What Would Women Do?

A fact in corporate America is that there are fewer women CEOs than men.   Surveys in the Financial Services sector found that they tend to be "hostile towards women workers", in essence, not being sensitive or supportive of women's needs. I heard a discussion on the radio, then came across a blog where the topic was "would women leaders have kept us out of this financial mess"?  Did too much testosterone cause this issue?

In general, men have a tendency to let their ego get the better of them, and we tend to have fewer close relationships that provide honest, critical feedback.  Even if we do, we're not accustomed to listening to someone tell us we're not as great as we think we are.  Women tend to have closer relationships that will tell them the truth, and they'll listen. 

One of the best bosses I ever had at Dell was a woman.  She was strong, yet not overly so.  She was calm when men around her were emotional.  She supported and represented our team in a way that drew respect from all other departments in the company.  She spoke truth to power.  My peers and I worked our tails off for her.

Maybe women could have kept us out of the financial mess. I don't know, but they couldn't have done much worse.  What I do know is that my wife keeps the books at our house--enough said!