By logic, your gender shouldn’t be a factor in deciding whether you can make a good leader. Unfortunately, the business world still carries a massive bias against women in leadership roles.
A Huffington Post survey revealed that only 23 of the Fortune 500 companies were led by women. This is because women in the corporate sphere are not encouraged to take on executive positions or leadership roles.
Another reason might be women’s reluctance to talk about their work ambitions. Saba Software conducted a study in 2015, where they found that only 49% of female employees expected their company’s active role in their career growth. This was in contrast to 60% of male employees who expected their companies to help them in their ambitions.
However, there is plenty of research to suggest that women make excellent business leaders. Business News Daily conducted a survey among CEOs where 70% of participants believed their company would benefit from female leadership.
Here are some great points that demonstrate the fact that women can make good business leaders or managers.
- They give importance to work-life balance
Women often give greater preference to their teams’ well-being, both mental and physical. Statistically, it is far easier to approach female managers for personal requests or time off. Therefore, you can expect your work-life balance to be slightly better in a team/company led by a woman.
Women are also more proactive when it comes to mentorship and employee engagement. The global business domain is littered with successful open-door policy examples in companies led by women CEOs.
- Empathy is common in most female managers
Women often develop better skills when it comes to empathy and relationship building. This allows them to have a better understanding of their teams’ emotional trigger points. Women also tend to acknowledge others for their effort more often than their male counterparts. This makes them affable as managers or senior leaders.On top of being skilled in empathy, most women also make for great listeners. They take time to listen to their employees’ narratives and viewpoints. This gives them an insight into their employees’ psyches which can be useful for better engagement and communication.
- They are naturally great at multitasking
Most women are accustomed to balancing different responsibilities like their careers, households and academic opportunities. This makes them capable of multitasking at work.
Additionally, women often focus on finding a problem’s solution rather than its negative consequences. This makes them much better decision-makers and problem solvers.
- They tend to be strong communicators
Women often develop strong communication and interpersonal skills. Several neuroscientific studies show that women use communication as a way for relationship building whereas men mostly communicate to inform their needs.
Want to join the tribe of strong female communicators in the corporate world? The BA Fashion Management and Marketing programme from the London College of Contemporary Arts can be an excellent course for you!
This marketing programme can help you hone your strategic thinking and communication skills, allowing you to make it big in the global marketing domain. The course curriculum covers essential aspects of digital communication, consumer behaviour and marketing principles.
The course can also develop your leadership and decision-making skills, positioning you to succeed in the global marketing world. You can also learn how to respond to marketing crises and lead successful promotional campaigns.
Click here to learn how the programme can help you build your managerial career in the competitive marketing world.
Therefore, female business leaders can communicate more clearly, openly and regularly than their male counterparts.
- They can lead by example
Compared to their male counterparts, fewer women inherit executive positions in a company. Even when they have the desired experience and capabilities, women must work a lot harder to climb the corporate ladder.
This means that women leaders can put themselves in their employees’ shoes more easily and draw leadership insights from their personal experiences. Additionally, women can make great leaders because they are flexible, agile, and often have high emotional intelligence.
In a world where women regularly break the glass ceiling with their achievements, there is no shortage of inspiring stories. Women who want to succeed in the business world can take a leaf out of other successful business leaders’ books and develop their self-confidence and interpersonal and communication skills.
Join a suitable creative business degree today to take the first step towards a leadership career in the business world.
This article was written by Sweha Hazari.