My Daughter, the CEO!

My Daughter, the CEO!

When Ashish, a businessman, first held his newborn daughter in his arms, he wept tears of joy. He couldn't help but fast-forward into the future, when she gets married to a wonderful man, and provides him with grandchildren. In his mind's eye he had already started putting money aside. He had to save up for her wedding, after all.

Raman, a general practitioner, stood in the neighbouring hospital room, holding Tej, his newborn son, with pride. "Tej is going to grow up to be the finest doctor in the country - even better than his father… But if Tej doesn't want to pursue the medical profession, I am not going to push him..." Raman had decided that he was going to provide his son with the finest education money could buy, and leave the choice up to him. He had no doubt that Tej would do him proud.

Not many parents envision their daughters as CEOs of a major company, or even earning big bucks for that matter. Fashion designers, sure. Doctors, great! (Though doctors may have to keep late hours… hmmm….) And if by chance she strikes it rich, that's just a bonus. It doesn't matter, really. What matters is whether they can find her a good husband, not whether she's respected on Dayal Street or Wall Street.

Why this distinction? A surprising number of parents believe that their daughters are just not as capable as their sons to succeed in the cutthroat world of business. Yes, their daughter are intelligent. They are artistic, creative and talented. But managers?

Well, just in case you, like most parents, were wondering whether girls have what it takes to become good leaders, the answer is a resounding 'yes'. The fact is, women often make better leaders than men. Surprised? Read on.

Interpersonal Skills

Women have better inter-personal skills than men do. By nature, most women bond easily with other women and men, and have less ego-issues. As a result, they are better at teamwork - and in large corporations, it's all about working in a team! Their innate sensitivity helps them relate better with co-workers. Women can pick up vibes, which tells them when someone is having a bad day or is driving himself too hard, and they relate to them accordingly. This helps them become better leaders.

Ethical Values

Women are also less motivated by greed and self-serving needs. Statistically, women are apt to be more ethical than men, and tend to have a more idealistic view of things. Women are also more dedicated workers than men. They have strong emotional qualities, and these qualities help in today's corporate world - with its focus on ethics.

Emotional Intelligence

While men may score higher in IQ tests, women score higher on EQ tests, which only goes to prove that men may make better rocket scientists, researchers, doctors or other professionals that require them to only use their head, but management is a combination of the head and the heart, and women undoubtedly make better managers.

Communication Skills

Women tend to have better social and communication skills than men do - a quality that goes far in ensuring better leadership.

Don't sell your daughter short. Anu Shukla, CEO of American Company Rubric Inc, sold Rubric for an astounding $390 million. She led a staff of 85 people, and thanks to her, 65 of them retired as millionaires. And yes, as you can tell by the name, she's Indian.

Here's what Business Week had to say on the issue of women managers.

"After years of analyzing what makes leaders most effective and figuring out who's got the Right Stuff, management gurus now know how to boost the odds of getting a great executive.

Hire a female."

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