3 Behavioral Stereotypes of Women Leaders No Business Needs to Follow
Over time, leadership has assumed many definitions. The steering wheel of an organization that decides its direction and goals. The motivator who keeps everyone connected to the larger picture.
Leadership, particularly where women are concerned, has also picked up stereotypes in the business landscape. Characteristics related to competence and behavior are often attributed to leaders or even assumed to be present without evidence. What’s worse, gender stereotypes also start factoring into these evaluations.
This brings us to current statistics on women in leadership roles: still a dismal 29 percent in C-suite positions, according to a McKinsey report from 2024.
It has become critical to move far away from debilitating stereotypes that hamper leadership and the overall health of an organization.
1. The Woman-of-Steel Leader With Zero Vulnerabilities
An unhealthy leadership stereotype that has prevailed is that of an infallible, stoic leader who isn’t shaken by anything. For women, emotions have always been in the crosshairs of watchdogs.
The Conversation notes that many women have long battled the belief that they’re too emotional to be effective at leadership. However, several studies show that on-ground behaviors are in stark contrast to these beliefs.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, more men were driven by anxiety and hope (or lack thereof) than women. The latter displayed consistent and supportive behaviors with less snapping involved.
At the other end, women who prioritize leadership roles also face ‘allegations’ of being too one-sided, detached from their emotional sides. The Institute for Family Studies reported that married women with kids claim to be the happiest. Their emotional state is superior to that of women in other categories, including unmarried women without children.
It follows that women who focus on their careers also expose themselves to societal judgment and alienation from friend groups. Indeed, some organizations view family responsibilities as liabilities for women in the C-suite. Leaders are supposed to be free of vulnerabilities, right?
Any company that wishes to flourish must be prepared to discard this stereotype and welcome leaders who are brave enough to accept and own their weaknesses. They may feel down on occasion; they could take missteps. Resilience matters to leadership, not insulation from the real world.
2. The All-Knowing Leader
Traditionally, it has been the norm to see leaders as the most knowledgeable person in the room. They are experts in every subject under discussion, which means employees must think twice before contradicting them.
This stereotype is dangerous for a business’s health and sentiment toward innovation. Such leaders are not presumed to be welcoming toward ideas coming from elsewhere.
Let's be honest. Leaders with supreme knowledge on every conceivable business subject are unreal. Their position in the company does not mean they have nothing left to learn or cannot make errors in judgment.
Most researchers now agree that “Great Man” theories of leadership are outdated. This school of thought emphasized that some people are born to become leaders and don’t need to learn the required skills. Suffice it to say that professionals who shy away from learning are unlikely to become high achievers.
In the long run, leaders must be willing to invest in continuous learning. Businesses now operate in a dynamic environment, affected by many more internal and external factors than in erstwhile years. Courses such as a 2-year online Ed.D. program in organizational leadership can equip leaders with the required skills to support innovation and implement necessary changes.
For example, further education in fields like healthcare will offer greater insight into formulating strategies that foster innovation, such as AI-led early disease detection. Rockhurst University notes that a strategic and ethical leader can become an influential voice in the industry and drive meaningful change.
On a side note, women in leadership positions can find themselves subject to mansplaining. An insightful McKinsey podcast discusses how many women are subject to finger-pointing and assumptions of pathological insecurity. The implication is that women cannot be reliable leaders.
Admitting to not knowing something should not become a pathway for such opportunistic groups to question someone’s capable leadership.
3. The Command and Control Center Leader
In a room full of professionals, the leader should have the final word. They must make every decision and control every event that transpires in the company. In other words, leaders should be the central commanding and controlling force.
Yet another suboptimal stereotype.
Modern businesses rarely function well under micromanagement and one-size-fits-all, control-based leadership. A Forbes study found that effective leadership should rely on collaboration and dynamism to succeed. When leaders have a “win-together, lose-together” attitude, they foster trust and inclusion in the organization.
Women leaders may increasingly find themselves pictured as control freaks or obsessed with feminism and gender equality. UN Women reports the toxic influence of the manosphere, which is increasing misogyny among many young men. People affected by such content on social media and other channels may feel certain that their women bosses will always prioritize their interests.
Challenging as the path is, leaders can only establish by example that they need not always have the last say in every matter. They can do so by delegating decisions to trusted executives. Often, these executives bring their own unique competencies to the table, strengthening the business from within.
Building such fallback teams also bolsters a firm’s contingency plans. The organization has a dependable response team to manage unexpected threats, like cyber threat experts to address ransomware attacks.
In an AI-dominated age, leadership traits like humility and authenticity have become invaluable. This quieter approach honors every level of work and turns to trusted peers and advisors for shared decision-making. This approach builds human connection, which is becoming rarer in a technology-led time.
Stereotypes continue to be damaging, impacting our society with outdated, biased, and judgmental ideas. As the number of women in leadership roles increases, albeit slowly, these beliefs come to the forefront, revealing the ugliness within. Much like breaking the glass ceiling, dissolving these archaic and harmful ideas is also critical.
No business needs to cling to thought patterns that dilute its workforce from within, eroding its identity in a new world.