When Cultures Collide...

[herbiedoobie]

I don't want to turn this thread into a sexist issue thread... so please don't take this that way. I am in a MBA class right now and we were discussing charismatic business leaders. No women were mentioned. When I asked for an example, people could only come up with women who were in entertainment and business. Not the same thing, IMO. (Also, an interesting article re crying and how men/women are judged by it these days in public positions on CNN.com.)

So, we come to my question. When you are in these meetings with the words/names flying, are there women officers there? Do they take part in the slinging?

Yes, there are, and one gets right in there, and slings back, one doesn't tolerate it and we have to self-censor around her, and one doesn't appear to care either way.

I used to lead only male troops. When I was leading an all-male unit, I could get away with using emotional, "band of brothers"-type techniques. Those techniques, (and units )were extremely effective. When I got promoted to a position where I led both male AND female troops, I used, out of habit, the same techniques, initially. My 2nd in charge, who happened to be female, and working on her PhD in Psych, approached me off-line and said that nearly all of my female soldiers thought that my leadership technique was an attempt to appeal to them in an "other than military" manner:wideeyed: Some of them were angry about this, but a surprising number of them were, ummm, enthusiastic about the possibility.

Men in positions of authority are appealing to women, in general. the obverse doesn't appear to be true, on a basic level.

 

[herbiedoobie]

If by "clash of cultures" you mean some people acting like adults while others act like 5th graders, then I guess I agree with you.

In the company where I work, we also have people who see the need to act like 5th graders and call people names and rant/rave using profanity. I'm sure I've been called most every name you have. I choose not to act that way. I try to remain calm and use logical arguments. And you know what...at the end of the day...I usually get what I want and they don't (and that just hisses them off even more). Any superior worth a hoot, whether military or civillian, should choose a sound, logically presented case over an emotional rant. If not, that organization is not worth working for.

It's never required to act like an idiot...

Not necessarily. Having to dance around an issue because of fear of offending someone is just as "5th grade" as using unnecessary profanity, imo. Lots of people use "profanity" as an excuse to be passive-aggressive. It's all a matter of context.

And what qualifies as "profanity" can vary from venue ot venue.

 

[herbiedoobie]

Herbie, just so you know, I am pretty sure we share a lot of the same beliefs and I agree with a lot of your posts. Stick around

It's cool that everyone is so concerned about me sticking around, so I need to explain. At the time of my original posting, I had a post edited, with a "mods discussion" explanation. As it was my "third strike", I was assuming that it was curtains for me, and I wanted to say good-bye in the least offensive way possible.

Evidently, I was mistaken in my assumptions, so PLEASE, enough with the "please stick around" posts/IMs. I appreciate the thoughts, though.

 

[alaskaguy]

Herbie, there are a few of us that post on this board that are even older than you. I'm a member of that over the hill computer illiterate group that doesn't even have a clue how to go about impacting another's "Rep Level."

I haven't ever received a "strike." Send me a PM sometime. I'm interested in what types of things you said that caused your "strikes."

From one NW Iowan to another.

 

[brianhos]

Never had a problem with anything you have posted herbie. Of course I am not one of the over sensetive whiney types either.