As a woman working in civil engineering I realised early on it was really important for me to be authentic, for me to be who I really was. I had to stop acting like a man. I know, it sounds obvious. One might ask why, as a woman, would you even try to act as a man. It’s a good question and if I think back to those civil engineering days it was all about me wanting to fit in.
This desire to affiliate, to ‘fit in’ leads to a ‘group think’ mentality and today we still regularly see this demonstrated across a broad range of organisations. This is where one way of approaching things becomes the norm, to the detriment of other options. The advantage of ‘group think’ is decisions get made quickly. The main disadvantage is they might not be the right decisions and this is very much where ‘group think’ mentality falls down. This is becoming more and more of a problem when organisations are looking for agility with their thinking, they need fresh approaches in order to be able to move with the times and stay ahead in business. And this is where gender communication comes in.
The data shows unequivocally that men and women are different. They not only communicate in different ways, they think in different ways and this is actually a really good thing. These differences, when harnessed, give us more lateral bandwidth in our decision-making. They help us make better decisions whilst still having a focus on speed to market. This is a great opportunity for organisations because when you put these two different approaches together you can create a more agile environment that can produce even better results.
The big question for organisations is how to avoid the ‘group think’ and harness the power of gender communication?
Happily, it’s actually not that hard.
The first step is one of understanding. Everyone needs to understand the benefits of when the genders are working authentically together. It’s good for all, from the individual, the team right down to the bottom line of the organisation.
The second step is one of appreciation. Everyone needs to be able to appreciate the different ways the genders approach matters and to work with these differences not against them. It’s surprisingly easy when you know how and yet incredibly powerful.
Getting everyone playing their natural, authentic game, is not only good for business, it has to be good for the spirit of the organisation.
Talking Genders’ offers insights and straightforward strategies that help both men and women get on the same page. For more information on how this is done visit :
or email info@talkinggenders.com
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