Leaders: Myth and Reality

by General Stanley McChrystal

The myth of the “great man” theory is, of course, patently patriarchal. Historical records are dominated by such “great men,” and it’s only recently that this trend has begun to become more balanced. Still, not even all Great Man leaders in history were men, and Cleopatra and Joan of Arc are classic counterexamples, as was Margaret Thatcher within our list. Nonetheless, the gender imbalance in leadership is both disturbing and unhealthy, and has deep roots in the history of leadership. Recent indicators show how far we still have to go. For example, it is not surprising that there were more men than women among the CEOs of the S&P 1500 in 2015. But it is disconcerting to learn that there were more men named John than there were women. And there is ample data to suggest that gender inequality is counterproductive to firms and to society as a whole. Studies have shown a relationship between gender diversity and organizational preference. As with much of the research on leadership, this is generally a matter of correlation, and not causation, but it seems clear that organizations with more female senior leaders might be at an advantage. A range of plausible explanations has been offered as to why.