Dr Rajeev Gupta

Women and Leadership

Unlike male commanders, the reference point for a good leadership has been inadequately defined for women chairmen. The traditional and concretely defined gender characters in national societies have also influenced the research and discovers on girls leader, a character, who the hell is divorced from the stereotype roles identified for women. So, it becomes preferably challenging for the status of women to first reach a position of leadership and then fights for adoption and credibility as a ruler. It is ironic that in both republican and liberal cultures, the presence of women in positions of affect, strength and leadership is far less than desirable. However, with changing periods and workforce tendencies, “its also” changing and more and more females are ending the glass ceiling to actually lead.

It would be interesting to explore certain aspects of leadership in the context of women, do the same principles of leader apply for both genders or there is something like feminist leader which alone sketches the desirable demeanors from women leaders.

Let us try to explore the context of women leadership in an organization. Traditionally wives had barely been in senior positions within organizations to exercise power and authority. This meant that when they actually got a chance to do so, they had to live up to the expectations of a male president, which involved being authoritarian, directive and masculine at times. However, researches conducted show that women in leadership standings believe in more participative and collaborative approaching which implies, working with beings rather than seeing beings labor. Women are likewise good transformational leads than men and use the nurturing, caring and involving approach towards subordinates.

However, “its never” easy for a women leader to get accepted by male subordinates, in the bargain they end up settlement on their leadership actions to become them most acceptable and less intimidating for the male subordinates. This leaves a very narrow scope of what is acceptable and what is not from a female president. For illustration, an aggressive and direct behavior from a male lead is acknowledged but a similar approaching from the status of women ruler is termed as unnecessarily reigning. Similarly, if the status of women leader displays the feminine demeanor of nurturing and care, they are seemed upon as scarcity firmness and assertiveness.

However there are certain clear benefits of a ladies leader as well, what a male chairman needs to learn through deliberate exertions comes naturally to lady leads like Emotional Intelligence, coaching and mentoring instincts, collaboration and participation etc. since, girls presidents can participate effectively, they are experiencing relatively lesser objection in managing units separated by part and locating. With their high psychological ability, they also understand the motivational external factor subordinates better and can also oversee appropriately their diverse culture and backgrounds.

The women leaders face greater and bigger challenges than male leaders as they also have to battle against perceptions. With more women taking up leadership roles, the hitherto unknown issues and challenges of a leadership position are now beginning to surface. The increasing stress level and dual responsibility of work and home with the constant pressure of proving herself, makes life difficult for them. However with a more sensitized organization and support extended by family, women leaders are also proving themselves as able and competent visionaries for e.g. the recent appointment of Virginia M Rometty as CEO and President of IBM Corporation. With such decisions of appointing women at critically and strategically important positions reaffirm the fact that women leaders are as good as a male leader. The evaluation of leadership effectiveness is only fare when it is based on leadership style and results achieved rather than on gender.

 

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