When one of your mentors walks up to you and hands you over a book and tells you – read this – you better jump on it!
Yes, even professors have mentors who still help them out even though it’s been years since they have been in their classes!
I have done this for some of my students over the years – where I have provided them with a book that would be good for them to check out. However, this time the roles were reversed, and I was the one getting the book from one of my mentors and friends in the field.
That’s what happened to me a few weeks ago in the hallways of the Washington Renaissance Marriott Hotel during the AEJMC conference. I had a chance to catch up with one of my former professors and mentors while at the University of Southern California, Dr. Craig Carroll. I had Craig for two classes while at USC (Research Methods and Corporate Reputation Management), and these were two of my favorite classes in my academic career.
I remember the first day of my research methods class at USC. We had to introduce ourselves and tell where we got our undergraduate degree from. I was very proud to say I got my undergrad in PR at the University of Florida.
How did Craig respond? “That won’t help you in this class!” That caught my attention for sure! With that being said, Craig has been a great mentor, supporter and friend over the years. It’s been fun to stay in touch and catch up at conferences such as AEJMC.
So, when I saw Craig in Washington D.C., I was proudly holding my copy of my new social media textbook, and he hands me a book as well. He said – I’d like you to read this and tell me what you think.
What book was this? This book was titled “How Women Rise: Break the 12 habits holding you back from your next raise, promotion or job” by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith. Both are prominent professionals in the business and leadership management sector .
I took some time before the start of the semester to read this book. It was a fairly clear and easy read -which is always good. There were times where I remember stopping myself and saying – YEP! That’s what has happened to me. But, there were other cases where I had to pause and ask – really? I have never experienced or seen this happen in the workplace.
The book outlines some of the main 12 habits women have to overcome in order to make the next job in their careers based on research and case studies the authors have done over the years.
Here are some of my thoughts on the book:
There could be different habits and challenges based on age cohorts. From the reading, most of the women highlighted in these cases were probably in a certain age range and cohort, based on their leadership position. I think this is good to highlight since there could be some universal challenges facing women in the workplace, but, there are some things specific age cohorts face that others do no.
For example, I am considered to be a “Millennial” (more on the older age spectrum of this generation), yet, there are some challenges facing my cohort that have not been present in other places. In my own research in social media, we understand these cohorts are coming in with different experiences, expectations, and insights related to what is happening in the world.
So, I think one suggestion I would have here for Marshall and Sally would be do to some research to explore what are the habits that are challenging for each cohort, and see if 1) are there any similarities, 2) what are the differences, and 3) what can we do to address these?
Yet, we also have to recognize in this research with other cohorts, there could be some new best practices on how they are able to address these challenges. We have to of course be open to these possibilities. I think research is absolutely necessary – as a professor myself – we always start our plans and strategies with research. We can’t just say – well, we THINK this is what is going on. We have to explore what is going on, analyze the data, and see what insights arise from our work to apply into actionable strategies and steps.
Not all things are black and white in the workplace. I think one of the things this book does generalize here is that men behave and act this way, and women do this. However, when I was reading this – I was like – well, that’s not how I would behave or act in this case. In many cases, these generalizations are more grey in nature, and we have to recognize we can’t put everyone in one box when we are discussing certain traits. This is just my personal observation and experience.
I was thinking about my time growing up as a student-athlete, and my Dad was my coach. For most of my career, I trained with guys who were also throwers and even some football players. My Dad at a very early age told my sisters and I that he didn’t want us to not do something or only lift a certain amount just because of certain gender standards. So, what did this result in? I ended up winning some national weightlifting competitions, beating most of the football players in the squat, and being asked to workout when the football teams were practicing in college by the head coach so his players could see they were getting beaten by a girl in the weightroom.
Based on what I have mentioned above, we are seeing more individuals like this entering the workplace and they may not necessary have the black and white perspective that is outlined in the book. I think this is a good starting point to consider, but like technology and all things happening in society, we got to evolve and adapt to make way for the next generation of audiences.
Queen Bee’s influence needs discussed more. Most of the challenges here in this book were raised because a male was able to get a job or opportunity over a female. However, this is clearly not the biggest issue from my stance. Queen Bee’s (women of power who want to stay in power, and not mentor the next generation of team members) was slightly mentioned, but this is a huge issue in the workplace. In fact, I think this needs to be discussed more than ever.
Personally, I have had my share of interactions with Queen Bee’s in my career (in athletics and even in academia), and I have seen this happen to friends and students I have mentored over the years. We have seen some cases like this in organizations where women in high power roles are not only not mentoring the next generation of women, but they are creating an environment that is not productive for all parties involved. We have to look at all of these different influences, and have a discussion on whether or not this is something we need to address.
Missing habits and influences from social media. Most of the cases that were raised here focused on in person habits rather than online habits. With the rise of social media, telecommuting, remote workers, and other forms of technology, I think that some additional habits exploring the nature of what are some things that need to be addressed and noted for social media practices need to also be discussed here as well.
Many of the incoming professionals in the workplace share their experiences, concerns, and perhaps insights on social media – so we have to ask ourselves – how is this going to impact their offline habits? We have to explore the entire ecosystem in which relationships, conversations, and issues can arise due to a post, update, or even something that was seen by a leader in an organization. We just can focus on the offline ecosystem of business practices – we have to look at the whole customer, or in this case, employee journey.
Context is also key to note here. I think context of the situation has to be acknowledged here as well. Our business and social environment right now is rapidly changing and evolving, and there are some things I think would be good to definitely explore and note regarding what is happening perhaps in a particular industry, region, or type of business. Our corporate culture and environment, along with those who are part of the equation, can perhaps foster some of these challenges more than others. While most of the cases were ranging from different industries and settings, it’s key to do an environmental scan and see what is happening. I know there were a few cases involving the entertainment industry, which of course was front and center with the #MeToo movement among others. I think when we are looking at individual habits, we also have to look at the nature of the internal corporate environment, but also the industry and social environment. Speaking from experience – there are some similarities I see from the sports and academic fields, but they do have some clear differences and their own respective opportunities and challenges. Yet, understanding the nature of these environments helps us tailor our approach and strategies in addressing both of these effectively.
Summary
I think this book by Sally and Marshall is a good one to add to your bookshelf. I think there are always books we can add to our library to make us stop and think about our own circumstances. I was able to stop and think about some of these habits – some of these resonated with me more than others. Plus, this book most importantly made me really think about what is next. What is next in addressing these habits and how will this habits evolve? How will this impact those coming up in the ranks? I think this is something we all need to be aware of as professionals.
As an educator, I am teaching some of the future generation of professionals, so I am able to see what are some of the things my students are focused on and what they have experienced. I think this could be an opportunity for the industry to perhaps extend a hand with education to see what we can do to help address this future gap in making sure everyone is prepared and on track to be successful in the workplace in leadership roles.
I would like to thank Craig Carroll again for giving me this book to read. Thanks again, Craig!
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
