What is masculinity and how does it affect the way we think of leadership and management?
I am doing a lot of reading and thinking at the moment about the role of masculinity in management. Feminists who write about this issue argue that there should be more women in senior executive roles. But this seems to me to miss the point because it remains within the masculine game of striving to ascend to dominant positions of power. The problem is deeper than this because organizations are totally structured along masculine lines, being hierarchical and controlling. I think we need a bit of both masculine and feminine but focusing on roles is not the whole answer. I think management needs the masculine features of competitiveness and willingness to make tough decisions combined with the feminine traits necessary for nurturing teams and fostering collaboration across and outside the organization. Similarly, I think that leadership needs the masculine drive to differentiate self from others, to be different, to challenge the status quo combined with the feminine qualities of brainstorming with others to generate new ideas. I have an unconventional view of management and leadership which portrays them as functions, not as roles anyway. See my articles on leadership and management for more information. I will post some articles on the masculinity issue later when I have sorted out my own views.
