Archive for female executives
What You Dont Know Can Hurt You
Posted by: | CommentsMany times when working with organizations on strategies to increase gender diversity in the leadership ranks the leaders will say ” lets just get all the women together and ask them what they want”. While this is noble and certainly talking with the women in the organization to understand how they experience the culture is critical it is not “the answer” . One of the most serious issues women face when attempting to advance in male dominated cultures is lack of access. Lack of access to senior leadership, opportunities, information, and organizational knowledge. As a result of this lack of access women “dont know what they dont know”. This also is a driving force in the phenomenon of women rejecting efforts to start any type of program or initiative aimed at advancing women. It is common to hear some of the women who may have be closest to breaking through to levels where women have not been represented say that they are not role models and do not want anything to do with any programs related to women or women’s advancement. This also represents the fact that women “dont know what they dont know”. Best practice programs aimed at helping women to advance are all about business and all about evening a playing field that is not providing equal career development opportunities for all. The uneven field is not something most people can see without awareness raising activity. The women in the organization are in fact often the individuals who most cannot see what is happening and “what you dont know can hurt you”. There are a long list of things that an individual needs to know about an organization in order to increase their value proposition to that organization. The most common method of learning these key lessons is access. Access to senior leaders, opportunities, experiences, assignments, and organizational learning. Without this information our careers are like a journey we take without a map. Most of our male counterparts more naturally gain this very important access due to ease of networking that very naturally takes place between people who identify with each other. Therefore our male counterparts have a map which is a very real and tangible advantage. We may think the road to our destination is straightforward and with steady hard work we will arrive. Little do we know that there are side trips and short cuts we need to know about that we cannot see without access to organizational knowledge. When we hear the lament of male leadership teams ” we would hire women if only we could find any qualified to do the job” they are not always making excuses. Because women are very often taking a less than focused journey without a map- they may not be as qualified as their male counterparts because they have not had the assignments and experiences that they need to be prepared to be the best candidate for a job. In addition, research has shown us that women are very often evaluated on experience while males are evaluated on potential which multiplies this problem dramatically. SO what is the answer to this very significant dilemma? Learn how to build access. Stay tuned for my next posting on this very topic!!
The Business Case for Building Flexible Work Cultures- Series Part II
Posted by: | CommentsIn the Part I of this series we talked about the opportunity to support our need for flexible work cultures with a solid business case. We outlined the fact that the majority of our employees require flexibility at some point in their careers. Research increasingly points to flexibility as one of the most important career considerations of staff, emerging leaders and even our seasoned leaders. If we do not offer this flexibility in our organizations we will lose productivity in our top talent pool and we may lose this top talent completely to our competitors. In addition to flexibility as a requirement for top talent, consider the possibility that flexibility can actually improve your organizational results.
We also outlined four key business strategies that can be supported by flexibility in the organization. These are:
1-Employee Attraction and Retention
2-Improved Productivity
3- Improved Customer Service and Satisfaction
4- Effective Operational Management
This second posting will cover the first two strategies. Why are these strategies key to a business case for building a flexible work culture?…….or said another way…… How will flexible work cultures actually help to accomplish these business strategies?
Employee Attraction & Retention
Visibility of Female Leaders
Posted by: | CommentsIn the past two posts we have been talking about why we do not see more progress in the advancement of women in business , community and politics. In the first post we covered an overview of what is happening to slow down our progress. Much of what happens is subtle and not well understood. (Post May 24) In the second post we talked about the first barrier in more detail- the lack of career advocacy and targeted development for women. This lack of advocacy is not because anyone is setting out to exclude women, but because of subtle organizational and human habits and bias. ( Post June 3)
Todays post is about the second barrier- the lack of visible female role models. This barrier is also not well understood and often very very underestimated in it’s power. In all the work I have done in organizations that have undertaken an effort to understand and impact the gender diversity of it’s leadership ranks- the lack of visibility is a barrier and also an answer to acceleration of progress. We , as humans, instinctively look for role models . We look for individuals we can observe, learn from and emulate. We look for those who’s path we might follow. In the end we forge our own unique path but it is most often comprised of a mosaic of the experiences of others.
Mother’s Day and Great Gifts
Posted by: | CommentsIn this column I talked about what a fiasco it was when I did not send flowers to my mother. It had become an iconic story in the family. On Saturday a gorgeous bouquet arrived in a fabulous vase. Of course it was from my daughters and their families. We are in the Pennsylvania, they in California so the gift and sentiment worked.
However, I also received an amazing gift from one of my daughter’s and I asked her permission to share. Here is the back story: On Amazon there is a place for people to write reviews about books. One daughter had written a review when the book first came out. My other daughter, Mikayla was in Maui working on a film and it never was done, soon a forgotten thought.
Until several weeks ago when I was sorting out old materials and found a note from her saying how proud she was of me and the book and that she wanted to write a review. So I emailed her saying “look what I found” and then forget about it, or so I thought.
Women Leaders and Male Partnership
Posted by: | CommentsIn any learning process, there is a tendency to go to extremes before finding middle ground. Take driving, for example. Most teens start by driving very, very slowly, learning when to accelerate and when to put the brakes on. Then there is a time when we all want to experiment with speed, until either fender hits fender, or a ticket is handed by an unsmiling policeman.
Most of us then find the safe space of the middle ground where fast and slow are dependent on the territory.
So it is with all relationships. Sometimes a hug is perfectly timed, in other situations a metaphorical “right to the jaw” is called for. In all partnerships, all life happenings, it is all in the timing.
Margaret Thatcher was a woman leader who had a great sense of timing. She was strong and gracious. She entered the territory of male domination early on and set the stage for women to follow, to learn the art of push and pull.
Work for a Jerk?
Posted by: | CommentsAt one point or another, we have all worked for a jerk. Trending analysis, client feedback and underground communication clearly indicate that mismanaged employees and boundary violations are on the rise. Managing through tough times and poor leaders is often time more difficult than the work itself. Poor leadership can range from an immediate supervisor to poor HR leadership. Noone is exempt.
Taking charge of your career and disengaging from negative forces, including a jerk of a boss is within your reach. As a Career Strategist with an organic and practiced track record of problem solving, I am focusing this weeks blog on the employee relations aspect of managing poor leadership, self preservation and maintaining your sanity.
5 Strategies to Activate NOW
#1 Document…Document…Document
Venting is short lived whereas documenting is soothing, has long range positive effects and will set you up for a chronicle of events if you need to take legal action.. Hand write your discontent in a strategy journal. This is a journal specifically dedicated to you, your work, your accomplishments and your discontent. Keep it is a safe place and use it daily. Date, time stamp and openly journal details of what is occurring. Always be sure to credit yourself for one or two accomplishments per writing. When leadership is lacking, you need to start truly leading yourself. This means crediting your daily accomplishments and cheering for yourself!
