A German study assessed 1,803 managers over a two year period. There is no typical female leadership style.
Women managers try to be better men. A typical female leadership style does not exist. This was shown in the brand new study by the German company profilingvalues. Altogether 1,803 leaders from Germany, Austria and Switzerland were analyzed.
Uli Vogel, owner and Managing Director of the German company profilingvalues, was even taken aback. “Some of the results I had anticipated, but others surprised me – especially in the comparison between men and women.” For two years, from June 2009 until March 2011, 1,803 managers were analyzed. Of those surveyed 734 were women, 1,069 were men. The managers came from different industries and more than 250 companies throughout Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Using a 20 minute online survey from a new and innovative approach to HR diagnostics, the individual value system of each manager was screened. The scientific method is based on the findings of the German-American scholar Robert S. Hartman.
Job Satisfaction Creates a High Level of Motivation
Managers generally know how to best tackle a task, which was one of the key findings of the 50 page report. Having more freedom during implementation boosts productivity whereas inflexible rules or processes act against it. According to
Uli Vogel, “Greater creative leeway in processes leads to better results than a rigid organizational leadership. Otherwise motivation and performance will be impeded.” It is important for companies to know that a strong potential lies in the interpersonal realm. Leadership has to be practiced dependent on the situation and in a personalized manner. Vogel: “It is one thing to convince someone with objective arguments, but the real challenge is to touch someone emotionally at the right spot, so that he willingly performs the task or aspires to the set goals.” As Vogel clearly summarizes, “High job satisfaction creates long-lasting, greater motivation and success.”
No Differences Between Women and Men
According to the results from the study, there is no typical female leadership style. Quite the contrary was found. Women in management positions experience strong pressure to conform and thus try “to be better men”. Successful management is not a gender-specific issue. Women and men are equally suitable in every respect to fill higher positions in the workplace. But the fact remains that women advance far too rarely to the center of power, as the study shows. Vogel suggests that an open and honest discussion about introducing a women’s quota for a period of time would be the order of the day. On September 14th the second profilingvalues World Congress takes place in Munich. The analysis of the present study is one of the topics.
Corporate Data
Profilingvalues GmbH is an innovative company. It was founded in 2009 by Dr. Uli Vogel. More than 1,000 companies and over 200 licensed partners in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, elsewhere in Europe, and in the USA have the scientifically based personnel diagnostic procedure of profilingvalues in use. Vogel has more than ten years of consulting experience in personnel recruitment, selection and personnel development. Prior to joining the industry, he worked seven years in university based research.
