subordinates. As men typically adopt
the command and control approach,
male subordinately tend to prefer
their women bosses to interact and
behave the same way.
Male subordinates generally
respect and better understand women
bosses who adopt a more assertive
leadership and management style,
who are confident and speak their
minds, and able to make difficult
and tough decisions quickly. It is
interesting to highlight that an
American survey report found that
women leaders are more engaging
than men leader, resulting in more
engaged and higher performance in
operational teams.
Besides adopting the right
communication style, women
bosses will also need to
communicate
the
right
subject matters with their
male subordinates. As
women generally have a
nurturing disposition and
would at times focus on
‘softer’ matters that are
not work-related in order
to develop potential in their
male subordinates, this is often
misconstrued as “petty” by
their male subordinates.
Likewise,
“female
/
feminine” topics such as family,
children, personal grooming and
appearance, etc will be viewed as a
sign of weakness (and perhaps even
a joke!) among male subordinates
who do not place much attention,
care, emphasis or importance on
such matters.
Men typically focus on the bigger
picture and would often neglect finer
details. Women on the other hand
can be meticulous and thorough
especially when it comes to details.
Women bosses are advised to clearly
set out the expectations from the
onset and let the male subordinates
proceed using their own methods,
styles and ways.
It is important for women bosses
to be flexible in order to achieve the
set deliverables. Male subordinates
unfortunately do not share the same
concern for perfection and details
but so long as the bigger picture is
achieved and met, women bosses
should not sweat the small stuff.
However, if the male subordinates
perform below par, women
bosses need to be firm but fair in
reprimanding them.
••• FINAL THOUGHTS
As parting words, I think it
is important to not only
understand and embrace the
gender differences but also
to celebrate diversity. Take
a look at our hands –
all fingers differ in
shape, length and
size. Is any finger
inferior to another?
No. All fingers need
to be cohesive and work
together as one. The
same applies to the
business or corporate
environment. Women
bosses
need
to
understand