The Development of Management and Leadership Capability and its ...

different levels and in different types of organisation. The manner in which the CEO
of a major corporation leads change will be different from that of a departmental
manager in the same organisation and different yet again for the MD of a small firm.
Many competence frameworks used are influenced by American research conducted
long ago on small numbers of male senior managers. This is one reason why major
companies insist on tailoring their approaches, and often differentiating by level of
management.
• Many of the idealised attributes of leaders and managers are not really behaviours
rewarded at work. As Keep and Westwood put it (2003) there is a 'gulf between what
managers do and are required to do by the organisations that employ them, and what
theory or even best practice models say they ought to be doing.' This rhetoric-reality
gap presents a real problem for the suppliers of management and leadership
development. Boyatzis (1993) may be witnessing this same tension when his data
shows that some managers have the skills to act as leaders but choose not to use them.
3.2.4 Ethnic minority groups in management and leadership and gender differences
The number of women in senior management roles remains well below that of men (12% of
the female population of working age as opposed to 19-20% of the male population of
working age) (Williams 2001). Similarly, there are disparities between the ethnic minorities
with some over-represented in management as a percentage of their numbers in the total
employed population (particularly Indian ethnic groups) and others (particularly black
groups) under-represented. These issues are not easy to address and more legislation is not
the answer. The reasons for the differences between ethnic groups in management
occupations are little understood. Much more data would be needed to identify key factors.
For example, it may be that some groups are over-represented because they tend to start their
own businesses and thus become owner managers. The reasons why this might be so in
some ethnic minorities but not in others are little understood. There is simply insufficient
evidence to say. Similarly, not enough is known about the job choices and career patterns of
underrepresented groups. More research is needed if appropriate national strategies are to be
introduced.
There are similar problems with gender. Not enough is known about the kinds of jobs held
by women. It is possible that they are ‘clustered’ just below senior management positions
and have difficulty ‘breaking though’ the glass ceiling to rise to the top. On the other hand, it
may be (Nicholson 2000) that they deliberately choose more ‘female friendly’ arenas because
they seek less competitive and more caring environments than that found in most
management occupations. This idea is also reflected in another recent study which explores
what it means to be a woman and a manager (Bryans & Mavin 2003). The study is based on
questionnaires and group discussions with women managers, and finds that women are faced
with a contradiction: whether to learn to fit into the dominant paradigm of management, or
to play a different game.
Research undertaken among MBA graduates found that there were differences between men
and women in the effect on their careers (Simpson - see box). Other research supports these
findings. Nicholson and West (1988) found that while men valued external benefits such as
salary and status, women placed more importance on working relationships and job
satisfaction. Gender differences in the management population arise therefore from a
complex set of issues and will not be easily resolved.
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