5 Steps to Get Through a Difficult Work Situation

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iStock_000017887517XSmallBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

In today’s fast-paced workplace and tough economic environment, difficult situations are bound to arise. But whether you’ve been tasked with delivering unpleasant news or downsizing a team, as a leader, how you handle the situation influences its outcome significantly.

“I think the most important thing to remember is that it’s not just about you,” explained Hyune Hand, Executive Vice President and General Manager at Wolters Kluwer (WK) Corporate Legal Services. She continued, “There is a whole team behind you looking at you, relying on you, to make sure you get to the right outcome.”

As a leader, it’s your job to make sure you evaluate every situation thoughtfully for the good of your company. Here are five ways to ensure you handle any tough situation with poise and maintain the respect of your colleagues.

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Negotiation November: Negotiate – For Yourself, Your Family, Your Teammates

Business woman with spectacles while at workBy Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)

According to Matt Wallaert of GetRaised, a site created to help women plan for and request a salary increase, one of the biggest obstacles women encounter when asking for a raise is just that, working up the nerve to actually ask.

“Confidence is a big issue, but it’s not the only one,” Wallaert said.

“We need women to perceive asking for a raise as less threatening. Many women have an easier time doing it when you explain that when they get a raise, it helps others: their kids, their family, and blazing that trail will also be good for other women. We need to remove the inhibiting pressures. When women go into a negotiation with facts and concrete information that will help their employer see their value, it takes away the fear associated with the response.”

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Why Communicating Emotion Can Make You a Better Leader

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Group of businesspeople having a meeting.By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“I’m an easy crier,” began Cheri Beranek, CEO of Clearfield, a NASDAQ-traded broadband company. “I’ve learned that there can be a right time for crying, but it can’t be about business.”

Beranek recalled recently losing a CFO to a heart attack – and when she informed her staff, she shed some tears. But, she said, she also worked hard to maintain poise. As a leader, she explained, it was her responsibility to respect her team’s emotions as well. “It’s about knowing how to support your staff, while also communicating the fragility of life,” she said. “Regardless of the situation, you always have to have empathy with the environment.”

“Remembering that it’s not just about my emotions, but also someone else’s helps me to be more objective,” she continued. “You have to approach people with dignity and approach people with empathy.”

In her 25 years in the telcom industry, Beranek said, she’s learned a lot about leading with empathy. “Gravitas, dignity, and depth of personality is something you are constantly developing.”

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New York Companies Slowly Putting More Women in Leadership

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Is it time for lunch?By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

This year, women hold almost sixteen percent of the director seats and executive positions in New York’s 100 largest public companies. Whether that’s good news or bad news depends on whom you ask.

The information comes as part of the Women’s Executive Circle of New York’s latest census of New York’s top companies, produced in conjunction with Columbia Business School. According to the study, the percentage of women in leadership roles at these companies is growing. Wonderful! But… that growth is occurring at what seems like a snail’s pace. How long will it be before a woman nabbing a top seat at a big company isn’t news?

Yesenia Scheker-Izquierdo, Co-President and Co-Founder of WECNY, and a partner with KPMG LLP’s New York Financial Services Practice, said, “We are seeing some progress but the pace is slow. The more information we can provide the more robust the conversation. We are fortunate that the information is well-received and that in general, diversity is a business focus that makes sense for all involved.”

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Intrepid Woman: Laura Yecies, CEO, SugarSync

laura_yeciesBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“This was not a hot topic for me until three years ago,” said Laura Yecies, CEO of SugarSync. “Gender issues were not something I focused on. I had this idea that there were plenty of female CEOs – maybe not 50/50, but that there was a good amount.”

She continued, “Then I became a female CEO.”

Yecies said the turning point was when she attended a conference held by her company’s investors. “There was not one other woman at the meeting. I was blown away.” Not only was Yecies the only woman at the meeting, but she was the investors’ first and only female CEO.

“I realized there was more of a problem. It was really consciousness-raising.”

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L-Women See Competitive Advantage

two businesswomen and a businessman during a meetingBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“We recognize that there are millions of L-women across Europe and globally as well, with many of them active in the labor market. From that perspective we should have a huge influence on the workplace, yet generally we have not been in a position to do that,” began Claudia Woody, Vice President & Managing Director at IBM.

Woody is part of L-Women at Work, a new group to help lesbian, bisexual and transgender women across Europe connect professionally.

The new group’s first event will take place in November, with IBM as its presenting sponsor. Woody explained, “From an  IBM standpoint, for years we have been supporting various Lesbian groups in Europe, but we have been looking for a pan-European group, to share best practices, create business networks, and articulate the business proposition around lesbians in business.”

Woody explained that many lesbian professionals see a “double glazed glass ceiling” but, she said, that needn’t be the case. “A lot of us can hide, and do – and a lot of us are reluctant to put our hands up and say ‘discriminate against me again,’” she explained.

“We have to give that power back to Lesbian women. It means having the energy to do your work, to be authentic, and not spend energy on hiding who you are. You can do this. You can succeed. Being Lesbian is not a barrier to success.”

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Is Self Regulation Effective for Achieving Gender Balance?

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Smiling female professional with teamBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Public interest in the topic of women in leadership has increased significantly in the past year in Europe – thanks, in part, to the UK’s Lord Davies report published in February, as well as EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding’s Women on Boards challenge issued in March.

Reding urged publicly listed companies to make a commitment to increase the representation of women on corporate boards to 30% by 2015 and 40% by 2020. She said, “For the next 12 months, I want to give self-regulation a last chance. I would like companies to be creative so that regulators do not have to become creative.”

The deadline for companies in the EU to set self-regulatory gender initiatives is International Women’s Day next year (March 8, 2012). As the deadline rapidly approaches with few companies making real progress, some countries (such as the UK and Germany) have stepped up their efforts to encourage boardroom gender diversity progress.

Public interest may be driving momentum when it comes to government intervention on the issue of boardroom gender diversity. But without real consequences for a failure to make progress, are these new rules anything more than a masquerade?

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Willing to Take the Risk

ArmiMatienzoContributed by Armi Matienzo

Men have dominated the day trading profession for years, but even as the number of women traders has steadily increased, the gender inequality is still very apparent in today’s trading and investing world.

My colleague Lauren Snedeker and I are the only female members of TradeGuider Systems International, a computer software company that provides analysis tools and methodology education for day traders. Our goal is to see if we can quickly learn how to day trade and get more women motivated to begin day trading by documenting our own learning process and thoughts in our blog.

Our idea was provoked by the content in TradeGuider’s customer database – recently I wanted to get an understanding of the company’s client base. It turned out that 97% of them were men.

I wanted to get a feel for why women would be put off by day trading. Lots of money can be made in this profession and I didn’t understand why it is always portrayed as such a male dominated world. After doing a little research, I found that many studies have shown that due to women’s psychological structure, we are sometimes turned off by the known risk factor involved. But since we are more cautious, that, in fact, makes us better at trading.

On average, men are three times more likely than women to risk losing all of their savings when investing or trading, according to a survey from National Savings, the birthplace of E-mini trading.

Also, according to a study conducted by the University of California of 35,000 brokerage accounts, on average, women make 1.5% higher returns than men and single women make 2.2% more than their single male counterparts.

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Negotiation November: Five Tips to Remember Next Time You Negotiate a Raise

Attractive business woman using electronic tabletIt’s Negotiation November! Every Wednesday day this month, we’re publishing an article with advice and inspiration on negotiation.

By Robin Madell

Negotiating for higher compensation can be stressful even under the best of circumstances. But in times of economic uncertainty, broaching the subject of a raise from your employer can feel even more daunting. You may feel lucky to have a job at your level, or in your industry, at all.

But just because the economy is suffering financially doesn’t mean that you must do so too. With companies short-staffed and tightening their belts, each employee becomes even more valuable. The trick is in getting your employer to recognize your worth and reward you accordingly.

“Traditionally, women are better at negotiating for 
their companies than for themselves,” says attorney and mediator Cynthia Pasciuto of legal consulting firm True North Business Consulting. “They do not ask for as much money as they should.” To help you avoid that problem and improve your chances for a successful outcome, keep the following five tips in mind the next time you negotiate for a raise.

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Five Easy Ways to Build Your Confidence at Work

presentationBy Jacey Fortin

Every working woman faces challenges on the way to reaching her professional goals. And sometimes, the biggest obstacles are internal ones. In the pursuit of success, confidence is key—but it’s not always easy to stomp out the inner voices that preach self-doubt.

To gain some insight, we spoke with Patricia Werhane, director of the Institute for Business and Professional Ethics at DePaul University and a co-author of “Women in Business: The Changing Face of Leadership.” The book is based on interviews with 22 female professionals, all at the top of their fields.

What did these leaders have in common? “They’re utterly fearless,” said Werhane. “Many of them are in fields where it’s almost all men, and they pay no attention to that.” Powerful women like these can make success look easy, but insecurities nag at even the best of us. These five tips can help you put negative thoughts aside.

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