As more and more women assume leadership roles in businesses, it is changing the attitude and sometimes even the future of the workplace. Female bosses may teach business leaders a lot about engaging with employees, promoting their growth, and inspiring their efforts. They are valuable assets that may help workplaces improve productivity and provide an overall more communicative work environment. So what might female bosses teach us about the business world?
Engagement With Employees Improves Productivity
Gallup polls show that female leaders of all working ages and positions tend to be more engaged with their co-workers, employees, and their work when compared with their male counterparts.2 The polls also show that when female leaders are in charge of specific workgroups, the heightened engagement in these groups results in higher performance. Gallup's data shows that employees who work with female managers are more engaged with their work than those who work with male managers, with 33% reporting so, versus 27% with male managers.
What Is Different About Female Leadership?
The heightened engagement with employees under female leadership may be directly related to features of female leadership that often differ from male managers. Some of the most prominent features of female managers and those in leadership positions are the following:
Being People Oriented
While female leaders are highly engaged with the work they need to complete, they also know the importance of focusing on the people responsible for helping them accomplish the business goals. Female managers tend to be more sociable and expressive with employees and encourage their employees to do the same. They also focus on creating stronger bonds, which may garner higher commitment levels from employees.1
A Focus on Cooperation
Female leaders focus on management styles that include active inclusion of employees versus containing them. Through active engagement, female leaders may work with their employees to ensure that processes and procedures are completed in an orderly fashion.1
Horizontal Leadership
Many female leaders may focus on a horizontal style of leadership versus a vertical one. Horizontal leadership focuses on the inclusion of employees through the sharing of information and power. They also encourage participation from all in the group.1 By having a say, employees feel more involved in the success or failure of a project and are more willing to take ownership.
Through new approaches to leadership and an increase in employee engagement, women are changing the face of leadership in the country. While many employees would prefer a male boss to a female decades ago, the tide is beginning to turn as more and more women prove themselves in leadership roles.2
Investment advice offered through Planned Financial Services, a Registered Investment Advisor.
1 6 features that define female leadership, Connect America, https://connectamericas.com/content/6-features-define-female-leadership-0
2 Female Bosses Are More Engaging Than Male Bosses, Gallup, https://news.gallup.com/businessjournal/183026/female-bosses-engaging-male-bosses.aspx
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