Psychological Traits of Female Leaders in Finance
Sarah Ambrose’s introduction to the financial industry began as an Accountant in the Finance Department of Merrill Lynch in the early 90’s. A period of rapid growth and transition accelerated her promotion into a Senior Management role within the Equity Sales and Trading business enabling her to facilitate roles both in London and New York. Following a successful career in banking Sarah has re-emerged into the world of finance wearing the hat of Business Psychologist, recently finishing her Masters in Business Psychology at the University of Westminster.
In short, Sarah’s research sets out to prove whether or not there is such a notion as the “feminine advantage,” whether women are naturally more collaborative, intuitive, and transformational in their leadership style compared with their male counterparts, or that they adopt more masculine traits when leading in an organizational culture historically viewed in a masculine context.
In conjunction with the completion of her Masters Sarah is carrying out a unique and comprehensive piece of research. It is inspired by and in response to the current interest in the slow rise in numbers of women in senior and board positions and the many germane issues in response to sponsorship, quotas, gender and leadership. The research will undertake an in-depth investigation into the innate personality traits and associated behaviours of women who lead in the financial industry both in the UK and Internationally.
Women and leadership within Finance is topical and controversial, widely recognized by many leading voices holding centre stage as a vital ingredient to success, and a critical business imperative.
The under representation of women at senior levels in organisations is a well-known phenomenon. Interest remains strong and the trend seems unchanged with some arguing reports of progress are at best overstated and at worst just plain wrong.
The changing context of female leadership in male dominated cultures is the subject of much debate. While acknowledging that social perception of women has evolved, there exists the belief that women’s psychological attributes and associated behaviours have changed in concert with their entry into formerly male dominated roles.
In short, Sarah’s research sets out to prove whether or not there is such a notion as the “feminine advantage,” whether women are naturally more collaborative, intuitive, and transformational in their leadership style compared with their male counterparts, or that they adopt more masculine traits when leading in an organizational culture historically viewed in a masculine context.
Currently there is much controversy around this topic and it is expected that this research will offer fresh eyes and perspective supported by solid statistical evidence.
Sarah works in conjunction with a leading consultancy called Lumina Learning, who have developed ground breaking psychometric tools to explain differences in personality perceptions without forcing us to be “one thing or another”.
Their models embrace and accept the philosophy of the paradox within individuals by acknowledging the rich complexity of human beings. By reinterpreting traditional ‘type’ style indicators from the perspective of the five-factor model of personality, they prefer to see personality as a continuum. It is these models that the research is based on and supported by.
If you work in the Financial Services Industry and wish to participate in Sarah’s research please click on the link provided:
Participants are invited to accept an offer to receive their own personalized personality profile emailed to them on completion of the questionnaire.