Deborah Cameron, discussing the work of Janet Holmes who recorded and analysed about 2,500 workplace interactions, describes how Clara, the team leader in a multinational company, uses a typically masculine style of leadership. It’s firm, abrupt and direct. So, to deal with being issued orders by her, the team has developed a running joke whereby she is referred to as Queen Clara. For instance, when Clara says ‘it’s a no’, one of her team members responds that it’s a ‘royal no’. As Cameron points out: [W]ould a man in Clara’s position who behaved in a similar way have to make the same
...more
