Leadership Style in Gender, Research Paper Example

What makes a woman? The conservative answer is “sugar, spice, and everything nice”.  Joseph Nye, Jr. characterized the woman’s traditional leadership style as “cooperative, participatory, integrative, and aimed at co-opting the behavior of followers” (Nye 1). However, those qualities do not aid in today’s competitive society.  The modern matriarchal leadership style is less distinctive because women have mirrored the other- namely male- successful examples of authority exertion in an effort to rapidly adjust to the demands of leadership (Nye 2). Hatshepsut, the ancient Egyptian queen, wore the garments and took the title of pharaoh (Discovery Education 2).

Heroism in a leadership role was formerly quick, decisive delegation (Nye 1). One study of middle school children reported that boys were encouraged more and punished less for disruptive classroom behavior (Crooks 69). The gender socialization begins earlier than that. Parents generally clothe, discipline, and purchase according to socially-acceptable gender norms (Crooks 66). We have already touched on the uprooted gender norms for women, but stereotypical masculine norms can be as restrictive. Being “emotionally expressive” interferes with a man’s self-esteem and his authority among other people, especially in the machismo-oriented Latin American culture (Crooks 73). One social psychologist concluded after her studies that androgynous men and women tend to have a higher self-esteem and are more flexible and sociable (Crooks 74). The female style of leadership has become the diplomatic middle road to maintain a political correctness in interpersonal business and political situations (Nye 1).

With the globalization brought on by the constant move toward more compassion between the sexes and nationalities and the technological advances which make information more accessible networking and the acquisition of masculine and feminine traits is a survival mechanism in a dog-eat-dog world.

Works Cited

Crooks, Robert, and Karla Baur. Our Sexuality. 10th ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc., 2008. 66-75. Print.

Discovery Education  (2005). Female pharaohs: teacher’s guide. Retrieved from http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/pdf/femalepharoahs/femalepharaohs.pdf

Nye, Joseph. (2006, October 27). Soft power, hard power and leadership. Retrieved from http://www.hks.harvard.edu/netgov/files/talks/docs/11_06_06_seminar_Nye_HP_SP_Leadership.pdf