Being Heard

I have just read a Fortune article on Strategies women can use to make sure their ideas are heard at work. This kind of thing really annoys me. When are we going to realize that the answer isn’t to teach women how to manage around men or give them tips and tricks so they can succeed in a male dominant culture? The answer is to avoid having a male dominant culture in the first place!

The issue here is that this is exactly what we do have in most businesses and organizations, at least at the senior levels. But telling women to ‘work around’ it is the last thing we should be doing I think. We can’t be ourselves and focus on doing what we do well if we are busy trying to manage around and fit in with others. And we need to be ourselves and focus on what we do well to be able to perform at our best. This is ultimately what will make people hear and value us. So let’s teach women this.

Oh and one last thing... how many successful men do you think spend their time and energy thinking about how to talk to and manage around women?