Crucial leadership skills are being forgotten and gender equality is suffering because of it

The news in January 2021 painted a disheartening picture for gender equality.

The Reykjavík Index for Leadership found a complete absence of progress in social attitudes towards equality for men and women among the G7. It was announced that more than a third of the FTSE 100 didn’t meet a government-backed review calling for a modest target of 33 per cent female board members. And the government was forced to withdraw a ‘Stay Home. Save Lives.’ advert in which the only man depicted was relaxing on the sofa, while women looked after children and did the cleaning.

All worrying in their own way, it’s the first that stuck with me the most. Christine Ro delved into the contributing factors behind the Reykjavík Index findings in her essay for the BBC’s Equality Matters section. She writes, ‘even though women are vaulting to power, a pernicious culture of distrust in women leaders endures.’ A statement supported by the fact that only 41% of the people surveyed from Germany said they felt very comfortable with a female head of state, despite Angela Merkel’s long and successful tenure as Chancellor.

Women are fulfilling leadership positions across business and politics just as well as men but broader perceptions about women’s ability to lead aren’t budging; these female leaders are seen as the exception to the rule. And this is because, as Ro writes, ‘notions of leadership have become bound up with perceptions of masculinity.’

And I agree. It is imperative that we detach gender from the concept of leadership and focus on the skills we want to see at the top. Only then will perceptions change, and true gender equality be possible.

Throughout my career, I have worked with a great number of leaders: interviewing them, advising them, and learning from them. I have come to believe that certain traits are a prerequisite for first-rate leadership. Namely: EQ, empathy, self-awareness and communication ability.

Unfortunately, these skills, so valuable once you reach the top, often aren’t recognised on the way up. I don’t believe this is because these skills are any less important in a junior associate than they are in a CEO. It’s because they’re not perceived to be so.

Not just that. They are simply not perceived at all: they go unnoticed, often taken for granted entirely. Instead, we place too much emphasis on other characteristics: authority, determination, confidence, market understanding. Important qualities, yes, but only with the others in tow.

And this is where gender comes in: a fraught debate, which I will avoid entering into now, the topline of which is that the characteristics we encourage are generally male and those that we forget are generally female. Hence the Reykjavik Index’s findings.

As a result, the pool of talent from which business leaders are hired is overpopulated with men who have ruthlessly prioritised their strategic objectives thus far but who might not have all of the skills they need when they get to the top and underpopulated with women who are the opposite. And at that stage, forced solutions such as quotas might tweak the numbers but have little effect on the root problem.

Whether it is true or not, the perception that male characteristics make better leaders is what is causing the distrust of women to persist. Ro cites a young male entrepreneur: ‘male leaders tend to have more authority. It’s wrong and I’d like to see that change, but… If I were completely honest, I would prefer a man to lead my company over a woman.’ If he thought a leader needed to have authority and empathy in equal measure, he might accept that a woman or a man, anyone with those skills, would do.

Despite the status quo, I am hopeful for the future. The pandemic has brought into stark relief the need for communication, empathy, and EQ in business: all vital ingredients for those looking to engage with a challenged and disheartened workforce in uncertain times.

Indeed, commentary on the success of female leaders in their response to COVID-19 has been frequent and wide-reaching. But it is important to recognise that their aptitude for empathy and communication is responsible for their success, not their femaleness.

A point that Helen Lewis made well for The Atlantic last year: ‘Women leaders aren’t better. Strongmen are worse.’ She writes that the era of the ‘Strongman’ is coming to an end, evidenced by the fact that we are starting to celebrate a different type of leader, one with a greater emotional range and ability to be vulnerable. And the leaders she refers to as examples of this include women and men: Jacinda Arden, Tsai Ing-wen, Justin Trudeau.

There is evidence of this in business too. Monzo founder, Tom Blomfield, announced he was stepping away from the company last month due to mental health issues, exacerbated by COVID-19. In an interview with TechCrunch, he revealed that his executive team and investors were very supportive when he told them he was struggling and needed help. He adds, ‘I’m very happy to talk about what’s gone on with me, because I don’t think people do it enough.’ And he’s right, this kind of vulnerability is not commonplace in business, but his honesty indicates a changing tide.

COVID-19 has also brought us agile working, and not a moment too soon. The increased flexibility as a result, will allow a wider range of people to pursue leadership roles. At the same time, the increase in people embracing lifelong learning and embarking on multiple careers should also level the playing field. Careers are no longer linear in which six months out of the office means a six-month career delay (which, until we get parental leave right, will be more common for women than men).

But let’s not leave it to the pandemic or wait for long-term trends to emerge. Providing training and development as well as mentorship and career support opportunities is undoubtedly critical in nurturing young leadership, but there is a step before this.

If we are to see true gender equality in leadership, we must fundamentally reassess the value we attribute to leadership qualities on every rung of the ladder in order to alter deep-seated perceptions of what a leader should be.

Written by Sir Michael Lockett, Chairman at Audley