Features of management of women's and men's team. Management of the women's team

You need to be a fireman to quickly put out outbreaks of squabbles, tantrums and conflicts. And also a psychiatrist, because the female soul is an extremely vulnerable substance. A trainer in order to develop willpower and organize the unorganized, and a veterinarian, preferably with a specialization in “sheep, snakes, chickens,” because that is how women often call each other themselves, and this, believe me, is no accident.

If you add the skills of a juggler, a storyteller and a musician to this gentleman's set, you will not be worth the price, and the team will be ahead of the rest in terms of performance.

It is no secret that in Ukraine women work 4-6 hours more than men. And this means that they:

• are eager to work;
• not afraid to work hard.

In addition, they are able to successfully cope with frankly boring, routine work. After all, take a closer look - it is women who mostly work in the positions of accountants, cashiers, proofreaders.

They are also executive and more responsible. But here it is necessary to make a reservation - subject to competent management.

Source: depositphotos.com

How to manage a women's team. Rule number 1.

• Don't let yourself sit on your neck!

Everyone in the team - from the chief accountant to the cleaner - must feel the distance at the level of boss-subordinate.

Discipline, a clear position of the main and exceptional confidence in their actions! Women have great intuition. The slightest uncertainty, weakness - and long live chaos and anarchy.

Rule number 2.

• Put everyone in their place.

Or, to be more precise, put everyone in their places. Here it is worth using the coach's strategy. Each of your wards should clearly know their position in the team: who is in defense, who is in attack, who plays, and who serves balls. Such a scheme will allow you to avoid the favorite female trick - transferring the arrows to another. And so you set the task - and you know exactly who to demand from.

How to manage a women's team. Rule number 3.

• Don't put everyone on the same line.

The female team is interesting and scary at the same time with its exceptional diversity.

Here, oh, how you need the skills of a psychiatrist. Someone needs a good kick to increase their efficiency and greater striving, and for someone even the smallest praise will make mountains turn. You need to carefully observe your subordinates and then skillfully distribute everything you need to everyone. The main thing is not to confuse, because you run the risk of running into a weapon of heavy defeat - female sobs right in your office! And this is a terrible blow not only to your nervous system, but also to your reputation.

Opponents of women's groups have always called organizations where women predominantly worked as "chicken coops", "snake balls" or "hornet hives". On the other hand, the advocates of women's collectives recall the main qualities of women, such as their kindness, tolerance, responsiveness, loyalty - this is everything that can create the ground for a favorable working climate and form good opinion clients.

Curious is the fact that positive reviews about companies where there are only girls, as a rule, are left only by representatives of the opposite sex.

Even more than that, men see benefits for themselves in joining such a team. Everyone does not mind becoming an employee of the office, where, in the absence of competition, one can count on increased attention to one's own person. However, one must take into account the fact that in such cases one cannot do without negative experience.

As it was once said: “The women's team is a definite death for a man - such an opinion was published on one Internet forum. - Serpentarium the still.

Only a year and a half of work, but the feeling is that it's time to cover yourself with a white sheet and slowly crawl towards the nearest cemetery. nervous system not left, the gray hair beats.

Managing a team is not always an easy task. And managing a women's team is always a problem.

To do this, it is necessary to be not only a good manager and psychologist, but also a “firefighter” in order to be able to quickly put out the fire of squabbles, intrigues, tantrums and all kinds of conflicts. Yes, and it’s not bad to be a psychiatrist, because female nature is a completely vulnerable substance. And if we talk about the quality of work, then also as a coach, in order to be able to develop willpower in their employees.

But it’s not worth saying that women are an exceptionally unsuitable candidate for work, it’s no secret to anyone that they work much more willingly than men, and statistics only confirm this.

On average, women are delayed after a working day for 3-4 hours, which cannot be said about men. Also, women have a greater ability to perform routine work, and the fact that the majority of accountants, cashiers and operators are women, once again proves this. But there must be one factor present here - this is possible only with competent management.

In fact, a lot depends on management.

Well, having considered all the basic concepts, you can move on to specific tips. Below is a list of the most fundamental concepts, but competent management should always be developed by the manager himself, depending on the situation.

Don't let yourself be manipulated

Each individual member of the team, from the cleaning lady to the chief accountant, must maintain subordination and work according to the “boss-subordinate” model.

It is important to remember that women have superbly developed intuition, and one has only to show at least some self-doubt, or to give weakness in behavior, as this can lead to disobedience and free behavior.

Everyone should know their place

To put it more correctly, it must be said that everyone and everyone should be placed in their proper places.

This is easily handled by the coach's strategy, where a clear understanding is developed for everyone about their place, its significance, and proper behavior. This system was developed in order to avoid the favorite female behavior - to transfer arrows to each other. With a clear statement of the task, you can always know what to demand from whom.

You can't measure everyone with the same yardstick.

Although the female team is menacing, its exceptional appeal cannot be denied. And the skills of a psychiatrist will not be superfluous here.

Someone, in order to increase his efficiency and greater motivation, needs a decent kick, and for someone even the smallest praise is enough for him to become able to move mountains.

It is necessary to properly study the behavior of your subordinates, and after all, already skillfully distribute to them what is needed for their productivity.

The most important thing is not to confuse and not overdo it, because there is a great risk of meeting with a weapon of heavy defeat - female tears. And this is not only an unpleasant sight of stress, but also a black spot on the reputation.

Divide and rule

Perhaps this advice is one of the most effective, and if you know how to use it correctly, then the problem of leading a women's team is exhausted by itself.

For most women in life, emotions are the main component that prevails over any logic and reason. And the scheme becomes utterly simple - the most important thing is not the influence of words, but emotional manipulation.

Good luck in leading the women's team!

Any leader at some point thinks about how to properly build relationships with a team of subordinates. And this is where books and articles about organizing effective leadership come to the rescue. But the problem is that most of these recommendations are focused mainly on some abstract "staff".

Vakhrusheva Nadezhda Viktorovna, pedagogue-psychologist Novoportovsky kindergarten"Teremok" from the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug is sure that in order to effectively manage a team, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of female psychology.

It is known that in educational institutions Our country's teaching staff is mostly female. Therefore, the leader one way or another has to take into account the peculiarities of female psychology.

Leadership of the women's team should not be just leadership. Leading women - it means living with them as one family, experiencing the pain and joy of each as your own, but at the same time being a model of wisdom and decency, unobtrusively teaching this to all members of your “family”.

What are these features?

First of all, Psychological studies show that women are more likely than men to be sensitive to the psychological climate in a team; for them, it is emotional ties with colleagues that are most significant. Women subconsciously build their relationships in a team on the principle of a family and, accordingly, expect emotional warmth, support and understanding from colleagues and the leader.

Secondly , in a purely female team, competition manifests itself in a peculiar way. Attuned to mutual support and prone to empathy, women are good to those who feel bad (which means they can take the side of the “innocent victim” from the anger of the leadership), which again can affect the effectiveness of work and trust in the leader as a whole. Therefore, the leader has to take into account compatibility to a greater extent, strive to maintain not only warm, but also even relations with all members of the women's team. In addition, you have to find time to inquire about the mood of employees, their household chores and other “little things”.

Third a feature of the women's team can be called the presence of some "undercurrents" that are felt by all members of the team, but rarely "overflow the banks." Conflicts in men's collectives proceed mostly openly: as a protest or a challenge. In women - more hidden, with the use of gossip, slander and even petty dirty tricks. Therefore, the head of the women's team has to be on the alert, not deceived by the absence of open conflicts, to clearly monitor the mood in the team, firmly suppressing the spread of rumors and gossip.

And finally fourth, As experience shows, it is very difficult to implement competitive elements in the women's team. After all, if men relatively easily experience their loss in the production sphere, it is enough for them (according to psychologists) to feel like winners in other areas of life: hobbies, attention of the opposite sex, etc., - With women, everything is much more difficult. Being subtle, emotional natures, they want to be successful in everything. That is why, if a leader singles out any of the employees based on the results of competitive activities, this should be well justified and understandable to all members of the women's team. Otherwise, the success of one of the colleagues may be perceived by women as their own loss.

All the difficulties of the women's team listed above should not be taken as difficulties. If the leader begins to take them into account only as features of the women's team, he will be able to reach an understanding with the staff and he will be able to count on the support of the team.

Let's try to answer the questions: how to "direct" the characteristics of the team to achieve and solve the necessary goals and objectives; how to take into account these features in the leadership style?

Scientific research in the first and especially in the second half of the twentieth century identified a number of "managerial specifics" of approaches, methods and styles in the process of managing women's and men's teams.

First of all, in any team, the personality of the leader plays the most important role, and representatives of both sexes have gender stereotypes of what a male leader and a female leader should be. From a female leader, men expect femininity, beauty, charm, absolutely do not accept rudeness, disregard for appearance, scolding, manners “fist on the table”. For women, no less important in the boss is a good appearance and charm, but it also requires understanding, a willingness to listen, to delve into the problems of a subordinate.

There are situations when the women's team tries to "subdue" the leader. As experts testify, the woman-head of the reins of government will not give up for anything. But a man can break down, at first without even noticing that he has ceased to be an authority for his subordinates.

The HR literature provides a wealth of useful advice how to make the organization more efficient. But in practice, these recommendations do not always work or not in full, because. most of them are focused on some abstract "staff", whose gender is not specified. Not only in predominantly male or female teams, but also in a gender-balanced team (men and women are approximately equally represented), problems often arise that require gender specificity to be addressed. If representatives of the same sex predominate (which in our country is typical for a number of professions that are considered “male” or “female”), then the management of the team acquires a number of features that are the sharper, the lower the status of subordinates and the more the balance is disturbed. .

One of the most difficult problems for a manager is to solve the problem of staff turnover. Women are more likely than men to show sensitivity to the psychological climate in the team and the desire to work in a psychologically comfortable atmosphere for themselves. Sometimes this factor begins to outweigh all the others: even if there is insufficient salary at work, and growth prospects are limited, but good relations have developed in the team, women are less likely than men to seek to change jobs. It is this factor that ensures the filling of vacancies in state-financed organizations, in which women work in the lowest paid positions. The leader must take into account the factor of compatibility of members of the female team, strive to maintain equal relations with everyone, be able to find two or three minutes to take an interest in mood, household chores and other “insignificant issues” (which is often difficult for male leaders).

When implementing management decisions female subordinates pay attention not only to the content and meaning of the decision, but also to a large extent to the form in which this decision is brought to them. Decisions should be made by the leader (which is perceived naturally: someone must make decisions), but this decision should be democratic in form (it’s good if the leader consulted, listened to the opinions of the team members). And of course, it should be conveyed to the team in a polite, correct way. A decision that is rough in form is rejected, no matter how expedient it is. The attitude to comments from the authorities is similar. Female subordinates are sensitive to humiliation, rude (even if fair, from the point of view of the leader) censure. Rough censure is almost always perceived by a woman as unfair, regardless of its content.

The relationship of the leader with subordinates in the women's team should be not only warm, but also equal with everyone. The fact is that in a purely female team, competition manifests itself somewhat differently than in a male team. Attuned to mutual support, women have a good attitude towards those who feel bad (the “innocent victims” of the anger of the leadership), and often begin to show hostility to those who are “suddenly undeservedly lucky” - this can cause envy. Accordingly, the methods of stimulation that work in the male team cannot be mechanically transferred to the female team. It is also necessary to introduce elements of competition very carefully so as not to destroy the system of relations existing in the team. If the management singles out some subordinates, such a gesture must be well-founded, otherwise it may be perceived as indulging pets.

The upbringing of men, participation in competitive games teaches them to work in a team, from childhood they get used to follow the leader, accept the established hierarchical system, without attaching much importance to the form in which this hierarchy is implemented. At the same time, young men are constantly striving for career growth and subconsciously try on higher positions. Therefore, the male team is more easily disciplined, it has higher solidarity when working for a common goal, but it is less stable - when new opportunities appear, a young man leaves the old team with much less hesitation and joins the new one.

The women's team is precisely a team, not a team; it is usually weakly hierarchical and rests on personal relationships. An ideal team for a woman is built on the principle of a family, since women tend to project family relationships onto work relationships (for men, the opposite is often the case) and expects support, understanding, and emotional warmth from colleagues at work. Of course, a hierarchy can also be established in women's groups, but it is less formal and can be built on other grounds: age, experience, marital status. In order to avoid provoking conflicts, young ambitious women are advised to show emphatic respect for older and more experienced colleagues (at least outwardly). At the same time, management is categorically not recommended to set young and ambitious employees as an example to the rest.

In purely female teams, another feature of female psychology is often clearly manifested: a woman appreciates the stability of her position. Therefore, any changes can initially be perceived negatively by the women's team. The habit of the established order of things turns into the fact that even if the working conditions are not quite acceptable, they put up with it for the sake of existing advantages. Accordingly, when managing a women's team, one can expect a certain inertia in the implementation of decisions made, a lack of understanding of the need for ongoing reforms. .

The frequency of conflicts in men's and women's groups is approximately the same, but the causes of conflicts are different, and they proceed in different ways. Women are more likely to conflict on personal grounds and because of working conditions (distribution of bonuses, vacations, work schedules), for men, the causes of conflicts are more often production problems, growth prospects, and an unexpected expansion of the range of duties performed. Conflicts in men's groups proceed openly: as a challenge, a protest against a leader, a hierarchy, or a violation of the rules of the game. Vzhensky - more covertly, using gossip, slander, petty dirty tricks behind their backs, which, of course, affects the efficiency of the team as a whole. Therefore, the head of the women's team should not be deceived by the absence of open conflicts. It is necessary to monitor the psychological atmosphere in the team and firmly stop the spread of rumors and gossip.

Difficulties also arise in the management of a purely male team. The desire for rivalry, competition inherent in men, can lead to the fact that in such a team the norms of behavior will become rudeness and aggressiveness, conflicts will be provoked and resolved in an unnecessarily harsh form, and work will turn into a demonstration of one another's strength and competence.

Proceeding from this, it is worth noting that it is in a homogeneous team (only male or only female) that the negative features that are traditionally considered predominantly female and male are sharpened. There is a kind of synergistic effect that removes internal moral barriers.

The management of mixed teams in this sense is more favorable, because both men and women try to meet gender expectations, and negative traits are not intensified, but extinguished. Men behave more correctly and constructively, and women get the opportunity to demonstrate their purposefulness and dynamism. However, other problems may arise due to the relationship between men and women, when the "male" and "female" in them begins to have a negative impact on professional success. There may be a number of specific problems that need to be tracked by a competent leader.

Danger can arise when such a feminine quality as the ability to listen, show sympathy, and provide emotional support is overly encouraged. By listening and empathizing, a woman runs the risk of becoming a "garbage container" into which conflicts that arise in the organization fall. At the same time, she is often unable to help resolve conflicts, change the situation, since she is connected by trusting relationships with those who dump their problems on her. Becoming a hostage of a trusting relationship, a woman is “out of the game” and forced to experience psychological stress under the burden of problems and contradictions that exist in the organization.

Special requirements in a mixed team are imposed on the ability of a leader to objectively evaluate the achievements of subordinate men and women. The presentation of their professionalism by men and women is often different. So, a man is inclined to confidently take on the implementation of even a new and difficult task for himself, hoping to figure it out "as he goes along." With the same (or even higher) level of competence, a woman can not hide her doubts, hesitations in choosing a solution, lack of any skill or necessary knowledge. A woman's doubts about her ability to complete the task in these cases may be a sign of increased responsibility rather than a lack of professionalism. In addition, since, on average, women have less desire for power, less competitiveness, they may cede the right to present joint achievements to male colleagues, which also negatively affects the professional image of women.

Sometimes the relationship with subordinates is influenced by the leader's own irrational attitudes, due to his gender, ideas about "male" and "female". For example, the general idea of ​​a male leader about a female character is strongly influenced by his wife - a woman whom, as it seems to him, he knows and understands thoroughly. Such a tendency, often unconscious, leads to subjectivity in assessing the qualities of subordinate women, errors in predicting their behavior. Women are less likely to use their husband as such a guide. They tend to make another mistake, setting their husbands as an example of their work colleagues. A female manager who is actively making a career can sometimes demonstrate unreasonably tough behavior, tougher than men: learning the rules of the game (which are invented by men and are not familiar to her), she may not feel the allowable limit of volitional pressure and, trying not to seem weak to men, "to bend the stick." The opposite case is when a female leader manipulates subordinates, demonstrating dependent "female" behavior in order to smooth out the sharpness of the conflict or to force men to work. She appeals to the "masculine" qualities of her subordinates, unable to find other arguments.

Thus, the manager has to take into account stereotypical ideas about "male" and "female", leveling their negative impact and using them to create an atmosphere that meets the expectations of employees. At the same time, gender-independent basic values ​​should be put at the forefront: the creation of objective conditions for the personal and professional development of all employees, a calm, friendly atmosphere, the expediency of management decisions and the predictability of employees' reactions.

A woman is a special type of subordinate. Any male leader will tell you this! And when you have a whole team of ladies under your command ... Leading them can be more difficult than commanding a battalion of soldiers! How to use the peculiarities of female psychology in order to successfully manage a women's team, and at the same time form a positive image of one's own in the eyes of subordinates?

Distinctive features of the women's team

It is not easy to achieve success in managing a women's team if you do not know distinctive features this kind of human community.

In principle, everyone knows these features, but, having moved to a leadership position, they are quickly forgotten about! And for the hundredth time they become victims of the most banal tricks of subordinates!

Simulation of hard work

Women are capable of more thorough and artistic simulation. labor activity than men.

A man can come closer to the lunch break with a hangover face and honestly admit that “he went over a little yesterday”, but for the remaining half of the working day he will do everything!

The lady will appear exactly at 9.00 and you, her leader, will only see the idyllic picture "Subordinate behind a mountain of papers." And she, it turns out, is already knitting the second sock!

Gossip, gossip, gossip...

Women are observant and talkative. Together, these two qualities can become a "powder keg" for any leader!

Here comes the boss with an arrow on her stocking - and everyone greets her nicely, and after half an hour the whole office is laughing at how “our slut in holey stockings got stuck - go and spend the night with her lover!” ...

Complicated Relationships

In any women's team, a very complex, changeable and sometimes imperceptible "who is who" system is formed, which is not limited to the official hierarchy! For men, it’s simple: “Ivan Ivanovich, boss. Vasya, Petya, Kolyan are colleagues.

Everything is immeasurably more complicated with us: “Mary Ivanna, the boss is a bungler, in fact, her deputy Frosya Prokopovna is in charge of everything. Lena, Tanyushka, Valechka are colleagues. Lena and Valechka go to dinner together, but both dream of "sittin' out" Frosya Prokopovna. Tanyusha is sweet, but she is able to snitch Mary Ivanna on everyone, although she herself beat off a boyfriend from Lena five years ago ... ”

Of course, all these subtleties are not reflected in any way in the personal affairs of subordinates, therefore, when starting to lead the women's team, the boss can still guess for a long time - what's what.

What to do with all this?

First, always remember that such a strict supervision has been established for the leader, in comparison with which Stirlitz's problems can be considered a kindergarten joke!

Therefore, there can be no question of any arrows on stockings - the boss should come to her office, in the depths of her soul singing a Mary Poppins song: “Oh, what a blessing it is to know that I am perfection!...”.

Subordinates keenly feel the self-esteem of the authorities - if the leader feels "not on a horse", then the team will not fail to take advantage of the "gap in the defense"!

Secondly, an excellent remedy against gossip, "washing the bones" and other types of communication that are favorite in women's groups is ... work! If every young lady is busy with something, there will be less time for gossip (although it is almost impossible to achieve their complete disappearance!).

And the head of the women's team must strictly adhere to the commandment of non-interference in undercover intrigues: even if subordinates decide to stoop to direct denunciations, committing the "Supreme Court" is the last thing!

It is much better if, after a couple of such provocations, the young ladies understand that the boss does not intend to interfere in this!

Don't live up to expectations!

If you are about to enter a high position in an organization where you have not worked before, then you will have to get acquainted with the women's team, which you will have to lead!

And the team, seeing for the first time new boss, is usually inclined to produce a number of stereotypical expectations that have to be destroyed in the name of the successful leadership of this very women's team! The most common:

"Young and inexperienced"

Depending on the average age of the ladies (and in many organizations it is equal to pre-retirement!), the age of “youth and inexperience” can range from 20 to 40.

remembering Soviet times, when they got to the “armchair” for about 60 years, conservative aunts may not immediately believe that in our turbulent times, enthusiasm, creativity and an education that has not had time to become dusty mean much more to a leader than the ability to frown menacingly and cough solidly into a fist!

"She has a" paw "

That is, the post was received for a reason - for a “lamb in a piece of paper”, a fun night spent with someone (this version is especially often tested on young and pretty leaders), kinship with someone high-ranking, etc.

This theory can be tenacious - the boss can effective work to convince everyone of his professionalism, but still there is at least one subordinate who will take it and blurt out that “she didn’t come here herself!”.

"You have to be friends with subordinates"

Ask them about family affairs, treat them with pies, sometimes be frank about their own non-working part of life, call Tanyushas, ​​Valechkas and Lenusiks ...

By the way, this is typical only for women's groups in the post-Soviet countries - in the rest of the world, such familiarity with the boss is regarded as bad manners! We, on the other hand, have an opinion that “warm relationships” will save, if anything, from bossy anger.

It would be absolutely right if the leader, from the very beginning of managing the women's team, gently distances himself from the attempts of his subordinates to make such a “friendship”!

What else is worth fighting for, leading the women's team?

It happens that a new boss comes to the post and ... is horrified by the orders prevailing in the team! What most often has to declare a decisive battle, leading the women's team?

The eternal desire of women to "domesticate" the space around. Embroidered napkins, vases, figurines, lovingly watered geraniums - this is very cute, but it can completely ruin the reputation of even the most reputable company! Therefore, it is worth declaring a hard limit "tsatsek" per square meter of office and monitor compliance! "Anti-dress code". In fact, the dress code (or even the uniform) is nasty and dull when you wear it yourself! But when you come to some organization and see around not a motley crowd of aunts in variously tasteless rags (from mini-skirts to stretched gray jackets “hello from the cowshed”), but a team of pleasant young ladies in business suits, the opinion about this organization immediately increases! So it is worth taking this into account and putting it into practice, despite the cries of subordinates! Homemade dinners warmed up in a public microwave and exuding intoxicating aromas of borscht, cutlets, potatoes with herring ... Of course, nutritionists do not recommend a late dinner after a hungry working day, but in this case there are buffets, cafes, canteens ... In the office it is simply indecent! As a last resort, allocate a utility room for lovers of dense snacks, from where aromas will not reach the noses of customers and business partners!

I warn you: not all subordinates will immediately understand this style of leadership of the women's team! Do you value the image of a “loyal boss”? Believe me, the maximum period of getting used to such innovations is no more than six months!

To be good for everyone?

Leading a women's team is an art! Creating a positive image of the boss in the eyes of subordinates can take years, and you can lose your reputation in one moment! Therefore, the site Beautiful and Successful advises to remember this:

A smile is as much an integral part of the image as polished shoes and a fresh blouse! Shouting and swearing is taboo! Idleness is the lot of losers! If subordinates find a leader reading a ladies' novel or knitting a sock, it will become useless to demand labor discipline from them!

Good luck in taming the obstinate!