According to research conducted by the German academic Guido Heineck, women who take a more stereotypically ‘masculine’ approach to managing colleagues and underlings are far more likely to be successful.

Wilhelmina - not Betty

The study looked at 5,000 people in various life positions and divided them into 5 personality types – agreeable, conscientious, extrovert, neurotic and those open to new experiences. The study revealed that women most likely to secure the top jobs were those who didn’t concern themselves too much with how much other people liked them. In other words, it’s the aggressive Wilhelmina Slaters of this world – not the gentle, conscientious Ugly Betty’s – who really go places. Says Heineck – ‘If you’re nicer, you earn less. It’s the bosses who scream and shout and are very demanding that get ahead ’.

The qualities Heineck identified as successful included ruthless ambition, single-mindedness and behaving like an alpha female. Traits less likely to succeed included being seen to be ‘agreeable’, being passive, waiting for talents to be somehow ‘noticed’ and being too conscientious.

So why on earth would you be lucky to have a boss who behaved like the traditional alpha male? Well actually a demanding boss is likely to be good at getting resources, attention and credit for the department she leads. A less assertive boss is likely to be overlooked and her department potentially undervalued or under-resourced. Like it or not, an aggressive, assertive boss will possibly get for you what you may be too acquiescent to get for yourself. And that’s something to think about.

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