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Two culturally distinct models of leadership discussed in the current literature are the Anglo-American male hierarchical model and, to a lesser extent, the “distinctly female” approach to leadership (Grossman & Chester, 1990; Helgesen, 1990; Loden, 1985). This paper challenges the practice of applying these culturally distinct models to all populations, particularly African-American women executives. We discuss two problematic assumptions that underlie the Anglo-dominated gender and leadership research: (a) racism and sexism are parallel processes with common effects on racial and gender groups (Smith & Stewart, 1983); and (b) women are sufficiently homogeneous so that generalizations based on one group (Anglo-American, middle-class women) can explain the leadership styles of all women. We propose that African-American women executives' leadership styles and behaviors may reflect attributes of …