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Greetings!
It's October, my favorite month! Crisp cool days (except for today in southern California, after the Santa Ana winds blew in ridiculous heat), beautiful foliage, hayrides, and pumpkins...hard to beat. For this issue I decided to use an article I wrote a few years ago...it's relevance and urgency have only increased.
Enjoy and have a wonderful Fall season!
Warm Regards,
Jane Sanders | |
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WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP
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How Women Leaders Contribute to Organizational Growth
...by Jane Sanders
Imagine all the untapped talent in corporate America, stuck behind low - to middle-management desks because they look and act different than white men - talent disguised as women and other minorities. Now imagine utilizing all those skills and abilities, and reaping the positive results.
A war is being raged. Companies are fighting for talent to survival, not necessarily for moral and ethical reasons although they should be. Right now the richest resource for new talent lies in overlooked minorities. Because women are the largest segment of this resource pool in the workforce, they are the largest source of untapped talent.
Not only does the corporate world gain great executives by hiring and promoting women, but also great business results. A large sample of managers investigated in 2000 by the Center for Leadership Studies resulted in women scoring significantly higher than men in overall leadership effectiveness. They exceeded men with idealized influence, inspirational motivation, and individualized consideration. These findings mean that women, more so than male managers, motivated their followers to feel respect and pride, showed optimism and excitement about future goals, and attempted to develop and mentor followers as well as attend to their individual needs. Women also exceeded men on contingent reward, meaning they gave their followers rewards for good performance.
One reason for this higher scoring of women may be their perceived requirement to meet a higher standard of performance to attain and keep leadership positions. A second reason may be the tendency for women to use more feminine styles, as seen in the individualized consideration and reward attributes. Another possibility is that female managers encounter resistance when they employ the more traditional command-and-control leadership styles, and soon learn the advantages of the more interpersonally sensitive and inspirational type of leadership. Many other studies and meta-analyses indicate the same conclusion.
Translation - when women use their innate feminine skills, and balance those with the masculine traits necessary for successful leadership (even in the face of possible negative reactions to those masculine traits) they are more authentic and therefore more effective, influential, and powerful.
Click here to find out Why
Click here to read more Jane Sanders' Articles |
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GenderSmart Tips |
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Avoid Indirect Requests
With the intention of avoiding conflict and bossy communication labels, women (and some men) often soften their requests. Direct requests sound like snapping out orders to many women. Consequently, recipients of this indirect style often don't understand the point of the request or feel manipulated with subtle hints and perceived passive-aggressive communication.
Indirect communicators most likely have the best of intentions. They don't want to offend or "boss" people around. But indirect communication often backfires and is ineffective and confusing. How many times have you found yourself in a situation where you had to try to decipher what someone "really meant" or where you had to read between the lines. Frustrating, isn't it?
Just be polite and direct. Use please and thank you, state clearly and concisely what you need, then ask if there are any questions. For example, "Hi Jean, I'd like this report finished by 10:00 please, thanks very much." Clear, concise, direct, polite...as opposed to "Hi Jean, it sure would be nice to have this report finished around 10:00, thanks." See the room for misunderstanding here? The assistant may determine, "OK it would nice to finish it by 10:00, but considering how busy I am, 10:30 is probably alright."
The best approach is to be clear, concise, direct, and polite. |
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Quotes Of The Day |
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"What we say and what we do ultimately comes back to us so let us own our responsibility, place it in our own hands and carry it with dignity and strength."
Gloria Anzaldua, Mexican American lesbian feminist writer, poet, scholar and activist
"There is just as much horse sense as ever, but the horses have most of it."
WC Fields |
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You are welcome to reprint any part of this newsletter as long as
you include "By Jane Sanders, GenderSmart® Solutions, 877-343-2150, http://www.janesanders.com."
Contact Information
Phone: 310-589-2212 Toll-Free: 877-343-2150
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