Being a boss is not the worst thing that can happen to a woman.
A lot of you know exactly what I'm talking about.
We start out our careers like gangbusters. We move up through the ranks and finally we reach management and, OMG, we have people we need to supervise. We are bosses!
It's especially difficult when we move up through the ranks at one business because we have developed friendships at work. Then the dynamic changes. And, being women, we try to stay friends with our former peers, which never works.
We can be friendly, but we are no longer friends.
We have to be the boss. We have to make decisions about people we really like. and about a few people we really don't like.
It isn't easy, but advice and assistance from someone who has already done it is a big help.
I heard some good advice at JAWS in Vermont last weekend.
For example: good work is not the same as good leadership. Boy is that true. I know I'm a much better reporter than editor/manager. I had to learn a whole new set of skills for that job.
A good leader spots those qualities in others, even when they don't see them in themselves. Still, leadership is largely learned.
I didn't have to learn to show respect for my employees or to show them I cared about them or to put them as human beings first in my perception -- which are all things that are essential in management.
The tougher thing is, actually, being tough on people. At least for a chronic people-pleaser like me.
Many of us, when we get into managerial positions, assume the same loyalty from our people as we were willing to give. But, it's hard not to notice when someone is chronically late or calls in sick regularly on Mondays.
So, we end up having to take care of those situations while keeping effluent from falling on our other employees.
When something befalls a loyal employee, we've got to have his or her back and say "come back when you're whole."
It's called "managing up," dealing with superiors. And, it's not always fun.But, if you don't protect your employees, no one else will. And your loyalty to them will bring out their loyalty to you.
31 October 2013
30 October 2013
When Women Run the World
The Journalism and Women Symposiums go by the acronym JAWS and are illustrated by a Great White Shark.
Which isn't to say these women are in the least bit predatory.
Just that they have a sense of humor.
JAWS moves around from year to year and in 2013 was in Essex Junction, Vermont.
It couldn't have been a prettier location, even a few weeks past "peak" that uniquely New England season that refers to the time of year tourists known as "leaf peepers" triple the population of the Northeast states.
The Essex, Vermont's Culinary Resort was packed with some of the brightest, most erudite women ever to sit in the same room and lament the calorie counts in brownies.
Not to pick on men -- although it is tempting -- but women are decidedly un-sharklike when they get together to talk about being professionals and working toward life goals. Women nurture. Not to say men can't be nurturing, too, but it is less instinctive. Most men are like the adult male dog who first pushes the new puppy in the house away. A few male dogs -- I had one -- will wash and cuddle a puppy or even a kitten, but most don't think that way. There aren't being mean. They are being alpha.
Women don't have the time to be alpha.
We are too busy juggling the aspects of our lives to worry about anything as silly as finishing on top of the heap.
So, when professional women get together, they don't waste time playing games. They hold seminars and workshops and they talk. They network. There is a lot of give and take. People take suggestions from each other.
JAWS attracts some of the top women in journalism as speakers and attendees.
One of the sessions was on women in management presented by Amy Resnick, exectuive editor of Pensions & Investments; Paula Ellis, a former Knight Poundation officer, and Stacy Marie Ishamel, a financial blogger.
Among the salient points they addressed were several that should have been obvious, but occasionally get lost in the clutter of management.
All jobs are consequential and a corollary to that is that every employee, including a contract employee, requires a relationship with the supervisor and that relationship is important.
Remember, if you aren't a manager now, you might be someday soon.
Which isn't to say these women are in the least bit predatory.
Just that they have a sense of humor.
JAWS moves around from year to year and in 2013 was in Essex Junction, Vermont.
It couldn't have been a prettier location, even a few weeks past "peak" that uniquely New England season that refers to the time of year tourists known as "leaf peepers" triple the population of the Northeast states.
The Essex, Vermont's Culinary Resort was packed with some of the brightest, most erudite women ever to sit in the same room and lament the calorie counts in brownies.
Not to pick on men -- although it is tempting -- but women are decidedly un-sharklike when they get together to talk about being professionals and working toward life goals. Women nurture. Not to say men can't be nurturing, too, but it is less instinctive. Most men are like the adult male dog who first pushes the new puppy in the house away. A few male dogs -- I had one -- will wash and cuddle a puppy or even a kitten, but most don't think that way. There aren't being mean. They are being alpha.
Women don't have the time to be alpha.
We are too busy juggling the aspects of our lives to worry about anything as silly as finishing on top of the heap.
So, when professional women get together, they don't waste time playing games. They hold seminars and workshops and they talk. They network. There is a lot of give and take. People take suggestions from each other.
JAWS attracts some of the top women in journalism as speakers and attendees.
One of the sessions was on women in management presented by Amy Resnick, exectuive editor of Pensions & Investments; Paula Ellis, a former Knight Poundation officer, and Stacy Marie Ishamel, a financial blogger.
Among the salient points they addressed were several that should have been obvious, but occasionally get lost in the clutter of management.
All jobs are consequential and a corollary to that is that every employee, including a contract employee, requires a relationship with the supervisor and that relationship is important.
Remember, if you aren't a manager now, you might be someday soon.
29 October 2013
The Secret of Our Success (or Not)
Riker Danzig says the bright red neon sign towering over Morristown's green, a touch of modernity in the historic town.
The distinguished law firm is proud of its status as the firm with more female partners than any other in the area. And the firm doesn't just rest on its laurels. Twice a year, Riker Danzig, led by the female partners, holds women's leadership events.
Networking is the goal of most attendees and they make the most of the cocktails and hot hors d'orves. Riker Danzig partners and associates mingle with accountants, real estate brokers and other businesswomen. It's a typical scene except for gender.
Each event has a speaker, also female, followed by dessert and coffee. Probably because the attendees are women, the desserts learn toward chocolate. Stereotyping, but delicious.
At first, the cocktail receptions moved around, but Riker Danzig settled at the Guevenor Morris (now renamed the Westin Governor Morris, but natives know that is incorrect). It is the perfect venue with a balcony for the cocktail party adjacent to a spacious banquet room. And the food and service are consistently great.
The latest even featured Lisa Shallot of Goldman Sachs who spoke about her rise through the ranks and offered some tips from her experiences for women on the way up.
Most of the mature women in the audience nodded frequently as Shallot spoke about characteristics of many women in the workforce.
Nothing sparked affirmative gestures as quickly as when she talked about women as reluctant to focus on their strengths. Even in their annual reviews, most women focus on their needs for improvement rather than on what they do well.
Shallot advised women to list their strengths, even to the extent of looking at past performance review and asking friends and colleagues for their observations. She pointed out often others perceive strengths in an individual that may escape the person herself. Friends and colleagues may also not see the very thing the woman thinks is her major strength.
Accepting challenges and moving out of one's comfort zone were other items of advice Shallot offered.
The audience questions revealed the group was seriously paying attention, but they didn't hesitate to head straight for the chocolate.
The distinguished law firm is proud of its status as the firm with more female partners than any other in the area. And the firm doesn't just rest on its laurels. Twice a year, Riker Danzig, led by the female partners, holds women's leadership events.
Networking is the goal of most attendees and they make the most of the cocktails and hot hors d'orves. Riker Danzig partners and associates mingle with accountants, real estate brokers and other businesswomen. It's a typical scene except for gender.
Each event has a speaker, also female, followed by dessert and coffee. Probably because the attendees are women, the desserts learn toward chocolate. Stereotyping, but delicious.
At first, the cocktail receptions moved around, but Riker Danzig settled at the Guevenor Morris (now renamed the Westin Governor Morris, but natives know that is incorrect). It is the perfect venue with a balcony for the cocktail party adjacent to a spacious banquet room. And the food and service are consistently great.
The latest even featured Lisa Shallot of Goldman Sachs who spoke about her rise through the ranks and offered some tips from her experiences for women on the way up.
Most of the mature women in the audience nodded frequently as Shallot spoke about characteristics of many women in the workforce.
Nothing sparked affirmative gestures as quickly as when she talked about women as reluctant to focus on their strengths. Even in their annual reviews, most women focus on their needs for improvement rather than on what they do well.
Shallot advised women to list their strengths, even to the extent of looking at past performance review and asking friends and colleagues for their observations. She pointed out often others perceive strengths in an individual that may escape the person herself. Friends and colleagues may also not see the very thing the woman thinks is her major strength.
Accepting challenges and moving out of one's comfort zone were other items of advice Shallot offered.
The audience questions revealed the group was seriously paying attention, but they didn't hesitate to head straight for the chocolate.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)