by Dot Callihan | Mar 18, 2015 | Acting As Empowered Women
I can’t believe I haven’t written about this yet because out of all the topics I can think of, this is the topic I deal with the most – people using company cell phones, computers, office, desks and file cabinets as if they are their own personal property. I think I kept pushing it off because I kept thinking that people have learned to keep personal and professional separate but they haven’t. As a result I keep learning things about my employees that I can only classify as TMI.
Years ago, I had employees who believed that a company can’t look into phone records, computer usage or even go into an office or cubicle without their consent. Sorry, it is all company property and the company can and will go through it whenever they want. Management goes through computer usage, emails and phone records more often than people think. Yes, Big Brother is active in the male-dominated workplace and he is scanning and digging and if you have dirty little secrets, management will discover them.
by Dot Callihan | Feb 24, 2015 | Acting As Empowered Women, Thinking Like Empowered Women
The blog-o-sphere is full of articles right now telling women how unfair the male-dominated workplace is towards women. We hear about how much harder we work but get fewer rewards, pay and promotions. We hear that women are viewed as abrasive and bossy. We hear that if we are not bossy, then we are timid and don’t project self-confidence. We hear that if women are confronted about their “poor behavior” we respond emotionally and irrationally. We hear that our male co-workers manterrupt us and take credit for our ideas. We hear that we are damned if we do and damned if we don’t.
by Dot Callihan | Feb 17, 2015 | Acting As Empowered Women, Understanding The Male-Dominated Workplace
There are days at work when I just want to yell “Leave me alone!! Do I have to solve everybody’s problems for them?! Can’t you guys solve problems yourself?”
Twenty years ago, when I had fewer responsibilities, I liked solving problems, any one’s problems. I found it challenging. But as a manager with a constant line of people outside my door, all with at least one problem, it becomes overwhelming. I used to think the problem was that I was a perfectionist control freak but that wasn’t it. The problem was that my team of employees couldn’t problem solve. When I asked them to, I found I had to give them permission to think.
by Dot Callihan | Feb 11, 2015 | Acting As Empowered Women
When you attend training, what do you hope to get out of it? Do you expect to get step by step instructions or the answer on how to solve a problem? Do you expect the person training you to be better at the task than you? Is it Ok with you that person a professional trainer/instructor with no practical experience in the subject?
There are many approaches to training but in the male-dominated workplace the primary approach has been for the more experienced, more knowledgeable person to train the less experienced, less knowledgeable. The trainee watches and copies what the trainer does. When I worked with trades, this was called OJT – on the job training. In my office environments, I noticed female managers give their female employees step-by-step instructions which they were supposed to write down then replicate on their own to accomplish the task. New female employees have to be shown how to accomplish a task whereas male employees under a male supervisor are often placed with a sink or swim situation – if you need help, you have to ask. In either case, most training seems to be rote and based on memorization of steps.
by Dot Callihan | Feb 3, 2015 | Acting As Empowered Women, Understanding The Male-Dominated Workplace
Let’s admit it – the male-dominated workplace can be pretty dull. This is one of the reasons I liked being out on a construction site – we had a lot more fun! On site, we weren’t trying to impress anyone with a corporate image like we had to in the main office. In the main office you have to present a “professional” image at all times in case a Client stopped by and made it past the main lobby, conference room and senior offices into the back recesses of the main office.
by Dot Callihan | Jan 27, 2015 | Acting As Empowered Women
How to solve a problem you know nothing about
During the Ebola scare I noticed that our government leaders felt compelled to project that they had answers even though they clearly didn’t. They could not admit that they didn’t have the answer. They believe this gives us confidence in them. I picked up on this because I recently dealt with a situation at work where my boss could not admit he didn’t know how to solve a problem. He and I disagreed that admitting he didn’t have the answer was the best first step in finding the answer.
I thought my opinion was in the minority until I was on a self-development webinar last week led by Jeff Liker, a leading international business consultant. According to Jeff, the male-dominated workplace believes they have to know and must always project that they know how to make something happen. The male-dominated workplace is uncomfortable with uncertainty. This is because in the culture believes that the higher up in an organization a person is, the more knowledge and experience they have – so therefore they must have the answer.
In his consulting, Jeff advocates that managers and leaders admit what they do not know. He says the problem is that we don’t know how to use a scientific way of thinking and problem solving. When faced with a problem we don’t know how to solve, then the best thing is to try something. If it is wrong, then it will fail quickly and you learn from the failures. Failure should be an accepted part of learning.
The less you know about how to solve the problem the smaller the step you take. Again, if it is wrong then failure will come quickly. As you grow in experience in an area, you can take larger initial steps. Again, it is all about being comfortable taking action when there is uncertainty.
This is a scientific approach to problem solving – you come up with a theory and try it. How many iterations of the light bulb did Edison go through before he came up with a solution that worked?
Don’t be afraid to fail early, fail fast and fail often. Just learn from the failure and try again. As the old saying goes, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”
Jeff’s comments were geared for a male audience who will project an answer and stick with it, trying to make it work because they are afraid to admit failure. For women we have a slightly different problem implementing this approach – we have to learn to act quickly, not plan and collaborate extensively first. I realize I use this approach and have taught it to others by a comment I make “I don’t know if it will work, but give it a whirl and see what happens.” I realize in writing this that I use this approach in cooking… a lot!! And it is spilling over into other home projects.
So when you have a problem you don’t know how to solve, don’t be afraid to admit it and don’t be afraid to come up with an idea and give it a whirl!
Empowered women don’t fake confidence by projecting answers to problems they can’t solve. Empowered women aren’t afraid to fail and learn.
