Women in Business

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» Women in Business

Manage Like A Woman

How to Be the Boss Without Being Mean

A female style of management is particularly well suited to today's workforce, since most employees are now more interested in working on a team than in a hierarchy.

Here are seven keys to managing more like a woman.

1. Focus on connecting with people, not dominating them: Build relationships with your team based on shared experiences, interests and goals. If you listen closely to conversations, you'll notice that men often tell stories to prove that they're better than other people; Women share their experiences to show how they're the same.
2. Follow your intuition: Men like to make decisions based on hard data, while women are more likely to trust their gut. Often, women will have intuitive feel for the right direction and then check the data to see if it supports that move.
3. Rather than conquering others, invite them to join: Instead of a more male-oriented approach to leadership, which might be to identify a mountain and then command your people to storm to the top, a woman will often lead in a more inclusive and collaborative way, talking to people about their objectives and concerns and persuading them that where she's headed will be good for them too.
4. Read the subtle signals: Women tend to be more empathetic than men and more sensitive to the nuances of communication. A female leader is more likely to pick up on subtle cues regarding how an employee is faring and also to have an intuitive feel for whether a potential hire is right for the team.
5. Have more going on in your life than just work: Women lead complex lives, generally playing many more roles in a day than men do. She may be a CEO, but she's also a mother, a wife, a triathlete, a book club member, a volunteer for the school auction and the sibling that's looking into extended care for her mom. In other words, a woman is usually engaged in many activities that have meaning for her. Since work isn't her only focus, she's able to roll with the ups and downs at the office more easily.
6. Talk. And listen: Women are strong communicators, and that bodes well for their management success. By taking the time to talk with your employees, you build stronger relationships. And make sure you're not the one monopolizing the conversation; you learn more by asking questions, and then truly listening to the response.
7. Nurture your employees: Women manages often spend less time testing their employees mettle and more time helping to develop their careers. Work with your people to build on their strengths and improve their areas of weakness. Women bosses tend to realize that helping others be more powerful makes them more powerful as well.

These women in business management tips and advice are provided by Elizabeth Cogswell Baskin, author of How to Run Your Business Like a Girl.

Mirassou is pleased to announce that Jeannine Sargent of Charlotte, NC has been named the winner of the 2007 "Make Your Dreams Come True with Mirassou" contest.

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