Women Leadership
Helen E. Fisher, Ph.D., has written extensively on gender differences in the brain and behavior; the evolution of human sexuality; and the future of men, women, business, sex, and family life in the twenty-first century. The New York Times Book Review selected her book, The First Sex: The Natural Talents of Women and How They Are Changing the World, as a Notable Book of 1999. She currently serves as research professor at the Center for Human Evolutionary Studies in the Department of Anthropology at Rutgers University. Helen has also served as an anthropological commentator, consultant and lecturer for businesses and the media, including NBC’s Today Show, the BBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Reader’s Digest, Time-Life Books, the Smithsonian Institution, Bank of America, Salomon Smith Barney, and Fortune. In this chapter, Helen explores how women’s “web thinking,” intuition, mental flexibility, long-term planning, creativity, imagination and verbal and social skills—as well as their different views of power—create undeniable win-win strategies in business. photo credit: Helen E. Fisher by Richard J. Berenson
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THE NATURAL LEADERSHIP TALENTS OF WOMEN
Helen E. Fisher
“If ever the world sees a time when women shall come together purely and simply for the benefit and good of mankind, it will be a power such as the world has never known.”1 Nineteenth-century poet Matthew Arnold believed that women can change the world. He was prophetic. At this critical time in history, many are seeking alternatives to the traditional command-and-control models of leadership. This chapter describes some of the biological underpinnings of women’s natural leadership talents. Myriad diverse factors contribute to leadership performance in both women and men, including an individual’s personality traits, thinking and feeling styles, values, motivations, childhood experiences, and cultural milieu. Nevertheless, a great deal of scientific evidence has now demonstrated that in
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THE NATURAL LEADERSHIP TALENTS OF WOMEN
Helen E. Fisher
“If ever the world sees a time when women shall come together purely and simply for the benefit and good of mankind, it will be a power such as the world has never known.”1 Nineteenth-century poet Matthew Arnold believed that women can change the world. He was prophetic. At this critical time in history, many are seeking alternatives to the traditional command-and-control models of leadership. This chapter describes some of the biological underpinnings of women’s natural leadership talents. Myriad diverse factors contribute to leadership performance in both women and men, including an individual’s personality traits, thinking and feeling styles, values, motivations, childhood experiences, and cultural milieu. Nevertheless, a great deal of scientific evidence has now demonstrated that in