An interview with Carrie Hindmarsh (CEO of M&C Saatchi Group’s
advertising agency). She is one of the judges at the Veuve Clicquot
Business Woman of the Year awards which is being held on Wednesday. There
is a section on Emotional Intelligence which you may all find interesting.
I've always thought my own people skills / empathy, went hand in hand with my serious, direct side because of the union- shop steward position I had years ago. Never thought it was my just my good old female traits. Learn something new everyday.
ReplyDeleteSorry i thought i had already posted on this. I had always thought my empathy, yet direct people approach, came from experience of being a union shop steward. Who'd have thought it was a good old fashioned female trait.
ReplyDeletelol very perceptive
ReplyDeleteI think one of the great under rated assets women tend to possess is women sharing competences and working as teams without the competition. However it is perhaps not witnessed enough in board rooms. Women haven’t grown up with the traditional 'old boy' networks, so perhaps its time that women saw the advantages in helping each other out, sharing, networking, mentoring each other, without the competitive mix. After all, we surely are working towards similar personal goals. I just think its another soft, but powerful, skill that comes naturally to women and can be tapped into. But watch out....we can be competitive if we need to be!
ReplyDeleteRenee powerful thinking check out Liz Mellon again I think you would really benefit from her writing about the Future of Work and her HOT SPOT movement. her book GLOW is very good too. May help you find your Bliss.......
ReplyDeleteCurrently I am reading Karen Brady's book - Powerful Woman. It is a fascinating read detailing her struggle with being a woman in a male dominated world of her work. She shares her personal feelings about how she met and overcame difficulties with juggling her career and her family life and she also has some really interesting opinions on what true leaders really are. Definatley a worth while read and while not academically recognised, some good stuff on leadership too.
ReplyDeleteCan you let us know any pearls of wisdom from the book Sheila?
DeleteKarren Brady devotes a whole chapter to 'Learning to Lead' and in this chapter she explains how she has adapted her style of leadership througout her career (reflected in many other writings on the subjet of leadership in that as people mature their style of leadership changes).
DeleteSome quotes from this chapter include;
'People often think of great leaders as charismatic, rallying the troops, Winston Churchill type figures. To me, that's only partly true, as it misses out a massive chunk of what it means to really lead people. Great leadership is as much about paying attention to the nitty-gritty as it is about sounding the part. As well as the purple prose, you need someone who makes sure that for the want of a nail the kingdom isnt lost as the old saying goes'.
All great leaders are 'able to communiate a long term strategy as well as short term goals. They believe in life long learning, can listen to others and show integrity. And, crucially, they have the ability to take people's hearts on a journey'.
Some pearls there Janette for us all to consider I beleive.
I agree with Carrie Hindmarsh that emotional intelligence should be as highly valued as IQ. Having worked with mainly male line managers in the past, it is a pleasure to work with my current boss. She has great people skills and those 'extra' qualities of empathy, compassion, passion and intuition. She is extremely approachable, has a great sense of humour and is really easy to get along with. In short, a great role model/mentor and a fellow Diet Coke addict.
ReplyDeleteBit odd me being a guy, but it can't be good thing to only have the female point of view. In my last post all my line managers right upto the CEO were female. I noticed over the years they had worked together in past organisations and all were now directors in the same firm. The old boy network has been usurped. I would not be foolish to use the term old girls network. But what term would suit this new networking term, because although not a common name, there is in the workplace now a network of female leaders who have worked together in past projects.
ReplyDeleteIt is a breath of fresh air to hear someone like Carrie Hindmarsh celebrating women for their strong personal characteristics. The majority of senior roles within my organisation are held predominantly by males. Unfortunately, even in business we are faced with the old adage that Women are from Venus and Men are from Mars, especially during the appraisal process. Most males are uncomfortable with displays of emotion, with little empathy shown. I would go as far as to say that emotion in an appraisal can sometimes be seen as a weakness rather than a sign of strength, passion and belief in the job that you do.
ReplyDeleteIn the main my leadership role models in work are female. All are understated, and impress with their quiet focus, people skills especially empathy and passion for the organisation they work for. Intuition is hard to quantify but I know that I trust my instincts and am usually right. Goleman and Emotional Intelligence has really highlighted the need to fully comprehend and develop self awareness and people skills. It's not often that a Bananarama song , comes to mind but as they sang "It's not what you do it's the way that you do it, that's what gets results", I think all aspiring leaders should have a Bananarama moment.
ReplyDelete