Mc Shane, Olekalns and Travaglione define Leadership as “about influencing, motivating and enabling others to contribute to the effectiveness and success of the organization” (2013). Knowing that, we can wonder what the good way to have the employees being effective is, what the right leadership style is? Do women make better leaders than do men thanks to their leadership style which is oriented to be supportive and participative? It is most likely a right statement to say that it is important to be concerned with employee’s needs and participation, but is it enough? Situations need sometimes more directive or autocratic style. We are going to see that women are more likely concerned with the wellbeing of their employees but that it is difficult for them to have a more directive leadership role without being rejected.

Studies have shown that among all leadership styles, women tend to be more supportive and participative that their counterparts. It means that they provide psychological support for subordinates. They are friendly and approachable. Moreover, they treat employees with equal respect, show concern for their status, needs and wellbeing, and ask them suggestions, ideas, involve them in decisions. Generally speaking, women are often raised to be more egalitarian, less status-oriented and have better interpersonal skills than men. Several recent surveys report that women rate higher than men in the emerging leadership qualities of coaching, teamwork and empowering employees. (Mc shane, Olekalns and Travaglione,2013: 397). A new study recently published in the International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics asserts that “Women leaders are more likely than men to consider competing interests and take a cooperative approach when making decisions”. It has also been noted that women are usually better at working with others than men are. (It’s a woman’s world, 2013). Indeed, because women tend to have more nurturing natures, team dynamics are often more predictably supportive, democratic, decentralized and participative in teams lead by women, which can result in more productivity, team satisfaction and creativity.
The best quality of a good leader is that he/she should be able to understand their subordinates and take their viewpoints into account. If they find someone’s opinion worthy, they should implement it. Women are able to do this. This motivates people to work better and put more effort in their work. Besides, the simple fact that women listen to others makes them good leaders. They are not among the ones who want to thwart other people’s efforts in coming up. Women will take others views into consideration and give them a chance to speak. According to Rensis Likert, the participative management style is the most efficient. For him, the interaction between individuals makes easier problems resolution; it permits the company to operate on the basis of cooperative influence. (Likert and Bowers, 1969). One of the goals of participative management is to favor the affiliation and thriving feelings of the employees but it is also about creating working conditions promoting communication, listening, understanding and collaboration as part of a common project.

Finally, committed employees perform better at work, are absent less frequently, and are less likely to quit their job. When employees feel their contribution is valued, that the manager cares about their wellbeing and is ready to offer help when needed, this is referred to as “perceived organisational support'. That is what Maslow showed in his hierarchy of needs: in addition with social needs which are seeking out companionship, acceptance and inclusion in the workplace which offers an opportunity to be part of a team in which members share their respective knowledge, skills and unique experiences to solve problems, there is the desire to be recognized for personal accomplishments.