Volume 1 : Issue 2

Male vs. Female Brains in the Workplace

We know that men and women tend to be different physically and emotionally.  But there is an emerging school of thought that believes that a brain can be physically “male” or “female” regardless of the physical gender of its body.  This article will outline just a few of the differences that may help those in the workplace cope with the diverse ways that we process information:

1. Goals versus Experience:  Typically the male brain is more goal-oriented where the female brain is more experience-oriented. 
   
   
2. Problem Solving:  Male brains are typically socialized to fix problems (the more specific the better) and view problems as a goal to be accomplished.  Female brains are socialized to identify the problem (the more general the better) and they tend to view problems as more of a hassle than a challenge.
   
   
3. Planning:  Because female brains are usually more generalized and experience-oriented, they often excel at long range planning.  They focus on the big picture and final outcomes.  Male brains usually do better with short range planning because they are more goal-focused and will tend to implement more quickly.
4. Information Processing:  Female brains tend to process information verbally and arrive at decisions more quickly through discussion.  Male brains tend to process information internally and prefer not to discuss the situation aloud until they have arrived at a solution.
   
   
5. Teamwork:  Male brains are typically goal-oriented, competitive, rule followers that engage in little conversation and value the team above any individual person.  Female brains are typically experience-oriented, collaborative rule benders that enjoy conversation and value individuals more than the team.
   
   
6. Handling Tasks:  Female brains are multi-taskers; they handle multiple tasks by quickly switching from one task to another, never dividing their attention among tasks.  Distracting a female brain from the task at hand isn’t much of a problem.  The brain can resume its work easily.  Male brains are simul-taskers; they handle multiple tasks at the same time so long as the tasks are dissimilar.  For instance, a male brain can talk and repair a bicycle at the same time.  A female brain will usually stop working on the bicycle to talk and then quickly return to the bicycle when the conversation is over.  If you ask the male brain to stop work in order to talk, it has more difficulty resuming work on the bicycle.

These are broad generalizations, of course, but the differences are noticeable enough that you may be nodding your head in agreement as you read.  Remember that physical males usually have male brains, but quite often a physical male will have a female brain and vice versa.  These opposite gender brains are never a detriment, but it is very important to understand what kind of brain you’re working with so that you know how to better understand the individual.

The better we understand and respect our differences the more effective we will be with co-workers, friends and family.  We can even incorporate this knowledge into the sales process to better understand how to present information in a way that makes sense to our audience.  For instance:

If you have a male brain and would like to hear more about how understanding these differences can help you achieve your goals in the short term and fix any problems you might be experiencing, CONTACT US.

If you have a female brain and you would like to talk with us more about how understanding these differences can help your organization succeed in the long term and find ways to work better with your team, CONTACT US.

This article was authored by Jennifer Hendrickson, President of Hendrickson Business Advisors.