What happens when the leadership in some of the most successful businesses in the world is put under scrutiny?, Do men or women come out as the most successful? The results are in and you might be surpsised
Unfortunately this is a common conception among individuals in today’s society. I want to discuss some of the stereotypes surrounding women in leadership today. It is widely believed that we are the ones in management who are more inclined to “nurture,” and are also more concerned with developing others and building interpersonal relationships. women are also perceived as exhibiting more integrity and engaging in self-development. Let’s see how that translated to the study.
I want to discuss some of the stereotypes surrounding women in leadership today. It is widely believed that we are the ones in management who are more inclined to “nurture,” and are also more concerned with developing others and building interpersonal relationships. women are also perceived as exhibiting more integrity and engaging in self-development. Let’s see how that translated to the study.
(64%) of mis- to high tier management is male. That means that only 26% of leaders today are women. How is that even possible considering the fact that more women are continuing on to higher education now than ever before?
Recently, Jack Zender and Joseph Folkman, both high level executives themselves, conducted a study on behalf of the Harvard business review to see whether or not women are better leaders than men.
7,820 leaders were assessed by a panel of other executives on 16 qualities that are exhibited by great leaders. some of the criteria were: ability to take initiative, motivate and inspire others as well as their ability to further their own development And the higher the level, the more men there are: In this group, 78% of top managers were men, 67% at the next level down (that is, senior executives reporting directly to the top managers), 60% at the manager level below that.
7,820 leaders were assessed by a panel of other executives on 16 qualities that are exhibited by great leaders. some of the criteria were: ability to take initiative, motivate and inspire others as well as their ability to further their own development
The pink circles represent the strengths women are traditionally perceived to have in leadership. However women not only did better than men in those categories, but they outperformed men in every single other competency category. Not only that, but women were rated better in 12 of the competency categories that are traditionally thought of as male strengths, specifically taking initiative and driving for results. However, the men did score better one area, and that’s the category of developing strategic perspective
Why are men so good at developing a strategic perspective? Zender and Folkman say Top leaders always score significantly higher in this competency; since more top leaders are men, they still score higher in this particular category.
Women have exemplary leadership capabilities, but is there any kind of driving force that can attribute to this? They say that it is all about the attitude women have toward leadership.
Whenzender and folkman asked some of the women why they had been rated so highly on taking the initiative and in in self development, their answers pointed to the still unstable position they find themselves in in the male dominated workplace
Women said that they feel the constant pressure to never make a mistake. They feel as if they are constantly trying to prove their value and worth within an organization. Also women feel that they need to work harder than men in order to prove themselves.
Because women are still trying to be seen as equals in the business and leadership environment, the constant drive to be on the same level as men has really driven women to become innovators, visionaries, and great leaders. As a result of this push for equality, we’ve seen a growing trend in the quality of the leadership characteristics exemplified by women, and as we have just seen, women are now overtaking men as better leaders.
Since women really are becoming more and more competitive in the business and leadership world, its important to utilize the skills we do have and not to be intimidated by the potential of failure.
In the job market,Women try to always be ahead of the curve so that they can be seen as equal to men, but taking initiatives, being motivated and being afraid to sit back on your heelsbecause someone could possibly sweep in and take your job is something that every leader should do regardless of whether they are male or female.
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think of the benefits every leader in every organization would gain from a mind-set that they simply can't afford to make a mistake. Paranoia or extreme risk aversion is clearly detrimental to a rising career. But in today's economic climate, every leader, male or female, would do well to avoid becoming complacent.
