The powerful waves of feminism have cast away the doubts that women are equal to the task. Debates on this area have revealed that women are capable of taking charge of their own destinies, that of organizations, companies, industries, and even countries. It doesn’t stop there. When such opportunities are not given to them, women have also demonstrated beyond any doubt that they can put up a good fight, and emerge with the victory. Indeed, American actor Forest Whitaker was right;
“The true wealth of a community is measured by how carefully it listens to its women and how sincerely it values their wisdom. Empowering women empowers us all”
Women leadership is helping companies and countries thrive
There is enough evidence for all the doubting Thomas-es that an increase of women in leadership is helping businesses and countries to thrive. For example, in a recent study on the current Covid-19 crisis, it was shown that female-led countries handled coronavirus better. Supriya Garikipati, a Liverpool university developmental economist involved in the study, noted that women leaders reacted more quickly and decisively in the face of potential fatalities. And these claims that being female-led has provided countries with an advantage in the current crisis aren’t new.
According to a CNBC survey, women-led companies have more engaged and inspired employees. As if that is not already a mouthful of a claim, global box-office movies with women protagonists out-earned movies starring male protagonists across all budget levels. This is according to research focusing on top-grossing movies between 2014 and 2017.
Come to think of it; could that be why they say ‘behind every successful man is a woman? Because now it seems.
"If you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a nation".
Whereas such sayings soon turn into clichés and statements made for political correctness, they hold fundamental truths that relate to the success of a people, families, and nations. There is something in such maxims that women and ‘we men’ could borrow a leaf from.
Why are women-led companies doing better?
The question then is, why are women-led companies better for employees, making more money, and thriving more compared to others? And what if such differences could be traced to just a few differences between men and women?
There are not enough forests with enough trees to produce enough paper upon which to write everything we currently know about women, leave alone their comparison to men, so I think this is a good place to get emotional. Researchers in affective neuroscience seem to agree that women are different from men in their emotional expressiveness.
Emotional intelligence and its role in leadership
Emotional expression refers to how one bares, resolves, and/or conveys emotional states through both verbal and nonverbal behaviour. In this regard, the most recent buzzword in the corporate world as far as emotions are concerned has been Emotional Intelligence (EQ), which is the ability to identify, assess, and control one’s own emotions, the emotions of others, and those of groups.
But what has Emotional Intelligence to do with what? Research has shown that all other factors held constant, EQ scores are consistently tipped in favour of women. Emotions are the primary drivers of behaviour, and knowing how to work with our emotions and those of others is a key skill. Instead of trying to aggressively fight their way up by outdoing everyone, people of high Emotional intelligence (remember women seem to score higher) become the leaders who work with and help people in whatever capacity they are in, understanding that supporting other people is the only way to win their trust and respect, while at the same time making sure that winning respect is not the goal.
Where individuals of low EQ work with their hands and heads, individuals of high EQ work with their hearts and soul. They are polite, kind, cool, calm, and collected even under pressure, and have learned the importance of investing in social currency.
We all can master such skills for one reason: They matter both at a personal level and at a professional level, whether you are employed, self-employed, or an employer. EQ is a foundation for many other critical life skills.
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At Personal Development Challenge (PDC) we are always ready to equip you, and/or the people around you (including children and adolescents) with the requisite skill set for enhancing emotional intelligence. Reach us today.
Also read: The System Was Rigged: How the Gender Myth Dehumanizes All of Us and Why the Future Is Female
