Therese Huston: How Women Decide
Therese Huston is looking to change the conversation about women as decision-makers. Her book, How Women Decide: What’s True, What’s Not, and What Strategies Spark the Best Choices*, debunks popular negative stereotypes about women as decision-makers. She is also the Founding Director for the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Seattle University.
Key Points
- When a female leader makes a mistake in a job traditionally held by men, people are much more critical.
- When women are collaborative, they’re seen as less decisive.
- Don’t be fooled by someone’s confidence—it could just be a sign they don’t know all the facts.
- Use the Loopback strategy – think about your situation a year from now, and project what you wish you would have done differently.
Strategies to help women in the workplace:
- Make sure nobody is interrupted when speaking in a meeting.
- Take designated turns for speaking in meetings.
- Make it clear that negotiations are expected when discussing salary, office setups, etc.
Resources Mentioned
- Research: We Are Way Harder on Female Leaders Who Make Bad Calls by Therese Huston
- Thinking, Fast and Slow* by Daniel Kahneman
- Therese Huston's website
Related Episodes
- Personality Preferences and Decision-Making (episode 46)
- How to Tap Into Wisdom, with Barry Schwartz (episode 92)
- Start With Why, with Simon Sinek (episode 223)
- How to Tame Your Inner Critic, with Tara Mohr (episode 232)
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