Want to sustain outstanding results in business? Then leadership must build a culture and environment where both women and men will thrive.
The demand is right around the corner and the Millennials will expect it for young men are used to working with women as equals. Today’s college graduation population is 60% female, and business schools are about 40%. In addition, these women are earning higher grades, so how can you attract and retain this great field of talent? We know that organizations have not been successful at creating such a workplace that provides opportunities for both men and women. This is reflected in the pitiful amount of female CEO’s (5%) and women in congress (18%).
What will help us achieve the results we want?
First, we must have a highly energized, aligned and loyal organizational culture. A culture where women can see themselves in the leadership that is already in place. For example, are there female board members as well as women at the C-suite level? These Millennials will want to be able to see that there is a path and an opportunity for them to move to the top if they deliver results.
Is this reflected in leadership at your workplace?
Second, is the workplace set up to be flexible enough so that they do not lose great talent when they decide to start a family? My sister is a Physician’s Assistant in internal medicine. She recently gave birth to her fourth child and is still at the same practice she joined 14 years ago. Why has she chosen to stay working when she has not “had” to? Her boss was forward thinking and allowed her to create a flexible schedule that would work for her and the office. His practice was recently interviewed for the way they have set up and succeeded in providing excellence in patient care and research, neither of which could have been achieved if the office had high employee turnover or stressed out working moms.
So have you set up a workplace where hours can be flexible or positions can be shared? If not, how come?
Finally, research has shown that teams that are compromised of equal numbers of men and women are most successful. They communicate more since they have different interests and motivations. True teamwork means our team members are open to sharing ideas, helping one another, and offering and being receptive to feedback. Feedback is the lifeblood of productive teamwork. These diverse teams also have significantly higher returns for stakeholders. As Jason Velez, CEO and Founder of NY Advisory Group, shared about his experience with a female manager, “While an analyst at Goldman Sachs, my mentor was a female Managing Director who was the best in the game, managed a household of 4 children, while running the firms Broker Dealer Compliance group which was ranked best in industry. She did it all with an unwavering confidence, admirable integrity, and steadfast principles. That resonated with me throughout the course of my career as a business leader. I remember saying to myself back then, if ever I ran a business I would like to have ten of her on my team. Low and behold, my teams have been comprised predominantly of women who in my estimation have proven to be less egotistical, more capable creative thinkers, and dynamically passionate about the success of the business and the clients they serve.”
Are you assigning projects to diverse teams that leverage and enhance the skill-sets of all your workplace members?
What is really needed in our companies today is to provide the full array of leadership skills and competencies to all our people – not just some! Look at successful companies such as Google, Facebook, Zappos, Chick-fil-A, IBM,Yahoo, and McKinsey & Company, to name a few, as examples of business leadership that “get it”.
Leadership is all about helping people do the right things well, helping others succeed. Women can be leaders, as men can be leaders – together they can offer companies an even more successful and sustainable workplace!
Check out the resources in the InPower Coaching EQ at Work and Soft Skills Research Index.
Guide to Women in Leadership
Organizations with women in their executive suites regularly out-perform others. Yet rising female executives (and their mentors) are frustrated at how hard it is to break through the glass ceiling. In this extensive guide, Executive Coach Dana Theus shares her tried and true strategies to help women excel into higher levels of leadership and achieve their executive potential.
