Women bring to the leadership process not only distinct needs, but also a unique perspective that should be incorporated in all facets of leadership definition. A woman who occupies a position of leadership is enacting both a sex role and an organizational role. Because of this dual role, women are vulnerable to role conflict. One kind of role conflict exists when the female leader's co-workers have conflicting expectations of how a woman should behave and how a leader should behave. This conflict will be communicated to the leader, creating a lack of clarity as to how she is expected to behave in her leadership position. Another kind of role conflict that is peculiar to women leaders is the conflict arising from attitudes held by the leader herself. When a woman in a position of leadership has one set of expectations for herself as a woman and another conflicting set of expectations for herself as a leader, then she experiences conflict. Attitudes of followers have been an important influence in determining appropriate leadership behavior and style, and leader-follower relationships are more complex when mixed sex typing is involved. The standard against which effective leadership frequently is evaluated is one that has been developed for and by men. It is crucial that the validity of leadership theory be based on work that assesses female leaders. A 26-item bibliography is included. (JB)