By ALEX OGUNDADEGBE
Mrs Simon said: “I am a head of a unit in our organization and I am having trouble managing male subordinates. There is one in particular who responds slow to requests and appears to frown whenever I give directives”. Her real name is not Mrs Simon, but it’s being used here to protect her identity. She is team lead in Major Corporation in Lagos, Nigeria. We met online during a Leadership and Communication Seminar for corporate managers. There were about 25 managers from various organizations and I had just walked them through some tips on corporate communication. Mrs Simon seemed visibly concerned: “What can I do?”, she asked.
Asking women if they can have both career and family has always elicited rapid responses. The female gender appears to move into their restive and rather riotous mode and begin to challenge anyone who seeks to deny them these rights of being fulfilled at home and on the job. You best not get in their way if you are a man! My approach has been the attempt to use such questions to pull them out of their reserve and get them to discuss the topic. But back to Mrs Simon: Anyone would probably advise: Give the man hell! Who does he think he is? But I have a different approach. Rather than fight the subordinate to prove my superiority I would ask him openly first in a one-on-one meeting then, if that does not work in departmental meeting: Mr John (We are just using that name here) do you have any problems working with me or taking cues from me, because I seem to sense some hesitation or reservation on your part when I give you directives.” If you ask Mr John that question in time it is least expected, you will probably catch him off guard and he is liable to fall in line after that. Of course there is the need to treat Mr John fairly and like any other subordinate you work with because the slightest aroma of condescension could lead to another round of resentment and resistance.
Experience is one of the greatest denominators in the assessment of women for leadership position in the corproate world. The number of years at a management position account for a lot of the qualities required for leadership.
Women in the corporate world are challenged in positions of leadership. The boss lady has to work twice as hard to prove herself equal to the task of running a company, team, department or organization. One of the major reasons is people are watching to find fault so they can put it down to her gender. And these fault finders sometimes are also women! Ironical as this may seem, male domination in the corporate world is real and a major factor that might limit the performance of women in the near future. Men who are underlings might stonewall, resist and hesitate when they are asked to perform duties by women. The only environment where such nuances are absent appears to be in the military and law enforcement where the chain of command is visibly emphasized in every day drills and activity. The higher you go in the corporate world today, the fewer women there are. This might erroneously understate that leadership is male preoccupation. Indra Nooyi former CEO and former chairman of Pepsi Co worked in male dominated environment and thrived; mainly because she was able over a period of time produce results for the company. Now nobody can argue with results.
But to get the necessary results in a leadership position, a certain amount of skill is required. Now skill acquisition takes time; especially if you are to acquire it on the job. Time is a factor that many female executives do not have in abundance. Understanding the nuances that are involved in managing people, resources and technology is more of a hands on activity than mere formal skills acquisition. A lot of women who desire to top their skills have to make sure that the home front is settled and fortified so that they can venture into the corporate world and spend the required time they need to participate in the board room. In the modern world, child birth and maternity leaves are organized in such a way that they do not necessarily hinder the progress of the corporate women. Creches have been introduced near the work place, special nursery services and medical facilities are being established in certain environment to aid the corporate woman. Before now all concessions have been limited to a paltry three month maternity leave. Where women cannot provide their own structures or rely on those given by the government or organizations they serve, their corporate development will be limited.
Experience is one of the greatest denominators in the assessment of women for leadership position in the corproate world. The number of years at a management position account for a lot of the qualities required for leadership. The boards that will approve such positions are often dominated by men, many of whom will be discriminatory or even chauvinistic. There are two factors that make them differ: Inclusion which is tempered by feminist activism and gender rights. But the most potent factor is results! Nobody can argue with metrics and analytics once it has been established that they are independent, objective and verifiable. As CEO of Pepsi co. Indra Nooyi was able play active roles in marketing, production and strategy which enabled her to oversee innovations that led to improved sales of products on her watch ;this made it difficult for the board to overlook her when the position of CEO was open.
In the final analysis, organizational culture must be able to shove individual cultures of male chauvinism, gender differences and male domination to the back end when it comes to corproate activity.
It’s already been established that a lot of women need to be fulfilled on the home front and at the office. This can be achieved if proper structures are put in place. One vital aspect of these structures is whom the woman marries. If the man is the kind who insists that the woman’s place is in the kitchen, then her corporate functions may be challenged since her spouse might look forward to her resigning her job to come home and take care of the children and the home front. But suppose spousal agreements enable her have time for corporate development? Then of course she will be able to compete and hold her own at the office. Dual career families are the fad in most parts of the modern world today where husband and wife come home at the end of a hard days work and compare notes without necessarily trying to prove to one another whose job is more functional or imporant.
Where the home front is not secured it would automatically place pressure on spouses at work and they would be incapable of putting in their best. But research has shown that indepth communication among partners in marriage could resolve all these issues and at the end of it all both partners come out satisfied that they have not been deterred in their ambitions to reach the top in their chosen professions.
In the final analysis, organizational culture must be able to shove individual cultures of male chauvinism, gender differences and male domination to the back end when it comes to corproate activity. Results or outcomes are what are important, not necessarily which gender is in control of a process or whether a man or a woman is at the head of a corporation.
*Ogundadegbe is a renowned management consultant. He trains managers and executives in the arts of Customer Service, Human Resources Management and Management strategy ([email protected]).
