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Using male, female brains to get the most in work
By Wu Jiayin |
August 1, 2009, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
MANY workplaces regard gender differences and the need to be fair as more of a problem than an advantage. Some go to extremes either by favoring one sex over the other or trying to eliminate differential treatment in work settings.
The book "Leadership and the Sexes" by Michael Gurian and Barbara Annis suggests a better alternative: giving conscious attention to meaningful gender differences and making full use of them.
It gives a detailed, informative and science-based explanation of how men and women think and act differently.
Sometimes they appear to be over-generalizing what is innate and hard-wired and what is shaped by conditioning and environment.
In any case, they make a convincing argument that firms can benefit greatly by applying knowledge of gender differences and they apply useful tools.
Many people are familiar with "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" (1992) by John Gray, who interviewed 25,000 people in his seminars and describes in detail how men and women differ in many areas of their lives.
Gurian and Annis explain the differences, however, by presenting scientific studies.
By monitoring "neural activity," showing blood flow and tracking brain activity, experts discovered how and why men and women think and act differently.
For example, in the male brain, more blood tends to pass through the "spatial-mechanical centers" on the right side while in the female brain, more blood tends to move through the "verbal-emotive centers in both sides."
As blood flow stimulates brain activity, the findings mean, among other things, that men tend to ponder on things by such ways as walking around while women prefer talking things out.
Other findings, which we are already familiar with: women are better at multitasking and verbal processing, while men function better when physically involved and focused on a single task; women tend to reason inductively while men often reason deductively, and so on.
"Our female and male brains are equally smart, but can be smart in different ways," observe Gurian and Annis.
The biggest difference between "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" and "Leadership and the Sexes" is that the first aims to help people improve their family lives, and the second applies differences to business and management.
"This book is about the practical application of information on male/female brain differences in every aspect of your corporate life, from workplace comfort to competitive edge to corporate bottom line," the authors say.
They identify four areas where companies can benefit immediately from increased "gender intelligence": negotiation, meetings, communication and solving conflict.
Take negotiations. The authors suggest putting both women and men in negotiating teams to get ideal results.
Women are usually better at reading emotions and sensory cues, including facial expressions, while men tend to take more risks and are more skilled at pushing people aggressively, they say.
So "mixed" negotiating teams take maximum advantage of gender intelligence.
"Gender intelligence, like emotional or intellectual intelligence, is important to every negotiation,'' the authors observe.
To make full use of gender intelligence, companies must develop "gender-balanced leadership."
Learning the basics about gender differences is the first step.
"Increasing gender intelligence and moving toward balanced leadership begins in understanding who each other really is."
Applying the knowledge can be trickier, requiring company leaders to analyze the needs of employees of both sexes and to mentor them to appreciate and employ gender differences.
The book "Leadership and the Sexes" by Michael Gurian and Barbara Annis suggests a better alternative: giving conscious attention to meaningful gender differences and making full use of them.
It gives a detailed, informative and science-based explanation of how men and women think and act differently.
Sometimes they appear to be over-generalizing what is innate and hard-wired and what is shaped by conditioning and environment.
In any case, they make a convincing argument that firms can benefit greatly by applying knowledge of gender differences and they apply useful tools.
Many people are familiar with "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" (1992) by John Gray, who interviewed 25,000 people in his seminars and describes in detail how men and women differ in many areas of their lives.
Gurian and Annis explain the differences, however, by presenting scientific studies.
By monitoring "neural activity," showing blood flow and tracking brain activity, experts discovered how and why men and women think and act differently.
For example, in the male brain, more blood tends to pass through the "spatial-mechanical centers" on the right side while in the female brain, more blood tends to move through the "verbal-emotive centers in both sides."
As blood flow stimulates brain activity, the findings mean, among other things, that men tend to ponder on things by such ways as walking around while women prefer talking things out.
Other findings, which we are already familiar with: women are better at multitasking and verbal processing, while men function better when physically involved and focused on a single task; women tend to reason inductively while men often reason deductively, and so on.
"Our female and male brains are equally smart, but can be smart in different ways," observe Gurian and Annis.
The biggest difference between "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" and "Leadership and the Sexes" is that the first aims to help people improve their family lives, and the second applies differences to business and management.
"This book is about the practical application of information on male/female brain differences in every aspect of your corporate life, from workplace comfort to competitive edge to corporate bottom line," the authors say.
They identify four areas where companies can benefit immediately from increased "gender intelligence": negotiation, meetings, communication and solving conflict.
Take negotiations. The authors suggest putting both women and men in negotiating teams to get ideal results.
Women are usually better at reading emotions and sensory cues, including facial expressions, while men tend to take more risks and are more skilled at pushing people aggressively, they say.
So "mixed" negotiating teams take maximum advantage of gender intelligence.
"Gender intelligence, like emotional or intellectual intelligence, is important to every negotiation,'' the authors observe.
To make full use of gender intelligence, companies must develop "gender-balanced leadership."
Learning the basics about gender differences is the first step.
"Increasing gender intelligence and moving toward balanced leadership begins in understanding who each other really is."
Applying the knowledge can be trickier, requiring company leaders to analyze the needs of employees of both sexes and to mentor them to appreciate and employ gender differences.
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