SUCCESSFUL WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS AND WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT SHARE COMMON TRAITS
Business women learn the pluses and minuses that will help you to get―and stay―in league with your successful, female working peers.
This article could be titled, “Business Women Take Charge,” because these two groups of working women share many comparable attributes, such as strong leadership skills, that render them effective as business women. Learn the pluses and minuses that will help you to get―and stay―in league with your successful, female working peers.
Both successful entrepreneurs and successful women managers exhibit confidence in their abilities, (though they may not always feel this way), are influential in business decision-making, powerful in coordinating their work projects and teams, decisive in choosing actions, good at fostering relationships and open and willing to learn.
Both groups work harder and typically put in more hours than their male counterparts to advance themselves and their work product, but also to avoid a stereotype that they are merely competent in their work roles. Consequently, both groups of women still confront limitations in expected social behavior, founded in gender stereotypes and roles. However, their mutual passion about their tasks and activities and their high level of commitment save them from being daunted by discrimination.
They are cost conscious and equally accountable for their budget.
Both Women Entrepreneurs and Women Managers are effective at setting goals and objectives for their career and personal life, though they may not always write these down. Not writing goals down could be a time-saving factor, since time is so precious to women, yet it may also be a function of exerting some control over an otherwise rigid work environment, as both groups of women are apt to let life happen rather than over-structure it.
Both groups of women workers value being true to themselves and maintaining their sense of self in all situations, which is why they are more often willing to make the tradeoff of better pay for more time with family and to pursue other interests besides work. Yet, women today are more masterful at balancing work and home life responsibilities, allowing more and more women to enter the labor force and maintain a well-functioning family life.
In 2008 the U.S. Labor Department published its results that 59.5 percent of women are in the labor force. 75.4 percent of employed women work full time. Women account for 51 percent of persons employed in the high-paying management, professional and related occupations category, outnumbering men in financial management, as human resource managers, education administrators, medical and health service managers. Self-employed workers total 38 percent and they are either professionals, in real estate, finances or other service and non-service industries. 55 percent of entrepreneurs are manual laborers or unskilled women who set up their businesses in the past five years compared with 47 percent of professional/skilled women.
Women share a conscious interest and responsibility for society, which is demonstrated in the more than 72 percent of social assistance businesses they own, including over half of the nursing and residential care facilities. More women work in educational services, healthcare and social assistance industries than in any other industry.
While there are lessons to be learned for Managers and Entrepreneurs, such as “not getting caught in the old boy stereotypes” (John McKee of 21 Ways Women in Management Shoot Themselves in the Foot), making emotionally driven mistakes or “acting like a girl instead of a woman” (both McKee and Lois Frankel, PhD of Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich and Nice Girls Don’t Get The Corner Office), these successful women are most often true to themselves and maintain the essence of themselves in all situations.
Rather than two separate groups, Women Entrepreneurs and Women Managers have a lot in common with each other’s approach to business management and leadership. They can shake hands in appreciation and respect for shared experiences and yet seek out ways to learn more from each other and support one another.
She offers complimentary coaching sessions, giveaways and resources, including her semi-monthly e-zine, "Change-makers’ Career Tips, ", at creatingatwill.com c. 2011
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