«Man in a skirt» and 4 more myths about women leaders

Myth #1. All-female leadership meets

We women often support this myth ourselves by organizing numerous conferences on the topic of women’s leadership. If you think about it, it’s like talking about the special leadership of blondes or left-handers.

Feminists fighting for equal rights and duties of people regardless of gender should treat this something like a poster by Comrade Sukhov from the White Sun of the Desert: “A woman is also a person!” For the wilderness, even this is progress, but still the thesis is far from ideal.

There is no special female leadership. Both men and women can adhere to completely different management styles: from the authoritarian-aggressive “Tiger”, so popular with us, to the inconspicuous, but no less effective, “Eminence Gray”. By the way, the latter is masterfully performed by many women both at work and at home. The choice of leadership style is determined not by gender, but by personal qualities and experience.

Myth #2. A female leader is an ambitious bitch, striving for power

Some women (as well as men, by the way) tend to command simply for the sake of a sense of power, but this mental deviation has nothing to do with real leadership. Rather, it is a way to compensate for their complexes.

Most of the famous women leaders have been in high positions not because of indefatigable ambitions, but because of a dream. When you have a Case (that’s right, with a capital letter), you quickly understand that you cannot do it alone. Any sane person at this stage begins to attract the help of others, becoming the leader of the process.

In general, a leader is a person who is able to manage the situation and build actions from the point of view of the long-term, strategic interests of the business. That is why the myth about power-hungry bitches does not work: a leader, by definition, does not strive for power for the sake of power, he uses it to achieve the global goals of his business.

Finally, there is no leader without a team, and it is unlikely that a team can be ignited with the slogan «Give me the pleasure of commanding you.»

Myth #3. Woman leader — a man in a skirt

It is believed that in order to achieve success, a woman must learn the «male» style of behavior. Such characters occur from time to time, but much less often than you might think. Moreover, a soft non-authoritarian style of interaction is more effective for men as well.

It is not for nothing that managers pay a lot of attention to the study of soft skills — trans-professional skills related to the art of communication and negotiations, the ability to «read» the interlocutor and to persuade him to their side without conflict.

As for the «men in a skirt» — I have not met such people. All the women I know who formally or informally occupy leadership positions are feminine, charming, well-groomed, with a wide range of interests: art, travel, charity. A leader is, by definition, a “multi-screen” person with a well-developed time management skill. A trained person with a high level of self-organization, even with a high load, will not find it difficult to find time for raising children, and for reading, for comfort at home.

Myth number 4. Women leaders make decisions based on emotions, and the team is formed on the principle of personal loyalty

Yin and yang, emotions and logic, strategy and tactics, love and duty… You can oppose these concepts as much as you like, but there is hardly a single pure example of a «male» or «female» character.

From the point of view of logic and rationality, some women will give odds to many men. There are also men whose emotionality and sensitivity some women envy. And if we talk about leadership as a skill to direct people in the right direction for the business, then the leader’s ability to listen, hear, weigh the pros and cons, assess risks and form a team on the principle of professionalism, not devotion, is much more important.

No one likes to work with a hysterical person of any gender, promoting favorites and venting a bad mood on subordinates. And if they have to, then they definitely won’t call him a leader.

Myth number 5. No normal man needs a female leader

The idea that an accomplished woman is doomed to loneliness and unhappy in her personal life is firmly in our heads. “If you are too smart, no one will marry you,” something deeply archetypal is laid in girls almost at preschool age. And then we put ourselves before the most severe fork: work or family? In my opinion, the myth that one cannot be happy in love and fulfill oneself in one’s business at the same time is malicious and destructive.

All the happy women I know do not give up what they love for the sake of the family (pronounced with a breath so that everyone feels the significance of the sacrifice) or from the family for the sake of what they love (with pursed lips and a stone face, “it doesn’t hurt me”).

In addition, the experience of communications, the ability to prioritize and allocate resources helps to consciously approach building relationships with a partner and truly appreciate them. And men are proud of such women.

I will not list myths about a neglected house, a burden of responsibility too heavy for fragile female shoulders, broken health and other “horror stories”. They can be applied to any woman, not only to the leader. And, perhaps, to any man.

Every leader knows that you can always find «19 reasons why the gun didn’t fire». The task of the leader is to make it shoot. And both men and women do an excellent job with this when they know why they need it.