Women make better managers than men, according to Gallup's Stateof the American Manger: Analytics and Advice for Leadersreport.

The 56-page report found women managers hold an edge over themale counterparts at engaging their employees, encouraging theirdevelopment, providing regular feedback and recognizing employees'good work.

Gallup based its findings on more than four decades of talentresearch, including a study of 2.5 million manager-led teams in 195nations and analysis of measuring the engagement of 27 millionemployees.

The Washington, D.C.-based research and consulting firm measuredengagement for employees at all levels, including managers andleaders using a Q¹²survey, which includes a dozen statements that surveyrespondents agree or disagree with. According to Gallup, thesestatements had proven links to workplace performance outcomes.

For example, employees surveyed were asked to agree or disagreewith statements such as, the mission or purpose of my company makesme feel my job is important, this last year, I have hadopportunities at work to learn and grow and at work, I have theopportunity to do what I do best every day.

While even Gallup conceded in its own narrative that the study'sfindings are subject to debate, there were a few possible reasonswhy female managers and their employees were more engaged than malemanagers and their employees.

For instance, male managers were more likely to hold productionjobs that may be less engaging. However, Gallup also speculatedthat because of workplace gender bias, women managers might be moreadept at leveraging their natural talents to engage their teamsbecause they need to exceed expectations to advance in theirorganizations.

Regardless of gender, however, great managers were hard to comeby. Only an estimated 10% of employees, according to Gallup, hadthese five talents to succeed in management: they motivated theiremployees, asserted themselves to overcome obstacles, created aculture of accountability, built trusting relationships and madeinformed, unbiased decisions for the good of the team and theorganization.

The good news is that 20% of employees had some of these talentsand could achieve success with appropriate training andcoaching.

Gallup also admitted that while its study's findings may havebeen surprising to some, they suggested organizations should placemore emphasis on hiring and promoting more females. That could beaccomplished by using talent as the basis for selectiondecisions.

Here were the four reasons why women are better managers thanmen:

HigherLevels of Engagement

According to Gallup, 41% of female managers were engaged at workcompared with 35% of male managers. What's more, the research firmalso found that at every working-age generation and regardless ofwhether they have children at home, women managers were moreengaged.

Because women managers had higher engagement scores than malemanagers, it was more likely that their workplace teams were moreengaged and were more likely to meet or exceed workplaceexpectations at their organizations.

According to Gallup's data, individuals who work for a femalemanagers were six percentage points more engaged on average thatthose who worked for a male manager, 33% to 27%, respectively.

Gallup also found female employees who work with female managerswere most engaged at 35%, while male employees who worked for malemanagers were the least engaged at 25%.

EncourageEmployee Development

According to the Gallup study, employees who had a woman managerwere 1.26 times more likely than employees who worked for a malemanager to strongly agree with this Q¹² statement: Thereis someone at work who encourages my development.

This statement was one of 12 that Gallup used to measureemployee engagement. The other statements gauged engagementindicators such as work expectations, recognition, development,commitment, quality work, feedback and friendship.

Though female managers were more likely than their malecounterparts to cultivate potential in employees, it did not meanthat women managers were more likely to promote their associates,according to Gallup.

However, it could mean that women were more inclined than men tofind stimulating work assignments that could have facilitatedemployee career development.

Provide Regular Feedback

Female managers were more inclined than their male counterpartsto check their employees' progress more frequently.

The Gallup study found those who worked for a female boss were1.29 times more likely than those who worked for a male boss tostrongly agree with the Q¹² statement: In the last sixmonths, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.

Recognize Good Work

Employees who worked for a female manager were 1.17 times morelikely than those with a male manager to strongly agree with thisstatement: I have received recognition or praise for doing goodwork.

This indicated, of course, that the “attaboy” or attagirl” patson the backs made employees feel valued for daily contributions inthe workplace.

It also suggested that female managers may be better than malemanagers at helping their employees harness the power of positivereinforcement, which in turn may fuel employee engagement andimprove workplace morale overall, according to Gallup.

It's interesting to note, however, that the Gallup study foundthat male managers outscored their female counterparts in thisQ¹² statement, At work, my opinions seem to count.

Next Steps?

To read more details, here is a direct link to Gallup's study. Registration is required.

In addition, throughout May and June Gallup is holding freeexecutive sessions in several cities around the nation to helpleaders learn why great managers are so rare, what employees wantfrom their managers, what impact disengaged managers have onemployee engagement and what the best organizations do differentlyto find, retain and grow great managers.

Here is a link to a listing of where Gallup will be hosting sessions.