Addressing the gender in -balance in leadership
Do you remember the saying, “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus”? We all know that men and women are different. While acknowledging that the early feminists made great strides to improve a woman’s lot it is now time to dispense with the rivalry. The focus needs to be on how men and women can work along side one another in the work place, and how they can embrace diversity.
Unfortunately, that old glass ceiling is still there. Did you know that although women represent 43% of the total Australian workforce only 3.2% of them have senior executive roles? (Catalyst, the New York-based businesswomen's research organisation partnered with the Equal Opportunity for Women Agency (EOWA) for the first census of its kind in Australia.) LINK? http://www.ceoforum.com.au/200306_leadership.cfm)
It used to be that to break through this ceiling women had to be aggressive and aloof, adopting a style suitable to win over their male counterparts. Nowadays, there is a cultural shift in the workplace. Women are using their emotional intelligence to get the message across. Women are creating a friendly environment in which to work. They are encouraging collaboration, developing an open and honest atmosphere, and portraying themselves as approachable leaders.
Women have identified that to acknowledge the worker as the most important asset in the work place is the key to improving productivity. This is not exclusive to women, but, for so long, many men have led by fear. Their own insecurities have made them defensive, and consequently, aggressive towards their staff. They are a product of early socialisation in childhood – boys are not allowed to cry, but it’s OK for girls to show their emotions.
Women are very effective communicators. They are good at multi-tasking, and they encourage team building. Women will readily ask for help, whereas men feel by doing this they may be perceived as weak. Women derive a lot more support from women-only groups where they can establish a synergy, and, through this rapport building, can garner strength.
One of the greatest strengths women have is their flexibility. Before I married I was rebellious, and very intolerant. When I became a farmer’s wife I realised that I had to change in order to survive. But I didn’t want to lose my independence. So I re-invented myself. Years later, when I returned to the city, another “make-over” was necessary. Through circumstances, women often fall into their careers rather than plan them, and they respond to opportunities when they arise.
It is often inflexibility in the system – long working hours do not sit well with raising children - which drives women to set up their own business as the only way to achieve the work-family balance. Most women today are just as ambitious as their male counter-parts. By providing an atmosphere at work where women can succeed without compromising their family responsibilities, or without betraying their feminine – not feminist – principles, a dynamic and thriving business for both men and women can be created.
By Julianne Kuhlmann
Personal & Leadership Coach
Kool Results
"Putting You First"
Personal & Business Coaching, Leadership Development, Individual Training Programs,Work/life balance, Mentoring & Induction, Organisational performance
Email: info@koolresults.com.au Web: www.koolresults.com.au
Addressing the gender in balance in leadership - To learn more about this author, visit Julianne Kuhlmann's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
|||
Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Julianne's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
|
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 FREE Realestate CSS Template Making It Happen Quick Start Guide Making Life Work Goal Setting |
|
 | ||
 |
The Top 10 Guy Kawasaki Posts
Best Posts for Entrepreneurs | |
 |
Top 50 Marketing Blogs
Top Marketing Blogs of 2010 | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
