Why is there a lack of female PM's?

It has always been discussed why there is a shortage of women in certain industries, more so in project management .

Of course most interviews I have read about have more than often say- its true but I have been very lucky and haven’t encountered it personally. Sure- because those few chosen women are lucky, so you interviewed them in the first place.

This is always not perhaps true with 60 million working women (in America alone), it’s strange why women are not seen in lead roles. The Glass ceiling report found 95-97% senior managers of the Fortune 1000 Industrial and Fortune 500 were male.

Factors that you cant avoid and women in the work force encounter everyday:

•Pay Gap

•Glass ceiling effect- During 1991 to 1996 the Glass Ceiling Commission studied how the barriers applied to women and minorities for real.

•The discrimination against women at the workplace result in a lack of career progress, inappropriate job assignment and training opportunities available for women. The discrimination is not only against women but race comes in most cases. Though most women face the glass ceiling, how it effects women depends on the race as well.

•It’s well known that trying to balance work and home is always a women’s job and the difficulties of combining work and family are obvious in most women’s life.

•Low level of motivation, self-confidence, and career aspiration are also considered as reasons why women don’t get to the top of the ladder.

So, to get over the hindrances, there is a Genderless possibility of new leaders who should possess the following traits:

• Speaking and Paradoxical ways–these leaders are consistently tough and empathic, flexible and orderly, patient and timely, diplomatic and candid, competitive and collaborative.

• Community builders-promote interactive leadership; create a strategy to bring people together, believing that an organization without weaving unravels into dysfunction. These leaders believe power is to be shared. It is power within-not power over.

• Holistic thinkers-are adept at building trust, and understand it to be a key element for creating a productive and creative culture. They see beyond the obvious and connect the dots between important issues.

• Relational intelligence-they hold themselves and others to high ethical standards, and believe the integrity of relationship is paramount. Third possibility leaders demonstrate relational intelligence by being sensitive to context, expert at clarifying issues, but willing to be confrontational and compassionate as necessary.

I know it all sounds so serious, I am just glad I live today, in this age- were at Least I have a fair share of chance to come extent. The glass ceiling still exists but when someone at least tries to break it, you know, I know- we women know there’s new hope and a chance for all of us there.

So, thank you to all women and men you there, who have made our job easy and paved the way for us and shared the responsibilities at work and home to create a happier space, so that we can do our job and ask for a raise.

The Style Quotient

This year I promised you that we will have the best of professional advice, so instead of pretending I know it all; I’d rather bring you to the experts.

So, what should you wear to work and how to get the right look- how about hearing from Mary Jo Matsumoto who is a designer of luxury goods that includes clothing, accessories, and perfume. She also works as an image consultant with a wide range of clients ranging from ladies who lunch to Fortune 500 mover and shakers. Her nationally syndicated lifestyle blog, TrustYourStyle.com has a feed to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN Money, Lexis Nexis, Kindle and other major venues. The beauty editor at Affluent Magazine talks to us here today.

We all want to be stylish- how do you think it impacts our presence in our professional space?

Style tells a story without words. It's the first thing people take in before you open your mouth. It may sound basic, but dressing well and appropriately makes you feel better about yourself. I've seen this first-hand as clients who came to me feeling unsure of their dressing choices literally transformed in their career (and personal life) when they showed up at work looking pulled together and professional and began receiving compliments from higher-ups and important colleagues on their attire. When you show up looking like you can do the job, it sets off a nice chain reaction. People will have more confidence in you and treat you more respectfully. When you're treated with more respect, you rise to the occasion and perform better. Good performance is usually rewarded.

What according to you are the three staples that every newbie (male and female) should have in their wardrobe?

I believe in coordinating pieces that can be mixed and matched to really extend the look of your wardrobe. Here are the three basics to start with:

1) A nice white shirt that fits well and is well-made. White paired with a black or navy suit is classic and it will always make a more casual look pulled together.

2) A great jacket. Even if you have a job that doesn't require you to wear a suit, a great jacket will pull your outfit together. If you are just investing in one jacket, find one that has a well-made lining (that will extend the life of your jacket) and that looks great with skirts (for the ladies), dress pants, and can also be worn with more casual looks. I had to seriously convince one of my clients to spring for a beautiful tweed Armani jacket that cost as much as a more formal Armani suit he was buying. "But it doesn't even come with pants!" he argued. I knew that while part of his job was spent in a corporate office, he also had important meetings that took place on job sites where he needed to wear jeans. I also knew that these were important meetings on which millions of dollars were at stake and this well-made beautiful jacket worn with jeans would give him just the perfect amount of clout. I can't tell you the number of times he has finished up a meeting and called to thank me for recommending that jacket!

3) Shoes! I could write a book about this but I'll keep it brief. Try and find something classic, slightly conservative or at least not too decorative, so that it will go with as many of your business looks as possible. If you consider the number of hours you'll be wearing these, you'll think twice about buying a pair that is less than comfortable.

What should we look for while shopping?

The two key elements that separate a great look from an okay one are fit and quality. If you want to look your best you need to pay attention to the fit. Does it hang right? Do your pants graze your shoe at the right place? Do your sleeves hit your wrist at the right place? Is it too tight? Does it ride up? A good fit will enhance your appearance and minimize your flaws. It will be comfortable but not baggy.

Quality is not the same thing as price, but often it will be more expensive. Cheap fabrics will not last and you'll end up needing to replace them after (or in the middle of a season). If you save and buy something well made it can and will last you many seasons. Designer names often (but not always) equate quality. Consider the fabric. Does it feel good on your skin or scratchy? Then consider how many hours a day you spend at the office, plus add in the time commuting and going out with colleagues after work. I believe it's worth it to invest in clothing that will make you look and feel good.

Why are colors so important in a wardrobe? What do they say about you?

Colors telegraph self image. Darker colors are more serious than lighter ones, it's that simple. I think it's important to consider big picture career goals when you're looking to build or revamp your business wardrobe. Do you want to be liked or respected? If you're conscious about the colors you wear to work, you can affect your paycheck--I've seen it happen!

One client came to me frustrated because he was getting passed by for promotions repeatedly despite the fact that he was more experienced and knowledgeable than his colleagues who were being promoted. We sat down and talked about his career objectives. He wanted to be promoted to Vice President and hopefully one day be considered to run the company. I asked him how the people who were Vice Presidents dressed and how the CEO of the company dressed. We decided that instead of dressing like the Vice President that he hoped to be, to dress as if he were running the company. (This is not always the right strategy for every situation, but in this case it worked!) We picked out more somber colors, power colors if you will. In the past he had worn a lot of brown and gray--they did not compliment his complexion and they definitely did not stand out. He decided on 3 beautiful suits that were in a much darker color range than he normally wore. In a midnight navy suit, it was if he came into sharp focus. Not only was he promoted to Vice President within 3 months, but he was being groomed to be the next President of the company by the CEO himself!

Thank you!

An Armani jacket might not be the right fit for the newbies pocket but you get the point, dress your part! Yes, it helps most of the time. When I got a raise and was meeting more clients, my CEO wanted me to come dressed more professionally so I was ready to meet clients at moments notice. Point taken. I gave up my relaxed look to get the I-am-ready- look.

By the way, if you haven’t noticed, Mary’s site usually has some amazing give away’s every week and I recently won a cute bag. If you are planning on adding quality products to your wardrobe, try her site and then go shopping!

(Pic Courtesy- Mary Jo Matsumoto)

Why some people make it and others don’t?

“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.”

-F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Crack-Up" (1936)

If you think you are not exceptional, you will never be one!

If you want to stay covered in your fears and back off every time, you won’t make it.

No one knows why some people make it, but clearly it has to do with the mind. Some argue it’s inborn, some say it can be taught and trained. If scholars could pin it down- I guess they would by now and we would all be great.

It has to do with the mind. This book talks about the opposing forces of the mind and how the tension between the two creates something new and ground breaking.

Well challenging yourself cannot be the most important thing the mind can do -to push the boundary and create something rare. It’s for sure not simply hard work(because Jack of all trades did that- must be a lot of work to learn all trades), not working smarter either. It has to be something that leads to everything else.

The power of thinking is the ability to think and create meaning out of it. To take a thought and mould it to something extraordinary that is sensible and mind blowing.

If you see this link here , we at some point have to think that if teaching how to think affects the level of one's thinking?

Would students perform differently if students of same IQ were taught differently? If you were taught to think differently- would you think differently naturally?

I believe it would.

Most of these creators are school dropouts or wasn't the best student in school and then they emerged as something we call the talented or the genius. They are the same people with the same brain and same thinking. Why did they not excel in something at certain point and then over excel later?

As they say- everyone is gifted with a unique talent, whether you can find it or not is upon you.

What would you do to find that talent? What we think or convince us to think- is not always the truth. We are bred in such a pre-conceived world that thinking otherwise is impossible.

No one knows what they make it and some don’t. You have to try to make it and not give up. Accept your negatives, feel your fear and if you can think and figure out why you fear or think the certain way- that’s the winner.

You have to know yourself to know the rest!

(Pic Courtesy)

Hows your team doing today?

As someone who leads the team, we somewhere forget that teams are made up of individuals who have their down times as well. They cannot perform to their best always.

When your teams down what can you really do? Pushing harder might end up creating more mess, instead why not help them go through this.

I work with a small team of 3-4 people and an extended team of some more and like all of you I always know when they are down. You can feel it- in their work, the way they respond, how easily they loose their cool…..

You cannot sort out their problem, however you can help them to overcome it in your own way- is that not what leaders do? You inspire to bring out the best in others.

I simply start with the basics and work upwards-

• Is everything alright? Most people don’t want to come up with their problems at work and will rarely confide when asked first.
• Help them with more breaks, a partner to work with or some time to cool off. If is still persists, dig deeper.
• Ask them if they like what they do. Do they want to try out something else? Have they been doing the same thing over a long period of time that work doesn’t interest them anymore- no thrills, no challenges, same drab work. No one likes that.
• Thankfully I work in an environment which is flexible and we try to be happy with our work, create challenges and keep up to them. I encourage learning something new, delegating a new work to break the monotony and give a chance to think about something new. This helps them love their job not because of the paycheck but something more.
• They don’t suddenly become experts in their chosen new trial field, however they have the chance to do what they do and try out something new. If they want to change departments after a while, we encourage that as long as you can prove you are good at it and have learned the skills
• If there’s one thing I ask- it is to come to work every day the way you came in your first day. It not always very realistic, but closer we are to our first day emotions, better we will be.

Now we have the thrill of a newbie and the experience of the oldie- try beating that!

(Pic Courtesy)

Automate and Schedule More

Everyone who is successful has their own schedule they follow, however they adapt it to their style to keep them comfortable and its true- it works every single time.

So, 2 weeks ago I had my appraisal and to celebrate it I ordered a few books. Very geeky, I know. I ordered 5 books.

Each book is something I want to know about the topic and the author and while I’m reading Tim Ferris’- Four hour Work Week , not the blog but the book I realized while he talks about minimizing work and being more productive at the same time he is telling you to automate as much as you can so you have more time. Well, Ramit Sethi tells you the same thing to manage your finances better and both of them are New York Times best selling author.

They have done it themselves. Peter Taylor whom I interviewed in my blog talks about being more productive and being smart about your work.

So, what is being smart? How can you be one?

Everyone has their own way I guess, however you should be able to automate your lifestyle as much as you can. This includes being disciplined and following a schedule. Like I tried to write blogs in real time and post it, however for the last couple of months I figured out if I can write during the weekends and time it to post during the week. This ensures that the postings happen on time and am not stressing myself that I don’t have anything written and don’t have the time to. So, every Sunday morning I write my blogs for the next week and time it.

Of course, I take the liberty to let it go at times if I am meeting friends for brunch or talking my sister over Skype. More I keep to my schedule, more I get done within the same time.

• Have a schedule and you’ll be surprised at how much you can get done within a day.
• Keep a diary, paper anything; I recently got a planner for myself. I write down my thoughts, ideas for blogs, something I have to read and to do list so I don’t forget and get it before time.
• You will notice you will do more and be more active when you have things written down.
• Repeat your schedule that you have set for yourself and it will become second skin to you. It can be anything- going to the gym, writing your blog, planning your book, calling 2 friends everyday. If you know what needs to be done and when you will start doing it.
• Every day you think- how do these people get so much done within the same 24 hours, the funny thing is you can too! Get into the rhythm of your schedule and you will not only enjoy it but get more done. Your friends will be surprised how much you are doing at the same time.
• You will stop giving excuses before you know. You suddenly realize how much can be scheduled and done because you have just minimized the planning and confusion phase.
• You will enjoy your work more. You not only know what you are doing, your are planning it along the way. So, things just happen but its part of the path you want to follow. You are achieving more because when we sit down quietly and plan, we plan good things.
• Achieve things you always wanted to. This year be strong and do something you wanted to do.

(Pic Courtesy)