© Shutterstock

Leadership -

What defines leadership? It's a big question. The concept of leadership itself can encompass many different approaches and styles. 

© Shutterstock

Leadership -

Often, these styles and approaches will differ between leaders within the same organization. This is because organizations will hire people with complementary traits so they can benefit from a wider perspective. 

© Shutterstock

Male or female leaders? -

The debate about leadership skills being inherent to one gender over another has been raging on for hundreds of years. 

© Shutterstock

Men or women leaders? -

But can we really say that certain leadership traits are inherent to one gender over another? Studies have attempted to pin down a definitive answer.

© Shutterstock

Influence -

The research into the influence of gender points to certain leadership skills being more easily accessed by one gender over another. 

© Shutterstock

Gender stereotypes throughout history -

Throughout history, gender stereotypes have prevailed. Typically, men have been associated with traits including assertiveness, confidence, decisiveness, and competitiveness.

© Shutterstock

Gender stereotypes throughout history -

In contrast, gender stereotyping has tended to peg women as being more empathetic, caring, emotional, and nurturing. These traits haven't historically been associated with "leadership."

© Shutterstock

A societal shift - However, in the past two generations, there has been a notable shift in the concept of leadership, with greater emphasis placed on relationships and influencing.

© Shutterstock

A societal shift -

With this change, traits such as compassion, empathy, integrity, and authenticity have become recognized as important traits for leaders to demonstrate.

© Shutterstock

What do the studies say? -

The existing research on gender-based leadership styles has delivered mixed results. But they do provide some interesting insight.

© Shutterstock

Women leaders -

A 2005 meta-analysis found women leaders to be more transformational in their approach. What does this mean, exactly?

© Shutterstock

Women leaders -

Women tend to focus on developing followers, empowering their teams, and fostering collaboration between team members.

© Shutterstock

Men in leadership -

On the other hand, men were found to be better at transactional leadership. This form of leader develops clear goals and sets rewards and punishments.

© Shutterstock

Men in leadership -

Transactional leadership is about doing things the way they've always been done. While it's effective in certain circumstances, over time it can stunt growth, creativity, and innovation. 

© Shutterstock

The glass cliff phenomenon -

In what might come as a surprise, the study also highlighted a theme known as the "glass cliff" phenomenon. This refers to women being called upon more to lead during times of crisis.

© Shutterstock

The glass cliff phenomenon -

When organizations face difficulty, it appears that women's interpersonal skills are more often called upon to steer the ship with empathy and compassion.

© Shutterstock

High stakes with a potentially high cost -

Although the glass cliff provides an opportunity for a woman's leadership skills to shine, it's also a high-stakes environment with a greater risk of failure. 

© Shutterstock

High stakes with a potentially high cost -

If, despite her best efforts, a woman is unable to improve the situation, she might be written off as a failure. This in turn can reinforce gender stereotypes about women not being "capable" leaders.

© Shutterstock

Intersectionality -

Of course, someone's identity cannot be reduced to gender. There is an intersectionality between a person's socioeconomic background, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation that influences how a person behaves and leads.

© Shutterstock

Opportunities and challenges -

Digging deeper into the concept of gender in leadership poses opportunities and challenges. Acknowledging that stereotypes exist is a step in the right direction, as it builds awareness of things to caution against in the workplace.

© Shutterstock

Opportunities and challenges -

But even though limited studies show that women generally possess certain leadership skills while men generally possess others, it's not a catch-all.

© Shutterstock

Over-generalization -

It could lead to over-generalization, as not all women are transformational and collaborative, just like not all men are transactional and competitive.

© Shutterstock

Complex interplay -

Individual leadership styles and traits are the result of a much more complex interplay between the different experiences someone has had in their lifetime and their multifaceted identity.

© Shutterstock

Representation -

It also does little to address the fact that women remain underrepresented in the middle tiers of management, which points to fewer women transitioning to senior management positions in the future.

© Shutterstock

Representation -

Without a healthy pipeline of potential female leaders, conversations about gender and "better leadership" remain hollow. Only 10% of Fortune 500 companies are led by women.

© Shutterstock

Greater inclusivity -

In recent years, it's become more widely accepted that a range of leadership styles are needed to incorporate the strengths of each one.

© Shutterstock

Greater inclusivity -

This recognition is positive. It means companies are beginning to realize that diversity is a strength that can give their business a competitive advantage.

© Shutterstock

Leadership effectiveness -

Many factors combine to make an effectively led organization, including the wider workplace culture, the experience levels of staff, and individual personality differences.

© Shutterstock

Worthwhile traits for leaders -

While women score highly for traits including compassion, organization, and honesty; and men for ambition and decisiveness; there is no hard and fast way to assign these characteristics to an entire gender across the board. 

Sources: (Forbes) (The Economic Times)

See also: The most influential American women of our time

© Shutterstock