Gender and Cultural Diversity

While some people are naturally better leaders, there are certain traits that managers and leaders have that everyone can adopt and practice to become more effective. Integrity, which is the foundation for all other attributes, is one of the key traits of a successful leader. As it refers to the idea of dependability or reliability of values, activities, measures, expectations, and results, this quality is regarded as the most important one. Leadership with integrity entails a great responsibility to act morally upright no matter what the situation. The second characteristic is honesty, which is a very significant building block of the relationship between the leader and the followers. It entails not only saying and doing things fairly and in an honest manner, but also leaving an impression. If a leader is careless with the truth even in matters that seem small, people cannot trust him with big and significant matters. Thirdly, people in leadership or management role should have people skills for them to be successful. Having excellent people skills surpassesprofession or industry, and leaders or managers must apply the skills to realize their objectives. Leaders and managers have a requirement to be at a position to connect with others to build trust and efficiently lead in periods of change and challenge. The fourth leadership quality is the forward looking capability. Leaders should figure out their vision and actively communicate it with the followers. A good leader or manager should not be afraid of sharing the vision with others.

Leaders and managers should not be viewed differently. Both roles entail competence, inspiration, vision, passion for humans as well as control to be effective. However, managers have a different conception from that of the leaders in the manner in which they embrace process, seek control and stability and attempt to address issues quickly before they understand the significance of the issues. In practice, leaders are viewed as managers, while managers are also seen as leaders as there is the component of people being managed or led.

The Difference between A Male and A Female Manager or Leader

Females and males perform in a different way in positions of leadership or management. This difference in turn plays an essential role in the progression of their careers. Females are generally rated higher in realizing results and establishing rapport with other people than men. On the other hand, males generally have increased ability in strategic planning, delegating duties and persuasion. In addition, men are more reticent in expression. Since women focus more into getting results, they work increasingly harder than men, and get their teams to work hard. However, they do not have time to strategically look at things and see what is going on (Stott, 2013). In terms of propensity in business, understanding of finances and the bog-picture perspective, women leaders are generally lowly rated than men. However, it is hard to tell whether indeed women are less effective in these competencies or whether it is a matter of perception that is guided by gender biases (Stott, 2013).

In relation to the four chosen characteristics of an effective leader or a manager, which are integrity, honesty, people skills and forward looking, males and females may possess each in differing degrees. Despite the fact that almost all Fortune 100 CEOs are males. Of the many that are fired due to poor performances, especially ethical fiasco, women leaders are fewer than male leaders. This is a clear indication that women are much more honest in their leadership positions compared to men (Riggio, 2010). Studies have shown that females are more likely to have the qualities of leadership that are related to achievement than men leaders (Riggio, 2010). Women compared to men have people skills. Smith (2015) has reported a survey that found out that worker that worked for women bosses are more engaged than workers for male bosses. Workers in the survey reported that if working for a female manager, they feel that someone at the workplace is encouraging their developments. Other characteristics that women possess more than males include integrity and visionary. It is through their integrity that female leaders are fair, honest and caring for their fellow employees. Their forward looking capability enables female leaders to concentrate on the results and ensure that that their objectives are met.

How Culture Might Impact an Individual's Leadership Abilities

Although an individual might have the characteristics such as integrity, honesty, people skills and forward looking, which make an effective leader, the culture that one works in may not allow the individual to practice those traits, or may discourage them, thereby making them not relevant. What this means is that for a person to be a leader, he or she has to possess the leadership skills, match them with the cultural values, and get the authority to exercise them. For example, every company has a culture, and managers employed in any organization must understand and believe in that culture for them to be successful. Therefore, culture is very important in influencing whether or not a person is an effective leader or manager.













References

Riggio, R. (2010). Why Women Make Better Leaders Than Men: The world would be better if most leaders were women. Retrieved online in 9th February, 2017 from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/201003/why-women-make-better-leaders-men

Smith, J. (2015). Study finds women are better bosses than men — here's why. Retrieved online in 9th February, 2017 from http://www.businessinsider.com/why-women-are-better-managers-than-men-2015-4?IR=T

Stott, R. (2013). Studies Show How Male and Female Leaders Differ. Retrieved online in 9th February, 2017 from http://associationsnow.com/2013/03/studies-show-how-male-and-female-leaders-differ/



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