Winning in a Man’s World, Advice for Women Who Want to Succeed

Men and women do not think alike. It’s genetic, it’s environmental, it’s inevitable.

These differences can present tough, frustrating situations for women working in a male-dominated environment, but it is also what makes companies more successful and life more interesting.

In her newest book, Winning in a Man’s World, Advice for Women Who Want to Succeed and the Men Who Work with Them, Renee Weisman demonstrates how to make gender differences an opportunity rather than a problem.

As one of the first woman engineers, managers, executives, and working mothers in the male-dominated semiconductor industry, Renee knows her stuff.

She is a frequent speaker at corporations and conferences around the US. She teaches classes tailored to enhance women in their careers and to enable male managers to better understand how to capitalize on the differences between men and women in business.

Along with authoring Winning in a Man’s World, she’s also a featured writer for womenco.com, smallbizlink.monster.com and the Poughkeepsie Journal.

Winning gives a tactical step-by-step guide on what to do and how to do it, incorporating real examples and lessons learned from her forty years as an engineer and executive in a mostly male Fortune 100 company.

Renee provides successful solutions to the most common concerns of women in business, including being at the helm, communicating effectively, networking when everyone hunts or fishes, and juggling home, motherhood and work. Below Renee answers my top questions and reveals the key takeaways and insights we all should know.

Questions: What motivated you to write your book, Winning in a Man’s World?

Renee Weisman: I learned (sometimes the hard way) that women can thrive in a man’s world without having to change who they are. As I moved up in my career, I spent a great deal of time mentoring and advising others, both men and women. They would often leave my office stating, “That’s great advice, I wish I had known that earlier. I wish there was something I could have read to prepare me better.” Then my own daughters went into the workplace and started coming to me for advice (and bringing their friends). They kept telling me, “Mom, you have to write this down”. So finally I did.

The other way I “get the word out” is through my consulting firm, Winning at Work. I offer seminars, virtual and live, to companies and women’s organizations designed to help men and women work together more effectively. The seminars include work books that can be used over and over again as your situation changes and you move up in your career or expand your business.

What are the key insights your book provides to women?

My main point is that while results matter, men and women get to the answers differently. This is an asset, not a disadvantage, but women and men need to appreciate that. The book helps women recognize where they sell themselves short, helps men and women understand how to communicate more effectively and offers answers to the questions I heard most often when I would mentor or advise others.

What are the key takeaways you’d like your readers to have?

Men and women solving a problem will give better results than either gender working alone. So learning to work together will make you and your company more successful. It’s about:

• Communicating (which men and women do differently)
• Leading (but learning how to delegate)
• Recognizing the importance of your network (which may take more work for a woman)
• Asking for what you want (which is the opposite of what we have been taught)
• Stepping up to difficult people and issues (which is hard for women who are naturally nurturing)
• Balancing work and home (and not trying to be superwoman), and getting results.

All these are solvable but it takes practice.

Do you think the business landscape is changing for women?

It has certainly improved – when I began working I was the only female engineer alongside 400 men. While the percentage of women in most disciplines has increased (engineering being one of the lowest

Renee Weisman

with about 18% female), the population of women at the top is far from equal. Only 3% of the fortune 500 companies are headed by women and under 20% of congress are women.  But women are moving up and also taking on more varied roles. Much of the overt male chauvinism that I experienced has disappeared but today it can be more subtle.

Moreover, working women usually do more than their fair share of the child care and carry more guilt than their spouses. Many companies offer options like work from home and generous leave policies, but individual managers may still be set in their older ways. Women need to help each other which is why I wrote Winning in a Man’s World.

Luckily we have one copy of this book to give away to a lucky reader. Simply RT this message to be in to win!

RT@WomanzWorld Ever wanted to know how to win in a man’s world and succeed in business? Now you can, it’s all here

Make sure you read more of Renee’s articles at http://www.winning-at-work.net/articles

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