Why Are Women Better Bosses?
In the corporate environment, the battle of sexes is a bourgeois, and before I am taken to be a feminist, let me put forth the perspective with some facts.
As per the recent studies, women in the workplace have been rated higher than men on parameters such as: “taking initiatives”, “practicing self development and developing others”, “honesty and integrity”, “building relations, team-work and collaboration”. In that case, the first popping question that comes to our mind, is that why are we not in a capacity to engage and fully employ these consummate women leaders? A probable explanation could be barefaced discrimination, as is apparent.
The Inc. World has men as its majority of leaders (64%), and the higher we go on the corporate ladder; we find an increased percentage of men on senior positions. If we look at medium or small enterprises, there are more men than women bosses. However, according to a recent study by Gallup, 41% of female managers are found to be better engaged at work, compared to 35% of male managers. Since female executives are more engaged and more engaging, it’s apparent that they will cultivate and promote a high-performing environment. The research also brought forward that 33% of executives who work for female managers are better engaged at work, as compared to 27% of those who have male supervisors.
The study also concluded that organizations with women in their board committees make decisions that benefit all the stakeholders and not just the directors, therefore women in the boardroom not only serve the gender equity, but also serve the overall business purpose.
Here are 3C’s that make women more competent bosses than men, and a go-getter tip on leadership skills:
- Communicators.
Women are better listeners than men, and this is the most critical for managing employees and customers. The author Louann Brizendine of the book “The Female Brain”, published in 2006, says that the brain size is irrelevant to an individual’s intellect or communication skills. The deciding factor is “connections” and particularly in this concern, the female brain has more “connections” between the two hemispheres of the brain. The book also says that females have brain cells higher than males by more than 10% in the area of the brain called the planum temporale, which is engaged in perceiving and processing language. According to Dr. Susan Sherwood, women are more discussion oriented in comparison to men who want to just take action. The stakeholders want managers to tune in and give attention to their problems and perspectives and to empathize with them, being a better communicator helps in building stronger relationships based on trust and loyalty. - Community Builders.
Women are better accord generators and don’t have a high degree of requisite to direct everyone, unlike men. According to a 2013 research involving more than 600 board directors, women are more likely to empathize, consider the rights of others and take a symbiotic approach to decision-making. Dana Ardi, the author of The Fall of the Alphas, speaks of how the traditional top down structure and male chauvinistic authoritarian leader is being substituted by a more collaborative and associated manager. Women have an edge over the men in today's work- place culture, they demonstrate traits like coaching, mentoring, teamwork, empowering employees, sharing information and responsibility, motivating and consulting thus they can be relied on for greater business success. - Composure.
Women are found to be more composed and patient with employees as compared to men. They take time in analyzing the situation and are less likely to make a prompt decision or take action too soon. A research by a UK-based mobile operator found that men are less patient than women, queuing for just 3 minutes 23 seconds - compared to women at 3 minutes 39 seconds. Another study commissioned in the same regard showed that women are willing to wait longer for a desired result. Generally most small businesses take 5 to 7 years for the so called “overnight success”. Those who can manage composure and be patient enough to take actions, and wait for results, make their journey to victory.
Previous researches have also shown that organizations with women in the boardroom perform better and are less likely to go bankrupt. So WOMEN move out and do wonders!
