In the 1990’s a book called ‘Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus’ inspired conversations and ‘ah-ha’ moments in peoples couple relationships. What we had all suspected for a long time, that men and women do not think alike, was cleverly marketed in a glossy American book for us all to read and indulge in. It’s genetic, it’s environmental, it’s inevitable, men and women are different. As much as it is relevant for the home it is also present in the working environment.
For all the
women working in a male dominated environment, engineering, IT, construction,
investment and private banking, stock brokers etc…and also the sub divisions of
a company Sales, IT, R&D these differences can present tough, frustrating
situations for women and often prevents women moving up the ranks. However, having these differences present and
overcoming them is also what makes companies more successful and life more
interesting.
Two organisations
delivering studies suggesting a link between gender
balance and
performance, Catalyst, the US research organisation and McKinsey & Company.
Taking very different approaches to the data, they both came up with very
similar results: that having more women in leadership is correlated with
stronger financial returns. (And they are not the only ones to show the link. Besides another study of North American companies, similar proof is
available for France and UK, among others.)
The success of women in business is both vital for women and for business success. In these hard times any intervention that proved to increase ROE by upwards of 41% is surely worth pursuing.
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catalyst
report: linking performance and gender balance on the board
return on
equity: Fortune 500
companies with 3 or more women on the Board gain a significant
performance advantage over those with the fewest
- + 73% return on sales
- + 83% return on equity
- + 112% return on invested capital
Read Catalyst research report
mckinsey
report: women matter: women at the top of corporations
Similar
findings come from the McKinsey Report, which has found that companies with the
highest percentage of women show the best performance. In comparing the
top-quartile of companies in terms of share of women in executive committees
against companies that have all-male executive committees, McKinsey found that
the former companies exceeded the latter by 41% in return on equity and by 56%
in operating results.
These reports
confirm that gender differences are an opportunity rather than a problem.
At new habits
myself and my colleague, Liz have been women managers, executives and working
mothers operating in a male dominated industry.
When it comes to ‘succeeding’ in a male world we know our stuff.
1.
Don’t
change who you are; change how you communicate:
Men communicate much differently to women, on the whole. To ensure you are successful in male
dominated environment you have to be prepared to be flexible in your approach
to communication. Typically, men
communicate with logic, cause and effect and ration at the forefront. They are more direct and assertive in their
delivery and have no time or interest in small talk. As women, we communicate very
differently. We generally feel valued
when people engage in small talk with us and can misinterpret when they don’t
as an insult. We are more likely to
communicate openly our feelings and concerns and are interested in the feelings
and concerns of others. Women are generally
less direct in communication and also less assertive, both verbally and in body
language. Women are more likely to
openly self-deprecate their own ability whilst men are more likely to ‘over
sell’ theirs.
To address the balance in this communication difference woman need to be
able to do the following:
·
Deliver information directly. Try to get your request/point in no more than
9 words. Say it and then shut up, or you
may find yourself confusing the point or request.
·
Talk to the head and the heart. Make sure to include a logical/rational
thread as well as the people focus.
Don’t lose the people focus it’s what makes women in the workplace and
crucially as leaders so important (and profitable).
·
Ask for what you want more. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want, it
is worth it!
·
Stop selling yourself short, accept praise and
do more to raise your profile.
·
Adapt body language to become more ‘assertive’
and less ‘passive’. Stand tall, good eye
contact, clear, concise delivery of words, open posture etc.
·
Dress for success! 55% our communication is visual. Therefore how you dress needs to reflect your
message and you’re your personal brand.
A tailored jacket and a small heel, gives authority. For a real insight into to what works well I
recommend a colour consultancy session with top colour stylists such as http://www.truecoloursforlife.com
who we have here in Sheffield.
2.
Lead
and learn how to delegate!
Men are great delegators! Or
perhaps, its women, who are naturally more nurturing and caring that means work
tends to land on us or maybe it’s our often inability to say ‘No’. Either way, I like to say ‘men are like
Teflon and women are like Velcro’.
Learning to delegate effectively and efficiently is a great skill to
have as it allows us to spend more time ‘leading’ and thinking
strategically. Saying ‘yes’ when we mean
‘no’ is short term gain for long term pain.
Those ‘can you do me a favour?’ and ‘would you just?’ ‘three minute’
jobs rarely take three minutes and eat into our precious time when we should be
inspiring, delegating, managing, leading and self-promoting (all of which men
have a great aptitude for, whilst we are doing their three minute jobs!)
3.
Handling
conflict and difficult people
We have a fantastic quality as women and that is we are more nurturing as
a gender. It’s not that men aren’t
nurturing, it’s that women typically have the quality in greater proportions;
it’s one of those differences that create opportunity. Within a conflict situation the focus of
resolution from a male perspective in on a solid, strong, ‘winning’ rational
solution, where as a women will work towards a collaborative solution that
strengthens the relationship and considers the impact on people. This is a valuable difference that makes
women at board level so profitable.
However, to get to the board, women need to be able to handle conflict
and difficult people easily, effectively and efficiently, otherwise the glass
ceiling with come crashing down somewhere around middle management level. (see previous blog)
4.
Balancing
work and home (don’t be a superwoman), and getting results.
Working women usually do more than their fair share of the child care and
carry more guilt than their spouses. This is the biggest worry for working
mothers and often the root cause of stress.
Many companies offer options like work from home and generous leave
policies, which (thankfully) now extend to the father as well. But individual managers may still be set in their
older ways. Women (and men) need to help each other out. This means more couples need to take the
decision to ‘share’ childcare arrangements, taking advantage of this recent
change in flexible working conditions, in households where the decision is that
both parents will pursue their careers equally.
In the meantime, our tip is to enlist help where you can, request to
work from home, engage with a great, trustworthy child-minder, get a cleaner,
ironing person, to make light of the chores and when you get home and ring
fence (in solid gold) an hour a night just for quality time with the kids, no
interruptions.
The success of women in business is both vital for women and for business success. In these hard times any intervention that proved to increase ROE by upwards of 41% is surely worth pursuing.
If you are
interested in attending an assertiveness course aimed at women in business then
get in touch with new habits on 01142214876 and talk to our expert consultants
Joanna or Liz.
Author: Joanna Reynolds
Author: Joanna Reynolds
