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This is an odd question, but one I think needs to be addressed. Cookies, cupcakes, muffins, fudge – nearly everyone loves baked goods, so it is understandable that you, as the boss, would think about throwing on the apron and trying out your family’s secret Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.

But as you wait for the first batch to cook, you think to yourself; is this sexist?

Women in positions of power tend to be a bit apprehensive about the way they present themselves to those who work for them. We typically don’t want to be seen as a motherly figure, doling out advice and kissing scraped knees. Nor do we want to be the wicked witch of the office. Until I found a management style that really worked for me, I was constantly worrying myself into a frenzy over the littlest things. Letting people go, an integral part of being a manager, seemed to conflict with my instincts as a new mother – I didn’t like telling people they weren’t good at something.

But I quickly discovered I had to get out of my head and start trusting myself and my inclinations as a business woman. Yeah, one side of me felt bad about laying people off, but a bigger part of me knew that it had to be done for the good of my business and employees, who had begun in their own way to be an extension of my family.

So I say to women entrepreneurs, new and experienced, to quit worrying about how your office will see you if you let the lazy kid in the mail room go, or if you make the office waffles (which was one of my more popular recent decisions). Bake, if you want to, but more importantly run your office like you need to.

Your employees should judge your management style on your personality anyway, not your gender.