Women At The Helm Of Business

Did you know female leaders are sought after in most industries, even in dominant male companies? It’s true, and there’s an excellent reason for it.

Women excel with soft skills. They are also knowledge seekers, hard-working, and less combative than their male counterparts. However, there is still a lot more to be done to remove gender bias in the workplace.

First, let’s consider why women do well in leadership roles.

Why Women Excel In Leadership Roles

Let’s begin with emotional intelligence. Women leaders are often credited with higher levels of emotional intelligence, which involves understanding and managing one’s emotions and the emotions of others. This can contribute to effective communication and team dynamics.

Diversity and inclusion

One part of being more attuned to emotions is being more inclined to promote diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. Today, diversity, inclusion, and equality are more than just words. Women are more likely to be aware of the importance of diverse perspectives and work towards creating a more inclusive organizational culture.

Who takes more risks – men or women?

Some studies suggest that women leaders may be more risk-averse than their male counterparts. This can lead to more cautious decision-making, which may be beneficial in certain situations but not all so women leaders may be more likely to adopt a transformational leadership style, focusing on inspiring and motivating their teams to achieve long-term goals without undue risk.

Here are a few traits, all being with the letter C, that women bring to leadership roles to improve productivity and the bottom line:

Compassion

In the twenty-first century, we’re a lot more aware of the mental health issues of our workers.

However, we’re not so good at supporting it in the workplace. Women are naturally more compassionate than men, and they know how to show workers they are valued by nurturing and supporting them. This is not pandering to workers’ every whim. Women recognize when people are crying out for help versus attention-seeking.

Plus, being compassionate is a win-win, too, as higher productivity can result from the support of workers with mental illnesses like depression.

Did you know well over 200 million people have depression, and most can live with it when they are supported? Women in leadership roles can be relied upon to be inclusive and show compassion.

Collaboration

Rather than go it alone, which many men will do, women are collaborative. They love the process of people coming together to discuss and debate issues. Using the collective intel of all present to determine an agreeable action plan is their Modus Operandi. As the saying goes, more minds are better than one.

Communication

Women know how to communicate verbally and nonverbally – it’s in their DNA! Misunderstandings lead to disagreements, arguments, wars, and so on. Women leaders are content with working through issues for as long as possible to get a satisfactory ‘peaceful’ outcome.

Caring

Women are intuitive and care about people, animals, and the environment, and their caring nature can deter them from reaching the top of business. However, people need to know they are appreciated and respected, so who better take on this role in the industry than women?

Control

While women will be collaborative and considerate, they also love control. Every business needs systems and processes, and women are up to make sure they are tightly controlled without aggression.

Calm

Remaining calm and brave is a true leadership trait, and women rise to handle crises well.

Many more female leadership traits shine through, including flexibility and multitasking. Plus, contrary to popular belief, women are good listeners.

Progress At A Smail’s Pace

McKinsey did a study in 2020 on women leaders, and while there is progress with diversity in the workplace and women in leadership roles, progress is moving at a snail’s pace. There’s also a chance it will move backwards due to COVID-19.

Women leaders need more support and better work-life balance, which remote work is affording workers but not necessarily leaders.

Biases

Gender bias in the workplace is alive and well. Women hold less than 30% of leadership roles, and less than 5% of CEOs in Europe and the USA are women. Evidence confirms businesses need to commit more to tackling gender bias head-on, particularly in their leadership roles.

See this article on how to work through biases to start the conversation.

Final Thoughts

It’s important to acknowledge that leadership qualities can vary significantly among individuals and are unrelated to their gender.

Both men and women can possess diverse leadership styles and characteristics. However, some research and observations suggest that female leaders may exhibit traits that differ from those of their male counterparts. It’s crucial to recognize that these generalizations may not apply to every individual, and there is significant variation among men and women regarding leadership styles.

Women bring a lot to the leadership table, yet unconscious gender bias prevents women from getting their fair share of leadership roles.

A continued commitment to breaking down barriers in business by removing prejudices and biases will also improve workers’ well-being and productivity.