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"It's
important to do things right, but just as important
is to do the right thing."
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The
Sand Box
I have
such vivid memories about being a young girl on the
playground--games of tag at school recess and swinging
on the monkey bars on a Saturday morning before my brother’s
baseball game.
The playground
is where many of us learned to challenge ourselves
by climbing all the stairs on the slide until we were up so
high you could almost touch the sky and then trusting
enough that that slippery slide would put us down safely on
the ground.
It was
at the playground that we learned to take our bumps
and bruises. We learned the importance of getting
back on the swing when we fell off. This was a place where
many of us learned to forge
friendships, work in teams and where some
of us first may have encountered
those who just did not play well with others.
As
women, we have many innate social skills that men may not
instinctually have. Pick up any magazine and read
how we are natural nurturers
and communicators. So why is it I wonder,
why we have not made bigger
strides? Why are so many of our top CEOs not female?
 If
you never had the playground experience, I urge you to go
to a local park, take a notepad with you, and jot down a few
observations about basic human behavior. Children
can teach us a great lesson about who we really are personally
and whom we really are playing with in business.
As a business
owner and sales consultant, studying
human behavior is an invaluable tool. I have
developed a keen kind of sixth sense for people. I am often
hired to sit in or prepare a mini training session to observe
sales candidates. I have come to the conclusion that although
most people are good, they are wired to be self serving and
that is simply human nature. Go back to the
playground for a moment. When was the last time you saw one
child, male or female, offer to let the other go ahead of
him or her on the slide? Rather, they normally push
and shove to get in front.
Have
we, as women, become so in tune to playing like the boys
on the playground that we disregard our own collective strengths?
 The
difference between a business
professional and someone merely acting in the role of businessperson
is extremely clear. In my career, I have encountered
some very professional businesswomen. They
truly understand the value of what some business experts term
as co-opetition;
such as authors Adam Bradenburger, professor of business administration
at the Harvard Business School, and Barry Nalebuff who wrote
the book, aptly titled “co-opetition.”
In the
consulting world, this term
can be used to define sharing a task or project with a company
that you compete with on some level. You may
work on a board together or take it to a deeper relationship
where you both are able to fill a gap for a client by using
one of your own competitors.
Co-opetition
can be related to a product offering such as Netscape and
Microsoft or a service offering like your caterer and your
florist. Co-opetition on a service
level is where professionalism is really put to the test,
because we must trust one another and both truly have the
customer’s best interest at heart above all else.
It was
after working in the male dominated
Information Technology consulting industry
that I witnessed first hand how consultants can and need to
work together for the common good of a client.
When
all of the consultants are working for a common good you actually
receive more value due to their collective wisdom;
as they would all anticipate problems from dissimilar viewpoints.
Not to mention the projects would more often than not be completed
well within their timeframes and budgets due to a team effort.
However,
if you are not working with professionals and merely
with those acting in a businessperson role, the flip
side could be detrimental. Back
biting among the team members will cost you
as the customer or manager, as each person tries to undermine
the other.
As an owner
of a company, the manager of a department, the project leader
on a task or volunteer for an organization, business or non-business,
it is essential for you to look
at the dynamics of a team in order to ensure success.
Be 100 percent sure you have a team of professionals, especially
if their businesses overlap or compete on some level. |
Jan
DeLory
is
president
of
Boston
Professional
Group,
a
sales
consulting
firm.
She
is
also
a
business
&
life
coach
and
recently
founded
Women-Matters,
a
unique
way
to
bring
affordable,
facilitated
coaching
groups
to
women
in
the
comfort
of
their
own
homes.
For
more
information,
log
onto
www.women-matters.com