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In your opinion, who do you think make better bosses, men or women, and why? Have you worked for both?
I have worked with both men and women managers, and my experiences have been, for the most part, that the male bosses have been much better. My opinions are based on the personalities of the bosses; and had I worked with other personalities, perhaps my views would be the opposite.
What I've run into with the female bosses I've worked with is they were way too sensitive, insecure, felt intimidated, too emotional, too much drama and internalized everything. They were also way too competitive and always trying to prove that women are better than men. Also, most of them were always worried if they were not the "fashion queen".
The majority of males bosses I've worked with had even temperments, were not overly emotional, were not out to prove anything, did not play favorites, did not mistreat employees if they had a bad hair day, were not intimidated, were not stressed because they had to race to the mall at lunch to find a new pair of shoes, and basically had the same personality every day.
On an intelligence level...both genders rated equally.
Obviously I've been extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with exceptional male bosses. I am the first to concede there are male bosses from hell, and that there are many excellent female bosses and that I had the misfortune to work with the worst.
This is not a contest, just an interesting subject that was brought up at work and resulted in some very good conversation and non-threatening debates.
Some men are better bosses than some women, and some women can make better bosses than some men. It's not a sure thing that a male can always handle supervisory positions.
But, I tend to think that you are correct. I think it's a case of men seeing what needs to be done and the work goes better for everyone. It's the way the average male mind works. They seem to see the Big Picture more than the average female. Sometimes women seem to get bogged down in details. this is seldom a good thing in the workplace.
It's a case of perception too. The male can be a SOB, but people will work for him if he knows his job. The woman in a similar position can be a b*tch, and people seem to dig in their heels and be uncooperative, even though she knows what she's doing. Why this is, I have no idea.
Do we secretly admire the SOB and envy his success? Does anyone secretly admire the female equivalent?
I would say it's split. As a woman who worked hard to rise through the ranks and then ultimately owning my own business with my husband, I can say in the early years women did not make for great bosses. I believe having the right training, education, and managerial know-how has changed things considerably. There are other factors as well.
Being a good manager or boss means you have to have respect for the people you manage, guide them but don't control htem, create a team atmosphere, and reward when a job is done well. I value my employees and they know this. Yes, there are times when work is not done at a level that I feel is acceptable and that is because our customers expect a given level of excellence. When this happens, and it is rare, then we band together until the project is done correctly. At no time do we micro manage people.
In your opinion, who do you think make better bosses, men or women, and why? Have you worked for both?
I have had both male and female bosses, and my general preference is for male, based on my experiences. I find that female bosses tend to focus less on business and performance and more on making buddies and superficial things like shopping trips. In addition, females tend to be much less direct; in fact, many I have worked with are passive-aggressive and uncomfortable with conflict, while the men can be confrontational when necessary, particularly when it involves disciplinary issues. Unfortunately, these same women who engage in the passive-aggressive behavior think they're assertive people.
In addition, I have experienced far less gossip and "cattiness" with male bosses. While I strive to maintain a positive working relationship with my boss, I'm not really interested in hanging out at his or her place after work, or going out for cocktails. Male bosses, for the most part, seem better able to keep personal and professional relationships separate, and don't seem offended if you don't participate in after-work BBQs and such -- they don't appear to take it personally.
Call me an idealist (people have!), but I believe that people should be evaluated on the merits of their work, not on how much time they spend brown-nosing their boss. While both male and female bosses are susceptible to kissups, the females I have worked with seem to want to keep a flock of kissups around them...and I have seen people receive undeserved promotions and other special considerations because of their close personal relationship with female bosses.
Last edited by Wanderlust07; 08-30-2007 at 11:59 AM..
Reason: removed extraneous "but"
I have had a varied career, and I have had many bosses, both male and female. Thank God I'm retired now.
I have had both good and bad male and female bosses. Generally, my favorites have been female. I really think it depends more on the individual personalities involved than anything else.
Never had a female boss, but have had 2 different male bosses. They're both really cool guys, though. No office politics, "drama", casual days; just work. Work around the clock and you'll get paid. That's the way I like it though, and the business I'm in doesn't allow for a lot of complaining or infighting. Of course there's competition, but for the most part, my boss will let boys be boys and whatever needs to be said can be said. Just like the playground.
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In general, I prefer male bosses
