Here are
five additional ways that women are more effective bosses than men, and tips on
how everyone—men and women—can improve their leadership skills.
1. Better
communicators. Women are better listeners
than men, and this is exactly the skill that is most critical for managing
employees and customers. According to Dr. Susan Sherwood
, this is a
result of women being more discussion oriented and men wanting to just take
action. Men communicate through activities rather than conversations.
Why this is
an important skill for everyone: Employees want their managers to hear their
point of view, and customers want everyone to empathize with their problems.
Being a better communicator will lead to a stronger relationship built on trust,
which is critical to establishing loyalty.
2. Better
community builders. Women are better consensus
builders and don’t have the need like men to direct everyone in what to do. In
this world of the connected Internet, “beta managers
,” those
that know how to build cooperative relationships, are becoming more successful
than traditional “alpha managers.”
3. Stronger
business ethics. Bart and McQueen find that women, who
are effective managers, “acknowledge and consider the rights of others in the
pursuit of fairness … that is consistently applied in a non-arbitrary fashion.”
Why this is
an important skill for everyone: Running a small business is a
minefield of ethical choices. When pushed to the limit, too many owners do the
wrong thing and run askew of their own ethical (and sometimes legal) standards.
A strong moral code will help business owners deal with these types of
challenges, which will certainly push them to their limit.
4. More
patience. Women are far more patient
with employees than men. They are less likely to jump to an immediate
conclusion or make a quick decision or take action too soon. A study commissioned by myHermes
shows
that women are willing to wait longer for a desired result.
Why this is
an important skill for everyone: For most small businesses, “overnight success”
takes seven to 10 years. The winners are the ones that can be patient enough to
take actions, which result in small steps toward a specific goal.
5. Better at
activating passion. According to Jay Forte, author
of Fire Up! Your Employees and Smoke Your Competition
, women are
“more astute about knowing how to activate passion in their employees. They
watch the 43 muscles in your face and see how your emotions change.”
Why this is
an important skill for everyone: Passion builds loyalty. Motivate your employees,
and they’ll in turn be passionate about your product or service and company. As
Sarah Robinson says in her book Fierce Loyalty
, “in a
social media world where most consumers check online reviews before buying, a
fiercely loyal community is the strongest marketing strategy for any business.”
Let's take a look at the four components of employee engagement that gave women
an advantage over their male colleagues.
1. Setting basic
expectations
One of the quickest ways to create confusion and stifle productivity is to
be ambiguous about expectations. A major indicator of an engaged employee is
ownership over one's role, and it's awfully difficult to take control without
baseline responsibilities. To ensure that your employee is crystal clear about
their position, make sure you:
1. Have a job description review and discuss areas of importance, key
contributions (what tasks affect others), the potential for impact and areas of
accountability.
2. Lay out the consequences, in a friendly manner, and be consistent. This
includes both the positive and negative side-effects of your employee's
performance.
3. Establish clear metrics, key performance indicators, and behavior
standards. Everyone wants to understand how they will be evaluated.
4. Clarify areas where your employee can be autonomous.
5. Ensure all process based capabilities are handed down. AKA, department
"know-how", training and standard operating procedures.
Word to the wise, be careful about assigning accountability without
authority. It's frustrating, as an employee, to be held accountable for
something that you can't manage or make a decision on.
2. Building
relationships
Great managers understand that engagement is an outcome of meaningful
relationships. What constitutes a meaningful relationship? Here are five
characteristics from the Mind Tools Editorial Team.
1. Trust -- If you could pick a cornerstone for a good relationship, trust would
definitely be the best option. It enables employees to be open, honest and
transparent. You'd be surprised how much energy new employees can conserve (and
redeploy) by not having to constantly watch their back and question everything
they say/do.
2. Mutual Respect -- You can't expect respect without giving it first.
We must value everyone's thoughts, ideas, and input. Then, it will be much
easier to develop solutions based on collective insight -- a key to engaging
your employees in your vision/mission. People don't take direction and learn
from those whom they don't respect.
3. Mindfulness -- We must take responsibility for our own actions,
words, emotions (or lack thereof) and the effects that they can have on those
around us. Employees are products of their environments. Make sure that you're
mindful of the one you're creating.
4. Welcoming Diversity -- "People with good relationships
not only accept diverse people and opinions, but they welcome them. For
instance, when your friends and colleagues offer different opinions from yours,
you take the time to consider what they have to say, and factor their insights
into your decision-making." (Mind Tools)
5. Open Communication -- This one is pretty simple: the more
we communicate with our employees, the richer our relationships will be.
3. Encouraging a
positive team environment
In efforts to automate and systematize our work, we've become obsessed with
computing outcomes and collecting data to drive decisions. Don't get me wrong,
data is necessary and there is definitely a place for it, but it does not
replace the need for leadership.
Unfortunately, this obsession with measuring throughput and efficiency has
created mechanistic management crutches. News flash, people don't thrive in
standardized environments. Our employees are naturally different and diverse.
Forcing them to conform stifles creativity and limits leaders to the role of a
delivery system. Instead, focus on creating a human system. One that is
characterized by team harmony, respect and caring for employees' welfare. Then,
watch as these humanistic conditions unearth your employee's engagement.
4. Providing employees
with opportunities to develop within their careers
The feeling of stagnation is terrifying. Help your employees stay relevant
and challenged by investing in their development. If you don't, others will.
It may seem like engagement is just another buzz word that HR departments
throw around to create more work for managers. However, this Gallup report
proves that higher levels of engagement produce higher-performing teams.
Gentlemen, if we want to even the odds, then we must focus on creating a
culture within our teams that breeds engagement.
sumber:
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/5-ways-women-are-better-bosses-than-men/
http://inc-asean.com/lead/40-years-of-research-proves-women-are-better-managers-than-men-because-they-tend-to-have-this-crucial-skill/?utm_source=inc&utm_medium=redir&utm_campaign=incredir
