Balancing “Feminine” and “Masculine” Leadership

As a woman leader, do you find yourself suppressing perceived “feminine” traits – such as empathy, collaboration, inclusion, vulnerability, or emotional intelligence?

Do you do so in favor of “masculine” leadership traits, such as assertiveness and decisiveness?

Male and female leaders can and do employ both sets of traits – only natural inclination and societal conditioning perpetuates this divide.

In this article, we’ll explore how you can, and should, take confidence and strength from feminine leadership characteristics, and how it can benefit your organizations.

What Is Feminine Leadership?

Feminine leadership refers to leadership style rather than gendered leadership. For example:

• Masculine leadership might involve creating hierarchical structures, prioritizing data-focused goals, and creating motivational competition between employees.
• Feminine leadership might involve moving others into the spotlight, trusting your intuition over resume details in hiring decisions, and prioritizing creativity over logic.

Here are three key leadership traits that can help you to build confidence, as you lean into a feminine leadership style.

Empathy in Leadership

Empathy involves listening to employees’ needs and feeling the impact their challenges are having. To embrace empathy, find unique ways to support your team members.

When you (or they) identify their needs, take specific, person-centered steps instead of a one-size-fits-all approach.

Vulnerability in Leadership

Trading authority for vulnerability helps a leader to operate on the same wavelength as their employees and cultivate deeper trust.

To embrace vulnerability, practice identifying your weaknesses so you can delegate to people who thrive in those areas.

Collaboration in Leadership

Promoting open, honest communication between employees can facilitate collaboration where there might once have been friction.

To cultivate collaboration, emphasize the importance of sharing perspectives, position yourself as a listener instead of a speaker, and encourage all team members to listen more than they talk.

Blending the Masculine and Feminine Leadership Traits

We are all capable of embodying the masculine and the feminine, and we don’t need to tie these concepts to gender identity or sex.

Rather than lining up feminine and masculine leadership as contenders, we can recognize that a combination of both is critical to effective leadership.

For example, leading a creative brainstorming session (feminine) might uncover the essence of a new successful campaign. Meanwhile, leading the data analysis of a previous campaign (masculine) might uncover the strategy that will allow this new one to flourish.

Alternatively, a solo leader might have an idea to pivot a company that will put its latest offer on the map (masculine). Meanwhile, another leader might oversee team collaboration on how to shape the pivot (feminine), revealing the flaws that must be resolved for its success.

There's still a long way to go for modern workplaces to blend masculine and feminine leadership. This is made clear in a study published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior, which reveals that employees consider men who exhibit feminine traits and women who exhibit masculine traits to be more effective leaders. [1]

In other words, many “effective” leaders balance the gender expectations of their sex by embracing the opposite.

But while male leaders may receive praise for embracing the feminine, women leaders may feel they need to compensate for their femininity by embracing the masculine.

Overcoming Biases in Leadership Traits

Although society has historically viewed masculine leadership as more valuable than feminine leadership, recent studies are starting to disprove this perception.

For example, The Conference Board, a global, nonprofit think tank, has found that organizations where women make up at least 30 percent of the leadership roles are 12 times more likely to be in the top 20 percent for financial performance. [2]

While feminine leadership traits are gaining recognition, gender biases continue to shape how we perceive and value them. For decades, many female leaders have rejected these traits.

Instead, they have conformed to traditional, masculine leadership styles so they can encapsulate the general perception of “effective” leadership.

Perceived Gender Differences

Gender bias often runs so deep that women’s efforts to integrate masculinity and appear “strong” simply don’t work.

This is clear in a Harvard Business Review study that examined why women are underrepresented in the C-suite. HBR concluded that gender differences in corporate organizations have nothing to do with how women act – and everything to do with how people perceive these actions. [3]

Even when they match the masculinity of their male counterparts, females are still perceived negatively by comparison.

To overcome this bias, organizations can educate their teams on the reality of effective management – that different leadership styles hold equal value, regardless of their gendered connotations.

Given that society has suppressed feminine traits, organizations may also encourage leaders to welcome the feminine to balance the scales.

The Pitfalls of Trying to "Out-Male" Male Leaders

Welcoming feminine traits is a helpful alternative to the guidance that female leaders often receive, which is to simply emulate masculine leadership.

This tends to manifest as the advice to promote yourself more, dress in powerful, statement clothes, and to keep your face free of emotion so you can’t be seen as weak.

While this advice does get women promoted and noticed – and creates organizations with a greater representation of women in leadership – it doesn’t improve the gender balance of this leadership. It simply encourages women to try to out-male men in masculine leadership teams. [4]

This approach doesn’t just continue to devalue feminine leadership, it also tells men that the ideal of masculine leadership is to suppress altruism. It tells them they must collectively embody the “hard” leader to set the bar for women.

This damages the concept of masculinity and leaves many women viewing male leaders as unsympathetic, based on their sex alone.

A 2021 study highlights this, revealing that female employees expect to receive fairer treatment, remuneration and status with a female leader as opposed to a male leader. [5]

When organizations don’t embrace feminine leadership, they dilute its value while also building friction against masculine leadership styles.

The result is that leaders of all sexes and genders are unable to lead in ways that would best serve their teams.

The Benefits of Feminine Leadership

When a company blends its leaders’ masculine (often results-driven) traits with feminine (often human-driven) traits, it puts people at the core of its work.

"People" extends beyond your employees to your customers, other organizations, and the wider society that it serves.

Humanizing leadership this way builds relationships. And strong relationships can be just as, if not more, effective than hierarchy and competition in a team that drives real change. A team that, in turn, fosters stronger gender equality and inclusion.

As society slowly realizes the value of feminine leadership, reflect on your own leadership style and notice the feminine traits you may be suppressing.

Unleashing these characteristics might be the best thing you can do to rise as a feminine leader and to support your team.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is feminine leadership?

Feminine leadership is a leadership style that prioritizes traits like empathy, collaboration, and emotional intelligence. It is not tied to gender but rather to a balanced approach that values both human-driven and results-driven leadership.

Why do some women leaders suppress feminine traits?

Many women leaders suppress feminine traits due to societal biases that associate effective leadership with masculine qualities. However, studies show that blending both leadership styles leads to better performance and workplace dynamics.

How can organizations overcome gender biases in leadership?

Organizations can educate teams on the value of both leadership styles, encourage diverse leadership approaches, and support policies that promote gender inclusivity in leadership roles. Recognizing that different styles hold equal value helps dismantle biases.

Why should male leaders embrace feminine leadership traits?

Embracing empathy, collaboration and vulnerability strengthens relationships, fosters trust, and creates a more inclusive workplace. Studies suggest that leaders who integrate both masculine and feminine traits are seen as more effective by employees.