Member Articles

Informal networking is a critical component to business development. It is how a lot of transactions occur. People prefer doing business with people who are within a few degrees of others they know. Women are not making time for this type of business development. I hear “I have to go home to the kids ” or “I don’t feel comfortable” or “I hate that women stuff.”  I have never heard a male executive say “I hate that male stuff.”  For some reason, women also jump to the conclusion that if they engage in informal networking with women that this would preclude them from networking with men.  The fact of the matter is that women's organizations are not “knitting clubs;” they can be powerful groups that implement tremendous change. 

Reality 5: Women are reporting that they prefer male bosses. In three studies that have come across my desk this fall, I have noticed an upsetting finding: Women are reporting (3 out of 4 times) that they would prefer to have a male boss. I am struggling to understand this statistic.  Does this mean that women prefer to take direction from men?  What is the fear attached to a woman in power? Are women leaders alienating themselves from other women employees? Again, what do we do about this phenomenon?

When looking at these five realities, I realize that there is a lot we can learn from men.  They are inclusive and put in time to mentor younger men.  They are open about the competition and agree to compete, realizing that there is enough business out there for more than one person to be successful. They build strong networks that include a variety of resources and spend time strengthening these relationships. They engage in informal networking opportunities, place value on this type of business development and really enjoy it.

I'm not saying that women need to act like men. But we do need to learn from what men are doing.  We spend a lot of energy fighting to prove that we can do a man’s job and be like men, in some cases even modeling their behavior and styles, so why not benefit from adopting some of the positive behaviors? We do have strengths that men do not have; why not take advantage of them?