Becoming Balanced Whatever their gender, leaders need balance. They need to understand their audience and the situation to take the best approach. That means leaders need to be aware of where and with whom their likeability or effectiveness will suffer. How do leaders know when feminine or masculine expression of a leadership competency will be more effective? In general, women who typically express more masculine behaviors can be more effective with other women by being more balanced and adopting additional feminine expressions. This also means that women who have a tendency to express mostly feminine behaviors can express more masculine behaviors when needed to be more effective. More specifically, here’s what our research found:
• When feminine expression is more effective for women leaders. Both men and women agree that the feminine expression of emotional control—acknowledging emotions and appropriately expressing them—is more than 40 percent more effective than the masculine version—ignoring emotions and holding them in. That means women have an advantage here. In this area as well as with self-confidence, executive presence, conflict resolution, creativity and innovation, and entrepreneurship, women should be aware of and constantly strive for the feminine expression.
• When masculine expression is less effective for women leaders. When women adhere strictly to the rules, they are perceived poorly by other women. Female peers also view women leaders negatively when they take a structured and logical approach to leading the organization. In fact, the more detailed, directive, and structured women are, the more negatively other women view them. Further, when women adopt the masculine approach of giving feedback and guidance instead of one of exploration and challenging assumptions, they are perceived more negatively by women. In addition, both men and women view women negatively when they show assertiveness with direct and clear requests. Taking a more directive approach to driving results is also viewed negatively by both men and women. However, when building networks, women will have a more negative perception of another woman actively building her network, but men will see it as equally effective as the typical feminine approach of building strong relationships with key stakeholders. Women will also be seen as less effective when they adopt the masculine expression of positioning the merit of ideas and leveraging authority when influencing others. Given that the feminine expression of positioning “what’s in it for me with stakeholders” is more effective, they should consider staying with that approach.
• When masculine expression is more effective for women leaders. The masculine expression of inspirational vision was rated as significantly more effective than the feminine expression. This suggests women should adopt a more energetic and excitement-driven approach to communicating vision rather than trying to connect using emotion and individual conversations to inspire. Every situation is different. But if leaders adapt their behavior to meet the needs of their audience, they will be more balanced and effective.