This article is part of a series. You can start at the beginning: Leading Development Teams on Large Projects.
Although this article is about being a woman in a leadership
role, I firmly believe that these qualities are essential for any good leader
and that you can remove gender from them. I just think there are certain areas
that are stronger for a woman and stronger for a man. So the areas we are not
as strong in, we just have to hone in on those and build up those skills and
then eventually, we all end up on level ground.
There are three areas I want to talk about in this article:
1.
Communication
2.
Decision Making
3.
Be Yourself
Communication
I touched a little on this in the last article, Resolve Team
Issues Quickly. A woman’s approach to leadership is slightly different than a
man’s. I think most women are in touch with their feelings or at least try to
be. We always want to talk things out. It’s in our nature and how we were
raised. I think this quality helps in leadership because it helps to get
everyone talking – communicating, which seems to be the number one issue that comes
up as a problem in IT amongst employees. Don’t get me wrong, I think men are
capable of this too, but I think if a man wants to be a good leader, he will
probably need to work a little harder fostering good communication skills.
Decision Making
There’s this stereotype of women – we can’t make up our
minds. We want the couch on the left, no, the right, maybe if we turn it
sideways, no, turn it the other way. Oh, let’s just paint the room a whole different
color and maybe that will make the couch work. Yeah, I admit. I’m guilty of
that with one exception: I’m not like that at work. This is something I’ve had
to work hard at. The ability to make decisions and stick with them is important
when you’re in a leadership role. This very important skill can single-handedly
diminish all your good intentions as a leader if not done well.
When it comes to making a decision, I first listen to all my
teammate’s points of views and their supporting evidence as to why they think
it is the best solution. We meet as a group and I listen to each of the
suggestions individually and fully. The whole team hears the arguments. A lot
of times the team has differing opinions. So it’s up to me to make the final
decision. When I make my decision, I center on what is best for the company and
our customers first. Then I consider how well will this idea work for long-term
maintenance by other developers or architecture-wise as a system. My
responsibility as a leader is to be thinking about the big picture. Then I make
the decision based on that. I explain to my team why I’ve made that decision. I
know that some people may say you don’t need to explain your decisions, but I’m
a member of the same team. I feel it’s important to communicate the reasoning
behind your decisions. This way, you get your team’s support and understanding,
while at the same time you teach them how to make important business decisions
if they ever get into a leadership position.
The hardest part is not to waver after the decision is made.
To become uncertain in yourself, shows weakness in leadership and to a team
that’s full of men, that can lead to a mutiny of sorts – a slow takeover by someone
who is strong-minded, but ultimately not the leader. You are the leader for a
reason, stand behind your decisions and trust in your ability. Actually, this
is true for men too. If you reverse the situation, say instead you have a man
leading a team of women. The result will be the same. The women will take the
man down at any sign of weakness. The ultimate message is to believe in
yourself and stand behind your decisions, no matter your gender.
What about wrong decisions? Sometimes that happens. It’s
happened to me before. Your approach just didn’t work out. Admit to the team
that the approach didn’t work based on factual reasons. Demonstrate where the
decision went wrong. Then, have the answer to what has to happen next. How can
we turn it around and make it work? Have the answer in hand already and you
will still be considered a good leader. If you can’t think of the answer,
consult with your teammates and brainstorm solutions. Then rinse, lather, and
repeat the decision making process I outlined above. Remember through the process, it’s a
learning opportunity, for you and the team, and you will all make better
decisions in the future as a result.
I find that sometimes people new to my team will be doubtful
of my abilities, but my ability to make good decisions and use facts to support
them usually ends up in turning their opinions around. I’ve heard before that
if you’re a man, you don’t have to prove yourself with facts, but I don’t find
that to be true in my experience. I think all good leaders have supporting
evidence and reasoning to back up their good decisions. If you want to get
ahead genuinely, you have to know your stuff whether you’re a man or a woman.
Be Yourself
It sounds simple, but in actuality, we all tend to wear
masks when we are at work, school, parties, etc. Think Carl
Jung’s Persona mask here. “Because of his more or less complete
identification with the attitude of the moment, he deceives others, and often
himself, as to his real character. He puts on a mask, which he knows is in
keeping with his conscious intentions, while it meets the requirements and fits
the opinions of society, first one motive and then the other gaining the upper
hand. “[1]
To be fully satisfied in your accomplishments as a leader,
you have to do them as yourself with your own beliefs, conscience, and values. My
personality is gentle. I am not a harsh, demanding person. I don’t draw hard lines.
I am generally happy, kind, and I have a good sense of humor that I use to my
advantage. I like to put my team at ease and build a friendly rapport amongst the team. When I work with other teams, I try to understand their point of
view. They probably are just as busy as me with just as many obstacles. My
approach is very different than a man’s approach to leadership, but it works
for me and that is my point. I try to let myself shine through. Consequently,
my gentle approach leads to a lot of support by my team members and other
teams. They trust that I only have good intentions. I treat everyone as equals
and they treat me as an equal too. I can be a woman with my woman ways (in
other words, I don’t have to act like a man) and my peers respect me for who I
am.
I used to work for a company that didn’t put women in leadership roles, and
I truly felt jilted as I saw men promoted above me that weren’t as
knowledgeable or didn’t work as hard. But then I realized the truth – I don’t
owe that company for any of my accomplishments. I am in control in this
situation. There are many other companies that promote a person for their
abilities, whether that person is a man or a woman, and all that is left is to
seek them out.
[1] The Basic Writings of C.G. Jung as translated by
R.F.C. Hull. © 1990 by Princeton University Press.
