How Empathy And Other "Feminine" Traits Make Women Ace Leadership

According to a Committee of 200 report, women's empathetic attitude is a positive trait and it helps them interpret situations differently. Though our society places men at the top of the social and familial hierarchy, women have always been known to incorporate the essence of unity. In fact, a recent study published in Harvard Business Review shows that women are actually better at leading diverse countries than men.

Women are the masters of dealing with changes and they tackle them not only because they have to, but because they are oriented to producing breakthrough results.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Women are known to believe in strengthening relationships.  
• This quality helps them strengthen industry collaborations.
• They are not only known to be goal-oriented but also align the process with principles and values. 
• Study shows that empathy helps women interpret situations differently than men. 

However stereotypical beliefs often lead the society at large to dismiss women as emotional and sentimental, thus not possessing the right qualities to hold a leadership position. But these character traits can infact come in handy to an organization.

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Masters of dealing with change

Sunita Wazir, Wellbeing and Inclusion Led HUL, believes that women are naturally inclusive and can bring a balance instinctively. Says she, "This stems from the basic physiological difference in gender response to stress or threat - the ability to pull from “flight or flight” to “tend and befriend” when faced with aggression. A woman will usually look for ways to ease up the situation and will break-down rather than construct walls. She will look for allies and supporters to help resolve both social stress and threats." She further adds that a woman’s natural tendency to build affiliates or seek social support, both make her the better choice for accepting and embracing diversity in all forms. "Women just make the space somehow!"

No amount of social conditioning on best roles for men and women, can take away from the fact that companies with a gender-balanced workforce will thrive! - Sunita Wazir

Empathy makes women ace leadership.

Archita Srivastava, MBA Professor at Allenhouse College observes, " Most of the times when it comes to finding a solution to the problem, male students immediately come up with answers. Female students on the other hand first ponder upon the possibilities and what effect these will have in the future, and so, I feel, they do prioritize everything collectively. This is like analyzing the situation first then analyzing its impacts on everyone related to the organization. And a leader is, after all, known for his or her collective approach towards everything and everyone. So yes, I do feel that women make better leaders than men and that their empathy is something that helps them positively."

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Aligning Values, Principles, And Proficiency With Strategy

Wazir says that the nature v/s nurture conversation, men have better construction capability and are of an engineering mindset by instinct versus women are better at creative pursuits, has been going on for generations. "To me, it’s natural that the woman being the decision-maker and the top buyer in the industry by virtue of managing both careers and household budgets- should be equally present in the design stage of any product. And from this follows the entire chain - production, distribution, and advertising to selling. To speak to a buyer, a successful organization needs the voice of women at every stage. No amount of social conditioning on best roles for men and women, can take away from the fact that companies with a gender-balanced workforce will thrive!" she says.

Ashmita Singh, MBA student at PSIT says, " According to me, men are more inclined towards solving a problem than the path they adopt for same. Women are known to tackle the toughest of situations. Like they take care of all the members of the family when being a housewife, they can surely do so when dealing with a range of diverse employees in an organisation. So yes, they do form better leaders on many fronts than men." According to Singh,  the only problem is that women are not given enough chances to prove themselves.  "Without even giving them a chance to prove their potential, we label 'Men are better at handling organizations than women.' This is the right time to ask- Why?"

Picture Credit- Monster.ca

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The views expressed are the author's own.