Communication Profile of Women Leaders in Finland

Study on the communication profile of Finnish women leaders, motivated by the observation that most leadership research has focused on men due to available data, and the growing need to study women leaders specifically; data was collected from 164 women leaders in Finland.

The study examined the leadership and communication styles of Finnish women leaders using self-appraisal data, comparing highly transformational leaders with less transformational leaders.

Finnish women leaders in the sample predominantly reported using Enabling and Modelling transformational leadership styles, with a tendency toward Empathic and Self-Controlled communication styles. Highly transformational women leaders were found to communicate differently from less transformational ones: statistically significant results showed they used more Impatient, Self-Controlled, Dominant and Clear communication styles.

The authors note this creates a picture of efficient, insightful, straight-spoken and professional leaders, and suggest that leadership training and development for women should emphasise both traditionally masculine traits (e.g. controlling emotions, impatient and dominant communication) and feminine qualities. Limitations noted include the use of a convenience sample and reliance on self-appraisals, meaning subordinate or supervisor appraisals might produce different results.