Does Wall Street need more emotional intelligence and less testosterone?
The following excerpt from an article in today’s New York Times gives food for thought and another reason to encourage the development of emotional intelligence. Greater emotional skill mitigates impulsive reaction and enables more conscious decisions. We can still choose to take risks but with more mindfulness and balance. For men that is creating more gender balance within – cultivating our feminine side. What do you think? How do you manage your risk taking?
A fascinating British study found that “…a trader’s morning testosterone level predicts his day’s profitability.” The study was published last year in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Higher testosterone meant more risk-taking and, usually, more money. On its own, that might suggest that men have an advantage on the trading floor. Yet the same study also suggested that elevated testosterone levels could lead to greater assumption of risk; high testosterone levels “may shift risk preferences and even affect a trader’s ability to engage in rational choice.” In other words: when male traders crash … boy, they crash.
So could it be that the problem on Wall Street wasn’t subprime mortgages, but elevated testosterone? The study’s authors point to an evolutionary hangover. Across cultures, women prefer high-status men, while a woman’s reproductive prospects depend much less on her social status. Thus, when men of similar status gather, they jockey for an edge and jostle for the alpha role — and try to get ahead with high-stakes gambles. On the plus side, boasting about these financial bets might make a great pickup line. On the downside, the bank goes bust. A greater gender balance could reduce some of these unhelpful consequences of male herding.
link: Op-Ed Columnist – Mistresses of the Universe – NYTimes.com
