Not sure if I mentioned this before but one of my development goals for my doctorate is to improve my ability to persuade. This is essential not only for writing papers, but also for presenting at research colloquiums and to successfully defend your dissertation! With most business and research matters I believe that there are multiple “right answers” so typically I have an opinion on things but am very open to the views held by others. I often focus on listening and understanding versus highlighting the merits of my approach.
I ran into this situation with my research supervisor this week. She raised several valid objections to my research proposal and I was able to refute only few of them during our meeting. I thought of more responses after I had time to reflect and absorb her comments. I sent her some solid counter arguments this morning. My challenge is I don’t think through most of the objections to my ideas before I present them, and I am not quick on my feet when responding to things I have not prepared for! Clearly I need to do more advance preparation.
The meeting with my supervisor was also catalyst for some really solid thinking today. I have been at the library for 5 hours and did a fair bit of mind mapping, reviewing theses and reading new research papers. My research question is now simplified to focus on gender, leadership style and business results. I am going to compare two organizations in the same industry, one with a all-male C-Suite and the other with both female and male members. I feel good about my thinking and progress, so am departing shortly.
Next week is a research week, I will not be at work and can focus exclusively on the paper. I plan to do “heavy lifting” on Monday/Tuesday. On Wednesday I have some research meetings so this should be a good reflection day. I hope to finalize a solid draft of the paper on Thurs/Friday. It would be lovely to NOT have to be at the library next Saturday!