I just read an interesting document by Michael Gurian and Barbara Annis which explains the Why’s and How’s to achieve Gender Intelligence. I thought that it is a worthwhile document to be studied in companies as well as in premarital sessions for future couples.
Understanding How the Male and
Female Brain Work Differently
There are three major categories of brain differences
between male and female brains that ultimately impact
every aspect of our workplaces:
• Differences in neural blood flow patterns. Blood
flow represents the neural activity in a brain at any given
time. In the female brain,more neural activity occurs in
the parts that think in and create words and in the parts
that connect those words to memories, emotions and sensory
cues; in the male brain,more neural activity occurs in
the parts that use physical and kinesthetic intelligence, as
well as spatial mechanics and abstraction.
• Differences in particular structures in the brain.
The hippocampus, a significant memory center in the brain,
plays a key role in women, as women often test out better
than men at remembering the specific and minute details
of interactive situations and events.Have you ever wondered
why men tend to get more “physically expressiveâ€
when they get angry?The amygdala is one possible reason.
The male amygdala is larger than the female amygdala, and
because this structure stimulates more activity downward
in the male brain toward the brainstem (and thus more
quickly into the physical body) and more often upward in
the female brain toward talking centers,men and women
tend to differ in their angry behavior.
• Differences in brain chemistry. Not only do male
and female brains differ in structural components and
blood flow, but they also secrete their chemicals differently.
This chemistry difference profoundly affects leadership
and, ultimately, everyday life. Differences in brain chemistry
can initially be understood when we realize that
males secrete more testosterone and vasopressin (aggression
and territoriality chemicals) than do women. Females, on
the other hand, secrete more of the brain chemicals estrogen,
progesterone, serotonin and oxytocin. Serotonin and
oxytocin are less well-known than estrogen and progesterone;
serotonin, among other things, calms our impulses;
and oxytocin, among other things, is a bonding chemical.
Understanding How Men
and Women Lead Differently
Leaders can appear at any level of a company. To get to the
top, you have to be very good at putting yourself confidently
into the daily stress of leadership, whether you are male or
female. Research shows that females, by nature, embody
senior leadership status differently from the way males do.
This difference is hard-wired, and it’s part of gender intelligence,
balanced leadership and gender evolution as a whole.
There are a few basic characteristics found in male
leaders. Male leaders tend to:
• Bond with co-workers in short bursts of connection,
both physical (a pat on the back) and emotional (a
of praise), or through goal achievement that is less tied to
words and emotions and more to action and competition
than that of female leaders.
• Focus on leading workplaces and hierarchies through
order assessment, pattern thinking and ritualized action.
• Downplay emotion, even at the risk of hurt feelings, in
order to play up performance.
• Promote risk-taking and independence of the employee
as long as that risk-taking and independence fits the ultimate
goals of the corporation.
Female Leaders
Research shows that female leaders tend to:
• Bond with co-workers in extended conversations, both
physical and emotional. Women tend to interconnect
data and share common experiences.
• Provide as much hands-on connection to the co-worker
as possible.
• Emphasize complex and multitasking activities, actions,
team development — expanding leadership into various
tasks and away from dominance by one task.
• Search for a method of direct empathy when someone’s
feelings are hurt, even at the expense of other current goals.
• Relinquish personal, daily independence in order to be
cognizant of other’s needs.
The end result of learning about hardwired gender differences
in leadership patterns is not just understanding,
but also practical action.
Ultimate success in all spheres comes when we remain
Ourselves but learn from others. Both women and men
should learn from each other, and both women and men
should be valued in a room. Gender intelligence is and
always will be about tapping into the skills inherent in
the other gender until we feel comfortable in the room
with those skills –– and able to gain allies in those skills
when we don’t feel comfortable.