Can Men Teach Women To Be Great Rainmakers?

In my earlier career days, all of my mentors were men. Being full of ambition and enthusiasm, it really didn't occur to me that career opportunities for men and women were different. In my mind, (one that came of age in the 70's). I learned how to navigate the business world through the eyes of men.

Result: I developed a very male-like way of communicating, operating, leading. My relationships with colleagues, staff, vendors, and customers were created as a woman's version of what a man would do. The result: I often alienated people around me. The good news? This was a great learning experience, and a wonderful laboratory in which to concoct a new formula for success.

I began to seek out female mentors - women who had made it in the business world. The problem here was that they too had been mentored by men and often had adopted the same approach I had: philosophies born out of "proving themselves" in a male-dominated world and styles modeled after men.

What's worked best for me and for my female clients? Leveraging being a woman, and understanding how both genders think and operate in the business world. (see my article, "How To Say It Successfully For Women: Communicating Powerfully in the Workplace." at www.ezinearticles.com) And they perform very differently. One approach is not preferable to the other. Simply different.

I think we learn a lot about how to work with men from the men, yet we learn more about how to overcome gender obstacles from the women who have gone before us. We relate to each other differently than we do to the men in our business lives and absolutely must find same-sex role models.

To learn rainmaking from men provides us important clues, but not the whole story. What works for them very often wouldn't work for us. I have found success lies in embracing this situation, rather than resisting it. As women, we have our own truly unique abilities, talents and skills. Presenting ourselves as strong, confident, (not forceful or dominant) females, with warmth as well as wisdom, is a more engaging, magnetic approach with clients, prospects, and colleagues.

Oprah is a perfect example: the moment she began sharing her vulnerability and humanity with the world, her popularity and income skyrocketed.

Hillary Clinton needed to "warm up" her image and communications before her poll results started to climb.

Can men teach women to be great rainmakers? My view is we need two courses: Rainmaking for women by men, and Rainmaking for women and by women. Both are required courses for rainmaking success.

What do you think?