| Partnering: A Business Woman's Competitive Edge |
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VBJ: BUSINESS WOMEN’S JOURNAL July 1999 By Jonnie Martin Business woman have an “edge” when it comes to managing people – if they properly utilize their natural “partnering” style of communication. In the past 15 years, a lot of management books have been written about flat organizations and teaming styles of management, as though they were some revolutionary form of management. The idea is not revolutionary to women, who naturally manage in participatory fashion. Several years ago, Riane Eisler wrote a book entitled The Chalice and the Blade, in which she catelogues the history of the two primary leadership styles: the dominator, male style we see in most heirarchical organizations, and the partnering, female style that naturally lends itself to teaming. Over the past 15 years, many men in leadership positions have focused energy and time on reading books and taking seminars to learn this new-fangled form of participatory management; for most women, it is a natural. If women business owners and managers would follow their instinct in regard to people issues, they could begin to maximize the benefit of the partnering style, which fosters open and cooperative communications. The cornerstone of this style is to invite participation and group dynamics and in this environment, staff will naturally flourish, all to the benefit of the business. Several years ago a woman business owner came to me in a state of dilemma. Her natural style was one of partnering with people – she didn’t want to be forcible and directive with her staff – but she had been told by her male mentors that her style was “too soft”; that she would never succeed. They were wrong of course; she has succeeded magnificently using her natural inclusionary style. The quality of her work, the longevity of her staff, and the financial success of her company are unparalleled…and along the way she has mentored one of her young professionals to the point of offering co-ownership in the business. Practiced correctly, the female “partnering” model can work very well. Recently The Athena Foundation (which honors women leaders annually) completed a leadership model that is very feminine at its core. They proposed 8 disciplines to be practiced by leaders: (1) working out of the authentic self, (2) accomplishing through relationships, (3) giving back to others, (4) achieving through collaboration, (5) acting with courage (6) constant learning, (7) fierce advocacy, (8) celebration and joy. There is a caretaking spirit to these disciplines, but will these guidelines work in real life? Are they too soft? Is there a “right” and “wrong” way to practice the model? Like many things in life, the answer is to work toward a “balanced” model that allows for participation but also holds the organization and its people to a high standard of performance. A business owner must learn to share—not abdicate— power and must teach their team members how to think like business people. Everyone in the company can learn that there are basic business principles that must be observed: business has to get done, problems have to get solved, and difficult decisions must be made. The benefits of using a partnering model is that these tough issues can be addressed while still promoting employee creativity, energy, loyalty and commitment – benefits you cannot buy or demand from people. One of the best resources to guide you toward that balanced partnering model is presented in Peter Senge’s books, The Fifth Discipline and The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook. He suggests that the way to effectively bring teaming into an organization is to develop what he calls a “learning” organization and to commit to these Five Disciplines:
Women business owners and managers already possess the natural partnering style – it is a short step to learning the nuances of good participatory management. |