Being a boss or a manager is no easy task. There are many qualities that a boss possesses that makes him or her stand out of the rest. Knowing those qualities and inculcating them in yourself is the only recipe to being a lady boss. While there are many career oriented women who opt to lead in the professional world. Few are remembered for their excellence and reputation. This is because they probably lack the qualities that an ideal boss or a manager must possess.
The Girl’s Guide to Being a Lady Boss or Manager:
Strong Adherence To Principles:
A boss needs to be respectable and this can only happen if he or she is strong on principles. A woman boss should have a set of principles which she strictly adheres to. She should have a good view of what is right and what is wrong. She should be a person of firm character who cannot be easily moved by emotions.
Professional women who are in higher positions need to have complete control on their emotions. They will be valued only when they learn to be practical.
Ability to Think Out of The Box:
To think like the common man is really no ability. If you wish to survive in the modern professional environment inspite of the stiff competition, you should be able to think out of the box. That is a must in the modern environment. Many of the startups that are doing extremely well started off with just an idea that was distinct.
If you plan to lead multinational firms and be ahead in the professional race, you must start sharpening your creative and innovative skills right when you are in school or college. This is because, while many of us have the ability to think out of the box, few have the courage to put our thoughts into action. Most of us lag behind because we fear to be different. Being innovative right from childhood will make innovativeness a part of your persona.
Superior Communication Skills:
Even if you have the most innovative and creative thoughts, but are unable to reveal to the world what your thoughts are, it will never count. This is where communication skills come into picture. You should possess superior communication skills to succeed in today’s world.
Communication skills do not involve just language skills but also include your body language and presentation skills. Work hard to sharpen your vocabulary. Make sure your grammar is perfect. Try to work on your accent. When you speak effectively, people will listen to what you say. So make sure you work on your body language and looks too.
Head Rules Over Heart:
It is usually said that women are emotional beings and they get easily carried away by their emotions. It is also said that women tend to mix their professional and personal lives. This prevents them from ascending the success ladder.
If you wish to be the boss, make sure this is not the case with you. Try and ensure that you leave your personal matters at home and head to office. Also make sure not to judge people because of their personal life or character.
No Gender or Cultural Bias:
You need to have an unbiased mind when you are in the leadership positions. Any kind of gender or cultural bias is sure to act against. Do not prejudge a person based on his background or gender. A neutral attitude helps to prevent wrong assumptions. Very often, women in higher positions do not succeed because of their wrong judgements. These are judgements based on wrong assumptions.
In professional circles, you need to treat everyone equally. You should not treat one person better than the other just because she is of the same gender.
Subject Knowledge:
When you are the leader or boss, there are many people at lower rungs who look upto you for inspiration. You need to make sure that you are worth all that respect. To be worthy, you need to possess knowledge and be well informed. This is the age of information bombardment. The more you are informed, the greater respect you get.
Subject knowledge does not come in a day. It requires years of effort and dedication. You need to read a lot and keep track of the latest advancements in your field. You should be able to suggest changes in the work methodology to upgrade with latest advancements in technology. This can be possible only when you know exactly what advancements have happened. Subject knowledge is thus a must for lady bosses.
Leadership Skills:
There are many minor aspects that together make up leadership skills. Everyone who holds a higher position in the firm or organisation does not become a leader. The few who are respected and regarded as leaders are individuals who have many traits that a true leader must possess. If you wish to be a lady boss, make sure you inculcate these skills and qualities in you:
Ability to Motivate:
There are people in the firms who lack self confidence. This prevents these individuals from putting in their best. If you make them understand their true skills and abilities, they may work more effectively and the firm’s productivity will improve greatly. As a leader or a lady boss, it becomes your duty and prime responsibility to motivate such individuals.
Ability to Manage Resources:
When you are the boss, there are going to be many people under you. The working capacity of each individual is going to be different. Similarly, each individual may have a different set of core competencies and skills. As a boss, you should be able to manage these resources and allocate work in a fashion that is most efficient.
Ability to Work With a Team:
It is never too easy to work in a team. The individuals in a team could turn out to be very different. The thoughts and natures may not match. Working in a team could mean adjusting or ignoring some individuals. That is not the case when you are a lady boss. When you are the boss, you have no option to ignore individuals. You must be able to work with each member of the team without creating rifts or conflicts.
Ability to Negotiate:
The role of a boss is not a simple one. She may have to meet clients and actually negotiate for the most lucrative deals. Most often these deals run into hours. You must possess the patience as well as the negotiation skills to handle such huge negotiations. Things you need to be careful about while negotiating include the way you speak and the attitude you keep. You should be wise with the words you choose. Never use words that would offend the opposite person.
Loyalty to the Firm:
It is often seen that people in the higher positions in a firm or an organisation have usually stayed with the organisation or firm for a long time. The organisations do not trust employees who change their job frequently. They seek individuals who are loyal to the firm. This is one quality that is a prerequisite to being a lady boss. There are few chances that a firm or an organisation will appoint a candidate to a higher position in a organisation or a firm.
Ambitious:
Till the past decade, organisations and firms have been hesitant to hire female employees for serious positions. This is because most firms believed that females are completely family oriented. They will never work with passion the way male employees work.
This thought process has been changing now. Yet, even today the firms look for female employees who are ambitious and wish to grow and ascend the success ladder. Women who aspire to be lady bosses need to catch up with this trend and work hard towards success.
Ability to Balance Professional and Personal Lives:
A common complaint about women employees in conservative societies is that they give undue importance to their family life. They may leave their job for the sake of their marriage or child.
There are other women who mix up professional and personal lives. They bring their kids to their workplace or formal parties. This may seem annoying to some of the professional people.
Lady bosses need to be extra careful to maintain a clear distinction between professional and personal lives. It may otherwise affect your professional repute.
The changing trend have given equal opportunity to women in the professional circles. Today, you also get to see female entrepreneurs and businesswomen. The fairer sex is occupying responsible positions in known firms. The shoulders of womenfolk are burdened with both professional and personal responsibilities. Women who understand these key aspects and work to inculcate these make better bosses and are remembered by their peers, colleagues and juniors.
