by Dot Callihan | Mar 1, 2013 | Acting As Empowered Women
I tell women to learn their company’s operating and management systems as a foundation for building a success career. But most women (and men) have never been taught how to think in terms of systems or how to map out processes so my advice may seem daunting.
If you took the initiative to search the web you may have been overwhelmed. Mapping processes seems complicated! There are symbols that you use to create diagrams to convey specific functions. The experts have names that require you to twist and contort your mouth in an attempt to pronounce. And it seems everyone has a PhD.
But the reality is that you don’t have to make it complicated for most of your purposes. No one needs to be well versed in systems or processes design. Here’s how I got a project started on mapping its processes.
by Dot Callihan | Feb 4, 2013 | Acting As Empowered Women
When you are a woman entering a traditionally male role you will be focused on your relationships with your male peers and supervisors. But you also need to focus on your relationships with your female co-workers in traditional jobs. You may assume that the women in the office will be cheering for your success however your presence may be as uncomfortable for them as it is for the men
by Dot Callihan | Feb 1, 2013 | Acting As Empowered Women, Thinking Like Empowered Women
We are told that to rise to the top 1% you have to be very aggressive…cutthroat even. A week ago two billionaires –Carl Icahn and Bill Ackman – went at each other live on CNBC. It was re-aired several times, billed as the “Clash of the Titans” or “The Battle of the Billionaires”. It was ugly. Commentators decided that the battle was very personal. Is this the type of confrontation that they believe keeps women from getting to the top? Do personal attacks make you recede and give up?
During my construction career I witnessed a lot of these “battles” and have participated in my share of them. It is one of the things I hated the most about my job! They wore me down and frustrated me because I thought they were just a plain stupid waste of time and energy. I had more important things to deal with than arbitrary posturing. Eventually I learned better ways to react to these incidents.
by Dot Callihan | Oct 9, 2012 | Acting As Empowered Women, Understanding The Male-Dominated Workplace
I came up with the concept of Swamp Wars about two years ago. It stemmed from my work experiences and for a while I thought it was unique to my industry because we have so many classic Alligator Slayers. But as I wrote this series of articles (Swamp Wars and The Rachel Letter) the national political conventions were held and politics fills the “news” media. Over the past year, I’ve seen huge similarities between what I experienced at work and what I see happening in our politics. I am now convinced that Swamp Wars is more than just my unique work experience – it is part of our society. Swamp Wars is a recent phenomenon and something women need to understand because it is having a significant impact on our ability to advance at work.
by Dot Callihan | Sep 19, 2012 | Acting As Empowered Women
In the season 3 finale and the season 4 premier of Friends, Ross and Rachel decide to get back together. But Rachel has one condition – she writes Ross a long letter in which she describes everything that went wrong with the relationship and Ross has to accept full responsibility. Ross, anxious to get back together with Rachel lies and says he read the letter – twice – and agrees to everything in the letter. As he learns what he agreed to he is unable to keep up the charade. Ross finally comes clean and admits that he fell asleep reading the letter – it was 18 pages long – front and back!
Women understand Rachel’s letter. It is a pure pink female masterpiece – long, citing every incident no matter how trivial in exacting detail.
Believe it or not our ability to write these types of letters comes in handy when working with men. I have written several business “Rachel letters.” It is one of the few times I get to venture towards the Pink end of the spectrum and frolic in my female characteristics with abandon.
by Dot Callihan | Aug 20, 2012 | Acting As Empowered Women
When we discuss women advancing their careers we cannot assume that all women have the same challenges. Our challenges are defined by who we are and the culture of our work environment I introduced the Purple Zone, as an evolution beyond thinking of men and women in...
