2010年11月16日

女上司的男下属 Women have taken over the company. How will I survive?

 

亲爱的露西:

我是一家财富500强企业的男性经理。最近,我所在分公司的高管几乎换成了清一色的女性。一年前,一位女士当上了我们部门的主管,自打那时起,她在8个职位上安排了6名女性。内部倾轧陡然升级,管理层谈论的几乎所有话题,似乎都围绕着让女性在企业中掌权(用企业文化用语讲,就是“多元化”)。按照传统的观念,商界是男人的天下,而现在大家的士气直线下降。我们这些男性如何才能生存?

经理,男,36岁

露西的回答

属于少数派可能相当不错,当然也可能非常糟糕。幸与不幸,一定程度上取决于你如何去做,眼下看来,恐怕你每一件事都做错了。

我之所以认为你处理不当,是源于你那句“我们这些男性”。字里行间流露出一种愤愤不平的讽刺意味,而在女性听来,这样说既没有吸引力,也不让人觉得有趣。

首先,你应该停止自怨自艾。眼下,你拥有这支新组建的“娘子军”所不具备的优势:显眼。如果你所在的公司真的对多元化感兴趣,那么你现在就可以充当一个标志性的男员工,就我的切身经历而言,充当标志性人物可是乐趣无穷。

你在信中传达出的第二个不详信号,与你所说的内部倾轧“陡然升级”有关。职场中一个定律就是:只有当人们觉得自己的表现没有达到应有的水平时,才会去抱怨办公室斗争。你的问题与办公室政治(随处可见)本身无关。真正的原因在于:你不再属于胜利的一方,而更糟糕的是,你怀疑规则已经改变——这你猜对了——而你自己却不知道如何去做。纯女性环境的办公室政治法则,与男性环境不同。这需要一定的适应,而你认为自己可以像从前那样行事是错误的。

你应该效仿一下那些率先在男性世界中获得成功的职业女性——她们变得和男性一样具有侵略性。同样,你必须学会行为举止更女性化一点。首先,你必须减少雄性激素分泌,并设法破解这种复杂的新交战规则。我怀疑你光靠自己能否做到这一点:不妨挑选一个关系最融洽的女同事,让她成为你的办公室“配偶”、朋友或保人。让她替你解释。

最后,你抱怨称士气骤降。我猜你指的是自己;新上任的女高管肯定士气高涨。通情达理地与她们进行沟通,你会发现,尽管你只是“我们男性”中的一员,但你仍会生存得相当滋润。

读者的建议

做你自己

这很简单!

1) 比任何女性同事都能干一倍

2) 要有吸引力,但别太有吸引力,以免让女性感觉在你身边没有安全感

3) 主动为她们端咖啡,帮她们的丈夫和孩子挑选礼物——尽你所能地让她们更高产,你也会因此而变得不可或缺!

4) 别表现得太男性化,省得让她们感觉受到了威胁,但也别太女性化,以免被认为是个怪物。这个尺度很难把握,好好想想该如何拿捏吧。

别担心,亲爱的。只管做你自己就行。你会很出色的!

银行家,女,62岁

忍着点儿

与所有的人事调整一样,有些地方肯定做得有点过份,但最终会恢复正常的。

如果你能从这段经历中获益,并把经验传授给你的孩子们,他们将会在一个更加和谐的世界里工作。

 

与此同时,面对现实并享受这一切吧(你也再没什么可做的了)。

退休人士,男,61岁

像个男人

你只须工作得和女同事们一样好,甚至更好,并设法比她们更出色。像个男人!

学生,男,20岁

发掘内心的女人味儿

如果我能“培养出”对足球、板球和脱衣舞夜总会的兴趣,你就能培养出对服装、子女和文化的兴趣。

基金经理,女,35岁

别忍气吞声

如果你处在一种歧视男性的企业文化中,这种文化阻碍了你的发展,那就联系猎头吧。你无法改变自己的性别,不如另觅高枝,你不必忍着。

男,佚名

你必须适应环境

我真不明白,你对精英领导的那些天真信仰是打哪儿来的。如果你不信我的话,不妨看看英国内阁。从本质上讲,几乎人人都能胜任高管工作,但你必须适应现状。你做到了吗?

总监,男,50多岁

稀缺资源

把自己看成当前环境中的一种稀缺资源。还有什么更好的机会,能让人眼前一亮呢?你能拿出哪些与流行的本事(身为女人)不同的能耐呢?

如果没有,你就应该离开。

佚名

译者/陈云飞

 

http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001035571

 

 

Dear Lucy,

I am a male manager in a Fortune 500 company whose local senior management positions have recently been filled almost exclusively by women. Since a woman became head of my division a year ago, she has appointed women to six out of eight roles. Internal politics have exploded and nearly all the talk among the management seems to be about empowering women in business (the code word is “diversity”). The industry is historically seen as male and morale has plummeted. How can the mere males survive? Manager, male, 36 Lucy's answer Being in the minority can be rather nice. Or it can be awful. Which one depends partly on how you play it, and so far I fear you are playing it all wrong. The clue to your mismanagement lies in the phrase “mere males”. These two words reveal an aggrieved sarcasm, which is not the sort of thing women find either attractive or funny. For a start, you should drop the self-pity. You now have an advantage that the new army of women does not have: you stand out. If your company really is interested in diversity, you now qualify as a token man, and being a token is (in my experience) quite enjoyable. The second ominous note in your message concerns your observation that internal politics have “exploded”. There is a law of office life that says people only complain of internal politics when they are not doing as well as they think they ought to be. Your problem has nothing to do with politics per se (which are in every office). It is that you are not at the winning end any more and, worse, you suspect – rightly – that the rules have changed and you don’t know how to play. The political rules of an all-female environment are different to the rules of a male one. They are going to take some adapting to – it is a mistake to think you can just go on as before. Take your lead from how the first professional women succeeded in a male environment – they became as aggressive as the competition. Likewise, you need to learn to behave a bit more like a woman. For a start, you must tone down the testosterone and try to unravel the new, complex, rules of engagement. I doubt if you will manage it alone: pick the friendliest colleague and enlist her as office spouse, friend or sponsor. Let her translate for you. Finally, you complain that morale has plummeted. I take it that you are referring to your own; the morale of the new female top dogs must be rather high. Talk to them reasonably and you may find that, in spite of being a “mere male”, you survive quite nicely.

Your advice

Be yourself It’s easy! 1) Be twice as competent as any woman. 2) Be attractive, but not so attractive that women feel they can’t trust themselves around you. 3) Offer to bring coffee, pick up gifts for their husbands and children – whatever you can do that makes them more productive – and you become indispensable! 4) Don’t act so much like a man that they will feel threatened, but don’t act so much like a woman that they will think that you are a freak. It is a very fine line. Figure out how to walk it. Don’t worry, sweetie. Just be yourself. You’ll do great! Banker, female, 62 Suck it up Like all corrections, there has undoubtedly been an overshoot, but it may eventually normalise. Your children will get to work in a more balanced world if you can profit from, and communicate, this experience to them. In the meantime, suck it up and enjoy (there’s nothing else you can do). Retired, male, 61 Be a man You should just do your job as well as or better than your female co-workers do and try to outshine them. Man up! Student, male, 20 Find inner woman If I can “develop” an interest in football, cricket and strip clubs, you can do the same for clothes, children and culture. Fund manager, female, 35 Don’t take it If you are in a corporate culture that is sexist, and is blocking your way, then call the headhunter. You can’t change your gender, so leave, because you don’t have to take this. Male, anon You must belong I do not know where your naive belief in meritocracy comes from. Look at the UK cabinet if you doubt what I am saying. Basically, almost anyone can do a top management job, it seems, but you have to belong. Do you? Director, male, 50s Scarce resources Think of yourself as a scarce resource in this environment. What better opportunity is there to make an impact? What can you offer that is different to the prevailing skill-set (being female)? If nothing, you should move out. Anon

 

http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001035571/en

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