The Athena Doctrine

February 4, 2013
Women, often criticized in the workplace for their softer, more compassionate approach to management, are now seeing these same values move to the forefront of the business world. Gerzema and D’Antonio (coauthors of Spend Shift) document this dramatic shift in global opinion. The authors surveyed a wide range of cultural, geographical, political, religious, and economically diverse groups across 13 countries, attempting to understand how people “gauge the times we live in.” They were surprised to find dissatisfaction not only with government and the economy, but with the conduct of men in general, even in male-dominated societies such as Japan. People now seek more expressive leaders. As the authors write: “Masculine traits like aggression and control are seen as less effective than the feminine values of collaboration and sharing credit.” The authors examine numerous examples of how these now-prized qualities manifest themselves everywhere from China and Israel, to Bhutan and Kenya. They also provide a captivating look at how individuals, regardless of gender and ethnicity, view behaviors as masculine, feminine, or neutral. A fascinating case study of human nature, this book provides insight into future world leaders. Agent: James Levine, the Levine Greenberg Agency.

May 15, 2013

Authors Gerzema and D'Antonio (coauthors, Spend Shift) focus on verifying their assertion that feminine leadership qualities are the key to creating a better world. Their data-driven research involves a survey conducted broadly across 13 countries taken by people from different cultural, economic, political, and religious backgrounds, to distinguish feminine from masculine leadership traits. Another survey ranked the importance of the found characteristics and investigated their application to various areas of life. The findings revealed the feminine qualities of leadership, success, morality, and happiness, as ascendant, particularly for the younger generation. The remaining chapters look at how these qualities are exhibited on a global scale, covering Great Britain, Israel, Japan, Kenya, India, China, and Bhutan, among others. While the stories of the amazing people Gerzema and D'Antonio interview are informative, the authors could have tied these case studies more directly to the Athena-related qualities discussed cogently in the introduction and conclusion. VERDICT Although this book is focused on leadership it should appeal to those interested in business and global economics.--Elizabeth Nelson, UOP Library, Des Plaines, IL

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