Before I settled into my own digs after graduating from college, I lived in 12 different residences with my family across three states. (Not an army brat, a corporate one.) I understood all the abbreviations within the MLS by the time I was 10 and to this day save the Real Estate section in my Sunday New York Times for last.
Within another section of the paper, the Business section, there’s another favorite. A column called Corner Office. It “offers highlights from conversations about leadership and management.”
Although many of you reading this blog know me as your trusty account executive, among many duties here at Alstin I’m responsible for hiring on the account services side. I’ve been able to not only help my clients make the most of their employer marketing campaigns, but also swap stories about our approaches to recruitment and retention. This column, presented in a straightforward Q&A style, reminds me of many of those conversations. I always come away learning something. For example, here are a couple of points of view from previous columns that I relate to:
Do you have favorite interview questions? “Well, my first question is always, ‘Tell me what you think this job is all about.’ And I think just allowing them to speak about what they want to do, and what they think the job is about, is actually very useful, because it sheds light on what they think they want to do in the company.” – Shantanu Narayen, president and chief executive of Adobe Systems
My first question? Tell me what you know about Alstin Communications. It’s very open ended and I know within half a second whether the person has researched our company – by the look of terror in their eyes or the beginnings of a well thought out answer. Knowing as much as you can about a client, even before the business relationship begins, is key to the job here at Alstin, so this works well for me. Then I follow up with the same question Mr. Narayen asks for the reason he notes above.
How do you hire? “I really look for a kind of a passionate curiosity. I think that is indispensable, no matter what the job is. You want somebody who is just alert and very awake and engaged with the world and wanting to know more … I also look for a sense of humor, because that’s really the best indicator of some kind of perspective about the world. And ultimately I won’t hire anybody who can’t write.” – Nell Minow, co-founder of the Corporate Library
Ditto.
So when I saw this week’s column titled No Doubts: Women are Better Managers, I admit, I wrinkled up my nose even before diving in. The interview was with Carol Smith, senior vice president and chief brand officer for the media company, the Elle Group.
She says, “Hands down women are better. No contest. In my experience, female bosses tend to be better managers, better advisers, mentors, rational thinkers. Men love to hear themselves talk. I’m so generalizing. I know I am. But in a couple of places I’ve worked, I would often say, ‘Call me 15 minutes after the meeting starts and then I’ll come,’ because I will have missed all the football. I will have missed all the ‘what I did on the golf course.’ I will miss the four jokes, and I can get into the meeting when it’s starting.”
I can think of many common traits of good managers and looking at my list, I’m just not seeing gender anywhere in the mix. Creating a sense of camaraderie certainly is though.
In the end, although I totally disagree with her ridiculous generalization assessment, looking at the hundreds of comments posted online, it seems this interview also had others thinking along the same lines as me – gender generalizations do not belong in the corner office.
Author Bio:
Annette DeHaven, Alstin's Vice President, Operations, serves as right hand woman for an impressive roster of clients. Known for addressing problems head-on, Annette, who's led by example for more than 15 years, remembers crazy statistics, regularly spouts off mind-bending metrics, and recalls just about every field description for birds you've never heard of.
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