By: S. Welsh; Photograph: Courtesy of Everett Collection
A good boss recognizes the differences between the sexes
For as long as we can remember, men have celebrated—and bemoaned—all the ways that women are different from us. They look different, thank heavens. They tend to smell much better, as you may have noticed. But on the other hand, women don't seem to recognize the transcendent significance of a .367 lifetime batting average. So if women are different in all these wonderful and baffling ways, why is it that you use one-size-fits-all strategies for managing your male and female employees? "To get the most out of your team, you must adjust your managerial approach," says Marti Barletta, the CEO and founder of TrendSight Group, a marketing firm, and a consultant to such Fortune 500 companies as Ford and Anheuser Busch. Here are five of the best ways to make your office female-friendly.
Create team-based incentives. "Competition is motivating to men, but it's counterproductive to women," says Barletta. "'What I owe to the group' is much higher on women's radars." Base a portion of everyone's bonus on team performance to ensure that both men and women are motivated to achieve the company's goals.
Recognize women's strengths. "Women tend to emphasize customers' needs over sales goals," says Barletta. "So it might appear as if the top performers are men. In fact, the women may be building more loyal relationships with clients." Women's collaborative skills can also help build consensus, increasing a project's chance of success.
Demand specifics. "Guys don't expect their managers to take enough interest in them to know whether they're doing a good job, so they promote themselves," says Barletta. Women, being more people focused, expect their managers to assess their performance without any input. "Supervisors, therefore, need to be very explicit," says Barletta. "Tell the women on your staff that, while you know they're doing a good job, it would be best if they kept you posted on their specific contributions."
Be skeptical of self-assessments. When it comes to rating themselves, men tend to downplay their mistakes. "Women, however, feel as if they're not being totally honest unless they tell you about the bad stuff too," says Barletta. Base management decisions on facts, not employees' self-evaluations.
Watch the humor. "Women don't joke the same way men do," says Barletta. "A woman walks into a room and some guy says, 'So, you haven't lost that big client yet? I'm surprised they're still talkin' to ya!' He's joking! Such humor is lost on women." If you see male employees treating women like football buddies, clue them in. "The more you eliminate such frictions," says Barletta, "the better your company will hum along."
