It is said that ‘men are from Mars, and women are from Venus’. This variation is also evident in the way in which they lead. With the increasing numbers of women in leadership positions in contemporary society, male leaders have to borrow a leaf on the art of leadership from women. The article explores various lessons that men can learn from women leaders.
Key attributes
Studies have shown that in humility, women are ranked higher than men. It is a feminine trait that is essential in leadership. Without humility, it will be difficult to acknowledge mistakes made, learn from experience, take into account other people’s perspectives, and embrace change for better. Humility should be present in leaders- male or female.
Humility is needed in Leadership
The initiative is another feminine attribute needed in leadership. A leader has to see what needs to be done and go ahead and do it. Male leaders have this to learn from women.
When it comes to empathy, women shine. It allows teams to build closer connections, understanding, and trust required in team dynamics. Male leaders have this to borrow from women leaders. Being kind and caring for their workers improves performance. Workers need to be appreciated, valued, etc. They should not be taken as machines but as human beings.
Male Leaders Should Emulate Empathetic Leadership from Ladies
Important lessons
Men tackle problems immediately with what they have at hand then. They should learn from their female counterparts to wait and give time for multiple solutions to come up then pick the best from among them. They should learn to be patient in problem-solving.
The focus should be on the team, company, etc, and not on self. Men are more self-focused, (better paycheck, office, titles, status, etc). They demand results from individual members of staff, (not from the team). Women leaders are different, they make others improve and grow. They work for everyone’s positive contribution to the success of the team.
Learn natural encouragement from the ladies. Learn to express positive thoughts towards their staff, eg ‘nice work’, ‘you made my day’, ‘great effort there’, etc will motivate that employee to perform better.
Transformational leadership
Ladies in leadership motivate their staff through transformational leadership. They inspire, transform beliefs and attitudes about work, align people with meaning and purpose- the right work attitudes. The result is high levels of teamwork, performance, and productivity. Men should emulate them.
A Transformational Leader
Take it personal
Female leaders will coach, mentor, and develop others. They thrive when others grow; will even hire people, who are better than them, (they do not allow their egos to stand on their way). This promotes effective cooperation on their teams.
Women are sensitive to how people see them as leaders; which in turn helps them to see the gap between where they want to be areas leaders and where they are. This helps them to prepare, plan and the result is competence and performance.
Active listening where you listen to the words and emotions. Women have this ability and it helps them understand how different workers are motivated and can work effectively with them. Men need to learn this too.
Leaders require Active Listening.
Bottom line
There has been a rise in women’s leadership in all spheres, thanks to their nurturing attributes. Male leaders have a lot they can borrow from the effective leadership that women provide.
