Zenger Folkman: Women Score Higher in Majority of Leadership Competencies
March 15 2012 - 12:37PM
Business Wire
Which gender supplies better leaders for organizations? Based on
research from Zenger Folkman, the leader in strengths-based
leadership development, the answer is clear. To put it bluntly:
most things men can do, women can do better.
In analysis of more than 7,200 male and female leaders from a
wide variety of industries in North America, Europe, South America
and the Pacific Rim countries, Zenger Folkman found that women
excelled in a majority of areas. Of the 16 competencies Zenger
Folkman measures that differentiate high performers from those who
are average or poor, women excel at 12 of the 16.
Co-founders Jack Zenger and Joe Folkman discussed their findings
this week in an exclusive column for Harvard Business Review.
Click here to read Jack Zenger
and Joseph Folkman’s Column in Harvard Business Review
To view the results of the report, visit
the Leadership Resource Center
These include behaviors such as being perceived as honest,
problem solving, driving for results, taking initiative,
communicating powerfully, inspiring and motivating, building
relationships, developing others, collaboration and teamwork, and
championing change.
“It is a well-known fact that women are underrepresented at
senior levels of management. Yet the data suggests that by adding
more women, the overall effectiveness of the leadership team would
go up,” Zenger said. “Organizations go outside to recruit effective
leaders when in many cases, they may well have internal people who
could rise to fill the position that is vacant.”
However, the news isn’t all bad for men. Men excelled in
technical expertise, innovation, strategic perspective and
connecting their group to the outside world.
“While our data shows men excel in the technical and strategic
arenas, women clearly have the advantage in the extremely important
areas of people relationships and communication,” Folkman said.
“They also pass by their male counterparts in driving for results,
which we know is counterintuitive to many men.”
About:
Zenger Folkman is the authority in strengths-based leadership
development. Their award-winning programs employ research-based
methods that improve organizations and turn good managers into
extraordinary leaders.