“Nice girls get the corner office”… “Nice girls finish last”… “Anything she can do I can do better”… “Hot Tips for Career Chicks”… all great books with great tips on how to fix the women… but how do we fix the employers who have failed to find, develop and keep the best women on their teams; and create more of the ones that do this well?

With research proving time and time again that organisations with more women in leadership roles produce stronger financial results, and with Australia producing more educated women than men for more than two decades, we’re trying to understand what it is about LEADERS that is stopping women from holding more than 10% of senior leadership roles across almost every industry and sector in Australia. 

We think it’s time to forget about fixing the women, and focus on fixing the bosses who make the promotion decisions.

And we think it’s time for women to explain what they really want at work:

• What inspires you to do a great job at work and to stay with your company?
• Who is the best leader you’ve had… and what was it about their leadership style that brought out the best in you?
• Is there a leader in the public domain you’d bend over backwards to work for, and if so why?
• What's the difference between a good leader and a bad one, when it comes to inspiring and motivating you?
• What about the horror stories – have you had the boss from hell?  What did they do that really peeved you off?  Did it cause you to leave your job and if so – was your boss surprised when you resigned and did they try to change your mind? 
• And the real corker – do you think men or women make better leaders of women… and why?

We’re looking for women to tell their stories about their good and bad leadership experiences at work, how they like to be led, what you love or hate about your boss and their leadership style, and whether in fact your boss has managed to bring out the best in you.

Stories will be posted on the blog and used as case studies in a book on this topic and may involve a short additional interview.  And yes - you can contribute anonymously. 

Post your comment here or contact us with your story - you'll be helping thousands of women and employers in the process and just might have the chance to sing some praises or let off some steam! 

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Susan Robertson commented on 12-Feb-2011 11:05 AM

The best female boss I had allowed me to explore and develop my best talents. She empowered her employees and encouraged them to make their own decisions. She was in banking in the early 1980's which was dominated by men. She held onto her femininity, dressed like a woman, very soft, yet commanded the respect of her peers and senior management because of her style and executive presence. She didn't try to play the male game, she brought her best strengths to bear in her role. I think what was best about her is that she owned her power as a woman.

Fergie commented on 15-Feb-2011 07:28 PM

I've had four female bosses and they were all nightmares. Control freaks. Seemed they were afraid to give me a break in case it put their own job in danger. "If I've made it this far, maybe Fergie can too and take my job." I've had far more opportunities and happier workplaces with male bosses, sadly. I'm all for women getting ahead. We should be able to get the top jobs and earn as much as the guys. If I'd worked for women who were more confident in their own abilities and were willing to give their staff the chance to shine it would have been great. I'm self-employed these days. Wouldn't have it any other way. No boss is best of all!

Andrea commented on 02-Mar-2011 09:39 PM

I prefer the working style of (most) men over women myself. As a female, I have worked in a male dominated banking industry for the last 20+ years and I find women to be very intense in how they approach work - they seem to be racing against the clock, the tide, the to-do list. The women I work with in senior positions seem to be running the 100m sprint and not the marathon, every inch is so important. I have also worked for a male that had the same approach, and I tell you its exhausting.
More women need to be more confident, be comfortable to let a few things go through to the keeper, and ride out the storms.

Sandi Givens commented on 08-Mar-2011 05:31 PM

I'm grateful, really, to the chauvanistic boss who drove me into self employment 22 years ago. As National Training Manager, I arrived at his office for my annual budget review, having submitted my figures and reccomendations to him some 4 or 5 days earlier. He started the meeting by sweeping my papers off to the side of his desk, took my hand in his, patted in gently and asked "Now Sandi ... when are you going off to have babies?"
Fiercely single and independent, at that time I had 3 financial commitments (other than to myself for the basics of life): my mortgage, my car lease and my cat! So I reviewed my bank balance that night, discovering I had 2 months' of savings ... and went in and resigned the next day!
No business or marketing plan, no real idea of what I was doing, no clients, no products or services ... just a fire in my belly that told me there HAD to be a better way to keep a roof over my head!

SusanPAus commented on 11-Mar-2011 11:06 AM

I've only ever had one female boss I admired and that was at the beginning of my career. She stood up for me when the most senior woman singled me out for discrimination and she led me to think. In the main the female supervisor's I've had have been highly controlling and wanting everything done 'to letter' of policy whether it made sense to do so or not. I've found them closed and gossipy also - choosing to go bitch to their own peers rather than to simply sit and talk to you. This said, I've had some very controlling male bosses who seemed to want compliance and submissive behaviour more than anything else. I had a recent experience where I lost work mainly because a male boss chose to get upset about the morality of one of my social media comments. Nothing to do with work at all and that's what annoys me about the outcome. And, at times, women side and assist men to behave this way. As far as I'm concerned, if I appeal to a woman boss about this sort of behaviour and she does nothing, she's complicit. The BEST bosses I've had so far have been male and it's been their essential trust and faith in my skillbase that's been the winner. They simply trust me to get on with it and that trust and respect for my skill is evident in their manner, the way they write their project briefs and in their more collaborative mindset in either openly seeking my opinion or warmly thanking me if it's given. I don't like getting overly personal with bosses and thus that respectful and trust based professional approach is something I believe is worth gold.

N commented on 16-Mar-2011 09:10 AM

Unfortunately in my experience men have been better managers. The last manager I had was a woman - she started out being supportive and encouraging but eventually she became vindictive, undermining and manipulative. She was indiscrete and tried to set staff off against one-another so that we would not bond. By the time I walked away I had nearly had a nervous breakdown and could not work for 6months. Feral!! I have found men to be more removed and will take some push-back without holding huge grudges.