This expanded edition includes faith-based insights throughout, plus an added chapter with supportive application and wisdom from senior Christian women in the workplace. (If you would like to see the regular edition, for the general business market, please visit the business-specific website at www.TheMaleFactorBook.com.)
Millions of women gained eye-opening insights about the inner lives of men through Shaunti Feldhahn’s best-selling book For Women Only. Now with The Male Factor, Feldhahn brings her innovative research approach to the workplace to help women understand their male colleagues. Based on a nationwide survey and confidential interviews with thousands of men whose anonymity was guaranteed, her book reveals the private thoughts and attitudes that men rarely disclose but every woman needs to know.
Never before has an author gotten inside the hearts and minds of men in the workplace—from CEOs to nonprofit managers, from lawyers to factory workers—to discover what they commonly think about women on the job, what their expected “rules” of the workplace are, what “managing emotion” means, and what factors improve or harm a man’s respect for a female co-worker.
Among the little-known but critical insights The Male Factor reveals are:
- How men, with rare exception, view almost any emotional display as a sign that the person can no longer think clearly (as well as what men perceive as emotion in the first place)
- Why certain types of trendy attire may actually sabotage a woman’s career
- Which little-known signals ensure that a man’s perception of a strong female colleague is positive (“assertive and competent”) instead of negative (“difficult”)
Even women who have navigated male-dominated work environments for years have expressed surprise at these and other revelations in the book. Some readers may find them challenging. Yet The Male Factor delivers a one-of-a-kind opportunity for women to understand how male bosses, colleagues, subordinates, and customers privately think, and why they react the way they do. These vital insights enable each woman to make informed decisions in her unique workplace situation.
In this expanded Christian edition, Feldhahn builds on the same research and information as in the general-market edition, but speaks directly to the interests and questions of women of faith, whether their workplace is a part-time ministry or a Fortune 500 corporation. This edition of The Male Factor also delivers invaluable advice from senior Christian women who have broad experience in dealing with these questions, understand and share the reader’s values, and want to help other women achieve the best possible work relationships.
Endorsements
The Male Factor is the singularly best business book for women I’ve read in years. This well-researched yet thoroughly readable book is rich with rare insights into how men really see women in the workplace—and how with a few simple adjustments you can even the playing field.
— Lois P. Frankel, PhD, author of Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office and See Jane Lead
Many times in my career I’ve been the only female in a meeting or holding a seat on the executive team, and I felt I needed a translator—either to understand my male colleagues or to make sure they understood me! The Male Factor provides that translation! We no longer have to guess at what ‘makes men tick’ in the workplace. Shaunti Feldhahn asked them, and amazingly, they told her!
— Stacie Hagan, Chief People Officer, Earthlink, Inc.
Smart, effective communication is what makes for successful leadership and productive workplaces. The Male Factor sheds light on how subtle and not-so-subtle gender communication differences can thwart a woman’s rise in the workplace. Even minor shifts in the communication approach can help women navigate and break through that invisible barrier. There is something here for every woman, no matter where you are in your career.
— Linda Sawyer, CEO, Deutsch Inc.
Career women have been looking for the next big business book, and this is it! Finally, the real, not sugar coated, deal on what men are really thinking, in a format we can use to make us even more successful and effective-in business and in life. Shaunti delivers the road map to help you be much more effective, make more money and stop the guessing game of trying to figure out what the guys are really thinking. Some of this truth may hurt, but now at least you can really do something about it!
— Genevieve Bos, co-founder of PINK Magazine, and Global Connector of People and Ideas