Valuing Women’s Leadership
Recently I was approached by a journalist who is writing an article about female leaders and the economic crisis. He asked me to comment on the following two questions: 1) Is it better to have women on top in times of crisis? and 2) How do women differ from men in their leadership? I’m generally skeptical of these kinds of requests, believing that the journalist is simply trying to goad me into the age-old gender debate about whether women or men are better leaders. My first instinct was to decline the request.
However, I am currently working with a group of women students at the Harvard Business School on an independent study of women in leadership, and I have just finished an article on the compensation gap of male and female top executives, so the subject matter is top of mind for me right now. Consequently, I thought I would use this request as an opportunity to share my perspective on the contributions of female leadership. Here is what I wrote in response to the journalist’s query:
There are many talented women leaders who are more than capable of leading in times of crisis or in times of relative calm. A few of these women have achieved national and international stature. But there is a sizable pool of female talent that simply has not been tapped for contributing to solving the world’s economic problems. As a result, we miss out on varying perspectives and leadership behaviors that women can bring to the table. For example, women generally tend to be nurturing and relationship-oriented by nature. Likewise, their interpersonal experiences as daughters, sisters, mothers, and friends not only shape their view of the world but also influence how they make decisions and manage strategic initiatives at the organizational level. Women also tend to be able to see and understand things from a perspective that is inclusive of their world views while simultaneously being sympathetic to the ways in which issues impact an individual, a household, or a community.
So, although women leaders may seek to achieve many of the same economic results as men, the process by which they bring about those outcomes and the prioritization of those outcomes will surely be divergent. It is commonly said that a definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing and expecting a different result. With respect to how the economies of the world have been led in recent years— and the U.S. economy in particular, I think it is safe to say that unless we open ourselves to receiving different views, opinions, and strategies we will likely continue to reap the same results. Are women better leaders than men? Not necessarily. Nor are men necessarily better leaders than women. But in many ways women bring experiences and capabilities that are unlike men when solving tough problems. And considering our current state, we could stand an infusion of this type of leader.