Start with this article, and then this pull-quote:
To better understand what was driving the difference in engagement levels, we looked at the competencies that direct reports ranked as most important during the crisis. Notably, respondents put greater importance on interpersonal skills, such as “inspires and motivates,” “communicates powerfully,” “collaboration/teamwork,” and “relationship building,” all of which women were rated higher on. Our analysis echoes what the researchers found in the study mentioned above about U.S. governors: that female leaders expressed more awareness of fears that followers might be feeling, concern for wellbeing, and confidence in their plans.
The over-arching idea of the article is that women are better leaders than men in times of crisis. I think that makes logical sense, but it’s very subjective and would vary by specific woman, specific man, specific company, industry, geography, etc. It’s not an easy blanket statement to make. That said, we’ve all done it — including me once talking about how women develop employees better than men do. (Or about why gender dynamics are so skewed.)
Why might women be better in a crisis?
Again, varies by person and all that, but broadly I’d say that women probably listen better to what their employees are experiencing — and even if they can’t do much (hands are tied by decisions of those above them), the listening is an active component that helps the employee feel like the crisis is being managed a little better. Plus: women probably juggle more, especially if they have kids, and that might resonate in some of their direct reports.
The problem with a lot of male managers, especially in the middle ranks, is that they’re not confident but flex on confidence, and they derive that confidence through control of worthless situations (“I made some edits to your deck”), appearing busy, or appearing decisive. The last one — appearing decisive — causes a lot of situations at work to be shiny object syndrome or priority-less bullshit where you’re just chasing whatever was in the last email, and the last email was based on what some executive heard at a trade show (sorry, “trade webinar”) and emailed his lieutenants about. Lots of reaction. Not much response. In a crisis, where a lot of stuff is happening and changing quickly (“fluid”), that type of manager can be absolute hell. Just stop for a second and talk to me about where things stand. Stop pivoting.
That would be my theory, at least. Yours?
