London - A man’s key to success in the modern office is to think and act more like a woman, according to research.
Kind, sensitive and gentle types - all traits associated with a female - are more likely to do well at work, a new study has found.
Overtly masculine personalities – showing dominance, arrogance and ambition – would be better off if they adopted a feminine touch.
And while the idea may seem far from the boardroom battles of The Apprentice, researchers believe feminine values are taking over in the 21st century.
A survey for a best-selling book found that 66 percent of people believed the world would be a better place if men thought more like women.
A total of 64 000 people across the world were asked about their attitudes to success at work.
The sample of men and women from 13 diverse countries was divided into two groups.
The first half was presented with a list of 125 human characteristics and was asked to define them as “masculine”, “feminine” or “neutral”.
Some of the traits predominantly classified as masculine included pride, arrogance, gutsy, aggressive, confident and being career-driven.
On the other hand, the feminine traits included being honest, humble, creative, adaptable, sensitive, gentle, kind and supportive.
Those same traits were then stripped of gender associations and shown to the other 32 000 people.
They overwhelmingly identified characteristics seen as feminine, such as popular, charming, team player and reliable – as being those needed to do well in business today.
But macho traits - those such as dominant, strong, arrogant and ambitious – were given the thumbs down.
The findings were published in The Athena Doctrine: How Women (And The Men Who Think Like Them) Will Rule the Future, named after the Greek Goddess of wisdom, by authors John Gerzema and Michael D'Antonio.
The most macho societies displayed the highest level of frustration with the dominance of male values – even among the men themselves.
In Japan, for example, 79 percent of males said they were dissatisfied with the conduct of men in their society.
Seventy-six percent of French and Brazilians said the same thing, followed by 70 percent of Germans.
A total of 81 percent said we needed both male and female traits to improve.
Gerzema, a social strategist, believes we are on the brink of a new age in which our working life will become less about conflict and confrontation and more about trust and collaboration.
He told the Sunday Times: “Feminine values are the operating system of the 21st century.”
While researching for his book he found there was “dissatisfaction with the conduct of men – not necessarily suggesting that men are bad but that the structures that are masculine in society are”.
The book argues companies are already showing a new style of working combining feminine traits with the masculine to produce a happier, more productive workforce.
Since it was released last month, the Athena Doctrine has become a New York Times bestseller.
Derzema told Hello Giggles how he came up with the idea to write the book.
“Denise Morrison, the CEO of Campbell's, was hosting a mentoring event for young women and asked me to speak. And the room was filled with all of this positive energy of nurturing and collaboration. And it occurred to me you probably couldn't put sixty men into a room like this and get the same result,” he said.
He added that the data and real world examples collated in the book proves there is 'a new way to solve today's toughest problems in business, education, government, and more' by adopting feminine traits.
But Oliver James, psychologist and author of Office Politics: How to Thrive in a World of Lying, Backstabbing and Dirty Tricks, was not convinced.
He said: “There is really good scientific evidence that a chief executive is four times more likely to be psychopathic than the general population.”
He refers to a psychopath as someone who is cold, ruthless and charismatic. - Daily Mail