Perhaps what you need more of at this point Hope is a career coach individual. Often what women tend to face isn't so much discrimination, but, their emotional approach to dealing with challenges they face in the work force where they have to deal with male collegues. It's important to know the areas you are susceptible to getting emotional about. Actually, that is what this boss you have that is threatened by you works on because he knows if he can get an emotional reaction out of you, to see if he can get you to react in ways that are not desirable in the work place.

When you approach this CEO who is the one who has the actual power, it's important to have a presentation that you can present to him that covers all the things you see missing and how to best implement these things so that his company can begin increasing the profit margin instead of lingering in the just making it mode. It's important this CEO also learns how YOU would take over and implement all these things you lay out for him. It's important that when you do this you remain calm and avoid making statements that can be seen as "too much self interest". This CEO will want to know what is good and helpful to HIM, not what your needs are. Included in this presentation will be why you believe YOU are the person who can implement these changes so his company begins to operate in a much more profitable direction. The entire time you are presenting your ideas to him, you will need to make sure he feels "respected" and that he is worthy of the effort you want to put into his company. People always remember how they "feel" around you Hope, so what you want is to fill his office during your presentation with a calm and respect. That cannot be achieved if you enter his office angry, rattled, or upset as that will change him to wanting to get rid of the emotional because men simply don't respond well to emotion.

When sharing a vision, the key is to engage others in a way that they too can get excited about it and feel "motivated" when they are around you. Actually, part of being successful is being able to present or establish a motivational presence with others. Also, part of what you want to have happen is getting the employees motivated and part of that will be training them better so they have the right tools in place to engage what you see that is missing right now in his company. From what you have shared, this CEO doesn't really understand what is actually "missing". This is what he needs YOU to show him in a way that at the same time gives him a feeling that you respect him and WANT to be there to help him get that company functioning better.

You have had to do things for other departments because people in that department simply did not have the proper training to do that task. Unfortunately, when that happens you tend to get stuck doing something that isn't really part of your department. You can have a presentation prepared for him that shows him the departments that are simply not working properly that you notice isn't a problem for other companies that he competes with. You have noticed this because of the years you have worked in other companies. As you are doing this, you can point out to him why the manager you have to work with is not working out well because he is not really experienced the way it is needed. (Yes, he isn't getting others motivated, good call and something you can point out to the CEO)

If employees do need training, you will have to KNOW what needs to take place so they do get the proper training. "here is what they need to know, and here is how you get them trained properly". You have to show him that you not only see what is wrong, but that you actually KNOW how to fix it. From what you have described of your boss, he doesn't know WHAT isn't working right AND he doesn't know how to fix it. Basically, Hope, you will have to show him you can be the architect that has a vision on how to actually fix the structure so it functions and holds together.

It doesn't really matter what sex someone is, what matters is how well a person can partake in pulling things together so something can actually WORK. A lot of women do actually run successful businesses. If this CEO already likes you, then a big part of your battle is already won. That being said, you will have to remove the individuals that can become obstacles, and that's something you will need this CEO to understand as well. For example, "Joe" is going to be an obstacle to this plan of going forward, so we need to find a presence that has the ability to adapt and contribute to our vision of implimenting changes that are needed to generate and improve the revenue. Joe has shown me too many times now how he fails to appreciate certain things that need to be applied to make all the efforts applied actually come together and work. If Joe cannot see the significance of this small part I added then he is showing he lacks in recognizing how important that part really is. Truth is, all parts are important to the success of gaining more traffic to OUR business. This is something that can be likened to small additions that can add significant curb appeal to a home looking for a buyer. Even a restaurant needs certain details that attract new customers. We owned a restaurant for a while with partners and it's important everyone get on the same page when it comes to having certain details that contribute to catching attention.

This reminds me of all the details I put into decorating my ponies to create an experience. One time I was at a job where the birthday was for a man in his eighties and he had at one time been a performer and rode trick horses. This also was a party that happened to be on the fourth of July and I decorated my ponies in red, white and blue including big red, white and blue bows on their tails. A tail bow fell out and I wanted to fix it and my husband said, "ugh, just leave it, it's not important OE". Well, sure enough when I walked over to this elderly man the very first thing he said is "where is the tail bow?". Proof, I was right in how that one thing was important to the entire presentation that my husband refused to acknowledge. Yes, often small details are important to the much bigger picture and it's important that be respected.