ABSTRACT
Once individuals become managers, they have typically proven to be competent in the technical aspects of their chosen field. What distinguishes them from average performers and helps them move up is often described as their “interpersonal skills” or their “people skills.” Both of these seemingly vague descriptions have to do with how people communicate, and how they are perceived to communicate. Individuals’ poor interpersonal skills and the inability to form strong working relationships often derail them, even after they become executives. In short, their inability to communicate well and to navigate organizational politics catches up with them. For women, communication skills are particularly critical; once a woman becomes a manager and begins to move up the corporate ladder, her interpersonal skills will be closely observed. Can she adapt her style and conduct to different types of people? Can she manage conflict without alienating people? In the many seemingly gender-neutral descriptions of what it takes to reach the highest levels of management, often little, if any, thought is given to whether or not men and women communicate differently, whether having different motivations influences their communication style, whether the corporate environment favors
a “man’s” style of communicating versus a “woman’s” style of communicating, and whether or not women leaders are held to a different standard when their communication skills are assessed. This chapter introduces each of these ideas, beginning with the controversy about whether men’s and women’s styles differ.
