By Azmat Haroon
Doha: Women outshine men as more effective leaders, according to a recent study.
In assessments over the last three years, Zenger Folkman, the global authority in strengths- based leadership development, found that women on average ranked better on 12 leadership traits compared to men.
The research published in Harvard Business Review addresses the longstanding argument of placement and qualifications of women in the workforce.
Some 64 percent of the research is based on data from the US, while 34 percent is global, which includes assessments from Qatar.
“The common assumption is that women rank better on the nurturing scale but we’ve found that it is not necessarily the case,” Dr Joe Folkman (pictured), the co-founder and President of Zenger Folkman, told The Peninusla yesterday.
The top scale in which women were ranked was in taking initiatives. They also tend to be more honest, direct and more likely to follow rules, while men may at times walk on the edges.
“Another characteristic about women is that they ask for feedback. With men, they think they know where they are in an organsitation. Women are more sceptical,” Dr Folkman argued.
He added that women were more like ‘sponges’ when it came to receiving feedback, while men tend to be a little ‘prickly’.
This is particularly true in case of professional men and women above 35.
“After that, we see the women increasing in effectiveness and men going down the hill,” said Dr Folkman, credited with creating a 360-degree assessment.
He noted that having a culturally diverse workforce was, in fact, a great opportuntiy for organisations to make better decisions.
“If all you had a very insular culture in an organisation, only people from Qatar, you will have a very narrow perspective because it is based on a narrow world experience.”
That, however, can only change if you care and ask people about their opinions. “One of the things I’ve noticed people are concerned about here is that a lot of times decisions are not made based on facts or data. They’re based on position, power and influence,” Dr Folkman said.
This frustrates people sometimes, he said, adding that organisations cannot afford to make bad decisions — based on power as opposed to facts, because it costs them customers and profitability.
Dr Folkman will deliver a lecture on how to turn good managers into great leaders today at the Career Fair from 10am to noon.
Based on the findings that the ability to lead is far more than just a natural gift, Dr Folkman will demonstrate how leadership is a concrete and learnable skill. Among other techniques, audiences will learn 16 statistically proven competencies that set extraordinary leaders apart from average managers.
The second lecture ‘Are women better leaders than men? The Benefits of Providing Development Opportunities for all Employees’ will take place tomorrow and is a women-only event.
Presented by Quick-Wins, in cooperation with Salam International, the lecturers aim to develop leadership skills of Qataris in the workforce and beyond. The Peninsula
