Female Leaders:Get things done.
Over the last few weeks I have been talking to some peers both men and women about the Tina Fey SNL Saturday Night Live skit--B*# get things done. If you have not seen this clip I have noted the link below. Although the skit was framing around politics if you put aside the politics of it there is an underlying layer of reality at times in business.
The reality that as a leader that is female, needing as any leader, to get results, you may be perceived as aggressive in driving at the results. There is research you can read about on www.catalyst.com of the double bind. That statistically women business leaders have the bind of perceptions 1)if perceived as a woman and feminine you are not equal to the job at hand at times and/or 2)as a woman leader as you drive for results you can be perceived as overly aggressive. So too feminine or not feminine enough.
Saturday Night Live: Get things done.
If you hit the video clip SNL clip: B#* get things done.(or paste http://www.youtube.com/user/freespeech33) you can see it yourself. And I have shared it with men and women who have enjoyed seeing it and it was shared with me by a professional and he is on a board with me. We had a interesting time talking about it over a lunch and it led to discussions and situations. This open dialogue is what I enjoy. The conversations and perspective sharing that I have had in work team settings, diversity meeting settings, and informal peer settings--professionals listening to each other and increasing awareness.
So although several weeks ago in coverage the ongoing conversation to me is the dialogue that continues to be the awareness for longer term is that to get things done as a women leader you may be perceived as too tough. I had a business supplier recently comment that I was pushy -- my reality was that the supplier was late and repeated communications that the deliverable was coming and the commitments repeatedly missed--and my team and I joked and I shared the video clip. I found it refreshing to be able to point to a media and video that made the point on perceptions and various views of reality.
Keep talking and sharing perspective.
With that I will end with "keep talking and thinking on situations at work with other professionals". And take a look at w2wlink.com. There are tools to help you as a professional women or as a leader developing professional women--w2wlink.com has articles on communication styles and negotiating tips from experts to support you in getting things done. Drop me a comment and I will listen and learn with you.
Comments