Our September 13 meeting was on the topic of Leadership Styles: What's Gender Got to Do With It?

For this month's When She Speaks event, we spoke candidly about how the perception of gender differences impact women as they rise up the leadership chain. We also discussed what men and women can do to support rising women leaders and what we can do to address the stereotypes which may hinder the upwardly-mobile progress for women leaders. Our esteemed panel included:

• Moderator Bonita Banducci, Banducci Consulting Factors That Impact a Woman's Leadership Style:
• Panelist Carolyn Crandall, Vice President Marketing and Channels, Seagate
• Panelist Pat Cross, VP, Career Management Consulting, Right Management
• Panelist Eileen Fussner, Vice President of Channel Sales for the Content Management & Archiving division, EMC Corporation
• Panelist Vinie Zhang, Vice President, Hitachi Corporate Ventures

• We must speak in generalities, as not all women and not all men fit the descriptions of typical male or female leadership styles. In other words, we think about archetypes rather than stereotypes.
• As an archetype (rather than a stereotype), women, in general, are more collaborative, more ready to share information, communicate more between functions (multi-tasking), more attuned to the customer voice, make more values-based decisions, and consider 'fire-prevention' more frequently.
• Women are more sensitive to nonverbal communications and may therefore read people more accurately. This is not formula-based, more intuitive/instinctual.
• Women tend to value relationships and people more, and value integrity.
• Women tend to emphasize communication

• Women in general tend to consider work/life balance issues and questions as they advance the corporate ladder.
• Women in general tend to multi-task and think/drill down deeply about ramifications of a particularly issue. This may be perceived negatively by men and women as a trait which hinders progress, however, it might be the right thing to do at the right time.

• First understand, appreciate and value the impact of their leadership styles on the organization, and then communicate it to others within an organization in a positive way that gets noticed.
• Support other women in communicating directly and diplomatically our needs and intentionally lobby for our needs.
• Blow our own horn! Positively position yourself and communicate successes without shameless self-promotion. Think of promoting yourself as framing a relationship in a different way, which might be especially difficult given the way girls, particularly Asian girls are acculturated.
• Consider the right time and place to think about the big picture and to think about working out the ramifications/details of a proposed plan.
• Understand what you bring to the table - Your strengths, attributes, things that you want to work on, what you want, what you're passionate about.
• Frame your assets and attributes in the context of  your performance review so that your strengths and accomplished will be better recognized and appreciated.
• Balance listening and speaking - Listen first, but then speak to show that you heard and will integrate their words into your actions and plans.
• When negotiating, be willing to walk away.
• Open your heart while in communications. It helps to build trust in relationships.
• See issues from everyone's perspectives and help people communicate their perspectives to everyone else. Find the middle ground. Be the peace-maker.
• Insist on finding the right job, the right boss, the right company, the right industry for you.
• When dealing with conflict, remember that being loud doesn't make the other person right. Try not to take the conflict personally. Have confidence in presenting your position.
• Taking acting or improv classes may help to build the resiliency to handle conflict, work with strong emotions, creatively problem-solve relationship issues on the spot.

• What are some archetypes you have seen with women leaders from your network and experience? Which of these traits would you adopt for yourself?
• What is your skillset and  your passion and interest?
• How can you clearly appreciate and acknowledge your accomplishments without standing out in a negative way?
• What and who will help you stretch yourself?
• How can the focus on relationships vs. the focus on differences help resolve day-to-day issues?