Gender dynamics through the lens of credible leadership

Certain characteristics of credible leadership behavior are more common in female managers and others more common in male ones. Cobi Wattez observed this during unique qualitative research into credible leadership at two organizations: the Ministry of Defense and the Protestant Church of the Netherlands. On 19 March, she defended her dissertation Observing the Unseen – Emergent Masculine and Feminine Patterns in Leadership Behavior at the University of Humanistic Studies.

For more than 30 years, occupational and organizational psychologist Cobi Wattez advised management teams, boards of directors, team leaders and individuals on occupational psychology issues. She missed the feminine side in leadership cultures and for that reason saw many women leave at the top. In all those years, insight into the dynamics of gender diversity in leadership has hardly come any closer. Recent studies also show stagnation. Wattez therefore wanted to look again at leadership and gender, paying attention to how people perceive this and what makes someone credible.

Credible leadership

First, Wattez investigated whether the angle of credible leadership would yield anything; whether there are indeed differences between male and female approaches. That is why she conducted four in-depth interviews with experienced male and female directors with the question: How do you think a credible leader behaves? This provided sufficient starting points to continue her studies with unique empirical research.

She observed leadership behavior at two organizations from the Dutch non-profit sector: Defence and the Protestant Church of the Netherlands. She made audio video recordings during meetings in a number of teams and wondered: How do gender-specific interactions between managers and employees play a role in the emergence of credible leadership?

First movement

Based on 1002 analyzed observations, Wattez concludes that male and female patterns are indeed observable, with the primary focus differing. For example, in a relationship with the employee, the primary focus in a female pattern is to retrieve meaning from people, while the primary focus of a male pattern starts with one’s own meaning. Each pattern and associated primary focus has its own strengths and weaknesses, and carries the risk of flawed or misunderstood leadership. Her recommendation for the future is therefore: leadership that combines both behavioral patterns.