Posts Tagged definition of leadership
Are Men More Effective Leaders Than Women?
A question I encounter frequently is, “Can men relate to ‘The Connected and Committed Leader’ insights, or are they strictly for women?”
While I do work with a lot of women, my insights are not exclusively designed for women. However, I find that the more I work with men, the more my research shows they rate lower on the insights on which women rate high, and vice versa.
So, it does beg some questions: Are men more effective leaders than women? Does gender play a role in being an effective leader?
The timeless debate of the sexes never seems to end. There are many stereotypes that ensue: women have better verbal skills, men are better at math, men are physically stronger, but women have better endurance. Some say men are more single-minded and focused, while women are natural multi-taskers. The list goes on and on.
Becoming a Great Leader
The term Leadership often connotes such things as one’s ability to motivate, to manage others, to guide, to influence, to inspire, to be courageous, to take risks, to be fearless, to be creative, to be a role model, to take responsibility and so on. The ultimate aim appears to be to lead “others” into new and uncharted waters where they individually or collectively will achieve some preconceived goal.
In many cases approaches to coaching individuals to become great leaders focus on the development of new skills that will allow them to be more powerfully influential. The general focus is therefore directed outwards, that is “what can I learn to get others to do what I want or need them to do”.
Unfortunately, what tends to happen is that by taking such an approach being a Great Leader becomes a task of learning how to convince “others” that what is being asked of them is somehow in their own best interests, whether or not it actually is. Therein lies there reason why leaders find themselves repeatedly having to revisit and reinvent their repertoire of “leadership skills.”