This is an excerpt of my new book that just launched yesterday! I am happy to report that we are under #50 in the women & business category! Woohoo! Thank you! Make sure you buy my book on Amazon! (Note: This is an affiliate link so I will receive a commission if you purchase through my link).

Recently, I was speaking about this book to a middle-aged man in the military.  He asked me:

“What makes you qualified to write a book about managing men?”

If you have ever had a man question your knowledge and expertise, you know that it can make you feel like you aren’t good enough. When this man questioned me, I could have lost my confidence and gotten angry with him. I could have started to question why I was even writing this book and just stopped writing altogether.

But, this was not the first time I felt like a man questioned my knowledge and expertise. Little did he know my book is about exactly how to handle his question. I told him the following:

“I have spent the past seven years working with and managing men as a consultant to the U.S. Navy. I have managed men who were shocked to have a woman in charge, which wasn’t always easy. It took me a while to figure out how best to work with and manage men. There were many times that I had no idea what to do and I tried many different things to see what worked. I treated men I managed the same way I thought a man would treat them. That didn’t work. Then, I treated them how I treated other women. That didn’t work either. It wasn’t until I started to just be myself and lean on my own female leadership strengths that I began to successfully start gaining trust and respect from the men I managed.”

I gained respect that day from this man because I was confident in my book’s topic and myself. I want to help you gain this same confidence so you can build trust and respect with the men you manage, today and in the future.

You are not alone

If you are about to start managing men or have managed men in the past and want to have more success, you may be nervous about where to start. You might be worried about coming across as too strong, aggressive, or bitchy.

You might not be confident in yourself because you don’t really understand men. You might be uncomfortable, awkward, and quiet around the men you work with. I was. I could relate more with women on my team but I knew that understanding men was the key to getting promoted and having more leadership opportunities. Learning how to manage both genders successfully was the key for me to finally getting ahead at work.

In 2010, I created a career development blog geared specifically toward professional women called ClassyCareerGirl.com. I receive questions daily about how to manage and work with men. Here are some of the e-mails I have received:

“My boss is a male and I lead a team of men. I am 9 months into this position and I am really trying to get a handle on leading men.”

“I have always worked with men, it has always been a challenge for me to manage the “boys’ club.” Working with men is a big challenge, not only having to gain their trust but also to discover what motivates them mentally. It’s a task trying to become “one of the boys.”

“Most of my male co-workers are older and I find it tough to interact with them in a work setting without feeling awkward. I am scared they will think of me like their daughter or unintentionally flirtatious.”

“I will soon be managing 10 employees over 70 percent male. This prospect has to be the largest source of doubt on my ability to achieve my current goals.”

“I would like to learn more about what it is like to manage men. How I can stay strong and confident and not let them intimidate me in the workplace? I need your expertise to know what to expect!”

“I want to prove that in the work field, it is not our sex that makes the difference, but what we know and can do.”

And then I got another e-mail from a woman who has figured out the secret to managing men, like I have:

“Now as a top agent in my market, I work with men daily on the big deals. Knowing how to “speak their language” is crucial to my success.”

In this book, I will teach you how to speak their language and how to learn what motivates men. After you read this book, you will no longer be intimidated at work.