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Reports the emergency stopgap measures undertaken by industry giant Tele Link to counteract downward market trends and the ensuing problems caused by its Efficiency Program not being managed effectively, resulting in lingering and negative impact on surviving employees’ behaviors and attitudes, demonstrated by decreases in productivity, motivation, emotional health, job satisfaction, and confidence in management, as well as increases in absenteeism. Also reports Tele Link was unprepared to handle the inevitable pre‐announcement rumor mill and was forced to present cutbacks prematurely, lengthening the period of time from announcement to implementation and fueling anxiety at the time. While Tele Link’s handling of the Efficiency Program is well rated it did concentrate, almost entirely, on the “during” phase, with no formal plans to help survivors mourn or adjust to new circumstances. Emphasizes that the power of informal communication, in this case the “rumor mill”, should not be underestimated, and management should not overestimate their own ability to control it.

The purpose of this article was to examine the following three questions: Are women’s leadership styles truly different from men’s? Are these styles less likely to be effective? Is the determination of women’s effectiveness as a leaders fact‐based or a perception that has become a reality? Conclusions revealed: Question one: Yes, women’s leadership style is, at this point, different from men’s but men can learn from and adopt “women’s” style and use it effectively as well. In other words, effective leadership is not the exclusive domain of either gender and both can learn from the other. Question two: No, women’s styles are not at all likely to be less effective; in fact, they are more effective within the context of team‐based, consensually driven organizational structures that are more prevalent in today’s world. Question three: The assessment that a woman’s leadership style is less effective than a man’s is not fact‐based but rather driven, by socialization, to a perception that certainly persists. The inescapable reality is that, within the senior ranks of corporate north America (and elsewhere), women remain conspicuous by their absence.