Books on women’s leadership are having a major cultural moment, but can you overlook the question of how women make decisions?
The research is making increasing clear that when a man faces a hard decision, he needs to make a judgement; when a woman faces a hard decision, she needs to make a judgment and navigate being judged.
Why is it still the case that of the 195 independent countries in the world, only 11.2% of them are run by women?
Drawing on voluminous research and the vivid experiences of women, from diverse industries and backgrounds, author Therese Huston Ph.D unpacks the mechanisms with which women make decisions and the unconscious biases underlying how the world reacts to their choices.
Decision-making, especially at work, is a different process for women. “HOW WOMEN DECIDE” is a remarkable book in that it gives the reader insight into how to improve decision-making skills, creates options, and makes optimal choices.
Women’s Confidence Advantage
Things to remember:
Men and women alike find it hard to believe that they’re average. But compared to women, men tend to think they’re much better than average. The confidence gap is largest on skills that society considers masculine or feminine. Women underestimate their knowledge and abilities on masculine skills, but men still believe they’ll be proficient in skills deemed feminine.
Things to do:
Think of confidence as a dial, something you can turn up or down. You need to keep your confidence turned down when you’re making a decision, when you are weighing your options and need to hear more.
Dial up your confidence when you’ve already make a decision and the task at hand is more about persuading others to accept it and follow you. Pay attention to your body, your self-confidence. To provide a quick injection of confidence, strike a high-power pose or lower the pitch of your voice. To lower your confidence, assume a low-power pose.
Other Self-Coaching Guides for Career Women:
Women, Know Thyself: The most important knowledge is self-knowledge. (ebook and paperback editions)
Women and Time (ebook and paperback editions)
When Doing It All Won't Do: A self-coaching guide for career women. (ebook and Workbook Edition in paperback at $13.41)
