The age old question, which makes the better sales leader, men or women? I suppose the quick answer is it depends.
PsychTests' a provider of psychological assessment tools recently carried out a survey of over 2,000 sales professionals to unearth the common traits between the two sexes.
The results revealed some surprising overall gender differences, women tend to possess a higher level of integrity and are more helpful, attentive to detail, and organized, men were more comfortable with public speaking, more success oriented, and adaptable. They also outscored women on mental toughness and competitiveness.
Studies also show that women are more likely than men to possess the leadership qualities that are associated with success. That is, women are more transformational than men - they care more about developing their followers, they listen to them and stimulate them to think "outside the box," they are more inspirational, AND they are more ethical. Much research has been undertaken that predicts that in the future women leaders will dominate simply because they are better suited to 21st century leadership/management than are men.
Love Media Sales are currently undertaking research to map the competitive landscape of 500 media sales leaders. Although we are in the early stages of the research, out of the 167 senior media sales professionals already researched and interviewed, 93 of them are women. Times are changing and generationally those coming through the education system now have been taught predominantly from an early age by female teachers. The current generation are used to looking at women as leaders.
So, consider this: What would our world look like with more women leaders? Our research suggests that for organisations, industries, and for workers, it would be a better place.
