Men and women as leaders – gender psychology at play

Psychology is often the explanation behind patterns of behaviour, and this is true for gender differences in leadership. Here Dr Julie Verity describes an experiment that shows where some of these differences lie.

How did the experiment work?

A mixed group of men and women were asked to play in one of two games about making money. One was a ‘war scenario’, where the teams competed against each other to make the most money. In the other game – the ‘peace scenario’ – the aim was to make more money than other members in the same team. For each scenario, team members voted for their leader from two candidates with essentially the same credentials, the only difference being one was male and one female.

Which way did they vote?

In the war scenario – where the game was about pitting one team against others – most players (78%) wanted the man as their leader. And in the peace scenario, 93% voted for the woman.

And had they voted wisely?

Yes, these leaders turned out to be very effective in their respective scenarios. This is a clear illustration of our psychologies at work – how the genders are better suited to different leadership situations. Also, the voting showed when we expect each gender to perform the best.

Did we learn whether one gender makes better leaders than the other?

Well, when a hybrid version of the game was played, mixed groups selected a female leader! And other research indicates that women have a more flexible leadership style, making them better at dealing with complex situations where you might need to manage both collaboration and conflict at the same time. As the world becomes more complex, maybe the time for more women in leadership positions has come?

For more information on Dr Julie Verity’s research into women as leaders, please visit www.julieverity.co.uk/education/cass