Some behavior patterns that men have followed for decades have proved very successful and are just as helpful to women.

1. Men compete with other men but do not exclude one another - Too often, women struggle to claim the few leadership positions that exist and then establish protective barriers to ward off competition. Men have been more socialized to play team sports and compete, but come together for the good of the team, even if they don’t like one another. We women would do well to follow this example more often.

2. Men are seen as mentors in our society. Women need to make themselves more visible as role models and take on the responsibility of grooming the younger generation, not to forget peer mentoring. Young men are taken under the wing of senior men a lot! Doors are mysteriously opened and the “mentee” gets positioned into growth opportunities. We know mentoring works for men, so let’s make it work for us, too.

3. Men leaders are visible - If you ask people to name powerful women they typically name Michelle Obama or Hillary Clinton or Oprah Winfrey. However, there are many women who have tremendous power and influence across a wide range of industries and within both public and private sectors. So why is this population so invisible? By nature women do not promote themselves.

4. Men use their networks - Women thrive in social arenas and build social webs for themselves personally. However, in their professional life, women do not take full advantage of their relational and social strengths. Men have the “good old boy networks” and take advantage of golf outings, happy hours after work, etc., for the informal networking so critical to business and professional development. Women’s organizations are not “knitting clubs.” They can be powerful groups that implement tremendous change.

adapted from an article by Stacy Radin