If you’re struggling to make your voice heard amongst the men in your workplace, you might wonder, “What kind of a woman does a man respect?” It might seem like they’re always talking over you, ignoring you, and treating you with the very opposite of respect. Well here’s the thing, you can change this.
What Kind Of A Woman Does A Man Respect?
Gaining a man’s respect is the first thing you need to do to establish a good working relationship. Give up on trying to be liked—you want to be respected. Most men will push back hard the first time you open your mouth. It’s their way of seeing what you’re made of. To get a guy’s respect, push back harder. Hit them over the head with a (metaphorical) two-by-four if necessary.
It’s vitally important to establish strong boundaries from the very beginning. Know your stuff, have your facts straight, and don’t back down. If you do, they’ll think they can walk all over you, and you’ll be left asking yourself, “What kind of a woman does a man respect, anyway?”
To know more on how you can gain a man’s respect at work, watch this short video in my Musing While Driving series.
Gain Respect From Men At Work
The good news is that you only have to prove yourself in the beginning. In general, to gain respect from men at work only need be done once. Once you have a man’s respect, you keep it.
There is one exception to this rule: If a man tells you something personal in confidence, don’t ever share it with others. For instance, a man might ask your advice about problems in his relationship. You can tell him what you think, but—even if you disagree with his stance—never bring it up in public or use it against him in a business argument. He will never respect you again.
So what kind of a woman does a man respect? Simply put, men respect women who maintain strong boundaries and keep personal stuff confidential.
Let’s Grow,
Beate
Beate Chelette is the Founder of The Women’s Code and serves as the Programming Chair for the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO-LA). Once $135,000 in debt and a single mother, she successfully sold her business to Bill Gates in a multi-million dollar deal.
Beate’s supports organizations two-fold. Beate provides leadership development programs for organizations that want to implement the ROI of Balanced Leadership through The Women’s Code, her signature system that educates leaders and helps companies achieve gender equality. The Women’s Code creates and implements programs that improve organizational culture, foster productive work environments and help companies improve their people ROI.
As The Growth Architect she creates outreach and sponsorship programs through customized Entrepreneur skills training following the 5 Star Success Blueprint that shows step-by-step how to grow, build and scale businesses.
Beate is a respected speaker and mentor and is the author of the #1 International Amazon Bestseller “Happy Woman Happy World – How to Go From Overwhelmed to Awesome”, a book that corporate trainer and best-selling author Brian Tracy calls “a handbook for every woman who wants health, success and a fulfilling career.”
If you’d like to book Beate as a speaker on Leadership or Entrepreneurship for your next event please connect here.
That was very generic device. And it rarely works. Do you think that most women
Enter into a male-dominated field not well informed of the duties required? The problem is overly simplified advice like this, and a dismissal of even your proven skills. Also, you’re made to feel as though this perceived treatment is not actually happening. But it is. And if you work in a corporate field, HR isn’t here to save you. Women don’t support you. And your strategy of not backing down tends to backfire if ever you are wrong.
Thank you for your comment Tanya, I sense your frustration. I do not suggest to not back down on anything for the fun of it, especially if there is a chance you could be wrong. You have to know your stuff. That is one of main requirements to gain respect. When you do demonstrate subject matter expertise and your behavior follows one of authority you will gain respect. I see it again and again. It is possible. Anger doesn’t help, you have to do the work. Perhaps reading my book Happy Woman Happy World will give you some additional insights?