Gender difference in management styles:

are the paradigms broken?

Madalina Balan, Managing Partner, HART HR Consulting
Zsolt Feher, Managing Partner, Assessment Systems Hungary
Agenda

1. Personality, leadership and organizational performance

2. Myths and statistics on women leaders

3. Local Research Are Romanian women in leadership positions different than
men in the same roles?

4. Research from USA, Australia and Hungary are women leaders different
or similar in those regions?

5. Moving forward


The link between
Personality, Leadership
and Organizational Performance

Myth 1: Women don't want to become managers (P)
Myth 2: Women don't have the same managerial skills as men (P)
Myth 3: Women have the wrong training (P)
Myth 4: Women do not have enough experience
Myth 5: Top executives work an 80-hour week
Myth 6: Top jobs and parenthood are irreconcilable for women
Myth 7: Its just a matter of time before we have a gender balance at the
top

Study conducted by Women to the Top (W2T) - The project was funded by the European
Commission within the framework of the EU - Programme relating to the Community
Framework Strategy on Gender Equality (2001-2005)
4
Myths about women
in executive positions
The Methods
Psychological assessment using HOGAN tools:

Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) - personality in day-by day
situations (positive role fit)

Hogan Development Survey (HDS) - exaggerated behaviors usually
associated with managerial dysfunction (leadership derailments).

Motives Values Preferences Inventory (MVPI) core values,
motivational drivers and interests (organizational culture fit and
culture shaping) .
Women Leaders Characteristics
in
Romania
The Romanian Sample:
378 Respondents
52 CEO entrepreneurs (Romanian companies) and 34 CEOs working
for multinational companies from different industries
125 top managers (reporting to CEOs) and 167 middle managers
(reporting to top managers) all working for multinational companies
Gender distribution: 214 females, 164 men
Age: 30-45 years old
Data was collected between 2008 and March 2011
Participants activating in industries such as: Pharma, Banking, IT,
Constructions, FMCG, Consultancy, Production, Printing, Retail,
Healthcare, Media, BPO, Oil&Gas, others.

*** The sample was collected with the support of Asebuss MBA
School and Exec-Edu (2011)

Romanian Leader Profile
The Bright Side

62,35
59,06 58,94 58,81
58,24
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Hogan Personality Inventory
Romanian leaders usually tend to be:

Competitive, energetic, results-
oriented, self-confident (Ambition)
Self-accepting, calm (Adjustment )
Compliant with rules, reliable,
balancing risks (Prudence)
Open to learning new things
(Learning approach )

Romanian Leader Profile
The Dark Side


Under stress or when tired they tend
to be:

Charismatic, charming, colorful,
seeking for attention
Leisurely / passive-resistant
Dominating, self-sufficient, bold



63,73
58,65
57,79
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Hogan Development Survey
Romanian Leader Profile
Values and Culture

62,06
57,05
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Motives, Values , Preferences Inventory
Romanian leaders tend to:

- value status and social relations
- be more conservative
- have strong principles about right
& wrong

(Power, Affiliation, Tradition)
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Significant differences by gender
F M



Women vs Men Leaders
HPI HDS MVPI
Women in leadership positions tend to be in day by day situations as:

Less self-composed, less calm, worrying more, but open to receive performance feedback,
having high standards for self and others, more introspective about their own impact on
others, more willing to change and develop (Adjustment)
Less self-confident, more socially anxious, less aggressive and dominant, but more prone to
get things done, to collaborate (Ambition)
More prone to execute; with a more hands on approach to problem solving (Inquisitive)

Women vs Men Leaders
The Bright Side
MEN
0
20
40
60
80
MEN
WOMEN
Women vs Men Leaders
The Dark Side

Men in leadership positions tend to use more manipulation in order to get
ahead and get along with others (fight)

Women in leadership positions are more prone to : be demanding, hard to
please, tend to be less constant in the way they use their energy and
emotions (flight )

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"FLIGHT"
"FIGHT"
MEN
WOMEN
Women vs Men Leaders
Values
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MEN
WOMEN
Women vs Men Leaders
Values
Women leaders tend to:
Get involved in helping others,
care about the private issues of
the employees and get involved in
actions that improve society (high
Altruistic)
Value morale, loyalty, family
values and respect authority (high
Tradition)
Be attentive at the companys
image & tend to base their
decisions more on feelings &
intuition (high Aesthetics)
Create a work hard/play hard
environment(high Hedonistic)

Men leaders tend to:
Value more business
opportunities, money and
profits
Be attentive to the bottom
line (high Commerce)
Be hard working
A Developmental Point of View
Romanian Women Leaders should
CONTINUE
Being energetic and action oriented
Being attentive to others needs
Creating a balanced working environment
Being attentive to own improvement
START
Focusing energy, being and acting with more confidence
Taking risks
STOP
Getting mired in details (relationships & tasks)
Worrying so much, judging things as right or wrong


Women Leaders
in Romania vs. other countries
(Hungary, USA and Australia)
Female Leadership
in Romania vs. other countries
Science
Aesthetics
Commerce
Altruistic
Cautious
Inquisitive
Interpersonal sensitivity
Ambition
Adjustment
Romania Hungary Australia USA
Similarities at large

None of the countries indicated statistical difference
between woman and man in leadership postions in:


Sociability (need for social interaction)
Prudence (self-discipline, responsibility)
Learning Approach (achievement-oriented, stays up-to-
date on business and technical matters)
Status needs (recognition, power)
Similarities
The bright side of Personality (HPI)

Women in Ro, US and Aus tend to be less calm and even
tempered than men.
They tend to face more difficulties in handling stress and
pressure, as they naturally worry more.
From a behavioral point of view, women in these countries will
appear as less self composed (lower scores on Adjustment
scale).

Women in Ro, Hu and US will appear as being less competitive
than men, will not seek for leadership positions as the final
outcome of performance.
They could create the reputation of being less self confident
and less charismatic (lower scores on Ambition scale)
Similarities
The bright side of Personality (HPI)

Women in Ro, US and Aus tend to have a more practical
approach than men.
They focus more on getting things done, tend to have better
skills in implementing a strategy, rather than creating it (lower
scores on Inquisitive scale).
Similarities
The dark side of Personality (HDS)

In times of stress and pressure, women in Ro and Hu tend to
become more risk averse, reluctant to change and fearful of
failure.
The general behavior pattern is to measure 3 times and than
to measure one more time before cutting. (higher scores on
Cautious scale).
Similarities
Values Profile (MVPI)

Women in Ro, Hu and Aus have in common the drive to help
others.
They are more prone in offering excellent client services, as
they are driven by the value of Altruism.

Women in Ro, Hu and Aus do not believe that BOTTOM LINE
DOLLARS is the only game in town.
Their lower Commerce score shows that their key motive and
preference in life is not around revenue, budgets and profit.
Does not mean they would NOT VALUE this, but value them less!
Similarities
Values Profile (MVPI)

Ro women are similar with Aus women in terms of their
interest in art, a lifestyle guided by issues of culture and good
taste.

They value more working in environments that allow
experimentation and exploration, and will be interested in
aesthetics and quality of the results.
Differences
Although in Ro, there is no statistical difference between men
and women with respect to diplomacy, social skill, tact and
perceptiveness, in Hu, US and Aus women tend to score
higher than man on Interpersonal Sensitivity scale.

Although in Ro, there is no statistical difference with respect
to valuing an analytical approach towards problem solving, in
Hu and Aus women tend to score lower on this dimension
(Science).


Myth 1: Women don't want to become managers (P)

Myth 2: Women don't have the same managerial skills as men (P)

Myth 3: Women have the wrong training (P)

28
Myths about women
in executive positions

1: Women in leadership personality inventory
No difference between woman and man in current leaders pool!
2: Women might create working enviroments as leaders focusing on
helping others and focus less on financials
Create working enviroment that motivates all employees
3: Women under stress be more cautious, they seem to move away from
situations, or too diligent to make perfect solutions and can be carried
away by the task.
Watch behaviour under stress, dont move away

29
Moving forward
Zsolt Feher
Managing Partner
Assessment Systems Hungary
zsolt.feher@asystems.hu
www.asystems.hu
Madalina Balan
Managing Partner
HART HR Consulting
madalina.balan@hart.ro
www.hart.ro