LEADERSHIP AND THE SEXES
Using Gender Science To Create
Success In Business
by Michael Gurian with Barbara Annis
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Publication Date: August 2008
Price: $27.95/hardcover//ISBN: 978-0-7879-9703-8
Contact: Lori Ames
212-620-4080 x12
lori@wesmanpr.com
or
Lauren Banyar Reich
212-620-4080 x14
lauren@wesmanpr.com
“Offers critical insight into the minefield of gender relationships in the workplace . . .
Corporate America needs the knowledge this new book gives us.”
-- Pernille Lopez, President of IKEA North America
“This powerful and timely book unlocks gender truths for the workplace.
Every businessperson – man or woman – needs to read this book!”
--Louann Brizendine, M.D., Neuropsychiatrist and Clinical Professor,
University of California-San Francisco, and author of The Female Brain
MEN AND WOMEN LEAD DIFFERENTLY
NEW BOOK BY EXPERTS MICHAEL GURIAN AND BARBARA ANNIS SHOWS HOW TO USE GENDER
SCIENCE TO LEAD, NEGOTIATE, AND COMMUNICATE FOR SUCCESS
Men and women lead differently. Most businesspeople, from front line employees to CEOs, sense this at some
level, but can’t quite articulate the differences without falling into the trap of creating male and female
stereotypes. In their new book, LEADERSHIP AND THE SEXES Using Gender Science To Create Success
In Business (Jossey-Bass, August 2008) gender experts Michael Gurian and Barbara Annis show what the
latest scientific studies reveal about male/female brain differences, and explain how these differences impact
the ways that men and women negotiate, communicate, lead, and run meetings.
“There’s nothing right or wrong about these differences,” the authors say. “But understanding them helps all of
us work together more efficiently and effectively. This is truly a bottom-line issue.” Companies such as Proctor
& Gamble, Nissan, Deloitte & Touche, and Brooks Sports are already using their knowledge of brain-based
gender differences to their advantage.
In the first part of LEADERSHIP AND THE SEXES, Gurian and Annis explore the science of gender. They
explain, for example, that studies based on MRI, PET, and SPECT scans have been able to pinpoint the
different ways that male and female brains function, emphasizing that neither way is superior to the other.
Differences include:
*In women’s brains, there are more active sensorial and emotive centers, and better linkage of these centers to
language centers; men’s senses don’t generally work as well as women’s. Men don’t process as much emotion,
and men don’t tend to link as much complex emotion or sensorial detail to words.
*In men’s brains, the cerebellum tends to be larger than in the female brain. The cerebellum is the center for
action and physical movement. Thus, men tend to communicate more nonverbally, with more emphasis on
movement and physicality than women’s emphasis on words.
*Men’s brains enter a ‘rest state,’ a zone out state, more easily than women’s. This happens many times per
day naturally for men – comparatively, women’s brains do not shut off in this way except in sleep. Men’s brains
also enter a rest state when quantities of words become overwhelming during communication.
*Men’s brains circulate more testosterone than women’s, as compared to women’s greater neural emphasis on
oxytocin. Testosterone is a competition/aggression chemical. Oxytocin is a bonding chemical. Quite often
during communication, men will try to compete while women try to bond.
LEADERSHIP AND THE SEXES then teaches readers how to use this scientific gender intelligence for
business success. Based on their hands-on work at dozens of companies during the past two decades, the
authors present tactics and tools to improve negotiation, communication, and conflict resolution skills with both
genders. They also focus on best practices for retaining, motivating, and working with women. For example,
respect women for who they are. Do not expect them to be more like men. The authors also discuss men’s
issues, clarifying men’s strengths and leadership styles. Men, for example, are usually bigger risk-takers than
women and tend not to hold long-term grudges. They are also constantly testing and being competitive – which
is both good and bad – and often runs counter to the way that women prefer to behave.
The final part of LEADERSHIP AND THE SEXES focuses on gender-intelligent mentoring and coaching with
specific steps for creating effective programs. The authors warn that men and women need more than samesex mentors. Cross-gender mentoring is also essential. “The mentoring programs of the future will move in the
direction of providing both women and men to mentor both women and men. . . . As you are mentored and
mentor others, you are participating in a profoundly important part of being a man or a woman,” the authors
write.
Based on in-depth scientific research as well as Gurian’s and Annis’ own consulting work, and filled with
powerful examples from today’s business world, LEADERSHIP AND THE SEXES offers a roadmap to
revolutionize the way that companies deal with their workforces from top to bottom. As Dave Roth, former Vice
President of Engineering, Packet Engines and Vivato Systems says, “Michael Gurian and Barbara Annis provide
a scientific approach that breaks down traditional barriers and enables management to implement gender based
leadership rationally. This is an exciting book.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
MICHAEL GURIAN is The New York Times bestselling author of twenty-one books, including The Wonder of
Girls, Boys and Girls Learn Differently!, and The Minds of Boys. His books have sold over 900,000 copies in the
U.S. The co-founder of the Gurian Institute, he has spearheaded a national effort to provide communities and
corporations with training in brain based gender issues. His pioneering theory has been used by professionals
in corporate training and services. Gurian’s work has been featured in the national media, including The New
York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Time, Newsweek, and Parenting, as well as The Today Show,
Good Morning America, CNN, PBS, and NPR. He lives in Spokane, Washington.
BARBARA ANNIS is a thought-leader, corporate keynoter, and CEO of Barbara Annis & Associates. With over
20 years as a specialist in workplace gender issues, Annis has grown from a one-person team to an
organization of twenty-seven associates headquartered in New York, with offices in Tokyo, Sydney, and
London. Her clients include IBM, Xerox, PWC, Deloitte & Touche, HSBC, and Goldman Sachs.
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