Differences Between How Male & Female CEOs/Founders Are Handling The Current Crisis

(This is the second post in my ongoing series on how CEOs/Founders/Business Owners are handling the current crisis. To see the first post in the series go here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/covid-19-psychology-ceos-todd-herman/ )

To date, I’ve interviewed 91 CEOs of businesses ranging from $2M to $1.2B in revenue. For full details on how the study is conducted, you can scroll to the bottom of this post.

There are some fascinating insights from the study and how Men and Women are breaking down differently across a variety of areas.

As a refresher there are three distinct groups:

?? The FEAR-FOCUSED CEO - this group is the most emotional, most concerned and most overwhelmed.

?? The UN-FOCUSED CEO - this group is the one still uncertain on what to do, playing wait and see, and most dismissive.

?? The STRATEGY-FOCUSED CEO - this group is the most focused on taking what it's given and using it and still focused on growth/opportunity.

The three main areas we're concerned about unpacking and tracking are:

MINDSET. (Decision Making, Attitude, Paradigms & Mental Toughness Skills/Agility)

STRATEGY. (Planning, Creative Problem Solving, & Leadership)

EXECUTION. (Action, Speed, & Team Strategy)

[Along with impacts on financials, operations, product, marketing, people, family, & health.]

HOW MEN & WOMEN ARE DISPLAYING DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS:

WOMEN:

• Women are 351% MORE likely to have sent care packages to their employees than Men. (3.5x)?- Women are 603% MORE likely to bring up child care as a personal responsibility. (6x)
• Women are 247% MORE likely to be caring for an elderly parent. (2.5x)
• Women are taking 65% longer to make adjustments to their teams. (Including, layoffs, furloughs, or cutting freelancers.) (1.65x)
• Women are 200% LESS likely to discuss themselves than Men. (2x)
• Women were 18% MORE likely to be running a MORE profitable venture before March 1, but 11% less likely after March 1 (data to March 29th).
• Women are 250% MORE likely to have reached out for mental or emotional support. (2.5x)
• Women were 4 days slower (on average) to adjust marketing messaging, offers or re-allocating resources once the nation-wide lockdown occurred.
• Women were 41% MORE likely to have adjusted their yearly projections lower. (1.4x)
• Women are 18% MORE likely to be ’STRATEGY-FOCUSED.’ (1.2x)

MEN:

• Men are 430% MORE likely to be suffering from moderate to severe depression. (4x) (Based on the Mental Health Scoring System we’re using.)
• Men are 510% MORE likely to be optimistic they will beat last year's numbers. (5x)
• Men are 85% MORE likely to have applied for a Government financial program (SBA Loan etc.). (1.9x)
• Men are getting 12% MORE sleep than women. (1.1x)
• Men are 955% MORE likely to mention ‘financial ruin.’ (9.5x)
• Men are 304% MORE likely to have already started another venture. (3x)
• Men are 225% LESS likely to be coachable. (Meaning: seeking advice with the intent of listening and taking action.) (4x)
• Men are 154% MORE likely to be looking for new growth opportunities. (1.5x)
• Men are 29% MORE likely to be FEAR-FOCUSED. (4x)
• Men are 21% MORE likely to be ‘UN-FOCUSED.’ (1.2x)

SUMMARY POINTS:

==> The Female ‘caretaker’ helps and hurts.

==> The Male ‘ego’ helps and hurts.

Women are definitely being challenged far more by ‘Role Conflict’ right now.

There's a dueling world of 'CEO leader' and 'Mom' (if applicable). The ‘cultural caretaker’ identity causes them to focus more on the team, saving or helping the team, while also feeling more responsible for the demands at home more. (Because of the unique situation of quarantining and home help/staff, not available it's challenging more female leaders than men.)

Women's energy and mental bandwidth are being spent thinking about others more than themselves, which shows up in their lack of sleep.

However, because of their tendency for stronger support networks, they’re not dipping into the extremes of mental health challenges.

The data is showing that Female Leaders are putting more plans in place for stability, while men are putting more effort into growth or opportunity.

Men are definitely focusing more on growth opportunities, which is creating more optimism about possibilities. (But even this is a red herring because some of the desire for opportunity is being triggered by fear.)

There's also a trend line emerging that men are starting to be less coachable and more fixed on the plans set forward a few weeks ago, despite the fact, the market/economy is still shifting.

The more troubling statistic is the mental health issues and more specifically, the severe depression numbers among male leaders.

Men’s ego has a far higher attachment to financial status and social status, and the attack on both of them right now is causing a distortion of personal value/self-worth.

===> CLOSING COMMENTS: <===

It's amazing to see how turbulent times can so quickly show how both sexes will respond differently, and how both of them will internalize the experience.

I want to be careful about being prescriptive when trying to just report data, but it would be morally wrong to not encourage a few things:

1. I'd encourage women to try to find some time in their days for personal time. Prioritize taking care of yourself. (Easy to say, I get it, but it's needed.)
2. I'd encourage women to also look for some opportunities for innovation or growth, and not just stabilizing the situation.
3. I encourage men to not internalize the chaos as an indictment on their inability to provide for their company, family or others. You're more than a financial statement.
4. I'd encourage men to be more flexible and coachable. The sands are still shifting and more decisions will be needed.

So there you have it... CEO STUDY UNPACK 2 COMPLETE.

I hope you found it useful!

- Todd Herman

(THE BELOW IS A COPY/PASTE FROM ORIGINAL POST ON HOW/WHY THIS STUDY IS BEING EXECUTED)

THE REASON:

When you're in the midst of a major crisis, there's an incredible opportunity to get real-time data on how humans are responding and reacting.

The flaw would be to try and retrospectively interview leaders sixth months later on what they did to make shifts.

It's far better to capture it live during the battle.

This group also happens to be a big portion of the clientele we serve with our coaching, training and mentorship products, and I wanted to check-in on their inner psychology and strategy for our current times.

And then use it to reinforce some of the performance principles we use with clients and just make them more aware of the best way to approach uncertainty.

However, the data is informative and helpful for others, so I thought I’d share it with people more broadly.

THE METHODOLOGY:

? Interview everyone with the same group of questions (with slight deviations when more details were needed.)

? Record all calls. (with permission.)

? Get the calls transcribed.

? Use TagCrowd.com to analyze word choices used by types of CEO's/Leaders.

? Continue to follow up and track decisions, behavior and mental health daily/weekly.

WHY DO YOU ANALYZE WORD CHOICE?

Because in the world of performance, the language of people achieving markedly different results than others is translated in their word choice and language. (Not the only thing, but it's the easiest thing to study, monitor and change.)

??? Bottom line: your words create your reality.