?
|
newdynamics
|
|
Organization Development / Diversity Consulting and Training
|
|
|
|
 |
MEN, WOMEN, AND COLLEAGUESHIP
The way men and women live and work together has been changing. Expectations for partnership are high. How to be collegial becomes of prime importance. Experience shows that each must be willing to look at how she or he supports feelings of mutuality and how each colludes to keep it from happening.
Understanding the changed roles for women and men is facilitated by thinking of the societal journey we are on away from dominance and subordinance. To think in terms of a journey may be new. It assumes thoughtful awareness of our intentions and behavior over a period of time. Once we see ourselves on a journey it is important to recognize how different these journeys are for women and men. These separate yet intertwined journeys move us:
- through a transition of letting go of false differences and the collusion of disempowerment, to learning new ways to relate,
- into colleagueship, where mutuality and empowerment makes each powerful and whole.
Enough men and women have moved along such a continuum to give a fairly clear picture as to what these journeys ask of us. We know that new images and language are important. We also know that getting our behavior in line with how we say we want to be is a core task.
The objective is to empower men and women of all races and cultures to work effectively, both individually and in groups. Attention needs to be given to personal, interpersonal, group, and organization issues.
Important When Working on Male/Female Issues
In our experience we have found the following especially important for working on these concerns.
- Women and men need to do the work together, so that they know how the other gender feels and have the opportunity to learn from each other. The focus should not be on just men or just women.
- A multicultural, male/female leadership team is important to the success of this work. Both men and women need to have someone with whom to identify and to understand what it is like to be a man or a woman on this journey. Valuing a variety of perspectives and focusing on the collusion which maintains the status quo facilitates a joint commitment between the genders for doing this work. Our multicultural team helps participants sort out the interaction of gender, race, and multicultural issues.
- The appreciation of cultural and racial diversity are core elements of this work. They have a profound influence on how we perceive ourselves as women and as men. Male/female work needs to acknowledge such diversity, as well as others of importance.
- Our consulting and training is based on a collaborative approach. We bring expertise on how to address these issues which complements the clientâs knowledge of the organization. We need to role model collaborative interaction as we work together. Our goal is a shared stake in working together for change.
- In our seminar work we look at everything (behavior and beliefs) as data, without judgments for whether someone is right or wrong, good or bad, but as information to be considered. We encourage these viewpoints as a learning stance for change. We believe each person is doing the best they know how. However, most of us need more information about these issues and clearer perspectives on the effects on and of our behavior.
- The commitment of the organization needs to include high level managers as well as having enough people address these issues that learning can be applied and agreed-upon changes in organization norms sustained.
Program Objectives
- Develop awareness of attitudes about men and women which impact organization effectiveness by identifying stereotypes women and men have about each other and by examining the socialization processes which men and women experience in our society.
- Understand the dynamics and the behavior that hinders/supports collegial relationships in the work setting.
- Expand awareness and clarity about communication problems that occur between women and men.
- Develop skills applicable for the effective management of the preceding goals.
Participant Outcomes
- To legitimize honest, serious discussion about issues usually avoided or denied.
- To connect the importance of collegial relationships between men and women to productivity results.
- To understand the impact of oneâs language and behavior on others and practice alternatives.
- To understand the subtleties and collusion that exist between men and women.
- To understand the dynamics of power and how to manage uncomfortable situations.
- To understand the similarities and differences between attraction and harassment.
- To understand the implications and ramifications of harassment and discrimination, and to develop skills for effectively managing these issues.
- To improve communication between women and men.
- To develop the informal communication systems and support systems of participants.
