(© 2008 :
Career Diagnostics)

Leadership and Gender ~ M.U.S.E. Survey Results

The M.U.S.E. Survey was prompted by research undertaken by Dr Greenberg, suggesting that women bring a different "mix" of qualities to leadership than that brought to leadership by men. The "mix" of qualities that Dr Greenberg's research associates more strongly with women, he saw as more suited to a changing workplace.

What do your M.U.S.E. results mean?

Some preliminaries:

• there are no "right" numbers. The results will indicate areas in which you feel more accomplished. Given that scores in the "50 - 60" range are relatively "neutral", you are probably interested in significant variations above or below this range.
• the 4 elements of the M.U.S.E. are not "competing" with each other. High or low scores in one area do not "prescribe" lower or higher scores in other areas.
• remember that this is a self-assessment and what that means: - i.e. subjective, reflective of a single point in time (now) and relevant to a specific context (i.e. your current work role perhaps)

"M" = "Me"

This element relates to your "sense of self" as a leader. You are asked to score yourself against a range of implied criteria such as:

• assertiveness
• confidence
• your sense of acceptance
• your capacity to commit to a goal

As a test that has yet to be psychologically validated, your scores should be viewed comparative to scores in the other elements. The relative strengths, or weaknesses, may suggest personal or professional development options.

Risks for high scoring on the "M" element could be higher levels of interpersonal conflict if listening skills are not also well developed. These interpersonal risks could have a profound impact on your career and job satisfaction.

"U" = "Us"

This element relates to your "interpersonals", or "sense of us", as a leader. You are asked to score yourself against a range of implied criteria such as:

• persuasiveness
• listening
• empathy
• caring

Risks for high scoring on the "U" element may be evident if you do not also have a strong "sense of self". Without this the "U" motivation could become a people pleasing weakness, with lower commitment to important outcomes.

"S" = "Support"

This element relates to your "support", as a leader, of others. You are asked to score yourself against a range of implied criteria such as:

• information sharing
• inclusivity
• collegial / collaborative behaviour
• consensus building

Risks for high scoring on the "S" element are similar as high scores on the "U" element. Risks may be evident if you do not also have a strong "sense of self". Without this the "S" motivation could become a people pleasing weakness, with lower commitment to important outcomes.

"E" = "Evolving"

This element relates to your "evolving", as a leader. You are asked to score yourself against a range of implied criteria such as:

• resilience / flexibility
• rising to challenges or overcoming setbacks
• constructive risk taking / "rule bending"
• learning from others, including what NOT to do!

Risks for high scoring on the "E" element are probably less than with other elements. However, risk taking / "rule bending" could, by definition, pose some dangers. Be clear that the consequences of such risks are not catastrophic!

Stay tuned!

Once we have more than 100 valid survey results, we will start to provide aggregated data against the 4 M.U.S.E. elements and against any questions in which there are clear gender variations.

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