Researchers at McMaster University in Canada would like to set everyone straight: Women make for better corporate leaders than males. The reason is because females are “more likely to consider the rights of others and to take a cooperative approach to decision-making.”
“We’ve known for some time that companies that have more women on their boards have better results,” said Chris Bart, a professor of strategic management at the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University. “Our findings show that having women on the board is no longer just the right thing but also the smart thing to do. Companies with few female directors may actually be shortchanging their investors.”
Bart and co-researcher Gregory McQueen, a McMaster graduate and senior executive associate dean at A.T. Still University’s School of Osteopathic Medicine, found that male board directors preferred rules, regulations, and traditional business practices when making decisions. They found that females were less constrained, willing to mess with the status quo, and “tend to use cooperation, collaboration and consensus-building more often – and more effectively – in order to make sound decisions.”
Women and men can view the world differently, and from my experience, women tend to approach the world holistically more than men. However, to generalize both sexes starts you down a wooded path that only ends in you getting lost. I’m not saying anything new when I say that people should be viewed individually. But every day a different study comes out that wants to put people in boxes. I understand why; the brain spends less energy if something is routine. Having to learn something new is a resource drain. If you stop, though, and take the time to learn about someone – personally and professionally – then you’ll both be better off. You’ll find that your decisions more balanced, and you’ll consider history and the opinions of others more often than not.
Do you think women make better leaders than men? Or is the whole issue sexist?
(Story materials via McMaster University/Julia Thomson. Image via Flickr: UN Women/Creative Commons.)
So, the study supposes that good corporate leaders should “consider the rights of others and take a cooperative approach to decision-making.” I would like to see some research that shows this is always the case. Shouldn’t a good corporate leader also see the good of all over the good of the individual and make important decisions without needed a consensus when necessary?
I would argue that a good corporate leader needs to be both compassionate and dispassionate, both cooperative and singular. And that none of these qualities can be overly attributed to one gender versus the other.