In case of emergency, break glass ceiling
From the moment the first female executive took a seat behind her desk, whether gender makes a difference in leadership style has been a high-stakes question with business and political implications. Alas, also one with no clear answers. For every research study that proclaims a statistically significant difference between male and female leaders, another insists that none exist.
Both camps are right.
In the latest whitepaper issued by The Korn/Ferry Institute, ‘In case of emergency, break glass ceiling’, Korn/Ferry studied more than 4,000 men and women with C-Suite positions across North America using the Korn/Ferry Decision Styles assessment. The analysis found that male and female C-level executives are more similar than different in the way they approach problem solving, leadership, and interpersonal challenges. Additionally, subtle distinctions that do exist give female leaders a slight edge, and suggest that they can be naturally rich sources of best-in-class executive behaviors.
Special thanks to Dana Landis, Jennifer Predolin, James Lewis, Ken Brousseau, and Rebecca Slan-Jerusalim for their contributions on this piece.