communality in leaders at the trait level (Studies 2 and 3) and in evaluations of candidates for leadership positions (Studies 4a–5). Further, we find that followers’ preference for communal leaders is explained, in part, by the anticipation that a communal leader will create a more psychologically safe climate than an agentic leader (Study 6). Finally, we evince one reason communal leaders may not emerge—communality does not predict self-selection into leadership pathways (Study 7). Taken together, our findings suggest that prominent narratives about leadership have tended to downplay the importance and appeal of communal traits for followers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
