New
research has revealed that female managers are more highly thought of than
their male colleagues and their skills improve with age.
In an
assessment project of more than 400 managers conducted by the East Midlands
Development Agency, women scored ahead of men in every one of the six core
management skills.
The
study was based on a questionnaire sent out by training company Exponential,
which asked each manager and three colleagues to rate their individual
management performance.
The
managers were graded on managing people, personal effectiveness, leading, team
working, communication and planning.
Although
some data is still being processed women came out on top, said Exponential
managing director John Moore.
“Female
managers consistently scored higher than male managers in each core management
skill and this became more noticeable for managers over 39 years old. It would
now be very useful to explore the different learning and development strategies
adopted by male and female managers," he said.
The
study also found dramatic variations in core management skills between industry
sectors and depending on the size of the company.
Managers
in the manufacturing sector had the lowest average scores.
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