by Sarah Bammel

Created on: March 17, 2009

Being a good boss is not about if you are a woman or a man but about how well you can manage others and do the job. There are qualities that traditionally belong to a woman or a man so in a sense you could say one would be a better boss that the other.

Women are a mother figure and we all know mommies mean business and daddies mean fun. Mommies are good at disciplining, teaching, prioritizing, and multi-tasking. These are all qualities a good boss should have. They may not have to multi-task as much as their employees since as the boss they can delegate, but it is also important to not delegate everything otherwise nothing will get done because the employees will be overwhelmed.

Mommies are also empathetic, not a necessary quality for a boss unless you deal with customers. Dealing with customers it is important to understand where they are coming from. The customer isn't going to care about the ten people that called in sick, they want their shipment shipped, or their phone problem fixed in a timely manner so they can take care of what they need to.

Men are not known for being empathetic, they are known for taking action. I've heard a woman will never be President of the United States because she will not have the guts to launch the missiles or to order troops to battle. Sometimes there is such a thing as being too forceful. If you push something too hard it will break. When you put pressure on employees they have a snapping point where the stress will be too much and they won't be able to function as well.

Traditionally it has been men who are the boss, but women were then left to run a household; help children with homework, have dinner on the table when the husband came home, keep the house clean. In today's society the role of the women has evolved and now she must add the responsibilities of a job, paying bills, and chauffeuring children to their many events. However, we can not forget that men are now taking on these roles as well, so that while the wife is working they are doing the chauffeuring and bill paying. It may even be the husband's job to run the household altogether while the woman works.

So do women make better bosses? With the qualities traditionally given to them I would have to say yes they would make better bosses. Speaking in terms relating to today I would have to say it depends more on the individual than if they are a woman or a man. Deciding if someone makes a good boss is more a judgment in their character; do they have what it takes to run the company without crumbling under the pressure.

Learn more about this author, Sarah Bammel.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.