Successful Women’s Careers
by Miki Saxon
A fascinating study of successful women brings to light some interesting and unexpected facts about women who know when and how to turn off “masculine” traits, i.e., aggressive, assertive and confident.
They received 1.5 times more promotions than masculine men, and about two times as many promotions as feminine men, regardless of whether the men were high or low self-monitors. They also received 3 times as many promotions as masculine women who were low self-monitors, affirming that masculine behavior alone does not garner success. … The study also showed that self–monitoring masculine women received 1.5 times as many promotions as feminine women, regardless of whether those women were high or low self-monitors.
This is researched proof of my own attitude of “work for an ideal, but you have to function in the real world” and the real world requires flexibility.
I’m guessing that these women were smart enough to apply whatever was needed to a given situation, instead of approaching them all the same way.
This seems to be the “why” to the results of a previous study by the same people.
“…learned behavior patterns — not biological sex — may be the greatest determinant of workplace success as measured by salary and promotion.”
If you are a woman, accepting the accuracy of the research does much to put career control directly in your hands. And that’s a good thing.
Of course, along with personal control comes personal responsibility when you can no longer blame external forces.
You need to take a hard look at your own actions; request input from those you trust to tell you the truth (not just what you want to hear or what fits their world view), then assess where you are, where you want to be and how best to get there.
Start your voyage immediately.
Flickr image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gpaumier/5134947440/
