Helping women succeed in business

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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

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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.)

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