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A newly published Gallup survey, observing attitudes in American management, revealed the reasons “Why Women Are Better Managers Than Men.”
Many experts in the study of managerial behaviors were skeptical at first, not because women were better managers than men but because they had not expected Gallup to find such a substantial difference. According to some of them who worked with and for and observed hundreds of managers of both genders for decades in the workforce, some women were excellent and some women were awful. The same goes for men.
However, this is not Gallup’s data-driven position. Gallup says that women are simply better at management. The following shows the key findings of the report “State of the American Manager: Analytics and Advice for Leaders” (which provides an in-depth look at what characterizes great managers based on over four decades of extensive talent research) taking into consideration responses from more than 2500 U.S. managers.
Female managers have higher overall levels of personal engagement –Gallup’s data shows that 41% of female managers are engaged at work against 35% of male managers. Moreover, by “employee engagement”, they mean any emotional commitment to an organization, and a reasonable way to assess motivation and eventually productivity.
For Gallup, “If female managers, on average, are more engaged than male managers, it stands to reason that they are likely to contribute more to their organization’s current and future success.”
But what is more important than the engagement of managers is the performance of their employees. This is because management is mainly about delegating work and supervising a team. And this is where female managers do better than their male counterparts. According to this study, employees of female managers outscore employees of male managers on 11 of 12 engagement items.
Additionally, hereunder are results on several of the core management functions Gallup evaluates:
Employee development – The report notes that employees who work for a female manager are 1.26 times more likely than employees who work for a male manager. This approves the statement that “There is someone at work who encourages my development.”
Communication and feedback – The report says that those who work for a female manager are 1.29 times more likely than those who work for a male manager. This approves the statement that “In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.” And for Gallup, female managers, more than male, “tend to provide regular feedback to help their employees achieve their development goals.”
Employee recognition – The report states that those who work for a female manager are 1.17 times more likely than those with a male manager. This approves the statement that “In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.”
According to the same report’s gender-based engagement statistics, the percentage of employees engaged with different manager/employee gender combinations is the following:
* With male managers and male employees, engagement level is 25%.
* With female managers and male employees, engagement level is 29%
* With male managers and female employees, engagement level is 31%.
* With female managers and female employees, engagement level is 35%.
“Female managers eclipse their male counterparts at setting basic expectations for their employees, building relationships with their subordinates, encouraging a positive team environment and providing employees with opportunities to develop within their careers”, the report states.
Finally, Gallup states that, “Organizations should hire and promote more female managers. Female managers in the U.S. exceed male managers at meeting employees’ essential workplace requirements. And female managers themselves are more engaged at work than their male counterparts.”
