Navigating Leadership Challenges: Women's Representation and Emotional Intelligence at Tizer Pharmaceutical Firm

Question One - Women and Leadership

Society is generally persuaded that men have a better shot at leading positions especially in business and politics even though men and women are equally good leaders (Brown, 1996). The above has been seen in Tizer pharmaceutical firm which has never appointed a woman to join the senior leadership team. There has been little agreement on why this misconception takes place resulting in women remaining underrepresented in these areas. Over the years, women have made significant milestones in the workplace. However, historical gender differences exist as far as representativeness is concerned. This is seen in particular, in senior management and executive roles where women remain a minority in positions such as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) (Adler, 1993). The failure of women to achieve leadership positions does not stem from one obstacle but involves various hindrances.

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Obstacles Tizer may face in Appointing Women in Leadership Position

Sex Discrimination

Sex discrimination is a significant obstacle that Tizer may experience in appointing women in a leadership position. Specific obstacles that impact women's ability to crack the glass ceiling include career stereotypes about women as a group and conflicting expectations for women (Melamed, 1995). Discrimination behaviors are sometimes shrouded in incorrect facts" Women's leadership ability. Management in Tizer may have a misconception that women are not aggressive enough, have little self-confidence needed in doing the job, or are not serious about their careers in ascending to the corporate ladder. Despite overwhelming evidence that these stereotypes are wrong, they still exist and Tizer Company is likely to be faced with this obstacle in choosing a female leader in the necessary position. Although few women in executive roles report severe anti-women attitudes at work, the powers of sexism are much more subtle (Epitropaki, 2018). Also, female executives are usually paid less than their male counterparts with equivalent roles.

Lack of explicit ambition on the Part of Women to Seek this Position

Since Tizer firm has never appointed women in a leadership position over the past ten years, many women will have no courage to seek this position due to this earlier trend. Many women will have a belief that this position is set out for their male counterparts as it has happened over the last ten years. If you don't see people like you at the top, it's harder to imagine yourself in that place, and that is the way most women would think (Power, 1994). Having men taking up leadership positions over many years may be one biggest obstacles for Tizer company to fill this position with a female. This obstacle will lower and discourage women's confidence and their ability to take up the new position.

Personalizing Women as a Whole Group

When it comes to choosing women in leadership, women characters are viewed as the characters of the whole group of women unlike viewing them individually. Personalizing women as a whole group is one obstacle Tizer company may face where it might fail to recognize the potential that is under a given woman. Most societies view women's work as only taking care of the family and not taking part in a leadership position (Hasseler, 2015).

Benefits of Gender Diversity in Leadership Team

Wider Talent Pool

There are various benefits realized through gender diversity in leadership teams. When Tizer company incorporates gender diversity in the firm it will be able to have a wider talent pool. Companies that do not allow women to join them are losing out on the skills and abilities of half the population (Elmuti, 2009). Tapping these will make a big difference to company efficiency and their bottom line.

Different perspectives

When Tizer company has both genders in the leadership teams it will benefit from having different points of view and approaches that emanate from different life experiences encountered by both men and women. A multiplicity of viewpoints will promote creativity and innovation and enable organizations to find and seize new opportunities. It can also inspire organizations to question gender roles.

The collaboration will be Enhanced

Gender diversity in leadership teams will enhance collaboration where placing women on these teams can help strengthen team processes and promote group communication. Studies have revealed that women have a stronger ability to read non-verbal cues and this will increase leadership performance in these teams through offering effective communications.

Whether there is a Different Leadership Style between Men and Women

There have been numerous debates on whether there are differences in leadership skills between men and women. Though not scientifically proven many studies have revealed the existence of different leadership skills among the two genders. The above leadership style difference between men and women could impact a company's decision in choosing who they want in a certain position where they could make a decision based on the fact whether the style they are searching for is more suitable for a woman or not.

Question Two - Emotional intelligence and effective leadership

The ability of a leader to understand and manage their emotions and those surrounding them is termed emotional intelligence (Mayer, 1990). Tim Wycross should be aware that leaders with a high level of emotional intelligence have the capability of understanding their feelings what these emotions mean and how these emotions can affect other people. To leaders, possessing emotional intelligence is the key to the success of an organization. It is expected that a leader who maintains hold of the situation and analyses the situation calmly would perform compared to the one who yells to the working team when the leader is overwhelmed.

Key Elements of Emotional Intelligence for Effective Leadership

Self-Awareness Emotional Intelligence

Self-awareness is when leaders are self-aware of how they feel and how their thoughts and behavior can influence workers around them. Being self-conscious means having a good view of your strengths and weaknesses when acting with modesty (Young, 1943). Leaders who can see themselves clearly and critically by reflection and introspection may be seen as possessing an aspect of self-awareness. Self-awareness makes leaders more compassionate, by promoting acceptance and positive self-development. Self-awareness helps leaders to see life from the viewpoint of others to exercise self-control, to work with imagination, and productivity, and to feel pride in their work as well as overall self-esteem. Self-awareness assists leaders to have better decision making which in turn ensures quality work and better communication in the workplace. Tim Wycross should therefore understand that for effective leadership self-awareness is necessary for a leader. As a key element of emotional intelligence self-awareness has a close relationship to effective leadership.

Self-regulation Emotional Intelligence

Leaders who effectively control themselves rarely verbally threaten others, make hasty or irrational decisions, stereotype people, or compromise their beliefs. Self-regulation is all about being in charge. Tim Wycross should be aware that Strong emotional self-regulation leaders can keep their emotions under control. They can avoid impulsive actions that might make their situation worse, and they can cheer up when they feel sad. They have a flexible range of emotional and behavioral reactions that are well-tailored to the demands of their environment. Leaders who have Behavioral self-regulation can behave in their long-term best interest, aligned with their deepest principles. It enables them to feel one way but act another. Self-regulation, or the degree to which a person may influence or regulate his or her own emotions and desires, is a critical piece of emotional intelligence. As a key element of emotional intelligence, self-regulation is quite connected to effective leadership.

Motivation Emotional Intelligence

For effective leadership in Tim Wycross Company motivation, which is a key element of emotional intelligence is fundamental for the leader. The leader has to be self-motivated by avoiding the comfort zone by getting out of bed every day and turning up at work. Self-motivation requires a personal justification for a leader in carrying out a mission, and it is a blend of our drive, initiative, determination, optimism, and persistence to accomplish the task (Leeper, 1948). Leaders need to inspire themselves and others to behave in a certain way by being transparent about what they want to accomplish. Commitment is also a vital aspect of motivation where the leaders have to ensure that they fulfill what they promise to themselves, others, and the organization. Motivation as an aspect of emotional intelligence is closely linked to successful leadership in an organization. For the organization to be successful, workers need to be motivated when performing their duties.

Empathy Emotional Intelligence

Tim Wycross needs to understand that empathy for a leader is essential to leading an effective team in an organization. Empathy leaders have the potential to put themselves in someone else's position (Chlopan, 1985). They help build people on their team, criticize those who behave unfairly, offer positive input, and listen to those who need it (Easterbrook, 1959). If one wants to win the respect and loyalty of their team, it is good to show them that you care about it by being empathetic. An empathy leader can consider the emotions of other employees in the organization or their emotional reactions to things. Empathy leaders can walk a mile in someone else's shoes even though they haven't witnessed what those persons are going through. Empathy is therefore one of the cornerstones of effective leadership in an organization.

Social Skills Emotional Intelligence

For a leader to be a great communicator they need to perform well in the social skill aspect of emotional intelligence. Social skills and emotional intelligence enable leaders to be open to receiving bad news as good news, and they are experts at getting their team to help them (Dienstbier, 1984). Leaders with good social skills are also good at handling the transition and resolving disputes diplomatically.

Conclusion

Emotional intelligence should be an important aspect in selecting a new leader at Tim Wycross Hotel. Before the company considers choosing the new CEO they need to ensure that the person has the key elements of emotional intelligence. There is therefore a key relationship between emotional intelligence and effective leadership in an organization and Wycross Hotel needs to realize this before choosing the new CEO.

References

Adler, N. (1993). An international perspective on the barriers to the advancement of women managers. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 42(4), 289-300. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229507306_An_International_Perspective_on_the_Barriers_to_the_Advancement_of_Women_Managers

Brown, M. (1996). Barriers to women managers' advancement in education in Uganda. International Journal of Educational Management, 10(6), 18-23. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e222/82819a45a8f73b3e9ad3022cc5cac4d13dff.pdf

Chlopan, B. (1985). Empathy: Review of Available Measures, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, pp. 635–653, 1985. https://insights.ovid.com/personality-social-psychology/jpspy/1985/03/000/empathy-review-available-measures/11/00005205

Dienstbier, R. (1984). The Role of Emotion in Moral Socialization, in Emotions, Cognition, and Behavior. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 484–514, 1984. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/psychfacpub/114/East...