Are There Differences Between the Genders in Leadership Ability or Approach?
To start, when people compare various successful leaders such as Donald Trump, John Rockefeller, or Henry Ford, they always use words to describe their personalities such as being tough, diligent, competitive and ambitious. A person’s personality is a set of unseen characteristics and processes that underlie a relatively stable pattern of behavior in response to ideas, objects or people in the environment. (Daft, 2011) These personality traits define the leader and we all know people differ in many ways leading to various styles of leadership. Differences in personality, attitudes, values and beliefs will influence how people interpret an assignment or a task. Leadership effectiveness is broadly based on the leaders’ personalities and attitudes while also how effectively they interpret differences amongst employees. All of these factors affect the leader-follower interaction but will genders in leadership affect the overall leadership ability or approach? I believe that there are differences in genders in leadership abilities and approaches.
If leadership is based on personalities and attitudes, I strongly believe that there are differences in leadership abilities and approaches when considering male and female roles. When considering the traits of males compared to females as leaders, men traditionally are more aggressive and assertive than women. Males tend to be subjective to competing, while in general women prefer a far less competitive environment than men. Those traits can essentially lead to various different perspectives on leadership approaches in respect to gender. Male leaders tend to be more individualistic and prefer working in vertical hierarchies relying on formal authorities and positions in their dealings with subordinates. Female leaders tend to be more collaborative, and are more concerned for relationship building, inclusiveness, participation, and caring. (Daft, 2011) So generally the differences in male traits compared to
If leadership is based on personalities and attitudes, I strongly believe that there are differences in leadership abilities and approaches when considering male and female roles. When considering the traits of males compared to females as leaders, men traditionally are more aggressive and assertive than women. Males tend to be subjective to competing, while in general women prefer a far less competitive environment than men. Those traits can essentially lead to various different perspectives on leadership approaches in respect to gender. Male leaders tend to be more individualistic and prefer working in vertical hierarchies relying on formal authorities and positions in their dealings with subordinates. Female leaders tend to be more collaborative, and are more concerned for relationship building, inclusiveness, participation, and caring. (Daft, 2011) So generally the differences in male traits compared to