Women in leading positions do not have their own leadership style, they want to become better men. That is the conclusion of an interesting study by the German company profilingvalues. 1,803 managers from more than 250 companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland participated in the study for two years. 734 women and 1,069 men completed an online diagnostic questionnaire compiled according to the theory of values by Robert S. Hartman, German-American logician and philosopher.
It turned out that leadership is not a gender issue. Female managers use typically male leadership techniques and feel a great pressure to use them better than men. Both sexes are therefore equally well suited for high positions in organizations, which is not actually happening in practice. Ulrich Vogel, CEO of profilingvalues, would therefore recommend at least a short-term introduction of mandatory quotas for women in management of companies.
The study also focused on satisfaction and motivation at work. It turned out that greater freedom in dealing with tasks leads to better productivity and better results than rigid rules. Leadership should always be practiced with regard to the specific situation and particular people. Objective arguments are not enough, a leader must know how to impress emotionally.
The study results will be presented in detail at the annual World Congress for Value Diagnostics in Munich on 14ht September 2012.
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