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2/6/05
WORKPLACE Who says pitching like a girl is bad? In her new book, "Pitch Like A Girl: How a Woman Can Be Herself and Still Succeed," management consultant Ronna Lichtenberg says women don't have to act like a man to get where they want to be in the workplace. "I'm really offended by management consultants who say the only way to get ahead is to be someone else," Lichtenberg said in an interview at Boston's Copley Fairmont Hotel. "Back in the 1980s, women tried to fit in by wearing suits and blouses that tie at the throat. Young women aren't buying that. There's room for different styles." Lichtenberg, an executive coach, helps readers figure out who they are and how they communicate best. The way Lichtenberg sees it, everybody has a pitch. People pitch for promotions, jobs, or salary hikes. But whether your pitch will land that job depends on how persuasive it is. So, knowing how to sell yourself is key to getting what you want. But how well you communicate - or make that pitch - depends on your personal style, says Lichtenberg. For example, people with "pink styles" introduce themselves by telling you who they are. They talk about their families, their pets, their children. They tend to dress to "express" rather than impress others. They care about creativity, are passionate about their likes and rarely talk about money. They also don't like rankings or hierarchies in the workplace. If you think "pinks" have all the characteristics we often associate with women, you're right. But Lichtenberg says some men also have pink styles. People with "blue styles," on the other hand, introduce themselves through their credentials. They're proud of what they have accomplished and they want you to know it. They display their awards or degrees, and they are concerned about cost controls and the balance sheet. Unlike pinks, they're comfortable with hierarchies. They feel someone has to be in control. They also like it when people get right to the point. They usually dress conservatively. And, according to Lichtenberg, they rarely bring their personal lives into the office. Don't look for a lot of personal items in their corporate cubicle, you won't find them. Even though we all have different styles, Lichtenberg warns that some corporate cultures or clients might require a modified approach. That doesn't mean we should abandon who we are. It means we need to be cognizant of how effective our approach is in a particular environment and determine whether we should remain in that environment or find ways to get our point of view across without alienating the people around us. For women, the issue is even more complex because there are often expectations and stereotypes associated with their behavior regardless of how accomplished or experienced they are. But there are ways to challenge such stereotypes. "The complexity of expectations around "feminine" behavior speaks to the issue both pink and blue women face, but in different ways," Lichtenberg writes. "After a merger, for example, one of the things that changes is favored styles. Just because an individual style worked well in the past doesn't mean it still will." What to do? You adapt, says Lichtenberg, who calls that process "style sync." "The concept of style sync is simple," she says. "The more comfortable someone feels around you, the likelier it is for them to say, 'Yes,' to your pitch. The process is akin to traveling in a foreign country where you do your best to respect the local customs." She maintains that not bothering to adapt a little means that you are pushing your beliefs, ideas or style on others and that can back fire. While women may be inclined to shy away from adapting, said Lichtenberg, men are more likely to "focus their energies on adaptive behaviors to increase the likelihood their clients will approve of them. Lichtenberg tells women that they don't have to lose their individuality to adapt to new clients or environments. "You do not have to walk into the office, act like a man for nine hours and then go home and be a woman again," she said. Lichtenberg, president of New York-based Clear Peak consulting, also believes that a woman's brain is different from a man's. Because of those differences, she says, women tend to be more articulate, and they're able to juggle several tasks. At the same time, their ability to do a variety of things at the same time might make them seem scattered, unfocused. "We are wired and reinforced for connections," Lichtenberg said. "We connect through relationships, which is also a fine way to do business. Companies that lack connectiveness, companies where people have problems forming and keeping relationships, tend to have higher rates of employee turnover." Ultimately, her goal is to show women how to "incorporate themselves," what she calls "Me Inc." She says women who plan to be the president of Me Inc., must know what their goals are. To accomplish them, however, they must stop thinking about what people should do for them and concentrate on how to help others. "The single most important step you can take to get the compensation you deserve is to convince yourself of the value of your offering, which will empower you emotionally to negotiate from a position of strength and make that value clear and visible to the other party," she says. Diane E. Lewis can be reached at .
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