By Joanna Krotz*
Anyone out there still think there’s no difference in the
way men and women behave in business? Well, think again.
Besides the obvious arguments over the differences between
men and women, there’s even physiological research to prove the existence of
gender-based management styles.
So, which sex is better at building a company?
“The right answer is both,” says economist Paul Zak at the
Center for Neuroeconomics Studies at Claremont Graduate University in
California. Zak investigates the hormonal basis of decision-making, tracking
how people perform after they’ve been infused with male and female hormones
such as testosterone, oxytocin and estrogens.
His findings: “Women tend to connect better to people and to
multitask better. Men tend to be better at a single-minded focus and top-down
motivations.”
Other studies show that although male brains are about 10
percent larger than female brains, women have more nerve cells in the corpus
callosum, or nerve fibers that link the hemispheres. So women tend to be faster
at transferring data between the left (computational and verbal) and the right
(intuitive and visual) brain. Men usually are stronger on left-brain skills.
The result: Men really don’t often need to ask for
directions. Women, besides being multitaskers, are more intuitive — that is,
they’re swift at interpreting nonverbal, contextual cues.
Clearly, each sex does certain things better than the other.
With that in mind, here are recognized masculine vs. feminine traits in three
key areas of managing a business. Of course, no one is 100 percent male or
female in style. But the more you can adopt the strengths of the opposite sex,
the more likely your biz will benefit.
Leadership and team-building
Sex traits. “Men tend to use transactional styles of
leadership, whereby they exchange rewards for results and lead through power
and control,” reports Kimberly Eddleston, professor of entrepreneurship and
innovation at Northeastern University in Boston. “Women are more
relationship-focused than men,” she says. “Thus, they tend to use more
democratic and participative leadership styles.”
Gender blender. If a power player dials it down, he can gain
deeper trust, greater initiative and, perhaps most important, a climate that
facilitates thinking outside the box. That’s because men’s command-and-control
method usually causes staff and stakeholders to worry more about making
mistakes than about growing as a business.
But women, says Eddleston, “need to be careful not to spend
too much time on relationship matters at the expense of business issues.” All
too often, women who rely on relationships to motivate are uncomfortable about
imposing exacting performance standards. By clearing that hurdle, women can
gain greater efficiencies.
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