In recent years, the balance of men and women in positions of authority has slowly begun to shift. Companies today, are making efforts to establish a more diverse workforce than before. This has countless positive effects such as increasing productivity, creativity, loyalty, employee satisfaction, innovation and overall performance. A diverse workplace not only includes people of different ages, race, cultural backgrounds and religions, but also people of different genders. Such efforts should be made throughout a company’s entire structure and not just on a lower level.
According to the Harvard Business Review, there has been a notable shift in managerial positions acquired by women since the 80s in the US: From 1980 to 2010 “of new management positions, 2.6 million were occupied by women and 1.9 million by men. In other words, women make up the majority of new management jobs created from 1980 to 2010.” However, it also states that such managerial positions are deeply divided by field, and that the fields where there were more female managers present, are also the fields reported to have the bigger gender pay gaps. So, evidently, there is still a long way to go.
In today’s professional climate, with the various women empowerment movements occurring worldwide, now is as good a time as any to learn to command respect, assert authority, and climb to the top.
1. Appearance
Appearance plays an unfortunately bigger role than most of us would like to think. Male or female, the way you present yourself is an important factor of how you are perceived. Whatever your field, dress appropriately and make sure you feel comfortable in what you wear. Additionally, choose the right professional hairstyle and footwear to accompany your look.
2. Criticism
Taking criticism is one of the hardest things in our professional lives, but sometimes also the most useful. Learning to gain something from criticism is a skill most of us spend a long time mastering, but it is worth it. Whether the person criticizing you is doing so in a productive way or not, you have the power to draw from this situation what you will. Make sure you ask questions and request feedback. Criticism should be positive and constructive so that you can learn something from it so regain control of the situation and use it to your favor.
3. Respect
Not only is respecting yourself very important in management, but also respecting others. Acknowledge, reward and support people’s hard work, rather than just assuming they know already. By respecting others, you not only automatically gain more respect for yourself, but you also encourage a respectful attitude amongst your coworkers.
4. Neutrality
All work places involve a surprisingly great deal of gossip, indirect criticism and competiveness – no matter what the industry is. In order to command respect as a female in a managerial position, it is absolutely vital to avoid joining in. Your role as a manager is to remain impartial and to be reliable. Such behavior proves unproductive and usually results in a lack of trust from your colleagues and therefore a lack of respect. Your colleagues will realize that you are above this and will quickly adapt their behavior.
5. Confidence
Be confident in what you do and how you do it. Trust that you are in that managerial position because you are qualified for it and fully capable. With the right appearance, convincing body language and strong rhetoric, your confidence will naturally emanate. Rhetoric is important for all managerial positions: avoid words that express doubt or uncertainty and words that may come across as emotional, instead, opt for vocabulary that conveys a positive and accomplished attitude. As discussed in our recent podcast “Devil Wears Power Suits”, this sort of tentative and non-assertive speech is called “women speech”, which is less common in men.
6. Intuition
Use your intuition with things like knowing when to take control of a situation and when to leave your colleagues room to be creative. As a manger, you should encourage and support your fellow colleagues and guide them when they need assistance but also make sure that they have room to develop and prove their skills and their worth.
