Women make better managers

By James Adonis

All the male managers I've had have been complete losers. Blokes do devoid of managerial talent they make George Bush seem competent. Maybe I've just been unlucky, I don't know. What I do know is that my female managers have rocked. Well, most of them.

In my career, I've studied hundreds of managers and have arrived at the conclusion that when it comes to motivating and engaging employees, women do it better.

My thoughts have been backed by the Northwestern University in Illinois, which has analysed the results of 45 different leadership studies. They discovered the obvious fact that transformational (people-focused) leadership is far more effective than transactional (task-focused) leadership, but more surprisingly, they found that women significantly outperformed men in transformational prowess.

The major reason for this is that women are predominantly right-brain thinkers, so it's naturally easier for them to relate to people and build relationships. Men, on the other hand, tend to use the left-side of their brain more frequently, which is associated with facts, figures, and the fear of fluffy stuff. And that's what this article is really all about - fluffy stuff.

Women are masters at fluffy stuff. The loving, the nurturing, the touching - hearts, that is. There are certainly exceptions to this rule. The worst manager I ever had was a lady I dubbed 'The Dragon'. The only thing she ever touched was my spine as she sent a chill down it every time she walked by. But an argument on exceptions and extremes is a weak argument, so let's just focus on the general female attributes that men could learn from.

Get Personal:

Indira Gandhi was India's first female Prime Minister and served in this post for almost sixteen years. During this time, Indira was responsible for strengthening the democratic structures within India and the anniversary of her death is remembered each year with the Indian National Integration Day. As one of India's most respected leaders, her advice rings true: "I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people."

Women realise that employee loyalty to organisations is dead. It's as dead as quality news shows in this country. It no longer exists. What does exist and is actually increasing is employee loyalty to their peers. Who people work with and who people work for has a greater impact on engagement than the company they're employed by. Women have learned how to capitalise on this. To women, getting personal isn't about the holes of golf they play with their colleagues, but the wholes of life they discover within their employees.

Care:

By the time she died, Mother Theresa's Missionaries of Charity organisation, which she founded, was operating 610 missions in 123 countries. For her selfless efforts, she was the recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II shortly after her death, and given the title 'Blessed Teresa of Calcutta'. She genuinely meant it when she said, "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless."

Women are instinctively better at caring than men. Compassion, empathy, sensitivity - it's all second nature to them. Where women reach for a box of tissues, men reach for the door. Where women go for the hug, men go for HR. Where women offer sympathy, men offer... solutions.

Be real:

Irrespective of what you think of her politics, there is much to admire about Margaret Thatcher. She's the only woman to have ever been Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Her hard-fought battles with unions, the Soviet Union, the Falklands War, and even within her own party, led to a nickname she embraced - Iron Lady. "Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't," she quipped.

She was real and authentic. When was the last time you heard of a female public leader involved in a sex scandal? I can't think of any. Max Mosley, Eliot Spitzer, Bill Clinton. Men, men, men. Women don't hide behind a macho facade like many men who figuratively attend a masquerade ball every day in workplaces around Australia. What you see is what you get. They articulate their values and live by them. Employees have confidence that when they're talking to a female boss, there isn't a hidden agenda.

Provide recognition:

Anita Roddick opened up her first store as a way to make money while her husband was overseas. By 2004, The Body Shop had almost 2,000 stores internationally, serving over 77 million customers. The Body Shop went ahead to be recognised as one of the most trusted brands in the world. One of Anita's firm beliefs was to "make heroes out of the employees who personify what you want to see in the organisation."

Women know that praising an employee isn't something that's just done at the end of the annual performance appraisal. They see it as their highest priority. Their day isn't complete unless they've made at least one or two people feel great about their strengths. It's not a task that gets scratched off a to-do list like 'mow the lawn', 'change the tyre', and 'tell the wife you love her'. Rather, it's a natural response evident in women who are always on the lookout to catch an employee doing something right, instead of watching and waiting for them to do something wrong.

Balance:

Mary Kay Ash was so annoyed that a man she'd personally trained was promoted instead of her, that she launched her own company with only $5,000. By the time of her death, Mary Kay Cosmetics had over 800,000 sales representatives in 37 countries with annual revenues in excess of $2 billion. Her mantra was "God first, family second, career third". She didn't want any of her employees sacrificing their work/life balance just for a pay-cheque.

Women understand this. They were advocating flexible work options before it was fashionable to do so. They were campaigning for a work/life balance before it became the fancy HR catchphrase it is today. They totally get the pressures of juggling a home life with a demanding work schedule. This makes them more flexible with their employees. They seek to understand their needs and to accommodate them. They proactively help employees to achieve this balance rather than waiting for them to reach breaking point. And often, they promote a work/life balance by having it themselves.

Consult:

Eleanor Roosevelt was First Lady of the United States for twelve years. One of the initial activists of the United Nations, she pioneered the support of the UN within America. Her human rights achievements were so many that American President, Harry Truman, called her 'First Lady of the World'. A reputable poll by the Gallup Organisation recognised her officially as one of the most admired people of the 20th century. "It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself," she wisely said.

Women get dirty. There isn't any work that's beneath them. No matter how high they are on the corporate hierarchy, they've still got one ear on the ground. They're open and accessible. They ask questions and listen. They're open to changing their opinions. They see leading a team as a 2020-Summit-esque exercise, not a Hitler-esque one. They are to leading what Germaine Greer was to bra-burning hardcore feminists - a breath of fresh air.

And yet despite all of this, women represent less than 15 percent of executive leadership positions in big Australian companies. This has to change.

By the way, not all men make inferior managers. There are exceptions. Gay ones, for example. There was a study undertaken by Kirk Snyder in Europe where over 3,000 employees were surveyed. The analysis found that those with a gay manager reported levels of engagement, satisfaction, and morale that were 35% greater than their peers.

There are, of course, several male traits that female managers can learn from as well, such as a man's supposed superiority in making quick decisions, achieving short-term goals, and bottom-line results. But that's not what this article is about.

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