Flexibility makes women better leaders

One has always wondered what makes a great leader. Are these special qualities? How can they be acquired? What distinguishes women leaders from their male counterparts? Caliper, a Princeton-based management consulting firm conducted a study to determine the qualities that distinguish women leaders. The firm assessed a sample of over two million applicants and employees belonging to over 25,000 companies around the world, and a London-based organization called Aurora that has a 20,000-member businesswomen’s network.

The study focused on the personality qualities that form the core of gender differences and focus on  age groups ranging from to 30-39 years to those above 50 years. It concluded women leaders are more persuasive than male leaders. Women, the study says, are more flexible than men. Where usually men try to force their perspective on others, women tend to be more understanding and are able to bring others around to see their point of view or alter their own.

Another finding stated that fearing rejection, women tend to have a stronger will and a “I’ll show you” attitude that works in their favour. The study quotes Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Yahoo! Inc., Libby Sartain saying, “If I make a mistake, I may be hard on myself initially, but then I quickly shake it off and figure out how to get beyond the situation. I don’t let it undermine my confidence. In fact, sometimes when my back is against the wall, the best in me comes out.”

It also found out that women have an inclusive and team-building leadership style of problem-solving along with their ability to ignore rules and take risks.

ORIGINAL SOURCE: Caliper