LEADERSHIP: FROM MARS AND ALSO FROM VENUS

Discussing the percentage of women in senior roles is a quick way to start an argument. Some people, including some men, argue for gender equality – or a specific level of improvement. Others, including also women, argue that merit is all that counts. Less contentiously, as leaders, I believe we need both hard and soft skills – often categorised as male or female characteristics. IQ and EQ. Numeracy and literacy. Toughness and fairness. If you asked your colleagues, what would they say about your balance – and what might that mean? Here are some thought-starters.

In which of these two conversations would people say you’re more at home:

1. concerns: emerging economic drivers of your business; the average and standard deviation of customer order sizes; the cost of capital post the GFC; and, the risk management implications if computing is outsourced;
2. concerns: comparative engagement scores across the company’s divisions; the key motivators for Gen Y employees; best practice for handling severances; and, personal growth courses as a facilitator of organisational change?

But would you want to work for a leader or CEO, who couldn’t engage usefully and willingly in both? From my experience, quality leaders can and do, albeit with differing facility depending on their particular training and experience. But, even on topics, in which you’re not expert, you can ask useful questions and help check assumptions, if you’re open to learning. If you want to build a career and get people to follow you, that’s key. Recognising that both conversations are important and having a genuine interest in contributing to both. Keeping on learning about both hard and soft issues, and how to handle them better.

Some people feel that when the going gets tough, you can abandon or at least downplay soft issues. However, experience suggests that this can be the very time when caring for employees, communicating effectively and being flexible on working hours can create the commitment that’s needed in a crisis.

So, which are the three hard issues you most need to work on; and, the three soft ones where you could usefully up-skill? Write them down and make an action list.

Categories for this Potshot:

Understand your marketplace, Take tough decisions, Show fairness and honesty, Engage people, Show self-leadership, Career planning,

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