Alexis Senge JohnsonIt has been a while since I have posted a new blog and that has been due to my hectic work schedule. Getting our new season up and running took all of my attention and for that I am quite sorry. It was interesting that this blog was started with the intention of fulfilling the request of a friend who stated she was going through withdrawal because I was not posting. If I was still living in the “Mouse House” then you could say I was temporarily 101, but am now back up and running as usual.
As women, is there something in our brain that malfunctions and encourages us to be less confident then our male counterparts? I didn’t think so, until I saw it happening with so many of the gals around me. My job is very versatile but within a normal day I deal with my direct employees, employees from other departments who support mine, colleagues both in and outside of my department, and then various levels of upper management who make sure the product I put out each day is in tip top shape. At every level I am finding females who have giant areas where they lack confidence, but attempt to make up for it by being overly confident, and at times pushy, in other areas. Are we designed differently from men who appear to be confident at all times? Is it what we have been taught over the years about how we should be demure and polite, while also trying to prove our intelligence? No matter what the cause, this is a problem that needs to be extinct.
Most of us go to the same schools, read the same text books and listen to the same lectures. Often we even partake in the same internships, but in the end, females have a different style of management. For those of us who have learned how to strike a balance, we are highly sought after by companies who have recognized that often, the best “man” for the job is a wo”man.” So why do I spend my day encountering women who can’t seem to get a grip on how to balance themselves so they excel as an amazing manager? It might just be that no one around them was ever a good example of such. Maybe during their first year as a front line manager their direct boss didn’t demonstrate how to properly handle these situations. Maybe they have even been lucky enough to be promoted to a senior management position during their career of poor management techniques, because others were eliminated and cleared the path for them to shoot up the ladder.
The problem is that now a cycle of poor female managers has been created and it is time to put a stop to it. It’s time women stop doubting the statements they make in meetings. They know it is correct and based in facts, but they don’t want to draw attention to themselves. You can’t lack confidence and speak in a cutesy child-like way in a meeting with your superiors and then turn around to your own employees and demand respect in an overly forceful and dictator type way. Stop completing the projects of others, in an effort to be recognized for something, while neglecting to follow through on your own projects until they are swept under the table. I am just tired of watching the childish laughing during serious meetings; hearing employees talk so poorly about their managers because the managers never earned respect but always demanded it; seeing the females around me lackadaisically going through their shift without any structure because they are lacking the right skills to succeed.
It is time that something is done about this. 2011 will be the year that I stop watching females barely be able to keep their head above the management waterline and instead start helping them hone their skills. We might be outnumbered in the management workforce, but we naturally possess qualities that more companies seek, nowadays. I know many have mentioned enjoying my rants through this blog, but it is time that it takes a slight direction change. From here on out those rants will be supplemented by usable techniques that will allow other 21st century gals to become managers. Jump on the bandwagon and join me in my journey to be a female manager who is classy, not brassy. It’s time to learn how to do what the guys have always done, but in our own way!
Nicely put. Your generation will look much differently as they progress into middle and upper management. Have confidence in what you are learning now. Learn everything possible as these are the building blocks that will lead to having the confidence necessary in upper management. In my generation, woman with ability were often pushed to the front of the line for advancement before they had the necessary knowledge. This eroded their confidence to be able to perform at high levels of management. That contributed to what you have observed.
Love your writing and a glimpse at your thoughts. Keep up your positive outlook and inspirational writing. Looks like you have writing skills both learned and genetically enabled.
Thank you Andy. It is a very interesting progression that female managers have made. When I first moved into management I began asking how the women above me eventually got to their spots and learned that they very often had moved their way up from front line postions. Some of them don’t even have a Bachlor degree, let alone a Master’s, but now the requirement to apply for a job at their level requires at least a Master’s. I have noticed that they all have different styles of management and some don’t seem to have any specific style at all because they haven’t learned one. If those of us who are younger use these women as examples then we’ll either learn what not to do or we’ll learn nothing at all about management. I just read an article yesterday that the female head of Pepsi Co. is encouraging her company to promote more women to the highest levels of management as there are almost no women that high up on the ladder. Then another study from the University of California Davis said that in the hightest levels of management/boards of direction women only make up 1 out of every 9 members of leadership if we are lucky. It is just astounding. Makes me wonder if they gave up before they made it past middle management or if their skills just weren’t strong enough to promote them.
[…] with him to some extent. Those lackadaisical managers I mentioned in my last management blog, “From Temporarily 101 to Management 101…That’s How I Roll,” drive me batty. They always seem unsure and indecisive, therefore giving the rest of us gals a […]