Leadership Style: Feminine traits are best for becoming a leader

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Male bosses are usually associated with being dominating and taskoriented while women leaders have known to be participative and nurturing. But, a study by the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) says that irrespective of the gender, it is the sex identity that makes a leader use harsher or softer tactics to get team support.

The study - 'Impact of feminine identity and soft influence tactics on leadership style' - has been done by IIM-A faculty Asha Kaul and doctoral scholar Jithesh Kumar and has used data from sectors like hospitality, IT, FMCG and nationalised banks. It says that feminine trait is psychological and can be present in both men and women. It suggests that HR should focus more on the sex identity or traits of a person, rather than the gender when assigning a role.

Both men and women can use their feminine traits for a softer approach towards a situation. It is a myth that men are always aggressive, says the study. The paper is based on a study of 379 male and female leaders having 10 years of work experience with the organisation. Women leaders are perceived favourably for a democratic and participative style and negatively when they are task-oriented.

Logically, the reverse holds true for men. The study indicates that men and women, high on feminine identity, will adopt both participative and task-oriented leadership styles. In a male-dominated organisation, women tend to adopt masculine traits to influence male members, the study says.

"Our results suggest that men and women with a feminine identity are neither soft nor all-acquiescing. They demonstrate leadership traits which fall on the two extreme corners of the continuum - taskoriented and participative. HR should focus on people with feminine identity, who can create a collaborative environment in an office and in times of stress or tension, their leadership can change to a task-oriented style," says the study. The study aims to remove stereotypical biases and prejudices in organisations and help HR align suitable roles to women.

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