Having fought their way into the boardroom they are a match for any man. But a study has shown that when women bosses try to 'act like a man' and copy aggressive management styles it actually has the opposite effect - with staff working under so-called 'alpha females' less likely to co-operate to get results.
當今競爭激烈的職場中不完全是男人的天下，越來越多的“男性化”的女人在工作中嶄露頭角，成為為數不多的女強人、女老闆。然而，最新調查顯示，在職場中性格完全男性化的女子，換句話說，那些將自己的管理方法完全與自己的性別“背道而馳”的女性們反而不容易在自己的事業上取得成就，甚者，還會取得完全相反的效果、最後葬送自己的事業。
Researchers at the University of London found that women in the boardroom who suppress their natural skills in dealing with people can become confrontational, and would fare better from drawing on typical feminine qualities of sensitivity and good communication. The researchers studied the management styles of senior professionals within five NHS hospitals but say their findings could be applied to any profession.
倫敦大學的研究人員稱，在工作崗位中貌似“男人婆”的女員工們認為壓抑自己的雌性激素就能實現事業上的飛躍，然而事實上，她們因太過壓抑自己的女性特徵：比如敏感、細膩、還有溝通能力強等，反而會讓自己的事業停滯不前。研究者調查了5種不同領域的高層領導崗位類型，他們認為他們的研究結果可以應用在職場生活中的任何領域。
Their results showed that some senior female managers had moved away from what was called 'healthy assertiveness' and were instead attempting to 'emulate aggressive male models'. Professor Paula Nicolson, from the University of London, said: 'The best managers had more 'emotional intelligence'.
研究中發現，越來越多的“男人婆”式女領導在管理方式上離健康的管理道路上越走越遠，她們認為自己的管理方式只要偏男性化（具有侵略性的特點），就越能達到有效地管理員工的目的。然而，來自倫敦大學的教授Paula Nicolson說：“最好的管理方法並非一味性地偏男性化，最好的管理方法需要更高的情商EQ才能當上真正的領導者。”
But women who were trying to behave like they thought men behaved were the ones who got it wrong. 'It’s almost like women feel they must 'act like a man' and overly develop traits often associated with power-hungry City traders. 'This is understandable, because previously leaders have been male.'But women's leadership style ought to come into its own when dealing with people and displaying skills in communication, judgment, sensitivity and psychological insight – all traits needed to be a good leader.'
他還補充道：“職場中但凡認為自己只要成為男人婆就能在職場獨領風騷的女同胞們看來都錯了，過分或者過度的職場進取心會讓她們失控，反而達不到好的效果。但是，這種現象是可以理解的，因為從古到今，男性一直作為領導者存在與我們社會中，作為一種潛移默化的管理模式的榜樣，女職員的做法也不是沒有道理，是完全可以理解的。但是，她們如果在職場中能充分利用自己女性獨有的特點，會能在領導崗位上走地更遠。”
（編譯：韋方苑）