Countries around the world are striving to improve the gender diversity of both the boards and other senior positions in organizations across the public, private and voluntary sectors.  The belief is that doing so will improve the thought diversity present in our organizations, and lead to them being better run.

Research from the University of Buffalo suggests there may be a strong degree of logic to this.  It explores the topic of servant leadership, and who might be best at delivering it.

Servant leadership has come a long way since Robert Greenleaf first popularized the term in the 1970s, and while it’s probably fair to say it is still not the predominant view of how leaders should be, it is growing in popularity.

Whereas societal stereotypes still portray men as more natural leaders, the research suggests that women may be more effective servant leaders.

“When people think of a strong leader, many people subconsciously picture a man because of persistent stereotypes of men as commanding and goal-focused,” the researchers say. “Meanwhile, because they’re seen as more caring and people-focused, women have always faced a disadvantage—or outright discrimination—as leaders.”

A different type of leader

Servant leaders come with altogether different expectations however, as they’re supposed to prioritize their team (and indeed their wider community) and empower their team to do the best they can.  There’s strong evidence to suggest that employees generally prefer working under such a leader, and their performance improves as a result.

The researchers wanted to explore whether this apparent preference for servant leaders removed much of the unconscious bias that sees us regard men as more natural leaders.

They analyzed over 100 leaders and over 400 employees from six organizations, with the aim of identifying the servant leadership qualities on a sliding scale, alongside the performance and gender make-up of their teams.

As previous research has shown, the data revealed that servant leaders not only inspired greater performance from their team, but also encouraged servant leadership qualities in them.  What was perhaps most interesting, however, is that women leaders proved more effective in this than their male peers.

“As followers began acting like servant leaders, they became more engaged, proactive and productive—and women were better than men at sparking that change,” the researchers say. “Research consistently shows that gender stereotypes give men a leadership advantage. Here, those same stereotypes finally give women an edge.”

The authors believe that their findings should prompt organizations to provide servant leadership training as a fundamental part of any professional development programs, but especially those programs aimed at women in the workforce.  While they accept that the benefits could be weighed more towards industries such as healthcare and education, which are heavily people-centric, they believe the impact could be felt across all sectors.

“While the positive effects of servant leadership are undeniable, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution,” they conclude. “But, for women who have struggled with gendered expectations of leaders, servant leadership may be an ideal style to invert and overcome those stereotypes.”

Encouraging leadership

So if women potentially make better servant leaders, how can we encourage more women to want to be leaders?  New research from the University of Exeter suggests a good starting point might be to better highlight female achievements in the workplace.  The study argues that by doing this, it encourages capable women to try out leadership for themselves.

The authors argue that public recognition about a woman’s performance leads to a greater willingness to lead, with this even prevalent in traditionally male-dominated environments.  What’s more, the teams who are subsequently led by these capable women tend to outperform their peers.

The study found that it’s common for women to shy away from leadership roles as the number of men in mixed-gender teams increases.  This is especially so in traditionally male environments.  It’s a phenomenon that can be overcome however, especially if the abilities and achievements of the women are publicly acknowledged.

“There are so many capable women, but many do not feel encouraged in their workplace, and this leaves them feeling they shouldn’t put themselves forward for leadership positions,” the researchers say. “There is not enough attention paid to the efforts of high-achieving women, partly because they are less likely than men to self-promote their abilities, but it is very important that their work is equally recognised.”

Showcasing talent

If organizations can become more effective at showcasing the talent and achievements of female employees, it not only raises awareness of their abilities across the workforce, but raises their confidence in their ability to lead.  This showcasing proved to be especially effective when it highlighted quantitative achievements, with specific, objective and measurable outcomes.

“We have shown highlighting achievements is both highly beneficial and often straightforward for companies,” the researchers conclude. “The most capable female and male leaders emerge, and consequently the best group outcomes are obtained, when public performance feedback is given.”

Given the clear benefits that can accrue from having more women in leadership roles, it’s perhaps something for organizations to think about so they can achieve the leadership diversity they so often strive for.