How Leadership Stereotypes Are Bad for Men Too

I came across an article this weekend about a recent study done at Northwestern, one of my alma maters, that suggests “Leadership remains a man’s world.”

The leadership study examined the extent to which stereotypes of leaders are culturally masculine.  It concluded that, “All 3 paradigms demonstrated overall masculinity of leader stereotypes.” Now, it did go on to say, “Subgroup and meta-regression analyses indicated that this masculine construal of leadership has decreased over time,” which is good news, but here are a few things that concerned me:

1.  The study abstract said that men, more than women, had this masculine construal of leadership.

2.  The article itself stated that, “women who engage in behavior necessary for positions of power, are usually seen as inappropriate and presumptuous.”

While it’s obvious in both cases that neither statement is positive news for women, I don’t think either is good news for men either.  Here’s why:

1. The Pew Paradox for Men

A Pew Research Center Study entitled, “Men or Women: Who’s the Better Leader?” that was brought to my attention by Dale Lawrence via a discussion we had on Google+, showed that when 2250 adults were surveyed about the traits most important to leadership, in five out of the top eight traits (honest, intelligent, compassionate, outgoing, creative) women were rated higher than men by substantial margins.  Only in “decisiveness” did men score higher than women, and we tied at “hard-working” and “ambitious.”

So, while studies are clearly showing that leadership traits are not genuinely perceived to be more masculine than feminine, men still hold fast to this stereotype according to the Northwestern study.

Furthermore, insight from the Pew Study respondents suggests that the public believes what’s holding women back even though they have “what it takes” to be top leaders includes:

• gender discrimination
• resistance to change
• a “self-serving” old boys club

Could the fact that men still hold fast to the cultural stereotype of leadership as culturally masculine be contributing to the discrimination and the resistance to change given that they’re the ones “at the top” making key talent management decisions?  Is fear at the core of this in any way?

Either way, I think this hurts men in the long run.

If the public truly believes women are being purposefully held back by men, as the Pew study goes on to assert specifically in regard to elective office, then male leaders are destined to be viewed less favorably over time – often unfairly.

And organizations that need the important attributes women bring to the table, but who are resistant to change and don’t hire women leaders, will not be as successful as they could be.  This hurts men as well as the entire organization, in particular the men who are mentoring and supporting women leaders but who may not be the top decision makers at the company.

2. Squelching our true selves hurts men too

I’ll be very honest.  The sentence that read, “women who engage in behavior necessary for positions of power, are usually seen as inappropriate and presumptuous,” was incredibly disheartening. As the Pew study clearly showed, women are exemplary at behavior necessary for leadership positions.  So why are we seen as inappropriate and presumptuous, and who determines what’s considered “behavior necessary for positions of power?”

More importantly for this post, what does this mean for men?  If cultural stereotypes are dictating how women should behave, do men feel they must behave a certain way too?  What if it’s not in their true nature to fill a prescribed, stereotypical mold?  Are they able to bring their true selves to their leadership roles?

The Abraham Lincoln Empathy Example

My friend Margie Clayman reminded me of the example Abraham Lincoln set in regard to empathy, which is typically considered a feminine trait.

In February of 1862 Lincoln was distraught at the death of his son Willie.  In the months that followed, according to Donald T. Phillips’s “Lincoln on Leadership,” he traveled outside of the White House upwards of 18 days a month visiting the troops and families who had lost loved ones in the war.  He was able to empathize with their loss and use his own personal emotions to fuel his connection with his “team” – the Union soldiers.

Phillips goes on to say:

Arriving in Washington aboard the River Queen in the evening hours of April 9, 1865, Lincoln was one of the last people in Washington to hear of Lee’s surrender to Grant at Appomattox.  Typical of the man, the first thing Lincoln did upon his arrival was to head straight to William Seward’s residence.  He had to visit his friend, the secretary of state, who, while Lincoln was gone, had suffered an accident and was bedridden.

I would like to think that Lincoln’s example of empathy and emotional connectivity is one that all men can follow rather than to be intimidated by cultural stereotypes.  Unfortunately, I suspect this may not be the case.

A toast to a transformed future…

So, here’s to the day when men and women alike feel confident enough to bring our unabashed true selves to the table in our leadership roles. And here’s to the day when leaders choose to balance their teams based on individual strengths, valued talents and uniquely brilliant qualities – seeing and valuing all of these in women in the same way they should be seen and valued in men.

What do you think?

Let’s talk about it tomorrow night at #LeadershipChat – which is Open Mic this week!  Any leadership topic or challenge is up for discussion!

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Photo is Brigadier General Gouverneur Kemble Warren at Gettysburg by Soaptree.