Susan T. Spencer is one of a kind; an entrepreneur and business professional who competes in the big leagues—male-dominated industries.
Susan learned about football from her father and business from her parents and grandparents. Before the age of 40, Susan was a mother, junior high school teacher, a tennis dress manufacturer, a lawyer and General Manager of football’s Philadelphia Eagles.
After several years at the Eagles, she left to start her second business—a food distribution company, Allegro Foods, which she grew into a successful global company. Susan continued to expand her business empire by buying two more exclusively male businesses—both in meat processing. Her companies had combined annual revenues of 50 million, and she attributes her success to 12 natural talents that all women possess.
In the category of unique, here are 5 of the 12 skills that women own that help them lead and succeed and certainly skills that men covet.
Perceptive Communication
Women are natural communicators. Men listen, and women talk . . . to everyone. Women’s ability to communicate is not just their ability to talk; they are also aware of what others are thinking. All of women’s senses contribute to their special talent, (touch, smell, taste, vision, and hearing), giving them a decided advantage in evaluating a business situation. These traits, along with other observations that women instinctively notice, such as body language, facial expressions, tone of voice and body movements, collectively represent what women in business uniquely possess—the ability to be perceptive communicators.
Being Empathetic
The ability to identify with and understand someone else’s feelings or difficulties is a female leadership skill that engenders employee loyalty and trust. The best way for me to describe empathy is to share with you a brief story that happened to me when I was forced to shut down one of my meat plants because it was losing millions of dollars with no end in sight.
As a leader, I knew not to have a buddy-buddy relationship with my employees. I felt it would compromise my ability to be objective and manage effectively. I followed this principle throughout my career; and in most cases it served me well. My plan was to call a meeting of my employees in the cafeteria and tell them that I could not fix this broken company that I purchased and operated for several years. I intended to tell them that I was truly sorry but the plant wouldbe closed in 60 days.
My plan was to tell the story in a calm, clear, unemotional way. But when I stood in front of the workers and looked into the eyes of the men and women I worked with every day, tears filled my eyes and the tears continued to fall until my speech was finished. I feared that an angry crowd of workers would mock me, but as I dried my eyes and tried to gain some composure, one of my workers shouted out, “You’re not so tough!” and the rest of the employees applauded and laughed warmly in appreciation.
It’s a rare moment when most bosses or figures of authority show this side of themselves, but if it’s sincere, it’s a moment that will be appreciated forever by everyone who witnesses it. Because I communicated openly and honestly with all the employees, every worker stayed on and saw the company through until closing day, saving me from even greater losses. Empathy is an awesome skill when it is used carefully and wisely in business situations.
Being Engaging
Have you observed the way most businessmen greet each other? I have. They immediately extend their hand and wait for the other person to do the same; then they grasp hands firmly and give a shake or two. Generally, they don’t make eye contact with each other, and if they exchange words, they’re often mumbled or perfunctory.
When women greet each other, they hug, they smile, and they look each other in the eye and say how good it is to see the other one. Thisis true even if they’re business colleagues. These gestures are more than symbolic—it’s how women use body language to communicate the importance of relationships.
When you meet a businessperson in the ordinary course of business, being engaging includes the way you meet and greet other businesspersons. It begins the moment you extend your hand and continues throughout the greeting. Don’t miss an opportunity to make a great initial impression by using your natural skill of being engaging, it can be the most powerful “Briefcase Essential” that you carry.
Being Inclusive
Businesswomen are “people persons”—they fill this role naturally because they are comfortable relating one-on-one with people at all levels of an organization. We make it a point to know the names and faces of people we are working with; we want them to know us and we want to feel comfortable with them as well. Sometimes, your customers or suppliers will feel so comfortable with you that they share personal information which brings the relationship closer and gives you the opportunity to be candid and straightforward with them about business problems when they arise.
Businessmen tend to act impersonally and do not interact at all levels; in other words they are exclusive not inclusive. For women the term “inclusive” carries with it an implicit acknowledgement that “people come first.” By being inclusive with every business contact—whether customer, supplier, or employee—the natural talents that women apply to business give them a decisive edge. Never underestimate the strength of leadership that we possess by championing the maxim of being inclusive which carries with it an implied understanding that people come first.
Being Resourceful
Every business has its ups and downs and in one of my companies the downs seemed never ending. One of the most important business skills—and a talent that women seem to be able to handle better than men, is juggling lots of balls in the air at one time. Women problem solve the same way—they think about several options instead of zeroing in on one, toss them around in their head, weigh alternatives, consider several points of view, and come up with more than one way to proceed. Here how being resourceful temporarily solved my business problem when I discovered I couldn’t cover payroll for the 200 employees that worked in my company.
My solution was to stretch payment to my large suppliers past their seven-day terms one day at a time until my company was actually paying them in fourteen or twenty-one days. I figured out that if they demanded payment in full immediately, and we could not pay it, they’d eventually force my company into bankruptcy, which would end their chance of getting paid in full. Their only other option would be to accept my offer and extend my payment terms—and it worked!
Susan’s recently published business book, Briefcase Essentials, www.BriefcaseEssentials.com,includes all 12 of the natural talents that women need to succeed in a male-dominated workplace and includes lots of personal stories ( including the anecdotes above in much greater detail ) about working in male-dominated businesses. By reading Briefcase Essentials women will learn how to deal with men in business instead of trying to act like them.
copyright @ 2011 SusanT.Spencer
Susan T. Spencer was an entrepreneur and business professional before many women had the courage to play in the big leagues with men. Her companies reached annual revenues of $50 million.
Susan learned about football and business from her father, Leonard Tose, who owned a professional football team. She was the first and only female to hold the position as General Manager of an NFL team, The Philadelphia Eagles.
After her time with the team, Susan added three more exclusively male businesses to her ventures, one in food distribution and two in meat processing, one of which she owned and ran for more than 20 years. Susan’s beef company was the only woman owned company that sold millions of pounds of meat products to national chains including McDonald’s, Chili’s, Dairy Queen, Jack in the Box, and many others.
Spencer attended Boston University where she earned a BA. She later received her MA in Education/Economics from Hofstra Universityand received her law degree from Villanova University.
She currently consults with small business owners when they are ready to “take off”, is a lecturer and business blogger, is on the Advisory Board of a Utah bank and is working with banks across the country to include a Women’s Financial Group as a separate category within each bank. She also serves as an advisor to several international non -profits as an “expert in growing a small business.”
Website: www.BriefcaseEssentials.com
Briefcase Essentials is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and through any major bookseller.