Lead like a woman

President George W. Bush has described himself as 8216;the decider,8217; but there is much more to modern leadership than that. Contemporary leaders need to use networks, to collaborate and to encourage participation in order to succeed. IBM8217;s CEO Samuel Palmisano has argued that a command-and-control style hampers the flow of information needed for the collaborative work of today8217;s multinational corporations.

In the past, to be successful leaders, women had to adopt a stereotypically 8216;masculine8217; style and to give up on being 8216;nice8217; 8212; think Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady of British politics. But today, with the information revolution and democratisation demanding more participatory leadership, such sacrifices are no longer necessary. Still, as The Boston Globe8217;s Ellen Goodman has pointed out, 8220;While Hillary has been positioned as a tough guy, Obama has become the Oprah candidate. It8217;s easy to talk in a woman8217;s voice if you are a man.8221;

According to the psychiatrist Arnold Ludwig, women still lag in leadership positions, holding only 5 per cent of top corporate positions worldwide, and a minority of positions in elected legislatures 8212; ranging from 45 per cent in Sweden to 16 per cent in the United States. Ludwig also found that of the 1,941 people who ruled independent countries in the 20th century, only 27 of them were women, and half of those came to power as widows or daughters of a male ruler. Less than 1 per cent of all the 20th century8217;s rulers were women who gained power on their own. If we are now entering a woman8217;s world, why are females not doing better?

The persistent gender gap can be explained by women8217;s relative lack of experience, their primary caregiver responsibilities, their bargaining style and plain old discrimination. Women8217;s traditional career paths have not allowed them to gain the experience necessary for becoming top leaders in many contexts. Research by Harvard8217;s Hannah Riley Bowles and Kathleen McGinn shows that even in democratic societies, women still face a higher risk of social criticism than do men when attempting to negotiate for career-related resources such as compensation. Women are generally not well integrated into the male networks that dominate organisations, and gender stereotypes about the expression of emotions still hamper women who try to overcome such barriers. Though they seemed to help Clinton in New Hampshire, tears remain dangerous weapons, in the boardroom or on the campaign trail.

As the gradual increase in the number of women in high positions shows, the gender bias is beginning to break down, but it8217;s too soon to suggest we now live in a 8216;woman8217;s world.8217; Even positive stereotypes are bad for women, men and effective leadership. Questions of appropriate style 8212; when to use hard- and soft-power skills 8212; are equally relevant for men and women, and should not be clouded by traditional roles. In some circumstances, men need to act more like 8216;women8217; and women more like 8216;men.8217; The key will depend not on gender but on how individuals combine hard- and soft-power skills to produce the best outcome.

Nye is author of 8216;Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics8217; and 8216;The Powers to Lead8217;