The £25k Problem: Flexible vs Fixed Leadership
Feb 07, 2025
Great leadership is flexible.
- Adapting to the behaviour of the market
- Adapting to the needs of the business
- Adapting to the needs of the employees
- Recognising that employee turnover will lose you £25k per employee on average*
*”For specialist and senior roles, this number can range higher, think £40,000 to £100,000 per head.” - Rachel Greenway, Payfit
The Myth of "Masculine Energy" in the Workplace
You probably saw what Mark Zuckerberg said about workplaces needing more “masculine energy”. This is the rest of what he said:
“A lot of the corporate world is pretty culturally neutered.”
Wanting “masculine energy” is a shortcut to creating rigid, inflexible working environments - that force women out of the workplace.
The Real Costs of Inflexible Workplaces
- Higher employee turnover: losing an employee costs £25,000 on average, more for specialized roles. Pushing out talented individuals who don’t fit a narrow mold is EXPENSIVE.
- Reduced innovation: Homogeneous workplace cultures stifle creativity and limit problem-solving. That’s why 26% of employees resign due to poor relationships with co-workers or culture fit issues (Ballards LLP).
And it’s why companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 39% more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the bottom quartile as of 2023 (McKinsey).
- Decreased employee well-being: inflexible workplaces lead to burnout and poor retention. That’s why 29% of women in 2022 considered reducing their hours, taking an easier job, or leaving the workforce altogether (Forbes). Or why the average age of women leaving engineering is 43, compared to 60 for men (Engineering UK).
The Truth About Strong Leadership
It’s tempting to think that high business performance = a harsh, black-and-white, “masculine” approach.
Don’t fall for it.
Strong leadership is flexible, responsive and CLEVER.
- That’s why Microsoft saw a 40% productivity increase after moving to a 4-day work week (NPR)
- Or why 91% of female full-time workers either work flexibly or want to (Equality Human Rights)
- Or why 71% of employees report their team is innovative when they have flexibility in working options, compared to only 57% without flexibility (Forbes)
What are your thoughts on masculine energy at work? Do you agree with Zuckerberg - should your workplace be more masculine?
