Women at the top

LONDON, England (CNN) -- It is a perennial problem for female executives with their sights set on the boardroom -- act feminine and be overlooked, or become more assertive and risk appropriating the worst aspects of male managerial bullishness.

Fortunately, experts at one leading US business school have some suggestions, with a study inspired by another example of a woman aiming for the very top.

Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign has hinged on the "emotion issue," note faculty at Emory University's Goizueta Business School in Atlanta, most obviously on the eve of Super Tuesday last month, when she became briefly tearful at a campaign meeting.

That incident was said to have helped soften Clinton's sometimes steely image. So how, as the Goizueta study puts it, can the traditional businesswomen located "a sweet spot between Blanche DuBois and Lady Macbeth?"

"Hillary Clinton embodies women's struggle to display professionalism without violating traditional gender role expectations," said Nikki Graves, an assistant professor in the practice of management communication at Goizueta.

Much of the issue is down to different communication styles between the genders, according to Graves, with women tending to be less keen to trumpet their achievements or shout about their expectations.

She tested this at a workshop on such gender differences at a major management consulting company, finding that newly-hired women tend to communicate in a more "feminine" way and are generally seen by colleagues as cautious and more hesitant.

However, the feedback showed that senior female executives tend to have a more "masculine" style. "The ones that don't act this way, don't make it to the top," Graves surmised.

According to another Goizueta expert, the problem is as much due to outside social perceptions as the way women decide to act themselves.

Staff generally expect female managers to be more nurturing than men, noted Sherron Bienvenu, a professor of management communications at Goizueta who also runs an executive coaching firm.

"There's some expectation that a female manager is going to remember your children's names, inquire about your weekend, and not question personal time off," she said, advising female managers to avoid behavior that could lead them to be seen as the office "mother," and thus a less serious manager.

The school has called in Patti Wood, a body language consultant based in Atlanta, to give advice to women wanting to be taken seriously in the workplace.

She identifies a series of ways that female executives can be more "male" without seeming strident or overbearing, for example being sure to shake hands before and after the meetings, speaking up sufficiently and being sure not to smile when asking a male colleague to adapt their behavior.

"Men won't read that kind of message as important. They read it as, she is smiling, she likes me," Wood said.

A key message is that women should not be afraid to take credit for their work where it is due, rather than -- as many tend to -- try and share it around.

This shouldn't be seen as boasting, Bienvenu noted. "It's never about you. When you talk about yourself, you're talking about the contributions you make, what you're bringing to the table." E-mail to a friend