I was chatting with a dear friend the other day. She is a doctor who owns her own practice – and so inevitably as many of our conversations wind around to talking about our businesses and how they are going. I will say that this year has been tough for me on both a professional and personal level --doubt has crept into my plans for my year ahead. This lead to her telling me about a study that helped her through her initial years of building her business.
Her summary – A study (link to the podcast and actual study at the end) showed that men succeeded more at entrepreneurship. Why? Men have
more hubris and women have higher levels of humility. When men started up a venture and it failed – men blame external forces – the economy, the funding, the suppliers – and felt the successes were all thanks to themselves. For women? Their humility makes us more apt to attribute failed business attempts internal forces: lack of knowledge, our inability to perform…and our success? Women were less likely to attribute it to herself.
To perpetuate that even more- women are more likely to learn from their mistakes…and think ‘if that didn’t work the first time, perhaps entrepreneurship isn’t my thing’ and not try again. And men? Their over-confidence and hubris spurs them to say – ‘I’ll try again- now that the economy is better / I’m not working with those jerky clients / insert external force is no longer here.’
Though this study is a few years old (my wise friend has been referencing this for years) – I thought this was an incredibly interesting article. I have been thinking about potential ways to get more women owning businesses (because, buying vs starting a business is such a great idea!). And, as this article points out – it isn’t just about getting more women in the pool. The success came from a group of "activists" that, because they acknowledged women's underrepresentation, they went out of their way to support women businesses. It’s about cheering, supporting, and encouraging those women already trying to own their own business. Though I know this support is helpful- I hadn't realized how impactful this "activism" could be.
I can personally attest to my need for a hearty dose of ‘over-confidence’ – or at the very least, the ability to blame external forces for some of my stumbles and not take it so personally. It’s been a hard year – and it’s my support group reminding me that this environment is hard for (almost) EVERYONE – when I can be quick to think it may just be me.
All to say- if you ever need someone to help amp up your hubris and own your success – Count me in to cheer you on and cheer you up.
Wharton Podcast: Ethan Mollick on the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship
Original Study: Ethan Mollick and Venkat Kuppuswamy from the University of North Carolina, “Humility and Hubris: Gender Differences in Serial Founding Rates”
コメント