Survey Says: Women Leaders Want Flex Time, Balance, Engagement, Recognition

The latest Gallup study, "State of the American Workplace," has just been released, and it sheds light on trends and issues in American workplaces, as well as engagement across different demographics of the U.S. population. Our friends at Take the Lead bring us a primer on 12 of the study's most important takeaways concerning women leaders; including insights into women's need for balance, their talents in engagement, the importance of authenticity and flexibility, the role of leaders in shaping company culture and approaches in these and other areas, and much more. taketheleadwomen.com - Consider this the Cliff Notes version. The skimming has been done for you, saving you time reading the 214 pages of Gallup’s latest tome, “State of The American Workplace,” with what you need to know as women leaders.

Perhaps knowing where women leaders stand, we can work more efficiently toward the Take The Lead goal of achieving gender parity in leadership across all sectors by 2025.

We picked 12 key factors from the Gallup study facing women leaders in the workplace today. Here’s the gist:

We care about the balance. “Female employees are significantly more likely than male employees (60 percent vs. 48 percent, respectively) to say it is very important to them that their job allows greater work-life balance and better personal well-being. As organizations try to diversify their workforces and bring more women into a variety of roles, they cannot overlook the importance of work-life balance and personal well-being for this group of employees.”

We are more engaged with our work than men. “Female employees are more engaged than male employees and have been throughout Gallup’s history of tracking the metric; 36 percent of women engaged, compared to 30 percent of men. Women are more engaged than men in every type of job including management, professional, service and support jobs. In leadership roles, however, men are more engaged than women (50 percent vs. 35 percent).

by Michele Weldon

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For Women in The Workplace, Does Loving Your Job Matter?

We enjoyed this piece from Take the Lead on loving our jobs -- at least some of the time. How generous we are with others and even the perceptions we reinforce in our own minds, as well as traits like courage and resourcefulness, can help us see the best -- and do our best -- in almost any job. Another crucial element is leadership: If you're confident in the leadership at your company, you are more likely to love your job. It's a lesson workers and founders alike can keep in mind for happy, healthy workplaces. taketheleadwomen.com - Washington Post publisher and owner Katharine Graham reportedly once said, “To love what you do and feel that it matters, how can anything be more fun?”

Agreed, not all of us love our work every second of every day. Nor are most of us rushing off to the bathroom to weep or call a friend in a panic. Well, not every day.

You don’t have to love your job all the time, but you can try to love your job a lot of the time. So just how can you fall in love, or stay in love with your job, your work and your career?

Some experts say that starts with how you treat others.

“By giving others the benefit of the doubt, you’ll feel a lot happier at work because you won’t be held back by resentment or anger. Just think about how much easier it would be to get back to your work when your mindset changes from ‘My boss ignores everything I’m working on,’ to ‘My boss doesn’t micromanage me,’ according to The Muse.

And if you feel as if your boss or supervisor is competent, you are also more likely to like your job. Nothing like feeling you are a passenger on a runaway train to bring you down. Trusting that your manager knows what she is doing makes a huge difference in your happiness level.

by Michele Weldon

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100 Women, 100 Years And More Milestones For Women Leaders to Celebrate

taketheleadwomen.com - To properly salute the 100th edition of the Take The Lead This Week newsletter, we look outside of Take The Lead to gather a list of our favorite lists of women global leaders, healers, executives, entrepreneurs, funders, innovators, groundbreakers and cookie makers. We hope these may become some of your favorites too. To make the celebration of these groups of 100 go down more smoothly, we suggest a box or two of Girl Scout Cookies, celebrating the 100th year of sales helping girls from around the country “earn money for fun, educational activities and community projects, but also play a huge role in transforming girls into G.I.R.L.s (Go-getters, Innovators, Risk-takers, Leaders)™ as they learn essential life skills that will stay with them forever,” according to the site.

“From the very beginning the Girl Scout Cookie Program—and Girl Scout Cookies—has been the engine that powers Girl Scouts. The sale of Girl Scout Cookies has made an indelible impact on the millions of Girl Scout alumnae who have sold them. In fact, 57 percent of Girl Scout alumnae in business say the program was key in the development of their skills today.”

Read more here.

Passing The Baton: 5 Ways Women Leaders Can Help Other Women - Take The Lead

Success is not a finite resource. Contrary to what you may have heard or read, powerful women often help other women succeed -- through gestures big and small, formal and informal; ranging from lifting each other up and reaching out to mentoring and promoting up-and-comers.

We're happy to share this piece from Take the Lead Women on five ways women leaders can help other women, paving the way for even more women leadership and empowerment.

taketheleadwomen.com - I was in the audience at a conference listening to a professional panel last week, with each one of the three women leaders talking about her years of experience in media. A younger woman in the audience raised her hand to ask a question.

“I want to know more about passing the baton, and how I can grow into a career, following in your footsteps.”

One of the seasoned journalists responded, “I want to pass the baton to you smoothly, but I cannot stop and look for you behind me. You need to keep up the pace, so I can reach behind me and you can grab it quickly, move ahead and continue the race. I am happy to help, but if I stop to try to find you, we will both be disqualified. This way we both win.”

But the behaviors of women at work can be on the other end of the spectrum. In some work environments, women leaders not only don’t pass the baton, they make sure they are obstructionists to any other woman rising up. We don’t want to be her. So here are five quick strategies to being the kind of woman in the workplace who is not only amenable to other women, but also supportive to the cause of empowering all the women she encounters professionally.

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