Do Men or Women Make Better Leaders? The Science Behind Leadership By: Rochelle Bailis Thursday, March 06, 2014 Views: 3358 12 in Share . Email Social hierarchies span the history of mankind as well as the animal kingdom. The arrangement of social rankings may vary by community, but at the top there is always some sort of decision maker, a leader. But what really makes a leader? Scientifically speaking, are some individuals “wired” for leadership, while others are designed to follow? Throughout human history, men have held most of the leadership roles in the major spheres of public life, such as politics, war and business. Even today, with women succeeding alongside men in education (and in some cases, even exceeding them), the majority of the world’s political and business leaders are still men, and the higher you go in rank, the fewer women there are. Is this trend strictly based on gender constructs and social expectations? Or are there scientific reasons why men have tended towards leadership positions? More specifically, how does this apply to the business world? In America, women represent nearly 37% of MBA graduates but only 4.6% of Fortune 500 CEOs. Is there a deeper explanation for this perpetual glass ceiling? Let’s take a look at the studies behind leadership, and see what science can show us. Are Male and Female Brains Different? Especially during formative years (up until our early twenties), brain-mapping studies do show statistically significant differences in how male and female brains are wired. While there are many individual exceptions, on average, men tend to have stronger connections between the front and back of their brains, and women tend to have more connections between left and right hemispheres. The researchers who compiled these brain maps argued that these findings may help provide explanations for some gendered behavioral differences, such as women being better at multi-tasking and social cognition, and men having stronger motor and spatial skills. Women also tend to have, on average, more developed frontal and temporal areas, which scientists believe may explain a stronger grasp of language skills and communication. Not to mention that the male brain is, on average, larger than the female brain. What does this all mean? Many neuroscientists argue that, while there are general connectivity differences in male and female brains, it’s dangerous to jump to any conclusions since there have been no proven findings regarding how these neural connections affect male and female behavior. While male and female brains differ in size, many studies support the fact that these perceived mental differences may only be bolstered by social barriers, rather than actual neurological ability. If this is true, the differences we observe in male and female brain connectivity could be the brain’s solution to physical differences (this is called the “compensation hypothesis”), meaning that two different brains have the means to achieve the same ends, but they might need to approach them in distinct ways. Finally, the connectivity differences were found in adolescents and appeared to fade with age, and women especially tend to develop more connections throughout their entire brain over time. Considering that most influential leaders are significantly older (for example, the median age of a Fortune 500 CEO is 55), the importance of these differences seems to diminish when it comes to business leadership. Are Men or Women More Effective Leaders? While there are still fewer women leaders in the business world than men, the population of female executives is certainly growing. This offers researchers a sizeable-enough sample to compare the performance of both genders and to see how they compare. In a massive study conducted by Zenger Folkman, over 7,000 business leaders (from managers to senior executives) were rated for their effectiveness in a wide variety of business competencies. Of the entire sample, a greater number of the leaders being assessed were men, but women ended up being evaluated as significantly more effective as business leaders. Perhaps most notably, women in executive positions were ranked in the 61st percentile, whereas senior men ranked in the 52nd percentile for overall effectiveness. Of the 16 different competencies, the only trait in which women lagged behind men was in “developing a strategic perspective.” The findings are fairly consistent with a recent study by the Pew Research Center, in which most respondents found that women more effectively embodied a variety of traits that are essential to leaders, including honesty, intelligence, creativity and compassion. Women scored the same as men for ambition and hard work, but they ranked lower for decisiveness. Interestingly, in spite of the fact that women ranked higher in the majority of leadership traits, only 6% of the same respondents felt that women make better political leaders overall (compared to 21% saying they felt men make better leaders). The Pew study is not the only case in which women’s actual ability to lead conflicts with perception. For example, a recent study on career advancement in the STEM (short for science, tech, engineering and mathematics) sphere found that while an increasing number of women are being recruited and hired into STEM positions, they are 45% more likely than men to leave the industry. What is causing such a massive career exodus? The numbers show that some of it may be the expectations set for women in the field; the survey found that nearly a third of senior leaders in STEM, both men and women, felt that women could never reach top positions in their company. Women in several studies also reported feeling excluded due to gender bias, and 44% of women reported feeling they were being judged by male leadership standards. A book titled Science of Leadership explores the influence of these subtle workplace expectations; it turns out that when you control for external factors, no hard scientific facts exist to support the effectiveness of either gender in leadership roles. In fact, the book argues that perceptions (and even displays) of “effective” leadership are almost completely based on context, rather than innate ability. For example, male leaders tend to be perceived as more effective when they are part of a company or group with a greater number of male leaders (thus, where male leadership is more expected and “normalized,” their perceived effectiveness may be inflated). Meanwhile, studies show women leaders tend to experience a unique set of stressors for performing “out of role” leadership roles, stressors that are not experienced by male leaders. These entrenched social expectations (discussed famously by Sheryl Sandberg in her book Lean In) affect the perception of women in power and often force women leaders to balance a fine line between assertiveness and aggressiveness. Conclusion As best as science can tell, there is no evidence that women or men are any more capable of leadership overall. There are various neurological as well as behavioral differences observed between men and women, but there is no conclusive evidence to prove that these differences are based on intrinsic traits, rather than social influence. If anything, studies such as the Zenger Folkman survey show greater effectiveness amongst female leaders based in a range of competencies. Whether or not you believe women or men make better leaders, there is certainly a case for equality. One study comparing the number of board members on various companies found that boards with a higher percentage of women experienced meaningful financial gains in their profit margins and overall returns. Who could say no to higher profits? Article by Rochelle Bailis
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 04:46:36 +0000
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