Working women as managers are more competent than their male counterparts. Women's leadership is characterized by behaviors that empower, restructure, teach, provide role models, encourage openness, and stimulate questioning. Women outperform men in 28 out of 31 skill areas, including the challenging areas of meeting deadlines, high productivity and generating new ideas. Women practice leadership subtly different than men. Where both men and women are equally as likely to delegate authority and work, women are more likely to dispense advice and guidance regarding the requirements for successfully completing tasks and they will clarify the expected outcomes with those doing the work.
Men are more likely to assign the task and then put it out of mind, providing less for follow-up.
And appear to be less precise in communicating the parameters of the project. Women in leader roles will respond more favorably than men to requests for assistance. Women's management style, which centers on communication and positive working relationships, is better suited than men's to team-oriented leadership. Women may be better at managing a diverse workforce because they have less traditional values, they are more tolerant of differences, and are less bound by social traditions. Women tend to manage in different ways than men do.