Leadership and the Sexes: Using Gender Science to Create Success in Business

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction: How Gender Intelligence Leads to Balanced, Authentic Leadership xvii

Part One The Theory: Gender Intelligence—The Natural Differences Between Men and Women 1

1 Understanding the Science of Gender 3

Getting to Know the Gender/Brain Spectrum 7

Equal but Different Intelligence 8

Burning Question: Are There Exceptions to the Gender Rules? 15

Empowering Yourself and Your Corporation by Joining the Scientific Process 18

The Lighthouse 22

Summary 24

2 Understanding How the Male and Female Brain Work Differently 25

Three Primary Areas of Brain Difference 26

Burning Question: Do Women Have to Become Men to Get Ahead? 50

Moving Forward 52

Summary 55

3 Understanding How Men and Women Lead Differently 56

Manifestations of Brain Differences in Leadership 57

A Core Leadership Difference: Approaches to Being in Charge 63

Balanced Leadership 68

Leading Differently: The Success Story of Pam Gomez Gil 68

Transforming Your Team 71

A Pause for Breath 72

Moving to Part Two 76

Summary 77

Part Two The Tools: Putting Gender Intelligence to Work Immediately 79

4 GenderTool 1: Improving Your Negotiation Skills with Both Genders 81

About Our Gender Tools 81

The Science of Gender and Negotiation 82

What Executives Have Said About Gender and Negotiation 84

Applying Balanced Leadership to Negotiations 87

5 GenderTool 2: Running a Gender-Balanced Meeting 91

Improving Your Meetings: Using Ten Essential Gender-Balanced Management Skills 95

6 GenderTool 3: Improving Your Communication Skills with Women and Men 100

Focusing on Verbal Communication 101

Burning Question: How Much Do You Have to Change Your Communication Style? 106

Focusing on Nonverbal Communication 107

Communication Differences in Sales 109

7 GenderTool 4: Improving Your Conflict Resolution Skills with Men and Women 113

Focusing on Conflict 113

Part Three The Applications: Ensuring Gender-Balanced Leadership in the Long Term 123

8 Helping Women: Retaining, Motivating, and Working with Female Talent 125

Success Stories: How Gender-Balanced Leadership Improves the Bottom Line 127

What Women Want? No, What Women Need! 132

Confronting Obstacles to Meeting Women’s Needs 136

The Quiet Evolution 149

Summary 152

9 Helping Men: Recognizing Men’s Leadership Strengths and Solving Issues Men Face 153

Clarifying and Maximizing Men’s Strengths 155

Understanding Issues Men Face in Leadership 167

Men’s Issues (What Men Need) 169

Men Need Work/Life Balance 171

For Women: Tips for Supervising Men 174

Bringing It All Together: A Final GenderTool 176

Summary 177

10 GenderTool 5: Practicing Gender-Intelligent Mentoring and Coaching in Your Corporation 179

The Importance of Mentoring and Coaching in Gender Science 181

GenderTool 5: Focusing on Mentoring and Coaching 183

For Mentors: A Checklist 186

Mentoring Women 187

For Men: Tips for Supervising Women 189

Mentoring Men 191

Make Mentoring a Part of Your Corporation’s Infrastructure 194

Mentoring for the New Millennium 196

Epilogue: The Future of Gender 199

Notes and Resources 201

Appendix: Gender/Brain Spectrum Surveys for Men and Women 215

The Authors 223

Index 227