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In this paper, we provide new empirical evidence to the relationships between leadership styles (LS) and organizational performance, introducing gender as moderator variable. Data have been collected in two Congolese towns (Bukavu and Goma); an African post-conflict region dominated by very small family businesses that have not received enough attention. Combining exploratory factor analysis with a multivariate regression we found three main results. First, both leadership and performance are confirmed to be multidimensional. LS comprised participative/democratic leadership, and autocratic/directive leadership, while performance has three dimensions: employee efficiency/productivity, effectiveness, and customer satisfaction/retention. Second, the autocratic leadership is the more adopted both by men and women, with a slight non-significant difference for men. Although democratic leadership is underscored, it appears to be more adopted by women with significant difference. Third, controlling for other variables, only participative/democratic leadership styles have positive impact on SMEs’ performance, while autocratic leadership does not influence it. This implies that, in the growing competition facing SMEs, managers should adopt leadership style that allows their employees to internalize the firm’s objectives and to be committed. Also, our research confirms that women have much to give in managing enterprises, as they appear to be stronger in leadership styles, which have more impact on main dimensions of firms’ performance. Moreover, our results suggest new avenues for deeper research about leadership styles in family-owned enterprises.
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