LAST WORD
Reading People’s Minds
Women have unique abilities to decode how others think and can harness the skill to succeed in male-dominated environments. BY LINDA SMITH
I
can read people’s minds. No, not literally how to deal with a woman as a profeswe junior attorneys would submit to him – but like all women, I have the inhersional. I had to read their minds, because never matched up with his expectations. I ent ability to decode what’s called the they certainly weren’t going to try to decided I was no longer going to fall into perceptual screen of those around me. figure out what I was thinking. the trap of wasting my time or his. The A perceptual screen isn’t just one belief or On my first big case, Transamerica’s next time he gave me an assignment and attitude, like political affiliation or religious antitrust lawsuit against our client, IBM, had already turned to something else, I orientation. It refers to someone’s subjective I was assigned to help prepare and present simply stayed in his office until he looked consciousness, a summation of their expeseveral witnesses at trial with a senior up at me, clearly wondering why I was still riences, beliefs, opinions and personality partner named Patrick Lynch. Working standing there. traits. How they view the world I said, “I understand you are is inherently influenced by these looking for this and this.” factors. “No, that’s not right,” he would When I’m interacting with say. a man, I’m evaluating how he Then I would begin the process thinks and what he cares about. again, always in a non-combative Does he value impeccable way. “Did you mean that you “Can Laugh at integrity, or feel like the end wanted this and this instead?” Himself” “Focuses on "Values Integrity" sometimes justifies the means? “No. That’s not right.” Social Status” Would he rather talk it out, or After several rounds, we’d evensee it written down in black and tually reach an understanding of white? Can he laugh at himself, what he actually wanted. The key or is he humorless and arrogant? was to get inside that brilliant but Is this someone who categorizes idiosyncratic legal mind to underpeople by their status in the social stand the very particular way it "Humorless and “Ends Justify the hierarchy? Does he believe that he worked. Once I started asking Pat Arrogant" Means” has no equals? questions, he was willing to keep Once you figure out someone’s screen, clarifying his request until I managed to In recent years, empathy has you can adjust your approach to complehit upon the exact approach he wanted. ment it. I don’t mean that you compromise at long last begun to be recogThe kind of mindreading I’m outlining your personality or values to act in accornized as a crucial management flows directly from empathy, or one’s dance with their beliefs or thinking. It’s a ability to understand and share the skill, one sought after by top question of modulating your approach so feelings of another. In recent years, companies worldwide. you avoid triggering a negative reaction or empathy has at long last begun to be misunderstanding. recognized as a crucial management skill, BusinessInsider.com summarized Wall with Pat was challenging. To his credit, one sought after Street executive Cara Fleisher’s view on he’s a brilliant trial attorney, and I soaked by top companies this: “Successful women often learn to up invaluable knowledge working with worldwide. The new be ‘multilingual’ within their language, him. But he did have his quirks. gold standard of meaning being observant and learning Pat was famous for one particular effective leadership to communicate with different people in behavior whenever he asked an associate skills – emotional ways that make them feel comfortable.” to prepare a draft of a brief. The associate intelligence – has By the time I joined my firm, would labor over that draft for days, empathy at its core. O’Melveny & Meyers, I’d honed my own working long, stressful nights, only to This column is an edited excerpt from multilingual skills to a much finer edge. have Pat look at the draft and then dismiss Smashing Glass & Kicking Ass, by Linda Smith, This was fortunate, because I needed to it, saying, “That’s not what I asked for!” one of the top litigators in the U.S. In the book, put them to use right away. He’d then use the draft as scratch paper Smith seeks to empower ambitious women with The men I worked with cut me very on which to prepare his own brief. sound advice. It can be purchased on Amazon or wherever fine books are sold. little slack, and a lot of them had no idea I saw this happen repeatedly. Whatever
34 The Financial Manager • January/February 2019
