Mansplaining & how it undermines teams and leadership

This article looks at what mansplaining is, how it affects human interactions and how it undermines leadership as well as teamwork. It provides scientific reports underlining these effects.

Prompted by another recent experience with mansplaining – this time someone trying to explain SEO to me and tell me what to do next – this article is about exactly that: mansplaining. We’ll look at what it is and how it affects our workplaces in terms of leadership and teamwork.

What is mansplaining?

Mansplaining is not just a buzzword, for those who have not heard it before. It is a real phenomenon, where someone explains things to another person in a condescending, patronizing manner, typically assuming lesser knowledge. This type of patronising communication can be found across workplaces, gender and roles (Smith et al., 2022). This particular form of it has it’s name from the fact that it is most frequently encountered when male or people identifying as male communicate this way with  female or people identifying as female.

Research confirms that mansplaining has tangible effects on workplace culture, leadership effectiveness, and team performance.

The quantitative as well as qualitative study documented associations between mansplaining and reduced confidence, lower vocal participation, and heightened dissatisfaction (Smith et al., 2022). Other work looked at what they called  “competence-questioning communication” including mansplaining, interruptions and voice non-recognition. Results demonstrated that condescending explanations occurred more frequently among peers, while interruptions and voice non-recognition were more common in supervisory interactions (Briggs, Gardner, Ryan, 2023).

What does the impact of mansplaining mean in leadership and for teams?

The effect of this type of behaviour extends being the initial discomfort and embarrassment caused. It affects psychological safety. When team members experience mansplaining regularly, they’re less likely to speak up in meetings (Smith et al., 2022). This affects team performance and removes the potential of working with diverse perspectives. This lack of speaking up, the silence supports the creation of echo chambers that hinder innovation and decision-making quality.

Leaders who allow or participate in mansplaining erode psychological safety, making teams emotionally exhausted and disengaged.

This is not “merely” an incivility we are talking about. It reinforces broader patterns of silencing those who do not shout, or those who are already at the margins of the organisation. It not only affects innovation and open communication. Research suggests it correlates with diminished team cohesion and measurable drops in performance metrics over time (Smith et al., 2022).

How can you address mansplaining?

First of all, noticing occurrences and patterns of mansplaining is an important first step. Next, an organisation addressing mansplaining needs to focus on inclusive leadership, including creating an environment of psychological safety for all. If condescending explanations occur, leaders should provide an example for their organisations by respectfully addressing the conversation. This establishes norms for everyone in the organisation and empowers others to do the same.

One easy-to-implement step towards psychological safety starts with meetings. Making sure every voice is heard in an organisation by establishing meeting norms around speaking time and participation. These will further innovation and collaboration.

The evidence is clear: mansplaining isn’t merely rude—it’s a productivity drain that undermines organizational goals.

Organizations serious about leveraging their diversity and performance must treat it as a legitimate workplace issue worthy of addressing, training and accountability. Do you want to address communication in your organisation? Get in touch. I look forward to hearing from you.

References:

1. Smith et al., “‘Well, actually’: investigating mansplaining in the modern workplace,” Journal of Management & Organization, 2022
2. Briggs CQ, Gardner DM, Ryan AM. Competence-Questioning Communication and Gender: Exploring Mansplaining, Ignoring, and Interruption Behaviors. J Bus Psychol. 2023 Jan 9:1-29.