EQ: Another Leadership Trait Where Men Can Learn From Women.

Although many studies have continued to document the advantages of having women as part of the management and leadership of organizations, we still have a lot of work and learning ahead of us as there still aren’t as many women in Leadership as there could and should be. This is consistent in for profit and non-profit organizations worldwide. Unfortunately, we are missing out. There are many areas where women have an edge over men and can bring significant business contributions that can benefit organizations, one of them: EQ. Emotional Intelligence consists of multiple components and even when they are called or organized slightly differently around companies and geographies, they are generally around: Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation, Motivation, Empathy, and Social Skills. Various studies have shown that women have an advantage over men across multiple of the EQ components. A study by Hay Group in 2012 found that women are more likely to show empathy as a strength, demonstrate strong ability in conflict management, show skills in influence, and have a sense of self-awareness. The observation is consistent around the world and at various levels of management: Women are more effective than men at employing the emotional and social competencies correlated with effective leadership and management. This learning was the result of studying 55,000 professionals across 90 countries at all levels of management. The study was done using the Emotional and Social Competency Inventory (ESCI), developed and co-owned by Richard E. Boyatzis, Daniel Goleman, and Hay Group. But even if we put all the data and studies aside for a moment, this is consistent with my own personal experience as I have seen this over and over throughout my career in 6 Fortune 500 companies and I see it every day. Here are a few of my own observations around some of the components of EQ and how women excel at them.

Self-Awareness

As I meet with team members and peers, I find it more common for female colleagues to have and exhibit Self-Awareness. I have been working in highly demanding industries. When I ask my peers how things are going in their roles, my male friends tend to just tell me that things are fine. Their answers tend to be simpler and somehow less involved. My female friends tend to be much more effective at helping me understand the dynamics of their positions and how they affect themselves and even their family dynamics. They too tell me that they are doing fine, but they do a much better job at understanding and conveying how the demands of their job may be affecting them. Their ability to reflect about their lives and how the various activities and events affect them makes it much easier to build a stronger relationship based on trust and a deeper connection. This ability can make a significant difference in the organization and is critical to drive results and business success. 

Motivation

I am always inspired by the strong motivation that I see in my female colleagues. Not only they are motivated to excel at their jobs but they also show a strong motivation to care about and contribute in other areas that strengthen and benefit the organization. I tend to also see a very strong curiosity and interest in learning and self-growth. I always observe strong motivation in many of my female peers to read and engage in intellectual discussions that lead to personal and professional growth. Although there is some catch up to do with historic statistics in education by gender, especially in the STEM field and at higher level degrees, the strong motivation that women have to study is eliminating the historic gender gap in education and is showing in undergraduate graduations, where according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), more women are earning bachelor’s degrees than men. If we consider the fact that many of the traditional beliefs that women are to be the ones taking care of the home and the family may still be very present in many families, these statistics are even more impressive, especially because the data suggests that the trends will continue into the future. A strong motivation to study tends to connect with the curiosity for testing and learning. This curiosity likely leads to higher levels of creativity and innovation, which can help make the organization more competitive in the marketplace. This can translate in new projects, products, and/or services, which move the needle and translate in stronger business results.

Empathy

I have always had interest in EQ and Empathy and I write about it in various publications and have spoken about it at various organizations. I find that more of the engagement and responses I get for the topic tend to come from female participants. Men in the audience or who read my articles likely have a similar amount of interest in the theme, but the tendency to engage deeper is not as visible. It is very likely that it is equally felt, yet it is not equally expressed. I see more women expressing how the topic matters to them, they also do it more frequently and with more passion. More of the likes, replies, and shares of my social media posts around EQ and Empathy, tend to come from women. I have also noticed how when we all receive the same news, on either negative or positive events, as peers comment on the same events, comments from women tend to express more empathy and tend to be tied to suggestions for potential actions to address the situations, when applicable. Back in the early 2000’s I was fortunate to start my career in the global leader in cleaning and sanitation. I loved my job there and learned a lot. In the Hospitality industry, many of the housekeeping staff at the clients’ facilities tended to be female. As the company hired more women in the sales team to service these clients, I was always impressed and inspired by how the women in our sales team had a special way to connect with the women in the housekeeping staff at the hotels that used our products. Even though many of the supervisors and buyers at the clients were men, the strong relationship that our female employees developed with the female housekeepers translated in strong client relationships with very effective communication that allowed us to continually improve our products and services, resulting in higher sales and greater business results. This is also very powerful in the workplace as women use the higher amount of empathy to build stronger relationships with other employees. In conflict management, a higher degree of empathy can accelerate the resolution of critical issues, which can save a lot of time and costs, strengthening financial success for the organization. A leadership with higher empathy levels can also help with workplace tone and ambiance, helping with engagement, higher employee satisfaction, higher employee retention, and higher productivity, which is critical for organizational success.

I realize that there is significant current and future research to provide more learnings around EQ and the potential differences in leaders based on gender. By sharing some of my own experiences and observations I hope to encourage my female peers and women around the world to leverage the advantages they naturally have around having and expressing more EQ and how they can continue to help us improve the quality of Leadership and the Workplace, as well as continue to strengthen business results and organizational success. At the same time, I invite my male peers and men around the world at all organizational levels to increase the support to women in the workplace and in Leadership as their natural abilities around EQ and many other areas significantly contribute to the success of all organizations. Thank you for all you can do to support and champion more women in the workplace at all levels and in Leadership roles.

About the author:

Luis Moreno is the Co-founder of The Twin Cities Business Peer Network. He has a passion for Personal and Professional Development and reads, studies, speaks, and writes on topics related to Business and Community Leadership, Organizational Effectiveness, Emotional Intelligence, Diversity and Inclusion, Talent, Immigration, and related topics. Luis obtained an MBA in Marketing & Strategy from the Carlson School at the University of Minnesota and is a Humphrey Public Policy Fellow. He is engaged in efforts to increase U.S. Competitiveness and Shared Prosperity as a member of the Young American Leaders Program at Harvard Business School. Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton’s Council on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday gave Luis the Distinguished Service Award for his contributions in the areas of race relations, justice, community service, education, and civil and human rights.