Hardball for Women: Winning at the Game of Business by Pat Heim, PhD

Dr. Pat Heim, Ph.D. offers keys to understanding male behavior at the business place in her book, “Hardball for Women: Winning at the Game of Business” (Rev. Ed. 2005, RGA Publishing Group) coauthored with Susan K. Golant. The biggest key according to Heim is right in the title; ”business is conducted as a sport” (pg. 5). Think of all the sports metaphors in workplace jargon (“The ball’s in your court.” ”Be a team player.”).

Dr. Heim maintains that gender communication differences result from the very different ways she presumes boys and girls play. Boys play directly competitive sports with teams of other boys, while girls stay at home in small groups and play ”house” or “dolls.” Thus, when boys grow up, they rely on the goal-oriented communication skills they learned when they were younger. Women, on the other hand, are more interested in making things fair; keeping power even, and the process by which a person undertakes a goal.

Heim relies on anecdotal evidence from the many workshops she’s performed in corporate America. She recounts stories of women who meet with instant understanding and success as soon as they implement the communications skills suggested in “Hardball for Women.” Some of these skills include such good advice as, “avoid saying ‘always’ and ‘never'” and “attack the problem not the person.” Others offer unique insight. For example, the next time someone refers to a group of women as “girls” or “ladies,” imagine what might happen if a group of men were called ”boys.” But, ultimately, most advice comes across as stereotypical, sexist regurgitation that women have been fighting so hard against in the last few decades.

Dr. Heim begins her book by explaining the necessity of a second edition. She writes her first edition was “angry,” and she saw men as mere “chest-beaters.” Now, she wants to point out that men and women are fundamentally different and pretending otherwise adds difficulty to the issue. However, the very presence of her book places women in a subordinate position. After all, one does not usually see books with titles like “How a Man Can Fit into the Workplace.”

Perhaps it would be more beneficial to recognize that individuals are more than their gender, and the pathway to successful communication within the workplace lay on finding individual styles, strengths and weaknesses.

By forcing women into a box where the female communication style is emotional, reactive and non-competitive, as she does in “Hardball for Women,” Heim has legitimized misogynistic arguments against women in leadership roles. A woman has much more to offer the business world, such as her  intelligence, education and skills.

(this article was originally published in an e-magazine produced by Women of Style, Spirit & Success)