Jun
05
2014
Women in management: ingredients for success at work and happiness in life
By Susan Croft.
I’ve just finished reading Sheryl Sandberg’s excellent book ‘Lean In’ which is packed full of great advice for women in terms of professional development and personal life. I am planning to include some of her sage advice in my next Women in management and leadership training course held at the Centre.
One of the things Ms Sandberg said in her book which really struck me is to choose your life partner well. That’s advice I wish I had been given 25 years ago! Many of us are very poor in seeking support, both in the workplace and at home. Having supportive colleagues and bosses as well as partners or spouses is one of the main ingredients for success at work and happiness in life.
Having run this programme for close to 15 years I am always impressed by the experiences that women share in the workshop and their generosity in helping and counselling each other. Of course, we know that one of the key attributes women bring to the workplace is a collaborative style of working, inclusivity and coaching. So many of the women who come to my workshops find it quite an enriching experience, in terms of connecting with other like-minded women and learning from each other.
Another area I will talk about in the course is creating a happy working environment. I was recently at a conference in San Diego and heard Sean Achor speak about happiness – do read his book ‘The Happiness Advantage’. Sean said that he has worked with several large companies who have created departments whose sole purpose is to process and administer stress leave – they must have an awful lot of unhappy employees! He made the point that it would be so much more productive if all those resources could rather be focused on creating a happy working environment. I think this is very relevant to us as women managers and leaders and I would like to exhort all of you reading this blog (men as well) to look at how you can inject more fun into the workplace and develop an environment where people feel happy, supported and valued – essentially a workforce that looks forward to coming into work each day.
One final point which is very much akin to happiness is trust. Stephen Covey wrote a fabulous book on the subject ‘The Speed of Trust’ (I’m an avid reader, by the way) in which he says that you can’t have real productivity and a happy workforce if you don’t have trust.
For more information about the course read our full course outline.
Susan Croft is an international trainer who works in the commercial, academic and non-profit sectors. She has played a full and active role in public life and has focused specifically on women’s issues in the workplace. She is a member of the steering group for the European Commission’s Women in Industrial Research – a special project looking into ways to encourage more women into science and research across the European Union.
