The Athena Doctrine

The Athena Doctrine – John Gerzema and Michael D’Antonio

(Jossey Bass, £18.99)

The foundation of this book is a survey of 64,000 people across 13 countries, conducted in order to categorise leadership traits as either “feminine” (collaborative, supportive, empathetic) or “masculine” (competitive, analytical, decisive). The findings are detailed in the introduction, while the chapters provide examples of 10 countries where feminine traits are used as a basis for business.

I was expecting the book to showcase large companies where collaboration was key, perhaps including politicians or influential business leaders who are well known users of feminine traits. The endeavours portrayed in the book are interesting business concepts, but most of them are far more “grass roots”. Ultimately, the book starts strongly, but fails to tie the survey results to the real world. However, it was an interesting read.

Kathleen Drum, Assistant to the Chief of Staff, Crossrail