Men, “Woman Up” at Work

Remember when the term “man up” was commonly used in the business world and beyond? You knew exactly what it meant.?It was time for guys to step up, get tough and handle their business. To some degree, the use of this language in the workplace implied that men were stronger, more superior to women; that they somehow brought greater value to the company or organization. ?

While this may not have been the absolute cause of barriers for women to move into leadership positions, it sent a message that their abilities were marginal and even men with lower levels of competency could rise in a company simply by virtue of their gender. For this reason, women were historically encouraged to “lean in” to emulate men in leadership roles.

Studies have shown that most people don’t view the leadership skills of each gender as being vastly different. However, the strengths of each gender do indicate that there are qualities that are more commonly attributed to women, such as compassion, empathy, and the ability to compromise, that men in leadership roles would do well to adopt. In other words, it’s time for men to “woman up.”

While we certainly aren’t advocating for new sexist labels, the point of coining “woman up” is for men to not only recognize the abilities and strengths that women bring to the table but to also embrace and learn to adapt these skills in the workplace, so that they evolve into more effective leaders.

Equally important is for women who have historically shied away from being their authentic “female-selves,” to also woman up by having the courage to exploit their innate strengths and leadership skills they possess.

3 Ways to Woman Up

1.????Squash Your Own Self-Interest: Men are sometimes prone to prioritize their self-interests and are more concerned with climbing the corporate ladder, occasionally at the expense of their people and teams. In these instances, power, a fat paycheck, and notoriety are often leadership motivators as opposed to serving, growing, and developing employees. This approach may not be problematic initially but ultimately, men or women who lead in this manner risk lessening employee commitment and trust and eroding their performance.

Woman Up: The best way to build trust and high-performing teams is to lead from behind and make the work about them, not you. Woman up by increasing your leadership currency and being exceptionally people-oriented—making employees your number one priority at work. As a starting point, embrace servant leadership: provide praise and give recognition/rewards, listen more than you speak, coach them, and go above and beyond to make your people feel valued. ?

2.????Lead with Empathy: Historically, male business leaders have been known to exhibit their strength and capability in the workplace by flexing their authority—often leading with a stick in hand rather than a carrot. Keeping an arms lengths distance between yourself as the manager and your people and not getting too personal with the employees you led was viewed as smart. In fact, being nice and empathetic are traits that were at odds with the idea of being a strong leader who was respected and achieved results. For years, the prevailing male-dominated business worldview was that compassion was a display of weakness.

Woman Up: Today’s modern workplace is much less tolerant of the rule with an iron fist style leader, which bodes well for women who are exceptional at demonstrating empathy. If you aren’t already, take a page from the businesswomen's playbook and focus on cultivating emotional connections with your employees and teams by caring and being empathetic.

One simple way to do this is to occasionally, figuratively speaking, "put your feet in their shoes" as individuals and collectively as a team. For example, think about how the team might feel about certain decisions you make; before you make them! or how an employee may react to constructive feedback you provide; before you communicate it! Doing so just may change how you approach a situation and add an important dimension to your leadership aptitude. ?

3.????Keep Your Ego in Check: Boys are often taught from a young age to be competitive, dominant, and overly confident, regardless of their actual abilities. These early childhood lessons may be the reason some men in leadership are less pragmatic about their abilities and/or shortcomings. ?In fact, it is not unheard of for men to be narcissistic; to think they have most, if not all the answers, that the sky is the limit, and that rules are meant to be broken, etc. The potential downfalls of arrogance or an ego-driven attitude in leadership are obvious—conflict, mistakes, severed relationships, loss of trust, and missed opportunities.

Woman Up: Men should woman up and increase their competency and performance by recognizing their limitations and owning weaknesses. Strengthening one’s self-awareness, having greater boundaries, and displaying a bit of humility will go a long way in creating a culture of trust and encouraging your people and teams to be vulnerable and authentic. And when they are vulnerable and authentic, as a people manager or leader, you can expect elevated performance, productivity, and engagement.

Exceptional Leadership Is Gender Neutral

Although male and female professionals alike can absolutely learn from one another’s intrinsic strengths, at the end of the day, being an exceptional leader has zero to do with whether you “man up” or “woman up.” It’s about embracing and embodying the right mix of leadership skills, traits, and abilities (some of which may come more effortless for each gender) that allow you to build trust, foster meaningful relationships, instill a shared vision, and garner respect from your people and teams.

If you enjoyed the post, please click the thumbs up (Like), love, etc. icon to let me know and...."share" the post with your network! Please share in the comments.

About ShowUp!?The company - aptly named "ShowUp!" - takes a results-oriented approach to advance our mission. Launched in 2007, we are based in the Washington DC area and have fast become a go-to resource for female and male leaders, executives, entrepreneurs, politicians, and organizations

who are committed to raising the bar and 'showing up' for the successes they deserve. Through targeted corporate training facilitation from entry-level through executive, group keynotes and workshops, and individualized one-on-one coaching, we make an impact through leadership development, personal brand coaching, executive presence, and perception management, individualized personal style consulting, and business etiquette.?www.showupllc.com?