Masculine
or Feminine?
by Robert B. Denhardt
Director of Leadership Programs, Price School
of Public Policy
University of Southern California
Question: There’s been a lot of discussion
lately about whether men or women make better leaders. What’s your response?
Bob – Many years ago, Jan Perkins and
I wrote an article for the Public Administration Review that
asked whether the rising tide of women in positions of management and
leadership would change those fields – or whether those same women would be
changed by their experience and the traditional leadership model would
prevail. That same question has been raised again in a variety of books
and articles over the last year or so, many probably stimulated by Sheryl Sandberg’s
highly publicized book Lean In.
One article reported on a worldwide
survey that asked respondents what they thought were the most important skills
and characteristics of leaders, then asked which of those characteristics were
associated with a feminine perspective and which were associated with a
masculine perspective.
The first finding was that people who
are demonstrate collaboration, flexibility, selflessness, and are ready to
share credit were likely to be the most successful leaders – and that these
were all considered feminine qualities. Some masculine qualities, like
resilience and decisiveness, were on the list of positives but further down,
while others like ego and pride, were all the way at the bottom of the list
(Fast Company, May 13, 2013).
A similar article offered seven most
important characteristics of today’s leader, including
•
Empathy – Being
sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of others
•
Vulnerability:
Owning up to one’s limitations and asking for help
•
Humility: Seeking
to serve others and to share credit
•
Inclusiveness:
Soliciting and listening to many voices
•
Generosity: Being
liberal with time, contacts, advice, support
•
Balance: Giving
life, as well as work, it’s due
•
Patience: Taking a
long term view (Inc., June 13, 2012)
While we can question whether these
surveys convey an accurate picture of leadership today, certainly most folks
would acknowledge that effective leadership is increasingly being “feminized.”
This doesn’t necessarily mean that women are better leaders than men.
Rather it means that people showing these more traditionally feminine traits –
and these could be men as well as women – are likely to be more successful in
their leadership roles. It doesn’t appear to be a matter of gender but
rather one of style.
In an earlier post, I wrote that
leadership styles need to change with the times, with cultural history. “To be
a better leader, you have to relate to the particular time and culture in which
you live. That time and that culture are constantly changing. And
your leadership must change as well. In fact, the best leaders are those who
can match their personal growth and development with the changing
world around them.”
Most men who occupy top positions in
business, governments, and nonprofits – and they are still mostly men – entered
their first jobs in an era dominated by top-down hierarchical practices and the
tough, masculine traits associated with them. But time and culture march
on. Today neither men nor women employees are likely to respond well to
that traditional masculine model. They don’t want to be bossed around,
regulated in their behavior, or told what to do. Wise leaders, both men and
women, will see the evolving set of expectations and adopt many of the more
feminine characteristics listed above.
In this, women probably have a little
head start, but we all know women managers who adopted the most heavy-handed masculine
traits as they rose up the corporate ladder. If they can adapt in one way, men
can surely adapt in the other.
When Jan and I wrote our article over
thirty years ago, and asked whether women would change the workplace or be
changed by it, we expected to know the answer by now. But we don’t. Cultural change takes a long time. And, of course, there are other variables at
play. The environment of business and government is changing in ways that
support new styles of leadership that, for example, require more flexibility
and less ego.
Both men and women leaders will have
to be attentive to those changes and the changes in leadership they will
demand. At this point, however, we can say that whether it’s the
influence of more women in the workplace or whether it’s influence of changes
in the environment, a more feminine model of leadership seems to be
emerging. Leaders of all types should take notice.
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