Female Leadership Skills

Intelligent women bring something else to the management level in addition to professional expertise. Something we urgently need: Female leadership skills.

Female leadership skills are more in demand than ever

"Whether in sports, politics or business, the best leaders are usually modest - whether by nature or nurture: modesty is a much more common trait in women than in men," says Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic in an article in the Harvard Business Review.¹

However, modesty is only one of many characteristics that are currently lacking in many managers and are urgently needed. While career progression often measures services based on assertiveness and argumentation, so-called soft skills are hardly weighted or are merely considered a nice-to-have.

Eight years ago, the Harvard Business Review evaluated managers using 360° feedback. Team members, colleagues and superiors assessed the leaders in the 16 most important leadership competences. The result was that women...

develop themselves better and more proactively,
take more initiative,
work more purposefully,
are better at building relationships,
are better at inspiring and motivating others.²

This list also includes skills that are characterised by soft skills such as empathy and sensitivity. These are the so-called female leadership skills that organisations need now.

Working life has changed dramatically in recent years. Employees want to see a purpose behind their work and be able to identify with the company. Employers expect their employees to have an agile way of working, which is achieved through flexibility, networking and teamwork. To make this possible, both millennials and companies themselves are demanding that their managers do not act in a hierarchical, authoritarian manner, but instead lead the company with empathy, inspiration, motivation and sensitivity.

How do we get there?

Why are these female leadership skills not yet sufficiently represented at management level? Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic explains: *"In my view, the main reason for the uneven management sex ratio is our inability to discern between confidence and competence. "*³ So we tend to surround ourselves with people who look like us. Management positions are often given to men by men. It is not uncommon for women, like men, to adopt a tougher approach in order to progress in their careers. At HR Campus, however, we want teams and organisations to be led by women and men with strong soft skills. We have therefore thought about what companies and women can do to make greater use of the valuable female leadership skills.

Changing dominant behaviour patterns

Soft skills should be valued, promoted and recognised more at all levels. It's not just about measuring services, but also about how employees interact with other employees or how they approach projects. In this way, potential managers with the necessary skills can be recognised early on and promoted in a targeted manner.

Dominant behaviours should be questioned and adapted. Here is some food for thought:

Cultivate an empathetic leadership culture: question the bias between female leadership skills and traditionally male leadership styles and create space for empathy and sensitivity.
Introduce a "do not interrupt" rule: Men interrupt women more often than vice versa. Make sure that everyone lets each other finish speaking and respects the opinions and ideas of others before they are dismissed or criticised.
Correct unconscious bias: Work on actively recognising and correcting prejudices against men and women.
Provide opportunities to learn and grow: Encourage less dominant employees in particular to take on challenges and offer mentoring programmes.
Ensure work-life balance: Support employees in all positions in balancing family and work life. Praise women (and men) who manage the balancing act between work and family instead of criticising their absence at evening events.

More empathy, more inspiration

Women can support each other in bringing female leadership skills to the management levels. Encourage each other and make the path easier for your successors. If your female colleague brings up a good idea in a meeting, support it. The more women there are in a meeting, the more confident they are to provide valuable input. The more women there are at management level, the more likely other women will have the confidence to submit an application. Suggest your female colleagues for open positions and network across the company.

But it's not just mutual support that helps: both women and men can strengthen themselves by presenting themselves in a confident and considered manner. If you feel uncomfortable speaking up in meetings, assertiveness training can help. However, do not try to imitate the behaviour of dominant employees, but address it if it is not appropriate. We at HR Campus ask you: Don't get used to an elbow mentality, but preserve the valuable female leadership skills that we so urgently need.

Sources

Female Leadership Skills