Women Are Better Leaders than Men. Period.

“Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men — the other 999 follow women.”

Groucho Marx

A UC Davis Study of California Women Business Leaders in 2008 found that only 13 of California’s 400 largest public companies have a woman CEO and women hold only 10.9% of board seats and executive positions (10.4% in 2006 and 10.2% in 2005).

Research has confirmed that only 6% of women stop working because the work itself is too demanding and only 74% of the “off-ramped” women who want to rejoin the ranks of the fully employed are able to do so ((Hewlett, S. & Luce, C. (2005).  Off-ramps and On-ramps.  Harvard Business Review, March)).

So what do we know that is evidenced based about women leaders?

• A meta-analysis of more than 160 studies of sex-related differences found that women use a more participative or democratic and less autocratic style then men do (Eagly & Johnson, 1990).
• Women, on average, are more aware of their emotions, show more empathy and are more socially competent (Goleman, 1998).  Goleman also suggests that men, on average, are more optimistic, adaptable, self-confident and better able to manage stress.
• In another meta-analysis of 82 studies (Eagly, Karu, & Makhijani, 1995) found that male and female leaders do not differ in overall effectiveness and women are more effective when their are higher percentage of women or when the role requires greater requirements for cooperation and less authoritative control.
• A recent Catalyst (2004) survey reported that 46% of women leaders cited exclusion from informal networks as barriers to career advancement compared to only 18% of men.  This finding is important in light of research suggesting that interpersonal networks increase influence, power, information and expertise and access to job opportunities.
• Women report receiving less mentoring than their male peers (Ragins and Cotton 1991) but mentoring has been found to be more strongly associated with men’s career success relative to successful women (Lyness & Thompson, 2000).
• Women are less likely than men to be given special assignments that are high risk to the company that typically provide visibility and recognition that often translates into career advancement (Lyness & Thompson, 2000).
• Women are likely to be siloed onto staff positions as opposed to line roles and females are less likely to be given international assignments despite studies that suggest that male and female MBA graduates express equal interest (Adler, 1994; Ryan & Haslam, 2007).
• Women typically have less mobility within and between organizations (Lyness & Judiesch, 1999).
• In a recent global study conduct by Catalyst, male managers gave job performance feedback to both men and women but discussed career paths and advancement opportunities only with male employees (Mattis, 2001).

In our own research using a validated managerial 360 feedback assessment (Manager View 360) we analyzed differences between 801 men to 417 women in leadership roles in diverse organizations.  Men rated themselves significantly better than their female counterparts on the competencies of Oral Presentation, Delegation, Conflict Management, Strategic Problem Solving, Decisiveness and Team Building (p < .01).

However, when we compared ratings by managers, direct reports and peers on a cluster of leadership competencies we found that women were rated significantly higher than their male counterparts (ANOVA; p < .01).

Leadership development is a large and growing business with approximately $50 million spent in the year 200 alone ((Ready, D. & Conger, J. (2003).  Why leadership development efforts fail.  MIT Sloan Management Review, Spring, 2003, 83-88)).  What a waste.  Organizations should just promote women instead of spending this money on so many male competent jerks….Be well…..

[tags]emotional intelligence, competent jerks, stress, job burnout, leadership, women leaders, gender differences, preceived justice, productivity, advancement, off-ramps, mentoring, bad bosses, kenneth nowack, ken nowack, nowack[/tags]

Ken Nowack

Kenneth Nowack, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist (PSY13758) and President & Chief Research Officer/Co-Founder of Envisia Learning, is a member of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. Ken also serves as the Associate Editor of Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research. His recent book Clueless: Coaching People Who Just Don’t Get It is available for free for a limited time by signing up for free blog updates (Learn more at our website)