In a press release issued today, October 11, 2011, by
VitalSmarts, an online poll regarding women in the workplace, conducted by
author, Joseph Grenny and Cynthia Good, CEO of Little PINK Book, is being
plugged as a “new research.”
The poll, consisting of 845 women in business, claims to
have revealed that the most difficult issue for women in the workplace is to
discuss and successfully resolve negotiating the limits of their workload.
Therefore, causing 1 in 5 women to leave their job. The “research” continues
with stating the 4 most difficult issues for women to discuss in the workplace.
According to the poll, the 4 most difficult issues for women
to discuss in the workplace are:
1. Negotiating limits when asked to do more than is
reasonable or possible
2. Giving performance feedback to someone without hurting
his or her feelings or damaging the relationship
3. Asking for a raise or a change in a performance plan
related to a raise
4. Not receiving support from other women
The findings is the poll continue with, “only 13 percent of
women are very or extremely confident in their ability to candidly and
effectively bring up these issues while the rest fear how they'll be perceived
if they speak up or simply don't work for an organization that supports candid
dialogue. The inability to speak up and resolve these issues is a substantial
drag on productivity. The majority of women waste an average of 1 to 5 days
ruminating or complaining to others about the issue before stepping up to the
crucial conversation.”
The press release asks, “What happens when a crucial
conversation goes awry?” and proceeds to quote answers from Grenny and Good.
"Most of us fail to make the connection between our
ability to speak up and our personal influence," Grenny said. "And yet
our research clearly shows that women who are skilled at stepping up to
difficult issues at work experience greater satisfaction and increased
productivity."
"The bottom line is women can, and must, take the
initiative to be advocates for themselves," Good said. "The mantra at
PINK is, 'If you don't ask, you don't get.' Of course how you ask is key
too."
The bottom line of this “new research,” which erroneously
cites its margin of error at approximately 3%, is to plug both Joseph Grenny
and Cynthia Good’s companies at the expense of women.
