Leadership and the Sexes

Michael Gurian's trademark use of brain science in gender studies together with real life examples of what is currently happening in business leadership make this an important resource for businesses and organizations. It provides new vision and useful practical applications, helping women and men in the workplace become more effective and fulfilled, and ultimately helping businesses and business leaders realize increased profits. Through examples and case studies from companies like Kodak, Nike, Nintendo, Home Depot, Proctor & Gamble, Avon, and Disney, the book shows readers how ignoring gender diversity actually impedes the true potential of any 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

Using a hefty helping of neurobiology, corporate moguls Gurian and Annis illustrate how brain chemistry influences gender and how gender in turn powerfully affects every aspect of workplace behavior. The authors contend that corporations attentive to gender and behavior can enhance their performance, competitive edge and bottom line. The authors discuss how men and women wield leadership, bond, regard and execute authority and approach management and conflict resolution skills—applying their findings on male/female brain differences to account for the variations in behavior. Though they tackle the big questions—for instance, do women have to become men to get ahead?—they are at their best when at their most practical, using step-by-step instructions, exercises and simply worded "GenderTools" to teach men and women to understand each other in meetings and on the golf course. Though a front-loaded density of neuroscience may deter the casual browser, readers with a genuine interest and a desire to improve workplace gender relations will do well with this pragmatic and well-intentioned guide. (Aug.) (PublishersWeekly.com, June 23, 2008)

The Authors

Michael Gurian is a thought-leader, corporate consultant, family therapist, and the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-five books, including Leading Partners, The Wonder of Girls, Boys and Girls Learn Differently!, The Wonder of Boys, and The Minds of Boys. The co-founder of the Gurian Institute, he has spearheaded a national effort to provide communities and corporations with training in brain-based gender issues.

Barbara Annis is a thought-leader, corporate consultant on gender intelligence and inclusive leadership, CEO of Barbara Annis & Associates, and author of Same Words, Different Language. She has more than twenty years' experience as a specialist in gender issues in the workplace. Annis and her associates have delivered large-scale corporate projects on leadership, gender intelligence, and diversity. She also serves on the Harvard KSG Women's Leadership Board.

"This powerful and timely book unlocks gender truths for the workplace. Every businessperson—man or woman—needs to read this book."
—Louann Brizendine, M.D., author, The Female Brain and The Male Brain

LEADERSHIP AND THE SEXES

EACH OF US ENTERS THE WORKPLACE not only as a human being, but as a woman or a man. Leadership and the Sexes links the actual science of male/female brain differences to every aspect of business. Written by the New York Times bestselling author and gender expert Michael Gurian and acclaimed workplace gender consultant Barbara Annis, this groundbreaking book weaves brain science and gender studies with real-life examples from business leaders to provide a new vision of gender diversity.

Leadership and the Sexes presents brain science tools with which readers can look into the brains of men and women to understand themselves and one another. The book also provides five GenderTools, which can be used immediately in executive, management, design, and marketing teams. The gender science presented in this book has been used successfully by such diverse corporations as IBM, Nissan, Proctor & Gamble, Deloitte & Touche, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Brooks Sports, and many others. This gender science helps leaders increase their organization's competitive edge, profits, and bottom line by:

• Increasing gender intelligence between men and women
• Discovering new ways to supervise, negotiate, and manage
• Revising male/female relationships to meet the demands of the global economy
• Understanding how to utilize gender science to sell and market products and services

The corporation that utilizes the authentic differences between men and women is the organization that discovers significant competitive advantage. The company or firm that helps women and men understand each other discovers maximum success.