Inherent Leader Risks: Men vs. Women
Interestingly, the overall leadership
characteristics as measured by our CDR Leadership Character Assessment between
male and women leaders are remarkably similar which means that both sexes
are quite capable of leader posts at the highest levels.
However, we found some statistically significant differences in
comparing data of male and female leaders with the CDR Leadership Risk Assessment instrument. What we found was that under
pressure or conflict, women leaders tended to default to a “Worrier” mode while
their male leader counterparts tended to exhibit traits as “Egotists, Upstagers
& Rule Breakers.” Bottom line, under adversity and conflict, the
averages showed many women leaders dig in, over-analyze and re-review which
moves them away from the pressure while the men leaders fight and stand their
ground, albeit in forceful and overly aggressive ways.
So, under duress and conflict, many of the
women are not perceived as “fighters” or as courageous because they do not go
into fight mode as frequently as the male leaders do. This, obviously,
has some impact on perceptions of who is most capable.
However, most stunning is that false
perceptions and erroneous stereotypes hurt women leaders far more than
men. Below are two examples of what we found:
Example #1
Respondents say that women (85%), not men (5%), are the
more EMOTIONAL sex (Pew Leadership Research Survey, Aug 25, 2008)
What the CDR Assessment profile data results says:
|
CDR Scale Title
|
Women Leaders
Averaged Score
|
Men Leaders
Averaged Scores
|
Adjustment
|
50%
|
54%
|
Hyper-Moody
|
62%
|
56%
|
What does this mean?
• There
are no significant differences between the “emotionality” of men and
women.
• How
“emotionality” is expressed varies.
• How
“emotionality” is judged or perceived is frequently based on gender bias.
• For
women, emotionality is often confused with Interpersonal Sensitivity or
Nurturing/Caring and Relationship Building capability.
• Emotionality
of male leaders is often associated with anger, impatience, etc. and is
considered within accepted norms. Secondly, men are more likely
to hide “emotionality” better.
|
Example #2
Respondents rate women as more MANIPULATIVE than
men by 52 to 26 percent. (Pew Survey,
2008)
What the CDR Assessment profile data results says:
|
CDR Scale Title
|
Women Leaders
Averaged Score
|
Men Leaders
Averaged Scores
|
False Advocate
|
61%
|
55%
|
Inquisitive
|
50%
|
59%
|
Rule Breaker
|
53%
|
64%
|
What does this mean?
• False
Advocate is higher for women leaders so there will be more inclination to
complain behind the scenes; can manifest as the “martyr” or victim syndrome.
• Men
leaders may manipulate or “jockey for position” in bolder ways due to Rule
Breaking and Inquisitive scores
• However,
the drastic 52 to 26% different rating in the Pew Survey is not supported
by the CDR data and is perhaps exaggerated by biased perceptions.
|
CDR Assessment
Study: Men Leaders N=120; Women Leaders N=111;
samples of leaders from 26 Companies
We have more representative data showing that
it is the unconscious bias holding women back far more than performance or
capability. It is time to begin communicating and challenging how
people think about shared traits of men and women. I'd be glad to send
you a chart from my presentation given at an ASTD and WBCS conferences
titled: “Risk Factors that Impact Women in Leadership” that
illustrates the damaging, yet different perceptions that often stem from the same
leadership risk behavior.
For aspiring women leaders, great performance
alone won’t likely get you there.
Gayle -- thanks for posting on this critically
important leadership dilemma on LinkedIn.
Nancy
