Case Study Of True to Myself Expert Answer

1. If I was Ethney, I would start off in the corporate world by carrying my own set of personal traits and attributes. I would adhere to my transformational behavioral pattern and would try to connect on a personal level with all the employees. I will respect the traditional masculine perspective of leadership; however, I will showcase my own people-drive style of leadership by emphasizing on cooperation, collaboration and consensus building. I would not reinforce my feminine perspectives in all the major decisions of the firm; however, I will showcase my transformational traits in every situation which calls for it.

Working in a male-dominated company, I will encounter issues in being accepted since people still adhere to the social role theory and conform to traditional gender-role expectations (Liu, Liu and Liu, 2016). However, despite this strenuous organization climate, I will stay true to personality. This is because, in this contemporary business world, many global organizations have started acknowledging the female leadership advantage. Research conducted by McKinsey shows that in 2019, around 44 % of companies had women in managerial positions (Huang et al. 2019). These organizations have observed how female leaders have a greater inclination to ensure psychological well-being of the employees by eliminating implicit bias and unfair performance evaluations (Paustian-Underdahl, Walker and Woehr, 2014). Hence, I believe that the company will follow the lead of the other diverse organization and acknowledge the need of female traits within a work setting.

Moreover, I believe that my transformational and visionary leadership style will be accepted since Alex has already paved a pathway for women to be a part in major decisions of the company. Alex unconsciously made all the company employees realize the inevitable role that female’s knowledge and skills play in leveraging the organizational performance. Furthermore, research also shows that women in leadership positions may promote a climate of gender integration within the work dynamics. Hence, I would adhere to my own set of personality traits (Paustian-Underdahl, Walker and Woehr, 2014).

However, if I face constant negativity due to my behavior, I will mold my personality a little to acknowledge the male-dominated culture. I still strongly believe that if I stay true to my personality, a contemporary oil giant will accept me as a significant leader.

2. The male-dominating culture encompassing this Tulsa-based oil company is still prevalent in many organizations. Such companies still adhere to the stereotypical gender role expectations laid by the society and undermine the women’s potential. They also regard women incapable due to the perceived incongruity between the women’s characteristics and a leader’s traits. Furthermore, in such organizations, men also have access to resources which enables them to promote discriminatory laws and policies (Martin and Barnard, 2013). This can be validated by a labor force survey which showed that women account for only 29% of the leadership positions in global organizations in 2020 (Catalyst, 2020). Due to this strenuous environment, Alex had to resist her own true personality and accommodate to the masculine politics prevalent in the organization.

Women in such male-dominated occupations have to adopt a proper strategy in order to be accepted as equals in the company. This strategy would require them to partially accept the masculine politics, while still adhering to their true personality traits. The masculine cultural norms will become an integral component of their normal work functioning. For instance, they will have to partially conceal their participatory style of leadership, however, they should avail every opportunity of showcasing strategic decision-making and problem-solving skills(Paustian-Underdahl, Walker and Woehr, 2014).However, under this strategy, women should not start believing on the social role theory, which would enable them to undermine their capabilities and skills. Furthermore, women should also not alienate themselves from their true personalities, which would develop inner-dissatisfaction within them. Lastly, in adherence to this strategy, women also have to organize their work schedules in a manner that they are able to execute their work tasks efficiently, while maintaining a distance from the other colleagues (Kossek and Buzzanell, 2018).

I would adapt a strategy that would enable me to gain self-efficacy in a male-dominating working culture, while still staying aligned to my normal personality and my leadership traits Firstly, I would avoid changing my name to a masculine one since it detaches me from my feelings of authenticity and true identity.  During the work routine, I would avoid un-related loose talks with the employees, however, I would use my intellectual simulation and inspirational motivation to contribute in major decisions, when the organization needs skillful advice (Orabi, 2016).

Furthermore, whenever I engage in a discussion, I would use my strategic leadership traits to clearly illustrate my point by connecting it with the organizational goals and objectives.  I would avoid engaging into aggressive and authoritative behaviors that would delineate me from my true personality and would entirely associate me to a male manager (Martin and Barnard, 2013). Furthermore, I would also act as a developmental leader when any employee needs guidance and training, which would thereby reiterate my transformational role within the organization (Orabi, 2016).

I will adopt this strategy since it will enable me to stay true to myself, while still accommodating to the masculine norms. If I manipulated my personality into a masculine one, I would have encountered feelings of bewilderment and depression, which would have pushed me to leave the job. Hence, this strategy seemed like the most viable option in the given circumstance.

3. Being true to yourself means that a person accepts his own self-identity and exhibits his own authentic-self traits in his daily life occurrences. This individual acts in congruence with his own true personality and set of personal beliefs. He acts courageous, open-minded and sincere by letting his own personal values and norms shine through his actions. He also respects his own individuality and uniqueness and does not adhere to stereotypes to gain acceptance. By solidifying his own self-concept and his passions, this individual is able to gain psychological well-being, strengthen his self-esteem and ultimately reach the stage of self-actualization (schlegel et al., 2011).

When an individual is true to himself at the work place, he feels empowered, which thereby promotes his job-satisfaction and productivity. This authenticity also promotes employee engagement, which enables him to develop healthy connections with his co-workers. Being true to oneself also enables the employees to accept their mistakes, learn from failures and make an honest effort to accelerate their productivity levels. The self-determination theory also further reiterates the concept of authentic-self and the significance of this true-concept in reimbursing positivity and happiness in one’s life (Harvard Business Review, 2016). Hence, being True to yourself is integral in order to attain long-term satisfaction and comfort.

Being true to yourself is more important than achieving a milestone in a male-dominated organization like this Tulsa-based oil company. Alex had compromised on her true self to achieve progression in her career in this male-dominated company, however, she sounded internally frustrated and unhappy. She had shattered her own self-esteem and her authentic self to gain respect in a conservative male-dominant organization. Furthermore, the masculine traits were unconsciously becoming a part of her true self. For instance, she sounded irritable, rigid and blunt in her conversation with Ethney and spoke with undisguised cynicism, which thereby exhibits the deterioration of her true personality. This shows it is integral for a person to be true to himself in order to avoid internal feelings of denial and dissatisfaction (Kossek and Buzzanell, 2018).

It is obnoxious for an individual to operate in an unhealthy work setting which forces him to completely shun his own personal values and norms and transform himself into a fragmented social self (Martin and Barnard, 2013). This is because an unhealthy work environment can disrupt the psychological well-being of the person, thereby enabling them to suffer from stress, depression and anxiety. It also enables the person to experience lack of self-esteem and happiness, social withdrawal and exhaustion, which further deteriorates their mental decorum. The person loses confidence in his true self and starts embracing his fragmented social self as an integral component of his life (schlegel et al., 2011).

Hence, women like Ethney should endeavor to strike a balance between being true to themselves and adjusting to the work environment in order to gain success and progression in such a male-dominated organization (Harvard Business Review, 2016). Women should strategically engage with employees which would allow them to share their personal experiences and knowledge with their fellow work mates, thereby reiterating their potential (Forbes, 2017). However, despite this effort, if the work environment of the Tulsa-based corporation still stays unhealthy, pushes her away from her core self and enables her to adapt to masculine traits which are in contrary to her personality, she should leave this job.

References

Paustian-Underdahl, S., Walker, L. and Woehr, D., 2014, ‘Gender and perceptions of leadership effectiveness: A meta-analysis of contextual moderators’, Journal of Applied Psychology, vol. 99, no.6, pp.1129-1145.

Liu, X., Liu, Z. and Liu, Y., 2016, ‘Gender Differences in the Impact of Empowering Leadership on Subordinate Outcomes’, Academy of Management Proceedings, no 1, pp.17699.

McKInsey 2019, Women In The Workplace 2019, viewed 31 August 2020, <https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/gender-equality/women-in-the-workplace-2019#>

Kossek, E. and Buzzanell, P., 2018, ‘Women’s career equality and leadership in organizations: Creating an evidence-based positive change’, Human Resource Management, vol. 57, no. 4, pp.813-822.

Martin, P. and Barnard, A., 2013, ‘The experience of women in male-dominated occupations: A constructivist grounded theory inquiry’, SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, vol. 39, no.2.

Catalyst, 2020, Women In Male-Dominated Industries And Occupations: Quick Take, viewed 1 September 2020. <https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-in-male-dominated-industries-and-occupations/>

Orabi, T., 2016, ‘The Impact of Transformational Leadership Style on Organizational Performance: Evidence from Jordan’, International Journal of Human Resource Studies, vol. 6, no.2, p.89.

Schlegel, R., Hicks, J., King, L. and Arndt, J., 2011, ‘Feeling Like You Know Who You Are: Perceived True Self-Knowledge and Meaning in Life’. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 37, no.6, pp.745-756.

Harvard Business Review, 2016, ‘Most Employees Feel Authentic At Work, But It Can Take A While’. viewed 1 September 2020 <https://hbr.org/2016/05/most-employees-feel-authentic-at-work-but-it-can-take-a-while>

Forbes, 2017. ‘Being True To Yourself: Success Without Compromise. Viewed 1 September 2020<https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurenwesleywilson/2017/12/13/being-true-to-yourself-success-without-compromise/#2919c0c20494>