Even though there is a great deal of public interest in ensuring more women become leaders, too many suggested solutions are based on the misconception that women should emulate men.
The Perception:
Data:
Research shows that the prevalence of senior male leaders is not a product of superior leadership talent in men. Large quantitative studies and meta-analyses indicate that gender differences in leadership talent are either non-existent or favour women.
Solution:
Instead of encouraging women to act like male leaders, we should be asking men in power to adopt some of the more effective leadership behaviours more commonly found in women. It would create a pool of better role models.
Leadership Lessons for Men
Here are some critical leadership lessons that most men can learn from the average woman.
- Don’t lean in when you’ve got nothing to lean in about: Although there is a trend of telling women to “lean in” to qualities like assertiveness, boldness, or confidence, there has never been a strong correlation between leaning in and being good at something. Rather than being overconfident and dominating, good leaders should have the expertise, track record, intelligence, curiosity, empathy, integrity, and coachability.
- Know your limitations. Women are not as insecure as portrayed, but studies show that they are generally less overconfident than men, which is good news because it enables them to understand how people see them and gives them the capacity to spot their flaws. They are willing to prepare, even if it means overpreparing, and that’s a solid way to increase your competence and performance.
- Motivate through transformation: Studies show that women are more likely to lead through inspiration, transforming people’s attitudes and beliefs, and aligning people with meaning and purpose than men are. Since transformational leadership is linked to higher levels of team engagement, performance, and productivity, it is a critical path to improving leaders’ performance.
- Put your people ahead of yourself: Men are generally more self-focused than women. They are more likely to lead in a narcissistic and selfish way. If the average male leader wants to improve their performance, they should adopt a less self-centred style of leadership.
- Don’t command; empathize. Women have been told that they are too kind and caring to be leaders, but 21st-century leadership demands that leaders establish an emotional connection with their followers. Men can learn to do this effectively by watching and imitating women.
- Focus on elevating others: Women leaders are more likely to coach, mentor, and develop their direct reports than male leaders. This enables them to unlock other people’s potential and promote effective cooperation in their teams. Leaders who are self-focused and self-centred are less likely to turn a group of people into a high-performing team.
- Don’t say you’re “humbled.” Be humble: Humility is fundamentally a feminine trait and a critical driver of leadership effectiveness in both men and women. It will be hard for anyone in charge to acknowledge their mistakes, learn from experience, look into other people’s perspectives, and be willing to change and get better without humility.
Conclusion:
An average woman has more potential for leadership than the average man to be a leader.
Increasing female representation in leadership would augment rather than reduce meritocracy. The best gender equality intervention is to focus on equality of talent and potential — and that only happens when we have gender-equal leadership.
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The Authors:
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic :
Chief Innovation Officer at ManpowerGroup, a professor of business psychology at University College London and at Columbia University, co-founder of deepersignals.com, and an associate at Harvard’s Entrepreneurial Finance Lab. He is the author of Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (and How to Fix It), upon which his TEDx talk was based. Find him on Twitter: @drtcp or at www.drtomas.com.
Cindy Gallop :
Founder & CEO of IfWeRanTheWorld, co-action marketing software(and HBS case study), and of MakeLoveNotPorn — ‘Pro-sex. Pro-porn. Pro-knowing the difference’. Cindy speaks and consults, describing her consultancy approach as ‘I like to blow shit up. I am the Michael Bay of business.’ Find her on Twitter at @cindygallop or at https://cindygallop.com.