“Although multiple research studies show that men and women exhibit similar leadership styles, Catalyst’s prior research indicates that men do not face the persistent gender stereotyping that frequently place women business leaders in “double-blind, ‘no-win’ dilemmas.” According to the study, which interviewed senior business executives from the United States and Europe, men are still viewed as “default leaders” and women as “atypical leaders,” with the perception that they violate accepted norms of leadership, no matter what the leadership behavior”. (Catalyst Inc)
The ideology of power and leadership is defined in many different ways throughout history. The generalization has a common definition but each individual aspect is vastly different for each individual.
Edelman, M. (1995). “The Cardinal Political Role of Art.” Art to Politics: How Artistic creations
Walker, Henry A., Barbara C. Ilardi, Anne M. McMahon, and Mary L. Fennell. "Gender, Interaction, and Leadership." Social Psychology Quarterly. V59 n3 p255, 1996.
The gap between men and women produce three important concepts that reason the difference. First is the discussion of the better leader- men or women? It has been studied that women approach their followers with an interactive style with the encouragement of sharing power and information with others, participation, and self-worthiness to others. On the other hand, men have a consistency to be more task-oriented in their leadership styles and emerge in short-term conditions. The simple claim that women are just different than men, can be argued with the idea that men have effective traits for leadership. Women are less likely to negotiate and as a leader, this leads to lack of communication. And as discussed, leadership’s main ingredient is communication. Without it, nothing gets across to followers, and nothing is reciprocated to leaders. As a leadership position becomes larger and larger, (such as a CEO’s leadership position) there are fewer and fewer women holding these positions. The biggest question is why? Generally, females and males share the leadership values, work equally as hard to accomplish their goals, and react accordingly. Society plays a huge role in the gender gap. Some jobs aren’t even offered to women because of their gender and women
Raymond W. Cox III, Gregory K. Plagens, and Keba Sylla, “The Leadership-followership Dynamic: Making the Choice to Follow,” International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences 5, no. 8 (December 2010): 46, Academic Search Complete, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=73343622&site=ehost-live (accessed March 1, 2014).
Effectiveness of organizations depends on various factors. Nonetheless, it is firmly believed, by most practitioners and behavioural scientists, that leadership is a phenomenon which is crucial in achieving this goal (Yukl, 2013). As leadership is contextually bound, it cannot be completely understood from a single perspective. There are other elements that must be considered in order to do so, such as: the leader, the follower, the context and the interactions among them (Rumsey, 2013). The topic is even more fascinating in regards to the fact that most individuals are in some way a leader, a follower, or both. Despite the fact that most of these relationships go without particular notice, others have tremendous influence on the today’s world.
Women are not new to facing challenges and coming across barriers that limit or stall their progression within organizations and landing leadership opportunities. Women Rising explains to us how persistent gender bias often times disrupts the learning process at the heart of becoming a leader. The research shows that the process for women to be leaders is much more difficult than it is for men (Women Rising). The want and motivation to lead are attacked from the moment women realize that it is in them, due to these gender biases being in place. An example of a bias that is often noticed would be: behavior that is considered assertive in men will often times be perceived as an aggressive behavior in women, and thus denigrated rather than rewarded (Women Rising). In most cultures and societies, there are specific gender roles that are ascribed to either men or women. Men must be assertive, women must be submissive. Men must be decisive, women must be caring. These double binds are direct hinders to
Kotter J. P. and Cohen D. S. (2002). The Heart of Change: Real-life Stories of how People Change Their Organization. Harvard Business Press.
Smith, David J. "Transitions And Transformations of Successful Leaders." Grand Rapids Business Journal 31.32 (2013): 9. Regional Business News. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
Barriers to women’s success as leaders is not due to social obstacles but rather other factors. “Barriers for Women to Position of Power” hones in on opposing evidence that illustrates that it is not societal obstacles that hinder women from leadership opportunities but, differing from males in leadership styles, behavioral characteristics. Moral reasoning is an important factor in leadership roles, it can determine if is fit leader can resolve a challenging situation. Women and Leadership states, “the male moral development and therefore the traditional model id human development is conflict- and evaluation-based while female moral development is based on relationships and communication” (Klenke 1996). Men and women have different temperament and cognitive abilities. Women are more commonly associated with communion traits described as “sympathy and warmth and having a concern for other people” (Etaugh 2010). Men, on the other hand, are associated with agentic traits which is depicted ambitious, directive, and all about accomplishing tasks. Throughout history, male experiences have been more commonly seen in society, therefore, their temperament is well established in leadership positions unlike women’s. Women are good with responsibilities, communication, among other lead traits which would be great advantages to have in a leadership position if given the chance, rather than solely focusing on male
Wagner, T., Kegan, R., Lahey, L., Lemons, R.W., Garnier, J., Helsing, D., Howell, A., Rasmussen, H. T. (2006). Change Leadership: A Practical Guide to Transforming Our Shcools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Rosette, A., & Tost, L. (2010). Agentic women and communal leadership: How role prescriptions confer advantage to top women leaders. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(2), 221-235. doi:10.1037/a0018204
The reading assignment for this unit included reading several articles and one book in particular, The Female Advantage, by Sally Helgesen as an introduction into varying leadership styles. Leadership, as a honed craft is practiced continually in different ways and varying circumstances, no two individuals will have the same leadership style. Certain distinctive traits brought into the forum and on display for followers to observe. Some traits can be visible, clothing or skin color as examples, others, however, are not as visible such as upbringing or family situation. Each of these factors could play a role in the leadership style of a leader. One trait that the author of the book uses to distinguish leaders is gender. As much as men and women must be treated the fairly and equally, it cannot be denied that outside of the biological aspect, men and women are slightly different. Each gender brings a unique approach to leadership situations.
The Midwestern contemporary art case study revolves around the current MCA board chair Peggy Fischer, and former board chair Peter Smith. Smith had been elected to the board after individuals recognized him and his wife for the immense art collecting accomplishments put forth on the couples behalf. Initially Smith was indebted to pay $10,000 to even be elected onto the board chair. Smith indeed paid an initial pledge of $10,000 and financially made amends to put forth $5 million additional dollars towards museum improvements. It is no deniable fact that Fischer had recognized Smiths admirable job running the museum. Smith worked his way up from being a member of the board to board chair. Smith and his wife were highly recognized by the community and aimed to stay out of the spotlight whenever possible.