I recently did a Google search for the keywords “bosses” and to my amazement the search results returned a page full of headlines emancipating the negative vibes of female bosses and their leadership style, for example, “Do we hate to female bosses? “,” Employees prefer male bosses to female ones “, or even worse, “female bosses are a nightmare” and many more. I was struck by the mentality that the Internet, the entire world population, is enlightening. Why is it that this type of titles proliferate and gain space on the screens? Is it just the stereotypical preconceived notion that portrays female bosses in an undeserved and somewhat demeaning light or is there a real gap in the leadership style of women? What really brings the stigma to female bosses in C-suite?
Today’s workplaces have a decent mix of almost equal numbers of male and female employees at the mid-level. That also implies that many female employees are contributing to the surveys as well, and considering them male leaders to be superior to female leaders could indicate that there is more to it than a preconceived notion.
Another survey conducted to rank leaders on some leadership qualities, such as communication, organization, and listening skills, reveals that female bosses score higher than their male counterparts. So what went wrong when it comes to gaining popularity? When employees rate female bosses higher in terms of caliber, what could be the reason why they would rather not have them as their own boss? Is there something we can do to change the mentality or rather is there something we can improve in our leadership? What are those extra qualities of male leaders that set them apart and that we can learn from?
The unsightly search results made me curious to find out more about what women bosses are doing differently, if not incorrectly, that their subordinates or colleagues don’t feel connected to. I went online and asked many of my friends and colleagues about their experiences working with a female manager. Plenty of them expressed their desire to return to work with their previous female bosses, however a staggering number of participants, both employees and women, also returned a variety of condemnations.
Some of those conspicuous comments are mentioned here:
They lack confidence: It is highlighted that the female bosses not only show a lack of confidence in themselves but also in their subordinates, especially in the employees, at work.
They micromanage: In most cases, micromanaging paints the image of a manager who mistrusts his employees. It suffocates employees and makes them doubt their own merits.
Sometimes they indulge in gossip: The employees also highlighted that they have watched their female bosses fall for gossip on many occasions. They also expressed that they find such conduct immature, false and inferior.
They are rarely emotionally balanced: Many of the employees revealed that they had rarely encountered a manager who was emotionally balanced and that most of them were either overbearing and strict or overly friendly and biased. Female bosses were blamed for being alone at either end of the emotional distance spectrum.
They shiver when it comes to making tough decisions: Women managers tend to be more indecisive compared to male managers when it comes to making a decision like firing an employee or choosing one over the other.
Cannot work without tutoring: Women leaders lack independent decision-making capacity. They constantly seek guidance and advice from their mentor(s). She makes female managers look less confident.
These were the comments extracted during the investigation. Here is a good opportunity for us to consider these feedback as “areas for improvement” so that we can plan and act to rectify these gaps. True, those criticisms apply to male managers as well, but now that they’ve been attributed to female managers as well, let’s work together to improve them.
To strengthen our abilities, we could pay attention to the following:
Be yourself
Confidence in your body language will radiate more when you are yourself. Stand your ground when you think you’re right, and be legendary enough to admit your own wrong when you’re wrong. When you feel comfortable with yourself, you inherently make a connection with the mass. When it happens, other employees will identify with you and look up to you.
Show solidarity with other employees at work.
One of the most desirable qualities of a leader is to make others empowered and self-sufficient. Your co-workers consider you their role model. Strengthen their trust in you and reassure them with your support and guidance. Make sure they are heard and properly compensated.
Lead by example
The best way to instill confidence in others is to disseminate from within. Give your peers something to emulate. First set the example and let them follow you. A culture can be reinforced, not imposed.
be a people manager
Being a people manager means that you have to start investing your time with your employees to learn about their backgrounds, hidden talents, strengths, weaknesses, limitations, and obligations. If you know their other, non-professional side of life, it would be easier for you to help them with their professional career, connect with them, and understand them better. There could be many organizing events that could allow you to get acquainted with these curiosities. Focus more on cultivating an environment that is accessible, cooperative, and supportive rather than just competitive.
Stop micromanaging and start delegating
Never let your employees get the impression that you are underestimating their abilities. Micromanaging helps nurture that atmosphere. So ditch that and learn the art of delegation instead. Let your employees find a way to complete a task because that’s how they learn. Assign them a mentor, if necessary. Keeping track of your employee’s every move will strengthen a sense of cynicism between them. Your goal should be to empower them, not micromanage them.
Stop indulging in depreciation behavior
Stay away from any act that seems demeaning and belittling. And gossip is one of those. Firstly, it makes you look unsophisticated, and secondly, your employees find you unreliable because if you’re doing it for one, you might as well do it for others. Get rid of these negative traits, as it does neither your character nor yourself any good.
Empower yourself to make tough decisions
It is a fact that female leaders tend to be more emotional than rational, and this predilection is attributed to their innate characteristics. They easily worry about negative repercussions, intended or not, for employees. Decisions like firing an employee or being impartial in appraisals can seem insensitive and cause a female boss a sleepless night, while a male manager would seem comparatively more accommodating at such times. When dealing with such scenarios, you must not forget your role in the organization. For example, before firing casual employees, consider how to use them in any other vertical or team, and if you don’t find a place for them, you should remind yourself that you are a manager first and do what is good for the organization. . However, you can always make sure that his decisions don’t force an employee to take an unceremonious exit. It’s definitely a tough choice, but your rationality and toughness right now will pay off not just for you, but for your organization and that employee in the long run. You must be hard on decisions but soft on approach.
He adopts a personality between authoritarian and social.
In their rush to be heard and obeyed, women leaders take one side of the sociability spectrum. For one thing, when they are gentle and submissive, they foster an environment of fun, excitement, and excitement. Employees working under such leadership feel that they are heard and that their leader cares about her dreams and career path. However, this person brings his own disadvantages. She sometimes fails to create a line between friendliness and professionalism. On the other side of the spectrum, when female leaders get strict, they promote a fearful and stressed environment. Although they do the job, but in the long run, the bond between the leader and the employees would decrease and gradually the subordinates would prefer to leave the project or workplace for good. That is why you must be discreet with the personality that you are reflecting to your employees.
Know your limitations
Being inherently caring and caring natures, female employers and bosses sometimes enter a phase where they want to make the work environment heaven for their employees. Well, first you need to understand that “you can’t make everyone happy at the same time.” This also implies that you, like everyone else, also have your limits. Sometimes, no matter what you do, your employees will never be satiated and will keep demanding more and more. You have the bigger picture of the organization. You better know what you can do for them and what you can’t. Do not go beyond your border and never ever regret it. You must find a happy medium between the concerns of the employee and the capabilities of the organization. After a limit, you may need to spend time in a frank conversation with your employees to remind them that their concerns are well considered and addressed and that they need to be matched with their work, productivity, and innovations.
Know when you don’t need a mentor
Everyone needs a mentor in his life to learn the tactics of a particular field, but after a certain period he should be self-sufficient and independent. Maintain self-control so you don’t fall into a pattern of constantly seeking mentors. Trust your intuitions, be confident and learn from experiences.
To be a catalyst in the change of mentality of the people towards women leaders and their leadership style. There are no days left before the search results reverberate in positive headlines. We are already good, let’s fight to be better!