The Female Vision: Women's Real Power at Work

Citation

Mann, S. (2010), "The Female Vision: Women's Real Power at Work", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 31 No. 8, pp. 760-761. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437731011094801

Women see the world differently from men. This may not be a new thesis, but is one that is central to The Female Vision. Helgesen and Johnson argue, eloquently throughout the book, that this female vision constitutes women's most powerful asset in the workplace.

Drawing on a range of sources, including their own survey, the authors outline three elements that they believe make up the “female vision”, as well as describing the benefits of each element. These elements are, firstly, women's capacity for “broad‐spectrum” perception which widens the scope of information available to organisations and provides vital clues about workplace relationships, market forces and conflicts. In this way, women may notice underlying tensions or concerns that their male counterparts may miss. The second element is their ability to focus on the quality of everyday experience and concrete signs of achievement which helps restore balance to a workplace that is often focused on more (male) abstract measures of achievement. The final element is their ability to contextualise work and relationships within a broader social context which fosters greater motivation for those around them.

The authors expand their views within three sections to the book; part 1 which is the “Value of the female vision”, part 2 which is “Elements of the female vision”; and Part 3, “Profiting from the female vision”. Each part is peppered with cases‐study type examples of where female vision might have an advantage over male, or where female perception reveals something missing from the male viewpoint.

The Female Vision does not, in my view, offer much that is new; those of us who know a little, for example, about female leaders, may not find much that is startling in this book. However, it is a good (if rather pricey for a small‐ish paperback) starting point for those with less knowledge and a useful text for managers wanting to harness the qualities of a female workforce at managerial level (or for those wondering why there are so few females in higher managerial positions). The book is written in a readable style and is best read in order, rather than dipped in and out of. It is not an interactive book with exercises or quizzes and nor is it a self‐help book as such. But it is an enlightening read for those managers, male and female, who wish to open their mind to harnessing the qualities of females – qualities that are only too often still overlooked in the workplace.