When you get into the office in the morning, how do you typically tackle your day?  Do you focus on your ever-growing to do list and the many, many tasks at hand?  Then by mid-morning, you’ve already run yourself into the ground and need an energy boost.  After your mid-morning energy boost, you’re ramped up to continue on to lunch where you eat at your desk to face another energy slump by 3 pm.  Off to another quick fix (hey, a double mocha latte anyone?) and a few more hours of checking off the to do list.  At the end of the day, you look around and notice a few colleagues who seem to still have plenty of energy.  In all likelihood, these are male colleagues.  You grind your teeth and ask yourself why the workplace always seems to feel effortless for men?  To get the answers to this question, let’s look at the gender differences in how women and men approach the workplace:

Women…

• Love the to do list.  They get a sense of accomplishment by checking off items.
• Think of tasks foremost and not necessary outcomes.
• Focus on getting consensus across the board.
• Can get bogged down by focusing on what other people are doing (or not doing).
• Tend to hold onto issues and analyze them in depth.
• Are wonderful listeners, which can take away from their own productive work time.

Men…

• Think big picture and love to develop strategies.
• Jump in to take the lead.
• Compartmentalize and focus on their own efforts.
• Know how to cut losses and move on.
• Can say no when actions hinder the end goal.
• Understand their strengths and promote their value.

The purpose of looking at the differences isn’t to say that men are better, but look at what they do that keeps them approaching their jobs in an effortless fashion.  In a nutshell, the guys make their jobs and careers like a game instead of approaching it as a chore.  They look at how they can make the job fun and also challenging at the same time.  It’s not all about checking off the accomplishments, but thinking about the strategies that they can implement to win.

You can also compare the differences to Cinderella being stuck in the kitchen and needing to get all her chores done before she can head off to the ball.  Whereas, Prince Charming has an end goal in mind and just sets off on this mission undeterred by circumstances.  So, for women to be able to take on their jobs in the same effortless fashion, they don’t need to become like men.  They just need to add a few of their game playing techniques to their own repertoire to succeed in the workplace.  Here are some great ways you can move from the task at hand approach to playing the career game:

1. Set weekly goals instead of daily tasks.  Jot down a few actions that support these goals and execute toward them.
2. Start keeping track of how much time you’re spending on lamenting and complaining at work.  Then start cutting back on this time waster!
3. Learn to delegate and enroll others in the process.  If you’re caught up in the minutia, it’s time to let go.
4. Put on your game face when someone pulls a fast one on you.  It’s business, not personal.  Yes, you need to protect yourself if it continues to come into play, but don’t show your “opponent” your cards.
5. Figure out ways to make your job fun and challenging.  Look at ways to compete against yourself instead of focusing on what others are doing.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the above.  Just drop me a line below and let me know what your thoughts are.  Also, if you like what you read, please share it with friends by clicking one of the links below!