In 2016, we published an article in the Harvard Business Review summarizing the findings of our company’s 10-year study on what makes great executives, and we need to emphasize how important it is to get women in decision-making.
In the years that followed, one of the most common questions I’ve received about our research is whether or not it showed material differences between men and women when it comes to executive performance.
Unfortunately, our study wasn’t designed to gauge this. But the number of questions we got on this topic, especially regarding female candidates, (and still get) led my coauthor and me to go back and review the research others have done.
As part of our process we looked at five years of data on the differences between male and women in power—namely in leadership roles.
Women in Decision Making and Differences in Leadership
It turns out that the four essential capabilities uncovered in our 10-year study (knowing your whole business, making accountable and balanced decisions, knowing your industry, forming deep and trusting relationships) closely correlate to the strengths of women leaders consistently identified in the gender difference research.
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Obviously not every female leader will be predisposed to excel in all of them, but in the aggregate, it makes a compelling case for female leadership—especially in light of research showing that the presence of female executives on corporate boards leads to greater profitability.
To offer one example: according to a major McKinsey study, companies with the highest gender diversity (as compared to the industry average) see a much higher return on equity (47%), a higher operating result (55%), and a stronger stock price growth.
In another wide-ranging study, the ZengerFolkman leadership development group compared thousands of 360-degree performance evaluations to suss out differences in performance among men and women. Their conclusion? “We consistently find in our research that women are more effective than men on 13 of our 19 competencies measured.”
My intent here isn’t to make the blanket assertion that “women are always better executives than their male counterparts” (though they often are). But it is patently clear they are far more capable than their representation in executive ranks would imply.
Globally, it’s estimated that 31% of senior management roles are held by women, a marked improvement compared to even recent history, yet still well short of parity—and a signpost we need more women in decision-making.
Other statistics are less encouraging. 4.5% of Global Fortune 500 CEOs are women, though among traditional Fortune 500 companies (that is, US companies) this figure is more than three times higher.
I must admit in the year 2022 it feels slightly icky to be in the position of arguing for greater female representation in management and other positions of power, but here we are.
I will own the disclaimer that, as a white male, my qualifications to make this assertion may be limited. Then again, given the current situation, perhaps I’m just the type of person who needs to be saying this.
To that end, what follows is a summary of the four unique capabilities women leaders commonly share, according to research on women in leadership. Interestingly (though not surprisingly), these closely correlate with the four essential capabilities of successful CEOs we unearthed in our original research.
"The closer that America comes to fully employing the talents of all its citizens, the greater its output of goods and services will be."
– Warren Buffett
1. Women Gaining Power Means They See and Pursue Entrepreneurial Opportunities
According to one ZengerFolkman study, women show more overall effectiveness at the executive levels of organizations where seeing opportunities for growth is most significant. Moreover, in the competencies of taking initiative, driving for results, and championing change, women outperform men by statistically significant differences.
Tenacious and persistent, the best women leaders can see beyond obstacles to push boundaries and get things done. They remain focused until objectives are achieved. They enjoy stretching their perspective to broaden their observations.
2. Women Build Strategic Connections That Strengthen Organizations
A 2015 Gallup survey of more than 11,000 US workers found that women are far more effective at engaging and developing employees than men. Further, they are more likely to build collaborative environments than their male executive counterparts.
This allows them to strengthen the connections among various distributed capabilities that might otherwise remain siloed and disparate. The result is greater organizational breadth, where an organization’s seams are strategically linked and the organization functions more cohesively.
3. Women Are Holistic Problem Solvers
In the edited collection of essays Enlightened Power: How Women are Transforming the Practice of Leadership, the anthropologist Helen Fisher makes a strong case that women are uniquely rational decision-makers.
“When women cogitate, they gather details somewhat differently than men,” Fisher writes. “Women integrate more details faster and arrange these bits of data into more complex patterns. As they make decisions, women tend to weigh more variables, consider more options, and see a wider array of possible solutions to a problem.
“Women tend to generalize, to synthesize, to take a broader, more holistic, more contextual perspective of any issue.”
Moreover, many women in decision-making are particularly skilled at soliciting and listening to multiple, diverse voices. They are more inclined to integrate team contributions after encouraging everyone to participate.
They will not decide until ideas have been heard, reflected, and tested. Further, their results orientation allows them to reach decision closure more efficiently and execute more effectively.
4. Women in Decision-Making Are Relationship and Network Builders
According to the same essay by Fisher, “Women have what scientists call ‘executive social skills. [Their brains] have evolved a keener ability to pick up the nuances of posture and gesture, read complex emotions in faces, and hear slight changes in tone of voice.”
Because of this, women are specialists at cultivating relationships of depth and trust. In both the McKinsey and ZengerFolkman research mentioned above, women substantially outperform men in the area of people development.
Today, there are an estimated three billion women in the workplace. Companies that continue ignoring the importance and power of aggressively increasing gender diversity are consciously forfeiting significant advantages in the marketplace and workplace.
Conversely, organizations intentionally pursuing the appointment of women to their top leadership ranks will be far better positioned to outperform competitors with both a powerhouse cadre of executives and intimate marketplace connections.
Which path will your organization choose?
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