Another Friday, another reason why every business leader SHOULD be a Feminist!

Yes, it’s that time again. Friday has approached and here at Wellbeing with Cari, we are counting down our top 10 reasons why every business leader SHOULD be a feminist!

Firstly, what is Feminism?

  1. You do not have to be a woman to be a Feminist.
  2. Feminism is not about elevating women above men.
  3. Feminism is a movement that is in favour of equality and inclusiveness.
  4. If every organisation is run by a Feminist, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to change the current leadership – maybe just their thinking.

No. 3 – Feminist Leaders DO NOT accept psychopathic or patronising powerplay!

Onto reason no.3 – we have all probably experienced a narcissist boss or something similar at work. SO why does no one get rid of these people? A good way to explain a form of this is through a conversation with my daughter who complained about being catcalled, and said she didn’t know how to respond: To ignore it, to say ‘thank you for the compliment’ through gritted teeth or to say ‘Push off!’ It’s a tricky one, because this is a power play. If you ignore, you are ‘stuck up’, if you say ‘ “push off’ you are a bitch; if you say ‘thank you ‘, you turn into a compliant little ‘good girl’ who is acquiescing to the self-appointed authority of the catcaller in judging your appearance, causing you to lose any sense of self-empowerment.

It’s clever. Isn’t it? Whatever you do, you are in the power play of the catcaller.

I suggested to my daughter to say “Good morning! I’m not going to judge you on your appearance, and I don’t like people judging me by mine so just a cheerful ‘good morning’ would be perfect”. They’ll probably still call you a bitch, but hey ho – we gotta try, right?!

We need to watch for mild versions of this at work too. If indeed there is any ‘mild form’ of misogyny? Because any version is not really ‘mild’. No one should be judged by their appearance, clothes, hair makeup, weight or, frankly, underarm hair!

Looking at ‘Vampire Behaviours’ at work

What do I mean by ‘Vampire Behaviours’?

Simply put – ‘Vampire Behaviours’ refer to those people that:

  1. Drain your energy.
  2. Take advantage of you.
  3. Manipulate or bully you.
  4. Blast you with charisma.
  5. Give you advice that you don’t want.

These workplace vampires aren’t exclusively in management roles, they can exist in varying roles within the company in which you work. However, they all share a commonality – they lead to an environment teeming with negative behaviours, resulting in poor wellbeing and in extreme cases, employees leaving due to poor mental health and/or ‘burnout’.

So, how did we get to this position?

The answer for me appears to be a rise in those behaviours that I described as ‘Little Vampire Behaviours’, but that I now would be brave enough to say are evidence of white-collar psychopathy.

We have created organizations in the image of our inner vampires, given them the ultimate power and then expected them to be self-moderating. Is it any surprise we are in this mess?

This is why every Feminist leader SHOULD aim to abolish these ‘Little Vampire Behaviours’, however, these behaviours are deeply ingrained within the culture of big business, therefore, a change of workplace culture needs to happen in order to pave the way for a happier and healthier work environment.

How to change workplace vampires into angels and improve wellbeing and performance – Free eBook

I have written a new edition of this book – the focus is on how to overcome vampires that are manifest in public and private organizations, leading to an environment that can be teeming with negative behaviours.

I’m revisiting the Vampire concept. I have decided to look deeper into those behaviours and start to see where we, each one of us, can choose to take a journey into the dark side, or where we can instead join with the enlightened.

This book focuses on the science of co-regulation; the evidence that we are all interconnected, and it shines a light on the ways of self-empowerment. It takes a broader look at ‘Vampire Behaviours’ by exploring the notion of Psychopaths and the Zombies these types of cultures create.

The two main strands here are:

  1. What can we do something about for ourselves.
  2. What is happening to us without our control.

Vampirism is a choice, although for many of us it is not a choice we take consciously. However, we can alter these behaviours and save them for when they are truly needed.

There is much we can do to create a ‘safe space’ for ourselves, and the onus is upon work cultures to create space spaces for people to get back into a sense of self empowerment, to make work enjoyable and satisfying.

You are very welcome to receive every chapter of this eBook free of charge. All you need to do is sign up to the Wellbeing with Cari email newsletter (you can unsubscribe at any time).

Until next time…

That concludes No.3 of the reasons why every leader SHOULD be a Feminist… our next blog in the series will be published on the 16/04/21!

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