The Style and
Strategies of Leadership and Management
Is there a difference between
the leadership and management styles of men and women? In recent years
this question has been on the minds of researchers, from Harvard Business
School to employees who report to women managers, leaders and business
owners. The answers to this question are as diverse as the people
who ask it.
The debate was brought
to center stage in a 1990 article in the Harvard Business Review which
published an article by Judy B. Rosener, a professor at the University
of California at Irvine. Her article, "Ways Women Lead," based on
a study of successful male and female business leaders, concluded
that in the earlier years of growth of women's leadership, the answer
was probably no. The current trend to more participation and greater
sensitivity to relationships by management is not a coincidence but
the result of the growing influence of women's style.
"The first female executives,
because they were breaking new ground, adhered to many of the 'rules
of conduct' that spelled success for men," she writes. "Now a second
wave of women is making its way to top management not by adopting
the style and habits that have proved successful for men but by drawing
on the skills and attitudes they developed from their shared experience
as women."
Power of Influence Versus
Power of Position
The distinct difference,
pointed out by Rosener, centers around power of influence rather than
power of position. Her study indicated that men previously relied
on the power that came from their organizational position and authority.
Employee performance was driven from a basis of rewards and punishments
determined by management. Women in this new wave, however, share power
and information with employees and strive to influence employee performance
and commitment through esteem-building and the energy that develops
when employees feel valuable to the team.
The Female Advantage, written
by Sally Helgesen, contrasts the styles of 50 women executives and
business owners with the findings of a similar study published in
the classic, The Nature of Managerial Work, by Henry Mintzberg. Her
study indicates that male executives typically saw themselves in a
hierarchy reaching down to employees, while female executives saw
themselves in the center of a web reaching out.
Crossover
The emerging style of managing
a business through energized, informed and committed employees is
crossing gender lines. In her book, Our Wildest Dreams: Women Entrepreneurs
Making Money, Having Fun, Doing Good, Joline Godfrey indicates that
the business environment is recognizing the value of employee commitment
and empowerment in the success of a business.
"The ability to listen,
to use your relationships, to use a collaborative approach rather
than authority is simply a more effective method of getting things
done," she writes. While both men and women are striving to learn
and practice this style of management, Godfrey suggests that women
have an advantage in skills like collaboration, cooperation and team-building.
Counterpoint
Ann Morrison argues the
counterpoint in the discussion of gender differences in management
and leadership. Co-author of Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Can Women
Reach the Top of America's Largest Corporations?, she contends that
differences have less to do with gender than environment. If there
is a difference, it is because more women have had to work their way
through the ranks of a business, thereby learning strategies to get
things done.
"In lower levels, you have
little authority and lots of responsibility, so what do you do?" she
writes. "You influence people, involve them. You can't tell them what
to do because they'll laugh in your face."
Regardless of how you understand
gender differences in leadership and management, the lesson for women
in business is the same. Our ability to get things done through influence,
the commitment of teams and positive working relationships are assets
for business success.
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