Administrative Professionals’ Day is right around the corner (April 25), and that always puts me in mind of women in the workplace.
Although men hold these roles as well, the overwhelming majority of admins are women. Conversely, while many women have never held an administrative support role, an awful lot have, and do. This day just strikes me as a good time for women in all professions to review career goals and personal dreams.
This review seems pertinent at a time when women’s wages continue to lag behind men’s in nearly every occupation, even when other factors are accounted for. I know that many people, myself included, believe these numbers; I also know that many don’t. Rather than wade into that particular morass, I’m interested in what women can do to improve their own positions, regardless of comparisons to others in the workplace.
The following books come at that question from different perspectives. Perhaps there’s one on the list that will help you or a working woman in your life.
"Salary Tutor" by Jim Hopkinson (Business Plus, 2011, $13.99). Whether one is negotiating salary, hours, promotions or work conditions, this is a critical conversation to have. And yet, according to Hopkinson, women are far less likely to initiate or participate in negotiations than men, and are likely to ask for less when they do.
While there are quite a few books available on the topic of negotiating salaries, this one has some advantages: It’s easy to read, it contains enough graphs to inform but not enough to induce a coma, and it engages both younger and female readers, two groups that could particularly benefit from the information.
"Break Your Own Rules" by Jill Flynn, Kathryn Heath, Mary Davis Holt (Jossey-Bass, 2011, $25.95). As former corporate executives, and now as principals in their own consulting firm (Flynn Heath Holt Leadership), these three have a distinct opinion about one major factor holding women back at work: the women themselves.
Noting six rules that working women seem to adopt through osmosis (focus on others, seek approval, be modest, work harder, play it safe, it’s all or nothing), the authors present compelling arguments that those rules must be broken if women are to advance.
It’s time, say the authors, for women to replace their work old rules with new ones. Specifically, they need to take center stage more often, “proceed until apprehended,” project personal power, be politically savvy, play to win, and recognize the “both-and” in work situations.
Does this sound exhausting? It usually is tiring to change one’s mindset and behavior -- but the rewards can be well worth the effort, both financially and personally.
"Wicked Success Is Inside Every Woman" by Vickie L. Milazzo (John Wiley & Sons, 2011, $21.95). Here's someone who agrees with the above authors -- to a point. The founder of a $16 million education company (Vickie Milazzo Institute), Milazzo concurs that women approach the work world in a specific way. But rather than change that approach, she would have women celebrate the differences and proceed with confidence into a marketplace that she says is finally ready to capitalize on those style differences.
In particular, she notes that the qualities valued in today’s work culture, including collaboration and relationship-building, are qualities natural to most women. The trick is to parlay those attributes into workplace success. Milazzo leads the reader through the related steps with a series of stories, personal anecdotes and self-reflection exercises. The net result is a bit choppy but makes a pretty good “page-a-day” book -- which fits the reading styles of busy career women.
"I'd Rather Be in Charge" by Charlotte Beers (Vanguard Press, 2012, $25.99). Can you stand to look at the same topic from one more perspective? I wasn't sure I could, but I dove in anyway, and came up with some pearls. Beers, whose career has taken her from being a junior executive of J. Walter Thompson to CEO of the $5.4 billion Ogilvy & Mather -- and then on to service as undersecretary of public diplomacy for Colin Powell -- frames the conversations a little differently than the previous authors.
While she also believes women have under-appreciated work abilities and that they are responsible for their own futures, she starts the conversation with family dynamics and the messages girls absorb about success. To break unproductive patterns, you must first recognize them, and Beers devotes the first four chapters of her book to this process.
This is a good book for those who’d like to start the exploration at the earliest possible stage before taking the steps to move forward.
Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com or at 626 Armstrong Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102.
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