It is no secret that men and women tend to think and act in different ways, and these differences can be observed in their leadership styles. Despite well-known obstacles and stereotypes, recent research is starting to show that women are actually more effective leaders than men, primarily because they tend to adopt a leadership style that is more suitable to the modern workplace. In general, when a successful woman is in power, she tends to employ an interactive leadership style, whereas a successful man may prefer a more command-and-control style. Although I am sure that you have worked with an interactive male leader and a top-down female leaders, the evidence shows that this is the general trend.
Under the interactive style, the leader sets out to make every interaction with her subordinates positive. She encourages them to participate in decisions, she shares power and information with them, she makes them feel important, and she energizes them. In this collaborative approach, group contributions are valued as much as individual ones, and interpersonal skills are as important as technical ones. The command-and-control model, on the other hand, is favored more by male leaders who value clear lines of authority and who believe that decisions should be made from the top-down. They view leadership as a series of transactions with subordinates, and use their position and control of resources to motivate their followers. Individual performance tends to be more valued than group contributions, and “fitting in” with the system is a major determinant of advancement and success.
In their book “The Athena Doctrine”, John Gerzema and Michael D’Antonio elaborated on these differences, and made a distinction between so-called ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ traits of leadership. In a study of 65,000 respondents in 13 countries, they first asked half of the sample to classify 125 leadership traits as masculine, feminine or neutral. Traits that were seen as more masculine were dominant, arrogant, rigid, aggressive and competitive, whereas traits perceived as more feminine were trustworthy, articulate, creative, flexible, loyal, patient, and cooperative. They then presented the list of traits to the other half of the sample and asked respondents to rate the importance of these traits to leadership, success, morality and happiness.
The results showed that many of the qualities of an ideal modern leader are ones that were classified as feminine. For example, the respondents indicated a preference to an expressive style of leadership, one in which the leader shares feelings and emotions more openly and honestly, a characteristic often found among women. Similarly, collaboration and sharing credit were more important than aggression and control, and being loyal topped being proud. Successful leaders were those that are more intuitive, more understanding of others’ feelings, those who listen, learn and build consensus in order to get things done. The take-home message from the study was that leaders who achieve success, have high morality, and make their employees happy are those that demonstrate connectedness, humility, openness and flexibility- feminine traits that are said to be personified by the Greek goddess Athena.
A recent comprehensive review of 95 leadership studies on gender aimed to settle the debate over the so-called “female leadership advantage.” When rated by other people such as peers, bosses, subordinates and third-party observers, female leaders were consistently perceived as more effective than male leaders. However, when self-ratings were used, male leaders viewed themselves as more effective than their female counterparts. This review confirmed that while male leaders are more confident, female leaders tend to be more competent. Most men may be surprised by these results, but women will say that they have known this all along!
In healthcare administration, female leaders are making significant strides, but the evidence suggests that executive positions are still predominantly male. A 2012 study by the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHEs) showed that only 33% of hospital and health system CEOs are women, and that female CEOs earn on average $80,000 less than their male counterparts. While some changes may have taken place in the last five years, those differences are still reflected in study that I conducted last year of executives, middle-managers and front-line employees in 10 health systems. About 18% of male respondents identified themselves as executives, compared to only 5% of female respondents. Certainly, some of these differences have to do with well-known factors such as some female leaders putting their careers on hold to take time off or work part-time to have children and raise them.
Putting it All Together
Women in leadership positions in some organizations continue to face obstacles and stereotypes that hold them back. However, their collaborative style that emphasizes humility, understanding and inclusion seems to be more appreciated in the current workplace. While these traits are ‘feminine’ in a traditional sense, it is important to remember that they are available and essential for both men and women who hope to thrive in the current corporate environment.
This article is adapted from my book “Intangibles: The Unexpected Traits of High-Performing Healthcare Leaders”.
————————————————————————————————————-
Dr. Amer Kaissi is a Professional Speaker, Executive Coach and an expert on Leadership, Humility & Ambition, Assuming Positive Intent, Psychological Safety & Accountability, Growth Mindsets & Resilience.
