Top 7 Reasons Why Women Business Leaders Are Needed
Added to that, the evolution of global business environments has significantly increased competition and stress on the traditional corporation.
One other important shift is that now the ‘knowledge worker’ (skilled and experienced) is now becoming the most valuable asset of the corporation versus capital equipment and they are leaving corporations by the thousands.
So what is a corporation to do? Find and retain the best people.
I believe a new, better corporate structure is evolving and it will take women of ability paired with men of ability to make it the best and most profitable business. However, few women make it to the top management positions.
This is where many women’s development programs have failed. They simply addressed the soft skills of mindset and confidence for women.
The truth is that successful business is led by people of experience with specific business skills AND the right mindset.
This is why we must develop women managers further through learning experiences, coaching and training that insure the results a corporation needs to obtain highly skilled women leaders.
Here are some reasons why we need more women as leaders in business:
1. Women, on average, are terrific communicators and tend to be better at it than men. It’s the information age and it’s highly competitive. This means companies will need more skilled communicators involved in all aspects of business where good, clear communication is critical to generate revenue, control expense, manage top talent and build a loyal customer base. 2. Global business will require expanding business networks. Women are natural networkers. 3. Diverse viewpoints can result in better, more creative solutions to business issues. Both women and men are needed to address business issues effectively. 4. Keeping a talented knowledge worker will require relationship strategies. Women instinctively care about building relationships which is why they tend to gravitate toward jobs where building relationships is a major component such as Marketing or HR. 5. Increased competition will require the resources of creative thinkers to develop new products and services that meet the needs and desires of the marketplace. The talent pool of creative leaders is doubled when more women leaders are available. 6. Rapid change in technologies requires more flexibility. Women have extensive multi-tasking abilities as evidenced by women who manage business and families at the same time. 7. Half of the workers available today are women. Women in leadership roles can act as mentors to develop other potential women leaders just as executive men have done for years.
With all this said, women are still not reaching top levels in management. There are several reasons for this.
Part of the reason is societal in that women were often not included in business conversations as they were growing up so they did not have the opportunity to learn. Part is that the corporate structure was invented by men for the way men think and work. Part is that women are still the primary managers of the family and cannot always dedicate all their time to the company.
In a recent survey conducted by Womencorp, there were some striking differences between what men believed and what women believed about the ‘why’ women are not succeeding as corporate business leaders.
Of the female respondents, 68.3% believe that lack of flexible options for work is holding women back. 51.7% believe that lack of confidence is also a contributing factor. 45% believe that women aren’t given a chance because men stick together.
This was what one woman had to say about that subject: ‘This is a very complex issue. What I have found, after seven years at {a major corporation}, is that men seem to internally denigrate qualified technical women (perhaps because of jealousy). They do form cliques and do not wish to ‘include’ women in their cliques. They are group-oriented, no doubt. They will hang with other guys, just because they are guys. There are individual males who communicate well with women, but they are few. Despite years of emphasis on including women, promoting women, and hiring women, I feel that the disparity of women in the business world is growing, not shrinking. Still, both men and women do not seem to ‘get it’. I wish I had something more positive and constructive to give, but I do not.’
On the other hand, 53.7% of men believe that lack of flexible options is holding women back. 32.3% said they feel the glass ceiling is still firmly in place and just 17.9% believe that women lack confidence.
Perhaps men don’t realize women lack confidence, whereas women know how they feel. This mindset can be altered with a proper development program for both women managers and men who manage women.
This comment from one male participant is noteworthy: ‘Capable women are often unfairly fast tracked early in their career to positions that may demand experience to be successful over a prolonged period. Found wanting, they are then niched in dead-end executive roles. Rather like moving a ball player to the majors too quickly because of their native talent. Their “rookie” mistakes occur with too much exposure and can prove fatal.’
But what difference does it make as to why few women have achieved top leadership roles in business? The reason to know why is because we can then use this information to develop solutions.
The bottom line is that more women need to be in leadership roles for many reasons including the 7 listed above. The challenge is to find new ways to enable them to succeed at top levels.
For both men and women respondents, they seem to feel that coaching, mentoring and multi-day workshops are quite important to help develop women leaders to their fullest potential. read more information click here
3 Reasons Why You Should Consider A Christian Internet Business
Since Christian’s are realizing that the Recession is not ending anytime soon, more and more are looking for viable ways to supplement their income. Thousands are on the very brink of retirement and are now desolate because of the surprising disappearance of their 401k. Many have either been downsized or laid off as companies have gone under.
The question arises how will they make it? Having faith in God as the source and not fearing is the very first requirement. The second requirement is to put faith in action. Faith without works is dead. Now what is extremely important at this point is that you seek the direction of God for your next step. If He has directed you to start a business then this article is for you.
Allow me to uncover 3 reasons why you should consider a Christian internet business.
Low To No Overhead
There are tons of Christians that start a work from home business that really ends up putting them in more debt than they can handle. Keep in mind that the borrower is slave to the lender. When you have an internet business, generally your cost are just paying for internet connection, phone service, and maybe the monthly membership cost (this is if you are in a direct sales/ network marketing company).
That is really it. What this allows you to do is to not having to worry about paying Peter while you are robbing Paul. Usually if you have a high overhead that reduces the amount and chances in which you can bless other people. But having a low overhead frees you up more to direct the money that comes in from the business in areas that God wants so you can bless the kingdom. That is the one of the major reasons we are blessed.
Low Startup Cost
I am not an advocate for debt at all. A lot of Christians that start businesses get a loan from the bank which becomes to much of a burden. Not saying that it is wrong to do that, but when you are constantly stressed out because you have this big payment over you, you lose peace of mind.
God never intends for that to happen. Generally speaking when starting a Christian internet business the startup costs are very affordable. They can be anywhere from 0- ,0000 or higher. The key is to see what works best for you and not fall victim to putting everything on credit. It is worth repeating that the borrower is slave to the lender.
Ability To Work From Anywhere With An Internet & Phone Connection
This is where fun, freedom, and flexibility comes in at. Imagine that there is a Christian leadership conference you want to go to across the nation. Or think about the spur of the moment family vacation that you want to take. All this is possible because you have a Christian internet business.
You are not bogged down to a specific location. You don’t have to feel that you always have to be working at a certain time. If you spend more time in prayer one morning don’t sweat it. It was well worth the time. You don’t have to be concerned with meeting up with clients or opening up a store. If you need to get to church early for bible study. Do it.
You are literally on your own time schedule. Some people work better at night and others in the morning. It is completely up to you.
Allow God to be your guide. He will never steer you wrong because he knows what is best for you. Go here to find out more about a Christian home based internet business.
The Perpetual Touches of Leaders: Some Case Studies To Get You Thinking
Leadership exists everywhere in every form imaginable. In almost every scenario or activity a leader is needed to come to the fore to take on the challenge of guiding the rest to achieve the common aim that everyone sets out to accomplish in the beginning.
Be it in the corporate or real world, leaders are needed. Are you an aspiring leader? Or are you a reasonably proficient leader looking to take you and your group to the next level? Or perhaps you are trying your best yet not getting the results you desire. Do you belong in any of the above categories? Even if you are not, perhaps you would care to read on.
Let me first touch on the basic principle of leadership. Leaders are there to rally everyone around a common cause, to make sure everyone works towards a common goal and to see the goal achieved to the desired effect within a predetermined timeframe. However, there is this certain intangible that all great leaders possess. A certain quality that seems simple enough to comprehend yet eludes the reach of so many people who crave for it. A vital component that defines a great leader and is to generate following as well as respect.
It is vision.
And not just vision, but the vision to see something that is not there.
Consider the following example: In 1961, President JF Kennedy made a bold statement. He expressed his wish of one day seeing a man land on the moon and be brought back safely to earth by the end of the decade, calling for the nation to commit itself to this cause. People in various quarters who read this were astounded. They did not believe this was possible and were alarmed at the President willing to sacrifice humans to outer space just to fulfill this insurmountable wish of his. Others who thought it feasible wondered at the reason for taking all these extra costs and making this great effort at a project that would not feed Americans and definitely would not solve the employment problems in the distant aftermath of the War.
President Kennedy stuck to his vision. He saw all the possibilities that would open up together with the development of space exploration. On July 20, 1969, we all saw Neil Armstrong step on the moon for the first time. It was a remarkable breakthrough. Though he was cruelly deprived of the chance to see his vision come to fruition, President Kennedy had the vision to see what is not there and make it happen.
And so can you.
To be a great leader, not of the distinguished proportion of Kennedy but that of the corporate world that you find yourself mired in or perhaps in the harsh business realities from which you are looking to emerge as a credible figure well equipped to lead the masses to eventual success, all you need is a great vision and a great conviction to follow it through in spite of all the odds stacked against your favor.
I shall discuss the components of a vision in the next of this 3-part article…
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Empower women and give them an upper edge with Government grants
The United States government takes special steps to help its citizens receive all possible benefits to ensure their welfare and comfort. The government uses the power and reach of the internet to provide its citizens with financial aids like federal grants for small business, education etc. and gives them an opportunity to avoid road blocks like lack of funds which will stop them from achieving their dreams. Home is an important asset for an individual and everyone aims to build their own home. Often individuals find it easier to build a home rather than maintaining. There are several expenses to maintaining a home and individuals often fall back due to inadequate financial resources. In such cases home improvement grants come in extremely useful as they help people get out a bad situation and get back on their feet. With the convenience of the internet it is easy to apply for grants in the US. Gone are the days of long queues and incessant paperwork. Individuals can now log on to the internet and fill in a simple form which will help them gain access to grants like federal pell grants, housing grants etc. With the help of the government, finances need not be a road block on the way to achieving your dreams.
Every year the United States government gives away numerous personal grants to individuals to provide financial assistance for several situations. Whatever the reason you require financing for, the government has made provisions for all of them in the form of grants that individuals can easily procure by researching online. The process to apply for grants is not as difficult as it seems. Most people choose not to apply for a grant as they consider the process to be too lengthy and assume that getting a grant will be a tedious process. This is a myth that grant organizations are trying to get rid of so people can file grant applications and avail of the various benefits provided by the government. Applying for a federal pell grant is easy thanks to the power and reach of the internet.
The internet has spread across the globe and has made information readily available. With adequate research individuals can get information regarding application for grants for small business and easily start their application process. The government has stipulated special business grants for women which will empower women and give them an upper edge and an opportunity to start off an independent venture.
Women empowerment; prospectives, perspectives and retrospectives
Global perspectives:
Women are the most dynamic and fastest-growing economic force in the world today. Women now control over trillion dollars in spending worldwide. In reality it is an economic impact larger than the U.S., China and India economies combined.
Women entrepreneurship:
Women’s entrepreneurship is soaring around the world. In fact, today, one in 11 working-age women is now involved in entrepreneurship. And the highest percentages of women business owners are in markets you might not expect. Nearly 20 percent of working women in Thailand are entrepreneurs, India, 14 percent. Argentina, 12 percent. Brazil, 11 percent and Mexico and Chile 10 percent. These percentages are rising every year. The real story is that the 21st century is going to be the “Women’s Century.”
Women’s major role;
Many persons are managed by women all of their life, beginning at birth with their mother .They’ve done a wonderful job. There is a tremendous sense of urgency in ensuring that conditions are ripe for women to thrive around the world.
Need for creation of necessary climate;
Creating a climate of success for women globally is just simply smart business, for many companies. By empowering women and you are recharging the world.
Past studies:
There are many studies that show a direct correlation between women’s empowerment and national GDP growth, business growth, environmental sustainability, and improved human health, just to name a few things. The community, social, and family implications are vast. For instance, there’s no question that women influence public opinion inside the home.
What women do?
Women determine what comes into the home and in what quantity and frequency. It’s probably no surprise that women account for the majority of purchase decisions for our beverages. In fact, they represent 70 percent of all grocery shoppers.
What many nations have to do?
The only way more nations will rise out of poverty and become more politically stable, will be by women achieving gender parity on a global scale. If we fail in this regard, the world’s economy will fail.
Road blocks to women empowerment;
While business and society have made great progress in recent years, the journey has just begun. We still see too many roadblocks to women’s empowerment. Cultural roadblocks, educational roadblocks, political roadblocks, financial roadblocks, and technology roadblocks, are just a few.
Women are often viewed as out of place in professional environments, they are subjected to more scrutiny at work than are men of the same rank, which slows down women’s advancement into management positions.
Many cultures view the raising of children as primarily the job of women, with men not expected to have domestic roles. In countries where such beliefs are deep-seated, women who go against the grain are often required to perform double duty. Professional women, for instance, are obliged to manage the household and family while also performing their professional tasks. This often leaves women at a disadvantage in relation to their male colleagues.
Role of key persons:
Three concrete ways that business, government and academia can have a significant impact in generating female empowerment around the globe.
The first way we can help fuel women’s empowerment is the most obvious — Accelerating women’s leadership within our own four walls.
One area of major concern for our women employees across all of our global geographies is work-life balance.
Examples of African continent:
In fact, the vast majority of coca cola sales in countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and Mozambique are the result of this business model. Nearly a thousand of these businesses in Africa alone are owned by women. The multiplier effect of women entrepreneurship is significant.
In Africa, only three countries (Mozambique, Rwanda and South Africa) have attained the goal of having at least 30 per cent of the seats in national parliaments filled by women, in line with the UN target of 30 per cent for women in decision-making bodies. Globally, only 12 other countries had reached that level in national parliaments by 2004.
In Africa, Mozambique and South Africa use voluntary party quotas, to guarantee that a certain percentage of women are selected as political candidates. Rwanda uses legal quotas, under which the targets apply to all political parties.
While Rwanda is an extreme case, other African countries in conflict have seen major migration into the cities, away from fighting in rural areas. Such mass migrations have pushed women to become heads of households and to take on other traditional male roles
In some conflicts, such as the Eritrean war for independence from Ethiopia and the liberation wars in South Africa and Zimbabwe, women fought alongside men, asserting their equality and winning some bargaining power in post-conflict settlements. Once the wars ended, women felt empowered to claim positions of power in government, as in South Africa.
Over time, Zimbabwean women suffered an erosion of the initial gains they won following the end of armed conflict. However, they subsequently undertook a renewed drive for equal participation in leadership through the impetus provided by the Beijing conference. Zimbabwe’s example shows that women’s movements need not rely only on domestic support, but can also gain leverage through help from the international community.
The wars have destroyed infrastructure, stalled development and exposed women in particular to rape and abuse. But conflict has created occasions for women to transform their lives and redefine their gender roles. Conflict often results in significant demographic changes, as men go to war and are killed in combat. While this does not automatically alter the balance of political and social power between men and women, it can provide some opportunities for women when they greatly outnumber men. In Rwanda, after the 1994 genocide, there were four men for every six women. Women stepped into roles in areas traditionally dominated by men, such as politics, agriculture and the formal economy. Rwanda holds the current record for the highest level of female representation in national parliament.
The UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) has been very active in promoting women’s participation in peace processes and in training women for leadership in many African countries, including Rwanda, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
General role of women:
We’ve seen, time and again, that as women rise in their communities; the communities themselves rise to new heights of prosperity and health. This leads directly to the third area in which business, government and academia can help promote global women’s economic empowerment and that is by staying committed to sustainability initiatives.
All of these touch and influence women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship.
Multiple roles
If one wants to be a parliamentarian as well as a wife and a mother, and the husband does not support her, then it is hard to continue. When they have young children, they have to rush home .All across the world; women in leadership positions are hampered by numerous obstacles, including pervasive and often subtle attitudes and beliefs that women are unequal to men at home, at work and in government. Feminists argue that regardless of race, class or ethnicity, women are consistently defined as political outsiders whose participation in public life is conditional upon their maternal roles.
Since the First World Conference on Women in 1975, the women’s movement has taken significant strides towards achieving full participation of women in all areas of society. In February 2006, gender activists and policymakers convened in New York on the 50th anniversary of the UN’s CSW to take stock of progress. Established in 1946 by the Economic and Social Council (one of the five organs of the UN), the commission has the task of advancing women’s interests.
When the CSW was first established, women could vote in only 30 of the original 51 UN member states. Now, across the globe, women have secured the right to vote and, in most countries, to stand for election. The frontlines of the battle have now shifted. Gender activists are focusing increasingly on raising the levels of women’s representation in political and economic decision-making posts and helping women to become more effective.
Despite the challenges, a growing proportion of women are breaking through the glass ceiling. Women who have entered into leadership positions attribute their success to factors such as access to education and work opportunities, good mentoring by both men and women, support from family, employers, supervisors, teachers and colleagues, and successful lobbying by gender activists.
Independent organizations such as the London-based International Alert, established in 1985, have also played important roles. The group works with women’s networks and has facilitated the participation of women in the peace processes in Liberia and the DRC. Activists say that deeper research is needed into how the gains women have made in war and transitional situations are often pushed back during peacetime, to help figure out how such gains can be secured.
Finally, activists are also working towards the day when politicians of both sexes push for policies that empower men and women.
Women Entrepreneurship;
Increasing the number of women entrepreneurs involved in starting new businesses is critical for a country’s long-term economic growth Looking at what specific factors in entrepreneurism are important to economic growth uncovered some interesting results.
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2000 (GEM), a 21-country study of entrepreneurship and economic growth, found that most firms are still started and operated by men, with peak entrepreneurial activity among those aged 25-44. Overall, men are twice as likely as women to be involved in entrepreneurial activity worldwide.
Today’s successful women entrepreneurs are sharp, savvy and highly skilled. Some have solo-enterprises, while others run multi-national organizations.
Final conclusions:
More and more women are entering the world of business.
In fact, they are starting businesses twice as fast as men, and on the whole, they are more successful doing it.
The Internet has opened up a whole new world for women. They can not only start, run and grow a successful online business (at any age) but they can choose when they work because the Internet is open 24-7.
In stark contrast to their working mothers who did the typical works, today’s women entrepreneurs can easily schedule their work around their family as well as their own needs.
For all of us in business, government, education and civil society, the implications will be vast and profound.
Everyone’s success will be contingent upon women’s success.
Gender Equality in Answering Service
Since organized labor came into existence, there has been this cry over inequality. Workers and employees cried foul over discrimination in wages and working hours. The most consistent of this was inequality in terms of gender. Women were not paid the same compensation packages and that is the bitter truth even today. That scenario is completely different if you look at the answering services industry. The call center sector is a pioneer in a lot of aspects. It gave many cities a throbbing night life. It gave hope to the not-so-academically bright students, an opportunity to work with the best and learn. An understated fact is that call center services gave women the right to equal pay.
Women have been part of the answering services industry since it came into vogue. There was a bit of hesitation in the conservative belts of the third world countries. Determined and focused women broke open those shackles and before long, you saw many of them gracing the floor of a call center. If you say that they could be part of the workforce because the conditions were suitable for them, you would be wrong. Working at a business outsourcing wing is a high-stress job. There are steep demands of deadlines and you have to be really upbeat about your work to survive the drudgery of graveyard shifts. The women have proved that they can be as, if not more, competent than the men when it came to handling work pressure.
The best part about working in the answering services that really attracted women was the pay. They had heard that in other industries of the third world countries, women had to work twice as hard to earn as much as men. In times of promotion, many more deserving women swallowed up their frustration when they saw less capable men toppling them over and moving ahead. That changed with the coming of the call center world. This was a world of equal opportunity. This was a world where women call center agents earned as much as their male counterparts. In fact, many of them have found their true calling in telemarketing because of the nature of the job.
Telemarketing call center services need patience and careful handling of callers and potential customers. Women, being naturally instinctive, are more suited to handle irate callers. They are also better at persuading the callers into buying, or at least showing an active interest in the products and services that they are trying to sell. Call center agents have to deal with a lot of aggressive behavior at the workplace. Human psychology studies have proved that men and women generally respond softly when it’s a woman on the other end of the phone. That works great for answering services. In terms of promotion and appraisal as well, women are given equal importance. Employers of the call center units know that women are a productive section of their workforce and they take care to deal with them with the due respect.
Women, Emotions and Leadership
Women’s greater emotional capacity can both enhance and hinder our leadership ability. I know it’s a generalization to say that women are more emotional and there are exceptions to every rule. Yet, most of us have experienced the old adage that “hell hath no wrath like a woman scorned”. Additionally, there is research to confirm that, on average, women are more emotional, which validates our personal experiences. As women wanting an opportunity to serve as leaders there is hope. The answer is in self-awareness followed by good self-management. I thought about this when receiving an email from a young woman that I have mentored over the years. She gave me an update on her career, reporting the large number of women managers in her office. First, she praised their superior ability bond with their employees, creating loyalty. She also said that they are more open, accessible and provide better feedback. The downside, however, is that the office is often plagued with emotional intensity, which can get in the way of getting the job done. Studies prove this and one is particularly interesting: After analyzing 360-degree assessments of more than 6,000 managers, it showed that women received higher evaluations than men in 28 of 31 leadership attributes. These attributes included problem solving, controlling, leading, communicating, and more. The biggest problem for women was managing self. Of the 31 behaviors, the worst rated was “coping with one’s own frustrations.” Emotions can build up the relationship but they can also tear it down. Research also shows that it takes at least five positive comments to offset a negative one. So women need to be aware that their strength can be their weakness, unless it is self-managed. If you find yourself under stress and ready to blow, here are a couple of tips: 1. Take some deep breaths – It is especially good if you inhale through your mouth and exhale through your nose. A few minutes of this breathing will cool you down and keep you from over-reacting. 2. Analyze your thoughts – It isn’t what the other person said but rather how you interpreted their comment. Ignore any thoughts that their words devalue you and you’ll be able to move forward positively. Using emotions can be a leadership benefit for women. If we put ourselves in another’s shoes and understand with how they feel, it inspires affection and develops a loyal following. When I was working in a corporate environment, I considered empathy my strongest leadership attribute and I often received feedback as to how important it was to those who worked with me. With self-awareness, you can use your emotions to develop the upside, as long as you practice good self-management to restrict the downside. Can you feel this to be true?
Preparing Future Leaders – Hr As A Function In Job Rotations
Job rotation is considered to be a very powerful tool to prepare leaders who understand various aspects of business and thus can steer the companies. Apart from being enabler for this important activity, how the function of HR itself fits into this scheme may be matter of interest. Whenever we talk of job rotation, there are many cases, where people from other functions moved to HR and proved their mettle. I believe that the most important requirement for a professional to be successful in any function is a positive mindset. It is a universal phenomenon, more so for HR.
While, a positive mindset makes one successful, a positive HR person can make himself as well as many others succeed. It is not difficult to attract astute business people to HR, once they are shown the value in this role and are convinced about the radical contribution HR can make. Certainly, they need to actually observe and feel that the top management considers HR a significant contributor.
Functions other than HR are its internal customers. What HR does is to support, guide and facilitate operations. Output of HR goes to operations for their use and benefit. But, operation’s output is not for the HR. Other functions are not there to serve HR. For this reason, having assessed what they received from HR, it may be fine to move professionals from other functions to HR. This will help them to address those issue on which, they expected HR to focus; but did not get the desired response. Having experienced the pain, they understand where the shoe pinches and are therefore, able to address practical issues effectively. However, it may not be equally practical for an HR person to shift to other roles. It is difficult for them to pick up operational intricacies. Very often we hear that a line supervisor is the best HR person, because for any employee they are the first point of contact. Has anybody ever said or heard that HR person is the best inspector, production man or maintenance manager?
In a slightly different perspective, it may be worthwhile to put young HR professionals in other functions as a part of their extended orientation program, so that they understand customer expectations before assuming direct and bigger roles in HR. On the other hand, strengthening an under-performing HR department by sending high-potential executives into HR can certainly be of great benefit. But much greater value can be added by making HR a standard rotation for extremely promising leaders to prepare future CEOs, who will be able to drive the organization through smart talent management.
Successful Leaders are Inspired
I used to have a little male doxie dog that was as fast as a greyhound. I also had two female doxies and the male ran the females ragged. Talk about a leader, this little dog eared boy would take off running the length of the house with the females trying to catch him. As kids it was a game we called follow the leader. This little dog was much more high-spirited then we were, but then he had those girls to inspire him. Soon the females would be yapping and carrying on but they were never successful in catching him. If they got to far behind he would circle around and run right in front of their noses. It inspired the female’s to try even harder.
I got to thinking, a successful manager is like that little dog eared leader of mine. Leaders stay in front of the pack and if the pack slows down, he/she is right there letting them know they have to work harder to keep up. He/she never expects the pack to be in front because that would mean he/she would have to push them and it’s always easer to pull than to push. From the leader’s point of view it is clear sailing because the pack is behind him/her and in front is only the challenge of the project. A good leader knows the pack will support him/her when the going gets rough.
Where does a successful leader come from? Society breeds followers not leaders. Social rules are a test for a person to be a leader. It’s the unspoken rules which determines his/her aptitude and ultimately points him/her in a suitable and accepted direction. Out of the masses only few true leaders emerge. A person with charisma, strength and determination who is willing to grasp the challenge at hand and wrestle it into submission. Leaders were the white knights of old and now only one out of hundreds, are willing and able to take on the task as very little consideration is given to an individual and his/her true creative possibilities.
As children, boys tend to be drawn toward hero figures while girls are drawn toward domestic fulfillment or motherly illustrations. This is why more boys turn out to be leaders and girls tend to be homemakers. As a child leadership abilities are usually considered as being aggressive; an unfavorable trait. Leadership becomes club managing and a hobby not as a possible vocation. This mindset is true to the dominance of the mind by authoritarian factions. The fact is you are being subjected into a certain mindset from birth. You are being controlled by powerful and deliberate forces into submissive behavior. Government, parents, schools, religion, media, and industry develop guidelines or patterns for the populous to follow for acceptance into their particular society or culture. If you break the rules, you are subjected to the punishment society deems as fitting. Society will reject resistance while embracing the submissive. Leaders must be self determined and driven to overcome the resistance of the masses.
When I was a kid, I was told by the older kids, how great beer was. When I had my first beer it was nothing like what I was expecting so it became a disappointment to me. I preferred not to drink beer and was always considered the odd ball of the group. The result was not being invited to parties and other gatherings. Later I became the leader and out of respect they followed. Even though I was somewhat of an outcast I still had their admiration. It was the same with sex, I couldn’t wait for my first encounter. When I finally did have sex for the first time, all I could think of was, “is that all there was to it.” Another disappointment. Family, friends, society, TV, advertising, movies, all portray a fantasy world. Beaver Cleaver’s world only existed in the imaginary mind.
In true life, there is strife, and anxiety, heartache, rejection, loss. etc. Some grapes are sour and just taste bad while others are sweet and pleasurable. Loved ones get hurt and die and time goes on indifferent to present goings-on. It gets hot and rains and flowers don’t always bloom. The air is polluted and there are too many UV rays to lie in the sun. The fact is, reality is a revealing of a contaminated world and is not perfect. Out of all this the leader recognizes the truths which lay at the base in which we all function is flawed. If there is a flaw in anything it becomes unpredictable and untrustworthy. A flawed world brings conflict and confusion, but the true leader steps forward out of the gloom ad gathers his/her charges into his/her protection. Truth never changes, strength of mankind always prevails.
Even flaws become laws and are constant in their nature. 2+2 is never 3 but mistaking it for 3 results in an inconsistency which will always be 3. If the flawed equation is used in a formula it will always produce a flawed but same outcome. A leader sees the flaws and brings direction back into the equation. People know that, and depend on the leader to keep them in line. When truth is projected, its’ result will stand the test of time. Never expect what is not there, because if you do, you will be disappointed.
A leader must realize with the understanding of reality comes a certain burden. Those people he/she commands have a perception which is personal and depends a great deal on how they decipher information. This perception of reality is as varied as there are personalities. Each reality is a personal experience and the leader must understand how to engage each personality on a personal level. Each experience of life should include satisfaction, worth, contribution, and creative expression. Expansion of the mind is part of the total life experience. In gauging possibilities the leader must be prepared to take calculated risk because it is an element of the possibility.
Let’s face it, a leader cannot expand his/her experience without some risk. Each forward step includes the possibility of one step back so, striving for success also contains the possibility of failure. This is not a bad thing, it is only in the experience one may achieve at all. Success or failure each contain wisdom in their discovery. The incentive to try lies in the reward of the result. It doesn’t make any difference if you become rich in material matters because all experience always leads toward wisdom.
In the face of adversity lies strength of character.
I once knew a man who could not leave his home. His fear of the unknown included every encounter of every sort. People he knew became adversaries and the simplest of things were threats to his being. He couldn’t function outside of his comfort zone. Many of us are the same way, I don’t mean to the extreme of hiding away in your home, but we do fear facing new challenges. We will not step in front of the crowd for fear of humiliation and failure. As a public speaker, I experienced that at first. When I went on stage, I would shake and my mouth would dry up. After a few moments, I would calm down and proceed without problems. Now I don’t have any problem at all. It has become as second nature and the audience senses my confidence and responds accordantly.
Many people will not try anything new like change jobs or move to a new location or even make a decision on their own. They are followers and they like the comfort in letting someone else make the choices for them. The world needs followers to do the tedious functions that would bore leaders. Creative people can’t follow they have to step out ahead of the pack and take control. They strive for the challenge and excitement of the project. They are the movers and shakers that are innovative in nature and unsettled in demeanor. They strive for change and are at home with challenge. Jumping from airplanes and shooting rapids are their idea of stimulating play while they can be just at home on the golf course or the race track. Nothing gets past them because they are alert and ready for anything. One of the biggest test they face is making a big enough contribution to their fellow human being and the world. They spear-head fund drives, and adopt orphans in their thirst for making a difference in the world. They seek and anticipate God’s power and revel in the strength contained there. You will find them in the debts of the jungle and in the labs, mixing elixirs of healing. Money is not a factor in their quest for taming the unknown it’s only by the fulfilling of an inborn burning flame; will the restlessness in them be quenched. Many become very wealthy in the process but it is not their main reason for doing what they do.
What motivates You? How are you stimulated? Are you a follower or a dog eared leader? Do you need to be motivated or are you the motivator? Do you run in front of the pack and challenge them to catch up? Do you face challenge head on or do you run and hide when challenged? Maybe you are a seeker. A seeker is a person who is always looking but never seems to find. They don’t know what they are looking for, they just go around looking. They are looking so hard for something significant, they pass over the real treasures of life.
Don’t look for what’s not there, feel it. It’s a feeling in your gut, it touches your heart. It motivates you to act. Yes, through years of suppressing it, it will no longer be recognized as important at all. It may take effort at first to get it moving, but like a train on a down hill track, once it starts moving no one can stop it. It becomes a burning desire that nothing can quench. Then and only then will you know your true self. Then you will know what you are made of and your true potential will boil to the surface and erupt into a force of undefeatable power.
Release mental chains of desperation. Nothing can hold you back. And why should it? You were created by God, in His image. How great is that? It doesn’t get any better. What then can possibly hold you back? If God is with you . . . what can be against you? Man was given dominion over all of God’s creation, so it’s not a matter if you can do it, it’s a matter of will you do it. It’s you, who are the deciding factor, not circumstance or happenstance or any other stance. You, make it happen. You are the beginning and the end, the alpha and omega the cause and effect and the yeng and yang. There is no other contributing factor in your success. As a leader you have everything you need, to succeed including inner convection and motivation. It’s a matter of correct mental response which in turn will control a course of action to be applied under various circumstances. If you do make a mistake, you will be able to recover — analyze the source of difficulty — and with renewed determination, move on to new and more exciting endeavors.
The dog eared leader and the dynamics of a positive attitude. No one ever said life would be a rose garden. Life is full of stress and negative events, there’s no getting around it, at times, life stinks. Relationships, jobs, financial matters, physical fitness, religion, all pose questions and all present challenges. Each phase of life will present complexities unique to that particular period in life. No stage will be completely free from challenges. Each life event can be met with the confidence and assurance that you can triumph, you can emerge as the true leader you were meant to be. It is important that in the face of adversity you maintain a positive attitude. Anything can be overcome with the right attitude. Attitude without a doubt, is the one most important thing you have and guess what, you are in control of it. It’s up to you how you greet the world and everyone in it. Positive is met with positive, and your positive attitude will reflect a winning personality. Let’s face it, success and failure are the same, only on opposite ends of the rule. It’s the law of cause and effect. If effects are to be changed, the cause must be altered. It’s the law, nothing personal, it’s the same for everyone.
How do you maintain a positive attitude, even in the face of adversity? First off, if you know yourself, you know that nothing really effects you. Each event is met in its’ true form, as you look at it from a disconnected position. Do not let an event become personal, keep it in its’ prospective. Nothing is really personal so don’t act like it is. If you maintain this position, you will not be affected. No effect can affect your inner self. You control the event, the event does not control you. Many people go around taking everything personal. An event is an impersonal happening. It can only play out as you allow it.
If your attitude is maintained at a constant, it can’t change. Events are only challenges not personal attacks. The event can’t effect your attitude, but your attitude can effect the event. I was a security officer in a hospital for a few years. There were many times when belligerent people would come into the emergency room and I would be called to control them. I would simply face them straight on then let them holler and yell at me while I said nothing. After a while they wouldn’t have anymore to say. They would simply run out of steam. As long as I kept my composure and did not let their hollering become personal, they would run out of something to say. Then I would calmly ask them to set down and talk about it. They always complied. The thing is, I did not let their aggressive action become mine. I stayed aloof and waited for the situation to become less explosive. Even though I wore a badge, I would keep it covered so as to stay as neutral as possible. Many times the police would bring people into the emergency room and they would be frothing at the mouth because they were so agitated. The police would leave and I would have to control the agitated person. I always took the same stance and let the person run their course, no matter what they called me. They were not mad at me, they were mad at the policeman and he was gone, so what they were mad at was no longer there. I would not let them transfer their anger to me, and soon they would become calm.
No event is personal until you make it so. It’s always your choice. You take control through positive transference. Transfer your positive attitude to the negative force acting upon you and naturalize it. The key word is control. If you control yourself, you also control anything acting upon you. Negative can’t penetrate where positive is. The one will not receive the other. Negative has to have negative to maintain its’ energy. Positive is not a fuel source for a negative foundation. Leaders are positive people and those around them know it. That’s why people are willing to follow, because they feel the calmness in their leader. Leadership – Part One.
Who Are the Most Powerful Women in Business?
Powerful Women in the World
For many decades now, women have successfully gained prominent positions in the American corporate world. Once downgraded to roles of subservience, female executives nowadays continuously excel in huge companies throughout the country. For the last 12 years, Fortune business magazine has compiled a list of 50 most powerful women in business. Most of the names included in the list hold the highest positions in multi-national companies, while others are smoothly climbing up to that level. The characteristics of these women are not very much different from their male counterparts when it comes to intelligence, vision, and persistence, though many of them privately attest that attaining success in their careers took more effort. While it has always been believed that the business world is men’s showground, there is still a certain thrill when a powerful woman manages to get through the so-called ‘man’s world’. When Fortune launched the Top 50 list back in 1998 only two women were in CEO positions, but the list this year already includes 13 women CEOs.
Most Powerful Women In Business 2009
Below are the names of the women who made it to the top 10 of Fortune magazine’s list of the 50 most powerful women in business for 2009:
1. Indra Nooyi: Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi topped the Fortune list for four consecutive years. She contributed a lot to the immeasurable success of the multi-national Food and Beverage Corporation. She also spearheaded the move to purchase two independent bottling companies, which is expected to save the company about 0 million every year.
2. Irene Rosenfeld: Chairman and CEO of Kraft Foods Strongly positioned in the number two spot, Irene Rosenfeld helped increase the company’s annual revenue to 15 percent and played an integral role in making Kraft Foods part of the Dow 30, which is a very influential position.
3. Pat Woertz: Chairman, CEO, and President of Archer Daniels Midland A food-based corporate executive, Pat Woertz helped position her company to bet heavily on ethanol and saw a 15% increase in ADM’s stock in 2008.
4. Angela Braly: President and CEO of Wellpoint Angela Braly is the top executive of the reputed healthcare insurance company that has 34 million members and has annual sales of over billion. Braly saw her company benefit from a 71 percent stock increase in March 2009.
5. Andrea Jung: Chairman and CEO of Avon Products Avon has a remarkable worldwide following that promotes women empowerment by becoming mini entrepreneurs. With Andrea Jung’s innovative method of recruitment, she successfully added more than 200,000 representatives in the US alone during the first quarter of 2009.
6. Oprah Winfrey: Chairman of Harpo Productions Oprah Winfrey is more than just a television host. Her entertainment company includes movies, print, and broadcast. She plans on launching her very own cable network with over 70 million viewers in estimation.
7. Ellen Kullman: CEO of DuPont Ellen Kullman started out in the X-ray film division of the company more than 20 years ago. She worked her way up the food chain and successfully made it to the CEO position in January 2009. This year, her impressive cost-cutting methods are anticipated to save the company from a billion-dollar loss.
8. Carol Bartz: CEO of Yahoo Carol Bartz came from Autodesk, a CAD software solutions provider, before she assumed the CEO role at Yahoo. She is expected to bring new life into the Yahoo brand. Her partnership association with Microsoft got her competitors’ attention once again.
9. Ursula Burns: CEO of Xerox Ursula Burns was the very first African-American woman to become CEO of a company included in the Fortune 500 list. Burns lead her company away from bankruptcy in 2001. This year, Burns is also looking forward to seeing the company on its first profitable year.
10. Brenda Barnes: Chairman and CEO of Sara Lee Brenda Barnes has been successfully managing this thriving food manufacturing enterprise since 2005. She sold off a number of its unprofitable segments to help boost the company’s stock value and market value.
The Best of Rest in the List
The following are the remaining highlights in the list of 50 Most Powerful Women in Business:
• Safra Catz: Co-President of Oracle In collaboration with Oracle CEO and founder Larry Ellison, Safra Catz helped in the negotiation for the upcoming merge with Sun Microsystems. The merge is worth .4 billion and is expected to give Oracle an annual profit of .5 billion.
• Carol Mayrowitz: CEO and President of TJX Corp. Despite economic downturns, Carol Mayrowitz led this retail conglomerate to billion sales, which is a four percent increase, compared to the last couple of years.
• Liz Smith: President of Avon Products Avon is the only company that has two powerful women included in Fortune’s list of top 50 most powerful women. Liz Smith earned this honor by guiding Avon’s sales to an increase of 65 percent in 2008.
• Joanne Maguire: Executive Vice President of Lockheed Martin During her leadership role in Lockheed Martin’s Space System division, Joanne Maguire contributed to the company’s 11 percent increase in operating profits for 2008, in spite of a reported decrease in sales volume.
• Lorrie Norrington: President of eBay Lorrie Norrington, who came from an executive position at General Electric, helped build a corporate growth in the thriving Asian market. She also took part in streamlining the methods of payment to the millions of sellers at eBay.