As women we like to distinguish ourselves from men based on our emotions – women are more empathetic, nurturing and compassionate.
But have to ask ourselves:
How does that benefit us in the workplace?
Years ago, when women tried to assert the value of our emotions
Men replied, “What are you going to make us do? Sit around holding candles and sing?”
Touting our emotions didn’t get us anywhere.
After that we got lost. We didn’t know what unique value women brought to the workplace. We didn’t know what would make a workplace say “We need to hire and promote more women!”
So, we fell back to the stereotypes and the belief that male traits are necessary for the workplace.
We then defined a set of Women’s Issues that give women equality in a world driven by men and male traits.
While these are important issues they don’t give women Actionable Solutions and Strategies we can apply to get ahead in our workplace. These issues don’t tell women:
- How to get recognition for your hard work
- How to get the promotion you deserve
- How we get women into and have women succeed in the high paying male dominated career fields.
That’s why it’s time to get out of the box and start finding Actionable Solutions.
Let’s understand that our workplaces exist to make and sell a product or service. They exist to get work done. Work requires Thinking and Action – two traits we traditionally associate with men.
We especially associate Thinking with men because it’s men who we believe are logical, rational and objective – all the qualities that go along with Superior Thinking.
And women, well, we are the emotional ones.
It wasn’t that long ago when we believed that men work from the left side of their brain and women from the right.
But that’s not true
So, Let’s understand how our brains really work and rethink: Who has the better brain for the 21st century?
There is no magical dividing line that says male brains function this way and female brains that way. Our brains have many similarities but also some important differences, especially in the way they are wired.
Men have a lot of connections that run front to back on both sides of the brain. This helps men have really good perception and coordinated action.
They like throwing the ball through the hoop, kicking the ball through the goal or putting rounds peg in round holes.
In women our connections are different. They run from one side to the other, front to back – our connections run everywhere. This connects the logical and analytical side of our brain with our emotions.
Think about that.
It means women are every bit as rational, logical and analytical as men but our emotions give us a greater depth of understanding.
After working with so many men I think of it like this:
Men work with blinders on.
But women have really great awareness of what is going on around us.
Women have situational awareness and this is a trait that the male-dominated workplace is really trying to teach men.
It says “Guys, Pick your head up and observe what is going on around you.”
Now why is this so important?
Well, its because our workplaces today are Complex. There are a lot of activities going on all at once that all have to come together to get our work done properly.
Coming from the construction industry – which is very male dominated and full of male thinking – I know how important this is.
We often think of construction as pouring the foundation, then erecting the framing, then doing the mechanical systems, electrical etc. We envision a very orderly assembly line of completing one task then moving on to the next.
But that’s not all that’s going on.
We have to procure and manage labor, materials and equipment. We have to deal with Design, Safety, Quality, Financial, Legal, Insurance, Union and Environmental issues.
There was a lot going on all at once, all the time.
Now who’s brain do you think is better suited for that?
The female masterpiece!
Our brains are better suited for how we do work in the 21st century.
As women we have to stop focusing so much on our emotions and start focusing more on the way we think. We need to break out of the box that is filled with Women’s Issues but don’t give us Actionable Solutions.
We also have to understand that that box exists.
Take any marketing course the first thing they teach you is that women are the largest consumer group and the way you sell to women is through their emotions.
So, everyone wants us to be emotional and identify with our emotions – because that’s how everyone makes $$ off of women.
Think about how much we would upset if we start identifying with our brains and the way our minds work.
We would look around and start questioning:
- Why are you doing it that way?
- How about doing it this way way?
We would reveal how horribly outdated that old way of male thinking we always thought was so superior really is.
As women we are more than emotions.
We are the great thinkers that the 21st century needs.
Think about that.
Empowered Women Are More Than Emotions
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