Teleconference Call for Sabotage Seminar is Wed. March 28 @ 5:30 EST.
Dial-in Number: 1-218-862-6789
Conference Code: 542045
Readers, as promised we kick off the week with part one of our five week seminar series on How to Master Gender Dynamics in the workplace delivered by renowned success speaker and entrepreneur Laura L. Brown of LotusLifeWork.
Welcome to IOS Laura, lots of questions have been coming in, we’re excited to dig in. I’ll turn it over to you. – Shoe Hostess.
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Laura L. Brown
“Thanks, I am passionate about helping women succeed in business and look forward to providing you with the some vital insight into what is really going on at work.
The Top 5 Ways Women Sabotage Themselves in Business:
- Making assumptions about what motivates men
- Not understanding how you are being perceived by men (and other women)
- Languaging yourself into a negative reputation
- Having issues with power
- Not staying grounded in your feminine strengths
All of these behaviors keep women from reaching their career goals – and most of the time it’s completely unconscious! Assuming you know how men are thinking or what drives their actions is mistake number one!
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What can women do to ‘bond’ with male colleagues?
Stop thinking they want to bond with you. Men think of work as a game, with a pecking order. Your main concern should be, do they respect you?
What do you do if your boss consistently invites a male associate who is more junior to you to social outings?
There are many reasons why this could be happening and the best thing you can do is to not assume you know the reason. Of course, situations like this are delicate because of the variables involved, such as his marital status, are you the only woman in his department, does he respect your work. Clear communication is the place to start. Be clear about your goals, i.e., do you want to build a better working relationship with your boss or be friends with him? Are you prepared to hear him say that he isn’t comfortable being in social situations with just the two of you? How would you respond to that very real concern?
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I invite you to take a look at where you are assuming you know what drives the behaviors or actions of your male colleagues. It is only human to think that others will act the way you would act, but male and female brains are wired differently. Because of this, we view the world through different filters and motivations.
Men are not looking to be your friend at work, they are looking to succeed – it’s all about winning, however they define a win.
The goal is to be respected for your skills, abilities and accomplishments. It’s not about who ‘likes’ you.
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In next week’s seminar, I will address perception issues and how men and women displaying the same behaviors will elicit different responses. Feel free to keep submitting questions. Should we not get to them all, I will host a tele-conference dial-in where we can dig in some more on a group level.”
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To learn more about how Laura can support you or your organization in career development and advancement, go to www.LotusLifeWork.com and sign up to receive her newsletter and information about the March launch of her self study product: Positively Promotable – Understanding Men at Work. You can also download her free smartphone app for Android and iPhone – search for “LotusLifeWork” to receive daily doses of information, inspiration and introspection!
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Up next meet Natasha Lowery, an American Texan mom living in London. She sounds off to In Our Shoes on what it’s like to parent amongst mummys on British soil. Stay tuned!
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