I think we will be debating these questions for centuries to come. But for the record, as far as the skill side of the leadership equation, I (and many other researchers) think women do have the edge. The differentiator appears to be on the will side of the equation. This is why I plainly state in my by book, The Taboos of Leadership, that women do make better leaders, when that’s what they really want to do. The important point, however, is that all leaders, prospective leaders, and followers — men and women alike — need to understand the true nature of leadership. It’s messy. It’s not clean cut. Some characteristics work in some situations. But to put our head in the sand, and wish the ugly side away will cause us to fail.

I think that men and women could learn a lot from each other about leadership if they could talk about the elephant in the room. Women have all of the tools to be leaders. So do men. We all have different tools in different balances; and we all need to lean on some strengths over others, or compensate for weaknesses.