Lifestyle, Our Generation
Some people have become so sensitive about labels that they refuse to even talk about the concepts of male and female.
Others struggle to find the right words for fear of offending people.
But until recently, we didn’t have any data to tell us what characteristics people really think are masculine or feminine – and how useful those traits are in today’s world.
My co-author Michael D’Antonio and I surveyed a massive 64,000 people from all over the world, in an attempt to find out what sorts of people were thought to be more effective leaders.
To do this, we asked half the surveyed people to name the traits traditionally associated with men, and those associated with women.
Then we put the question of gender to one side and asked the other half to list which traits and values are vital to good leadership, and to success in business, politics and society.
We discovered many of the skills and abilities, which are most valued in today’s world, are those that people think of as being “feminine”.
From country to country, and across generations, people think good leaders should be empathetic, flexible, patient, reasonable, and collaborative – which are all identified with women.
But masculine traits like being assertive, aggressive, independent and proud were all thought to be much less useful in solving today’s challenges.
Our survey also asked people from around the globe whether they were hopeful for the future of their country.
Asked whether their country cared more about its citizens than it used to, 76 per cent disagreed.
Quizzed on whether their children would live better lives than their own, 51 per cent of people said no.
But why is the world in such a mess?
When asked, 57 per cent of people said they thought the conduct of men in their country left a lot to be desired.
And all over the world, it was clear that people thought their country would be in a better state if men thought more like women.
In Britain, an enormous 73 per cent said the nation would be in a better state if men thought more like the fairer sex.
But why is now such a crucial time?
Part of the reason why is technology. In an open and transparent society, the male way of command and control is a lot harder to enforce. In our surveys, 74 percent of people around the world (and 72 percent of citizens in the UK) said that ‘today, power is about influence rather than control’. To see this play out in the real world, we met the founders of Bambuser in Stockholm, who designed a live video-sharing platform. Their service was used by Egyptian youth to broadcast The Arab Spring live around the world.
Another reason has to do with Millennial values. These 18-30 year old people are more focused on values and authenticity. Whereas money was often the sole catalyst for commerce and careers in previous generations, other factors are important now. In our data, 65 percent of UK Millennials said ‘I would work for less money at a company whose values and culture I believed in’.
Lastly, an important reason why male characteristics are less effective than say, fifty years ago has to do with the changing nature of our global economy. As most developed nations shift from manufacturing to services, an increased emphasis is placed on a workforce of people with ‘soft skills’ such as listening, sharing, intuition and communication.
On one hand this means that blunt, aggressive management styles are less effective. Still, aggressive results can be achieved with a more feminine approach. There is a peer-to-peer lending company called Zopa we met in London, where founder Giles Andrews coaches investors and applicants to work together to lower rates for borrowers and increase profits for lenders.
“The idea is to treat everyone fairly—lenders and borrowers—and be very open about how we do business,” Giles says.
With other lenders turning off the flow of loans, Zopa’s portfolio exploded. The raw numbers—from $10 million to more than $250 million—are small when compared with banks that carry billions of dollars in outstanding loans. However, by the end of 2011, more than half a million people had signed up as investors or borrowers. The average return paid to investors was just over 7 percent, and defaults across Zopa’s range of loans were less than 2 percent. Meanwhile, the rates charged to borrowers averaged 20 percent below the average for banks.
Implicit in Zopa’s business model is trust, empathy and transparency. These are also qualities in short supply not only in banking, but also in many business circles. In today’s world, the types of people who will be successful are those who combine both masculine and feminine skills. Being successful requires high levels of co-operation, communication and trust.
All over the world, organisations are already realising the importance of tapping into female traits. In Israel, the army have reduced violence at military checkpoints by manning them with female soldiers. Male soldiers are more likely to escalate a tense situation into physical aggression, while women are better at defusing confrontation.
Here we can see the feminine characteristics of compromise and empathy working much better than an aggressive, masculine approach.
When it comes to governing, some of the most innovative men and women we met were in the political arena. We met with diplomats from The Felleshus, which is Danish for ‘House For Everyone’ is the first shared embassy in the world––home to the five Nordic nations of Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Sweden and Finland. Based in Berlin, this innovative diplomatic model brings together countries to scale each other through cooperation. This means economic development efforts as well as public policy are achieved through cooperation and consensus building to the benefit of all.
For ordinary citizens, feminine skills and values are sources for effectively managing change. In our surveys, 81% of UK citizens said that ‘today, a successful career today requires collaborating and sharing credit with others’, while 83% said ‘today’s fast-moving economy favours people who are open and flexible’. People who realise that skills such as collaborating, sharing, empathy and selflessness belong to both men and women, yet most of these competencies have lacked currency in business.
John Gerzema is the author of The Athena Doctrine available from Amazon £12.72
