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Scrappy Street Fighter or Gracious Queen: Women Need
a Balance of Power
by Dr. Karen
Otazo
At a recent Washington fund –raiser, a former female CEO arrived in
a dazzling designer suit while a female senator was dressed in the
business attire stated on the invitation. Why is it that many women
have to be the “smartest” in the room whether in clothes or
comments? Very smart women abound. They achieve so much and often
get recognized for their achievement. Many of us have asked why
there aren’t more women in leadership positions in organizations of
all kinds.
Women are often walking a tightrope in how they are perceived in
leadership positions. Learning balance is a key for us as well as
men, but women really need to be aware of everything they say and
do. We are more noticeable and often fewer in number. Our secret
weapon is preparation and forethought. The art of preparing for
everything that is public in any way, a meeting, report or
conference is what we need. We need to be thinking about the
balance of power in asking, telling, giving and taking everything we
do or have done.
A core issue for why there aren’t more women CEO’s or top political
leaders is striking the right balance among the Power, Achievement
and Relationships. Women and men can push any one of these out of
proportion. We’ve all seen out-of-control power. The excesses of
corporate and political life litter our newspapers and talk shows.
As for achievement, even Margaret Thatcher said that if you want a
job done ask a woman. The “iron maiden” may have not brought many
women into her inner circle but she appreciated their ability to
achieve results. Although women through the middle management ranks
are often known for relationship building, at the top they are
typically known as “cold, ice princess, angry, pushy” etc. We are
damned if we’re warm (not tough enough) too. Men and women who
make it up the ranks are often high on achievement which may get out
of hand. They may want to do it on their own or their way is the
only way since it’s usually better. Take the case of the star
ballerina and Ivy League graduate who was always the top of her
class. Because she always had to be the “best” she had trouble being
part of a team when she went into the work world. As girls growing
up we didn’t have the team experience that boys often did. We don’t
know how to stop being the competitive girl so we could mature.
We learn the wise use of power with lots of give and take all the
way up the line. Women may not learn the give and take early
enough. Or we fight so hard as the underdog that we don’t know when
to stop and be the gracious Queen when we get the majority vote.
If you want to see raw power at work watch the 3rd season
of the West Wing which is all about the use and misuse of power. See
the 1970 classic The Psychology of Leadership by Harry
Levinson
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