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Washington, Nov 9 (ANI): A new study has found that androgynous leaders, that is, leaders with both masculine and feminine traits are best in facilitating and creating a good innovation climate in an organisation.

Innovation means a deliberate introduction of new products, processes or methods in a role, group or organisation that clearly improves the results.

Modern working life makes great demands on innovation to secure companies competitive advantage, Science Daily quoted sociologist and researcher Anne Grethe Solberg at the BI Norwegian School of Management, as saying.

Both men and women have a right to help make strategic decisions in a company.

A gender balance where decisions are being made makes the company or board more attractive.

For creating a good climate of innovation, it is important to avoid discrimination and systematic exclusion of one sex and give equal opportunity to both men and women to present their views over the new products, processes and ways of working.

This could only be achieved if the facilitating chairperson has the courage to remain entirely neutral and objective and is careful not to express his or her own opinions until the rest of the group have had their say.

A facilitating leader entrusts the group as a whole with the full responsibility for taking decisions.

In the study, Solberg found that leaders with both masculine and feminine traits, the androgynous leaders, were the best at facilitating and creating a good innovation climate.

They were better than their masculine and feminine colleagues.

In a good innovation climate, everyone feels secure enough to take part in discussion, they know what the aims of the group are, they stick to the subject and support one anothers ideas, said Solberg.

She said that Solberg also demonstrates that the incidence of androgynous leaders is more or less equal among men and women. And this can be a comfort, and an opportunity, for both women and men. (ANI)