Career Women Coaching

Expectations and Reality

Men generally expect that their careers will take precedence over their spouses’ careers and that their spouses will handle more of the child care, the study found — and for the most part, men’s expectations are exceeded. Women, meanwhile, expect that their careers will be as important as their spouses’ and that they will share child care equally — but, in general, neither happens. This pattern appears to be nearly as strong among Harvard graduates still in their 20s as it is for earlier generations.

So even though career-oriented women don’t see their roles as different from men’s, other factors — like public policy, workplace norms and men’s expectations — are stuck in a previous era, when the lives of women and men looked very different.

“Most people think the reason for women’s stalled advancement is they prioritize family over work and ratchet back hours,” said Robin Ely, a professor and senior associate dean for culture and community at Harvard Business School, who worked on the study. “But when we looked at those things statistically, nothing explained the gender gap in membership in top management teams.”

The Harvard study found that among those women who left the work force to care for children, few did so by choice. Most said they were pushed out by employers who stigmatized mothers.

The imbalance between expectations and reality--even among top-level workers--is consistent with other research.  When someone needs to cut back at work, it tends to be the woman.

Source: The New York Times, November 30, 2014

 

 Everyone you meet these days is overworked and out of time.  

 

"When Doing It All Won't Do: A self-coaching guide for career women"    

  When Doing It All Won't Do: A Self-Coaching Guide for Career Women--Workbook Edition--Paperback 

Related articles

Women Leadership Voices

The Mobile Era Matures

Even Among Harvard Graduates, Women Fall Short of Their Work Expectations

Promoting Diversity at Work

Promoting Diversity at Work

Promoting diversity isn't as many think; pure do-gooderism.

It's genuinely good for business, since a large body of evidence suggests that making organizations more diverse casn also make them perform better.

A recent McKinsey study found that the organizations with the most diverse executive teams had dramatically higher returns on equity and earnings performance than those with the least diverse teams.

The snag is that, while diverse groups perform well, they can be harder to manage and more challenging to work in than homogeneous ones, precisely because diverse perspectives lead to more disagreement and conflict.  So even when the results are better, people are less happy with the experience.

To fix this, you have to consciously reshape how people deal with one another, and that entails some cultural disruption.  But it's a price worth paying.

Source: James Surowiecki in The New Yorker, November 24, 2014

 

 Everyone you meet these days is overworked and out of time. 

 

"When Doing It All Won't Do: A self-coaching guide for career women"   

 

  When Doing It All Won't Do: A Self-Coaching Guide for Career Women--Workbook Edition--Paperback 

 

Demands of Work and Family

A majority of the American public believes that most people can still find a way to balance the demands of work, family and contributions to community. These are among the key findings of the 21st Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll, which explores what Americans believe is necessary to balance their obligations at work, at home and in their neighborhoods and what they think could help them do better.

Of the topline results in the Heartland Monitor, a narrow majority of Americans (54 percent) believe that “most people can succeed at work, make a good living, and contribute to their family and their community, if they manage their time well and set the right priorities.”

Some groups are especially positive with younger adults demonstrating significant optimism compared to the wider public: About one-third (36 percent) of 18 to 33-year-olds in the poll feel that balancing a successful career with family and civic commitments is unattainable in today’s economy, while 59 percent, said that people can succeed in all three facets of modern life.

 Perhaps less surprising, 61 percent of men said work/life balance is attainable, compared to 48 percent of women with similar splits recorded among fathers and mothers.

In line with previous Heartland Monitor polls, respondents to the survey also expressed belief in personal or individual responsibility when it comes to making life better. Sixty percent said that “more Americans taking responsibility to work hard, improve their skills and education and provide for their families” would make life a lot better. With regard to civic and community activity, two-thirds of survey participants called for greater contributions of time and money to charity and community groups. Specifically, 36 percent said that volunteering and donation to non-profits from other citizens would make life a lot better, and a further 33 percent said such actions would make life somewhat better.

“As we have seen throughout the past six years, Americans continue to display a resilient determination in this latest survey of their attitudes and experiences,” said Atlantic Media Editorial Director Ronald Brownstein. “But it’s also clear that amid living standards that have remained essentially stagnant since 2000, many Americans are finding it an impossible puzzle to both provide for their family and participate in family life the way they’d like to.” 

“The poll results present an opportunity to understand what’s at the heart of Americans living a ‘good life’ and the challenges they face in achieving it,” said Stacy Sharpe, senior vice president of corporate relations, Allstate. “Americans believe in themselves and their ability to achieve a work-life balance. Family, health, giving back to the community, and earning enough to pay for education and retirement, are all incredibly important to Americans.

 Everyone you meet these days is overworked and out of time. 

"When Doing It All Won't Do: A self-coaching guide for career women" 

 

  When Doing It All Won't Do: A Self-Coaching Guide for Career Women--Workbook Edition--Paperback 

Related articles

Americans taking fewest vacation days in four decades

10 Tips for Achieving Work-Life Balance

Yes, men struggle with work-life balance, they just don't tell women

Increase Well-Being During the Busiest Months

Dr. Jude Miller Burke, psychologist and author of The Millionaire Mystique: How Working Women Become Wealthy and You Can Too!, has some advice from self-made female millionaires on how to thrive this holiday season. 

The following tips from over 100 female business owners and executives, most of whom are mothers, will help reduce stress and increase well-being during our busiest months! 

Ten Steps For Holiday Happiness

 1. Decide with your partner/spouse what your family values are for holiday celebrations. 

Create a detailed, but flexible, schedule including who is driving children to their different events -- and don’t let others’ expectations determine what you do. 

2. Be aware of others’ expectations for you at work, home, or in the community. 

Make an active decision to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and have a ‘stop doing’ list. It is not your job alone to ensure the employees are recognized or the family has the best holiday ever. 

3. Self-made businesswomen organize and delegate. 

Gift shopping, wrapping, cooking, entertaining all require extra time. Consider buying one item in different colors for employees or the same top in various sizes for sisters. Buy the most difficult presents now and start early to avoid the holiday rush. Check items off a master list and have one of your children or a high school student help wrap gifts.

4. Revisit the schedule with the whole family to ensure everyone knows what the expectations are. 

Often forgotten tasks include haircuts, party clothing, holiday cards, flowers, hostess gifts, school concerts, and meal planning. Creatively use help from kids, neighbors, and others to accomplish all of your holiday tasks.

5. Find small ways to do what YOU enjoy every day. 

Successful women are assertive, and in spite of guilt, set limits to preserve their energy. If you have three small children at home, it may not be the best year to plan the holiday work gathering. It may be better for you to keep going to your dance class to keep your energy level high.

6. Practice mindfulness – be 100 percent wherever you are, work or home, with no interruptions. 

The holiday season will come and nothing is going to stop it. Worrying about holiday home tasks while at work or vice versa only increases your stress. Breathe deeply and be present wherever you are and this will decrease your stress. And, remember sometimes an “I’m sorry, Johnny is ill and we can’t make it” is all you can do. Take control of what you choose to be stressed about.

7. Keep small problems from becoming bigger ones. 

Problems will inevitably arise and complicate things even further. Communicate well at work with your supervisor and your employees. Irritability and conflict seem to be inherent during these busy months, so try to accept this and using humor to diffuse tension. At home give each child time alone before bedtime to check in on their emotions; this will ward off problems later.

8. Reduce stress by creating a holiday budget to live by. 

Spending money on items you can’t afford significantly increases your stress. You may not be able to save money during the holidays, but you can live beneath your means.

9. Have your own holiday support system. 

Agree with a couple of friends to meet for coffee and discuss how you want to handle holiday expectations. And, then meet to discuss your progress.

10. Highly successful women are kind and generous with themselves. 

Source: Jude Miller Burke: The Millionaire Mystique: How Working Women Become Wealthy - And How You Can, Too!

"When Doing It All Won't Do: A self-coaching guide for career women" 

  When Doing It All Won't Do: A Self-Coaching Guide for Career Women--Workbook Edition--Paperback