There comes a time in every man’s life when he realizes that his mom has always been pretty awesome. Throughout all the awkward teen years and up through my first high school prom, my mom has always been there for support and guidance. The old saying “moms know best” tends to be true in my personal life. It’s evident that the traits we desire in a leader such as compassion, communication, and understanding (Northouse, 2013), are often found in our moms. However, when we think of leaders in society, it’s not uncommon for us to immediately think of the Presidents, the CEOs, and the war heroes- most of whom tend to be men. This trend has been shifting over the years though, yet women are still underrepresented in society as leaders. But why?
I’ve had many business classes regarding ethics and society which answered the question of why this is. The reality is that there are many factors which have contributed to this absence and lack of representation, most notably, the fact that women have been in the work-force for a significantly less amount of time than men. Professor Zimmer, from Berks campus, laid the framework out for us. Historically speaking, men aren’t typically handed CEO positions, instead, they have worked from a lower level to rise to the top over the course of their careers. Thus, over the span of a company’s business life, there have been more men lined up to achieve the position of CEO since they had a head start of sorts.
Additionally, in regards to the glass ceiling, it is postulated that women have to work much harder to obtain these prestigious positions within a company. As Alice Eagly and Linda Carli state in their book Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders, women find themselves in a “labyrinth” whereas men can climb the ladder straight to the top. While this may be true, I feel as though this trend will be changing in the coming years, this transformation began in WWII when women first started taking the work-force by storm in order to fill necessary positions within factories where most of the men had left for war.
The interesting twist occurs when we consider psychological studies regarding leadership between men and women. According to Dr. Riggio’s article in Psychology Today’s “Cutting-Edge Leadership”, women have more potential to be great leaders when compared to men due to their “transformational qualities” as he puts it (2010). In the next 20 years, he expects that women will hold the majority of high level leadership positions, a theory is based solely on the idea that men will remain unchanged by the influence of women in high level positions (Riggio, 2010). That being said, while women are deemed as “more transformational”, that doesn’t mean that men are incapable of change in the form of growth and adaptation as well. It will be interesting to see how this balancing act plays out.
In fact, it is reported by Dr. Riggio that numerous psychological studies suggest that women and men have very similar leadership behaviors (2010). The theory that behaviors are the definitive indicators of a leader aligns with the style approach mentioned in the textbook (Northouse, 2013). This theory suggests that no matter the personality or skill set of a leader, their ability to accomplish goals and lead a team in accomplishing objectives are the most important factors (Northouse, 2013).
My thoughts reflect back on my mom, who has always conveyed a team management style of leadership. I can remember a night way back in my early teen years. I had a school project that I had completely forgot about up until 9PM the night before it was due. I walked into my mom’s room and told her the situation. Naturally, she was not happy with my lack of responsibility at the time, yet she maintained her composure and proceeded to help me figure out a solid plan to accomplish my project on time. She stressed the importance of getting the task done while adhering to my state of panic as a child who entirely forgot about a large project for school. She never got mad, she never even brought it up again, and I got a 100% on that project. I can’t say that my dad would have been able to react in a similar fashion, and for that I recognize the leadership potential.
I thought it would be interesting to search current women leaders around the globe. I have compiled a short list of my findings in order to put the reality of leadership transformation into perspective:
1. Queen Elizabeth – UK;
2. Queen Margethe – Denmark;
3.Governor-General Dame Pearlette Louisy – St. Lucia;
4. Governor-General Dame Louise Lake-Tack – Antigua and Barbuda;
5. Governor-General Quentin Bryce – Australia
To my surprise, the list goes on, for a while. To see the full list, past and present women leaders, follow this link: http://www.filibustercartoons.com/charts_rest_female-leaders.php
Thank you, Howie
References:
Eagly, A. H. & Carli, L. L. (2007). Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders. Harvard Business School Press.
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Riggio, R. E. (2010) Do Men and Women Lead Differently? Who’s Better?. Psychology Today. Retrieved May 28, 2014, from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/201003/do-men-and-women-lead-differently-whos-better
Robert J Redziniak says
I really enjoyed the read, thank you. When you mentioned that when he spoke, he felt like he was directly talking to you when there were thousands of others in the crowd, that reminded me of Gandhi. He was too a transformational leader and when he spoke, he had the same affect across the crowd. Bill Clinton has charisma and a great personality and that is what makes him the type of leader he is. Through this speech he showed strength and yet compassion for those who were willing to put it all on the line.
Megan R Baker says
Howie,
Your post is great. It reminded me of an excerpt that I read in Warren Bennis’ book “On Becoming a Leader.” He interviewed a former CBS executive Barbara Corday. She explained that her relationship approach to leading is her strongest attribute. “I have always been very pleased and happy and proud of the fact that I not only know all of the people who work for me, but I know their husbands’ and wives’ names, and I know their children’s names, and I know who’s been sick, and I know what to ask (Bennis, p. 148).” Northouse (2013) explains that task behaviors and relationship behaviors are both important for effective leadership. A leader may effectively perform both but place a higher value on one or the other, as Corday exemplifies.
Bennis, W. (2009). On becoming a leader. New York, NY: Basic Books/Perseus.
Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Howard Normm Mintzer says
Hello and thank you for taking the time to read it. I have thought about your question over and over again, and I honestly can’t find a moment in my life where my mom was not supportive. Although she may not have been a fan of the idea when I told her I was skydiving, she simply told me to be careful and to call her afterward. So even though the full support may not have been there, and with good reason since it’s a potentially deadly activity, she was still on my team in a sense.
Thank you, Howie
eal17 says
Howie, this is an excellent post! Being a mother of two and holding a leadership role myself, I can relate to everything you mention in this blog. I also feel that many mothers naturally display the traits associated with being a leader. Mothers are determined to see their children succeed by providing them with the love, education, and care they need to raise them into independent individuals (Northouse, 2013). Most women possess high levels of sociability that help them relate well to a number of individuals as well as in various situations where they need to show empathy, patience, diligence, etc. (PSU WC L.2 p. 4). As far as being dependable, can you ever think of a time when your mother was not there for you? No matter what problem I can ever remember having throughout my childhood and even today, my mother is always there just like your mom was there in your last minute assignment. This also shows mothers as being supportive. Many women are adventurous and have the curiosity to learn and experience new things as a way to express the many emotions they juggle (Northouse, 2013). Women are being seen in more leadership roles as you mentioned and I agree that they will continue to evolve into management.
References
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2014). PSYCH 485 Lesson 2: Trait Approach. Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/su14/psych485/001/content/02_lesson/printlesson.html