Differences in Leadership between Men and Women - Essay Example

? Difference in Leadership Styles between Men and Women Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Gender differences in the Communication 3 Differences in the Leadership Styles across the Genders 4 Dilemmas for Women Leaders 8 Conclusion 10 Works Cited 12 Name of the Student: Name of the Professor: Name of the Course: Date: Introduction Over the last two decades, the differences in the leadership style of men and women have been one of the most important topics studied in the field of leadership. The question whether there is any difference between men and women when they function as leaders have been the most commonly asked one in years. In the past few years, it has been seen that the number of women in an organization is increasing and they form a large proportion in the work force. In order to find out the difference in the leadership style of men and women, it is very important to investigate on the nature of the differences. Gender differences in the Communication For being a good leader, it is very important for an individual to have a strong communication skill. Good communication is considered as the most important skill which is very difficult to master. Failure in good communication results in friction and problems arising in an organization. Various situations, cultures, time, gender styles etc. affect as well as complicate the communication process. After studying the pattern of communication for many years, the linguists agree upon the facts that the gender difference is one of the reasons affecting this process. The gender differences may arise from some of the basic genetic or biological differences or as a result of difference in the cultural behavioral expectations. This difference may lead to several problems in interaction within the organization. The main difference in the communication style of men and women arises due to the fact that the view the purposes of their conversations differently. According to many academic research scholars, women use the communication as an important tool for enhancing the social connections and creating relationships whereas men use this as a tool to exert dominance and finally achieve tangible outcomes (Leaper 801). Women seem to be more expressive, polite and curious in their conversations whereas men are hungry for power. Both of the aspects have a positive impact related to the leadership styles. For example, the expressive and polite nature of the women help in creating a strong relationship (as a leader) with the subordinates whereas the dominant nature of the men help in influencing the subordinates to work efficiently within an organization. Women try to be more expressive and social while interacting with others. Men give higher value to their independence. Men try to maintain their status as well as dominance in the relationships with the subordinates while interacting with them and do not believe in building intimate bond with them in order to have an effective leadership style. Women are found to use more tentative, polite language as compared to men especially in the situation of conflict. Research studies made on the gender differences related to the communication styles have concluded that men try to be self assertive and try to converse in such a manner that it may lead to tangible outcomes. On the other hand, women value cooperation. The next phase is finding out that how the gender differences in the leadership styles lead to the differences in their leadership styles. Differences in the Leadership Styles across the Genders It has been found that men are mainly task-oriented leaders whereas women believe in relationship-oriented leadership. The task oriented leaders are autocratic and focuses on setting the work standards, job supervision and meeting the goals of the production. Men are generally very goal oriented in nature when it is concerned about approaching communication for the purpose of leadership. They use the method of conversation to preserve independence, achieve results and also maintain the status in hierarchical order. Thus the communication style of men, based on goal orientation and control, reflects the task oriented leadership style in them very perfectly. Their aggressive mature is the main reason due to which they emerge as leaders more often as compared to women. Many research studies have shown that men managers get motivated for working in the competitive environments when they are give the scope to play assertive roles and chance to impose their decisions and wishes on others. Masculine behaviors focus on problem solving, delegating, influencing upwards etc. While men believe in task oriented leadership, women focus on the bond that they have build up with the subordinates. This leadership style which is mainly relationship oriented have been characterized by the democratic leadership characteristics. Relationship oriented leadership style includes maintaining good inter personal relationship within the organization where concern for the well being of the employees and their involvement in the decision making process are the important factors taken into consideration. They perform the role of a care taker and build strong relationship with the subordinates within the organization. Women converse and interact with others in order to seek control and create an understanding with them. Maintaining intimate relationship with the subordinates is the primary and the main objective of women followed in their communication approaches and their leadership styles. The female leadership behavior patterns are the following: supporting, monitoring, rewarding, networking, team building, consulting, inspiring etc. Comparison between the leadership style of men and women is shown below: Female Behaviors (Taking care) Male Behaviors (Taking charge) Supporting Encouraging, providing resources for others and assisting. Problem solving Identifying, taking steps for analyzing and problem solving. Rewarding Praising, providing recognition and also financial remuneration whenever it seems to be appropriate. Influencing Upward Influencing others to move to a position of higher rank. Mentoring Facilitating the development of skills and advancement of the career opportunities of the subordinates. Delegating Providing authority to others to have significant responsibility. Networking Creating relationships with others who have the ability to provide information and support the resources. Consulting Consulting with the subordinates in the team before taking any decision. Team building Encouraging and developing positive identification within the organizational unit. Inspiring Providing motivation to others to increase the work commitment within an organization. Other theorists have argued that men and women are different in the leadership approaches and women are considered to be transformational leaders and men are considered to be transactional leaders (Rosener 119-21). Transformational leaders have the ability of inspiring change in the needs and values of the subordinates so that the individual interests are also encouraged along with the collective goals and objectives of the organization. Transformational leaders encourage and help in developing the followers or the subordinates to their full potential. All the characteristics of the transformational leadership style match with the interpersonal approaches of the women leaders and that is why it has been concluded that women leaders are transformational leaders. On the other hand, men are highly management oriented. Transactional leadership includes rewarding the subordinates in order to meet the objectives and also punishing them in case of failure in meeting the objectives. Transactional leaders follow the same pattern of leadership as followed by the task oriented leaders. It is due to this reason that men are considered to be transactional leaders in nature. Though there is no overall leadership approach differences in between the men and the women. It is the difference in their communication style which have affected their leadership approaches and made them different from each other. The pattern of communication or interaction between a leader and his/her followers is very important factor while considering the leadership style. However, the difference in the leadership style of men and women is extremely situational and both men and women have proved to be good leaders in various positions and different situations. The leadership style difference between the men and the women often lead to creation of obstacles for the women leaders in their workplace as they focus on relational leadership in the world comprising of task oriented or goal oriented leadership positions. Because of this reason, women have to face lot of problems when they make attempt to achieve their position as well as succeed as leaders. The dilemmas which the female leaders have to face for achieving leadership include expectations from them to adapt male oriented leadership models, to work in a task and goal oriented manner rather than focusing on building interpersonal relation. Dilemmas for Women Leaders It is the leadership style of the women due to which they have to work hard as compared to the men leaders in order to succeed in the leadership position. Stereotypes mark men as more suitable for achieving the top leadership positions as compared to the women. This has created a barrier for the women, though they have fought hard in order to overcome this by trying to adapt the masculine leadership styles and characteristics. Women face stringent requirements for retaining their leadership positions. When it comes to control and dominance or authority, when women exert dominance or control they are often judged much more harshly as compared to the men just because of the gender biasness. However, they have made efforts to achieve success overcoming these dilemmas and attain the top leadership position. They have succeeded in many situations and at many different positions proving that their relationship oriented leadership style is not a failure. Conclusion There is no particular rule how to measure the gender differences in the leadership styles. Some argue that there is no difference in the leadership styles of men and women whereas others argue that there exists a significant difference in the leadership style of men and women because of their different communication approaches. A decent amount of research studies have shown that men follow task oriented leadership style, where they focus on the problem solving aspects within an organization, whereas women follow the relationship oriented leadership style where they focus on taking care of the followers. While the interaction of the women leaders with their followers is very expressive and polite, men are aggressive and focus on achieving tangible outcomes. The leadership style followed by women has acted as a barrier for them in achieving the leadership position in an organization. As a result of these gender differences, women had to deal with situations where they had to adapt masculine leadership characteristics for achieving leadership position. The female leaders should know how to balance their care taking and authoritative leadership characteristics. They should have the knowledge of adapting the leadership style based on different situation. It is their effort which will help them to succeed as leaders and will also help to abolish the belief that their leadership style is not fit for achieving leadership in a society. Implications for Men and Women Leaders The difference in the leadership style between men and women suggest that both of them have different advantages in different industries or sectors. This means that the relationship oriented female leadership style as well as the task oriented male leadership style is likely to be successful if they are put into different working situations. Feminine Occupation Masculine Occupation Public Relations Finance/Accounting Human Resources General Management Sales/Marketing Research & Development Works Cited Leaper, C. “Influence and involvement in children's discourse: Age, gender, and partner effects.” Child Development Aug. (1991): 797-811. Print. Rosener, JB. “Ways women lead.” Harvard Business Review Nov. 1990: 119-21. Print. Read More