Are You Risk Averse at Work? Learn Why Challenging Yourself Will Help You Get Ahead

iStock_000017439589XSmallBy Michelle Hendelman, Editor-in-Chief

What does it mean to be a risk taker at work? For many people, the idea of asking for a raise, going for a big promotion, or taking on a challenging project is daunting, but these are exactly the types of actions that risk-taking employees, especially women, should be doing in order to drive their career advancement in the right direction. Previous studies on risk appetite have indicated that women generally do not take as many risks as men, but is this hypothesis true, and does it apply to business women in a corporate setting?

In a recent working paper, researchers at Tufts University suggest that the idea that women are more risk averse than men needs to be revisited. The paper’s author, Julie A. Nelson, states, “Taken as a bald statement, the statement might be taken as indicating something that is universally true for every individual member of the classes ‘women’ and ‘men.’ In this case, it would have to be true that every individual woman is more risk averse than every individual man. This exceedingly strong implication is not likely intended by those who write such statements, since just one example of a cautious man and a bold woman disproves it.”

According to the research, not all women are more risk averse than men. It suggests why we shouldn’t base our assumptions of women in business on stereotypes – which exactly why we must move beyond tokenism in diversity hiring.

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Opportunities Abound for Shareholder Activism on Gender Diversity

Group of businesspeople having a meeting.By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

By now, the connection between women and business success is well-known. But as many times as studies have linked diverse boardrooms with better performance, companies seem to be making few moves toward gender balanced boards.

This spring, Deloitte released the third edition of its report, “Women in the boardroom: A global perspective,” which detailed the excruciatingly slow pace of progress in boardroom gender balance. Despite rapid elevation of discussion on the topic of boardroom diversity, action has been slow. Even in places like the UK, which initially put a concerted effort behind hiring more women to FTSE 100 boards, hiring of women to director seats is plateauing.

Deloitte believes that it may be possible to speed this process up. Up to now, relatively few shareholders have gotten involved in efforts to change the gender balance on the boards of the world’s largest companies. Dan Konigsburg, managing director of the Deloitte Global Center for Corporate Governance, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, comments, “Given that shareholders are the owners of the company, one might expect they should have the strongest interest in the benefits of more diverse boards, an interest that should benefit the value of their portfolios.”

So far, Deloitte says, there have been very few shareholder proposals addressing diversity in the boardroom. This is a mistake, Konigsburg says. “We see diversity as a business issue. …We also believe that greater diversity – not just in gender but in background, in experience and in diversity of thought – makes for more effective teams of people.”

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The Cycle of Sponsorship in the Workplace: You Get What You Give

iStock_000007832712XSmallBy Michelle Hendelman, Editor-in-Chief

If you feel like you are stuck in a plateau in your personal career development, it is probably time to take a step back and assess what you should be doing to remain relevant in your company and in the eyes of upper management. The key to your success may not be found in the typical areas of corporate training and development. Instead, you may benefit by becoming a sponsor to someone within your organization who you feel can turn into a rising star with the right guidance and representation.

How does sponsoring someone else help you advance? While the idea of sponsoring someone may feel one-sided to you, this is actually not the case. Anna Beninger, Senior Research Associate for Catalyst, states, “One of our major research findings around the idea of sponsorship is that paying it forward pays back. Developing others really increases your own visibility.” She adds, “Essentially what you are doing is showing the company that you are not only about your own advancement, but that you are invested in the future of the organization.”

By taking on a sponsor role, you automatically align yourself with other influential players in your company. People will notice. You will inevitably get the attention of the decision makers as they start to recognize the impact of your institutional knowledge and experience. What this means is that by helping a young executive navigate their own career path, you reinforce and display your real value to the company, not just your perceived value.

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Leadership and Forgiveness: Five Steps for Letting Go

iStock_000006492382XSmallBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Forgiveness is a core competency of true leadership. After all, holding onto transgressions that happened in the past means wasting valuable energy that could be put into moving people forward. What’s more, insofar as workplace culture is built first and foremost by the example set by leadership, it is critical that leaders set the tone for an inclusive environment based on forgiveness and progress – rather than one of grudges, backbiting, and gossip that can kill innovation and productivity.

In a recent INSEAD working paper, Distinguished Professor of Leadership Development Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries, discusses why transformational leaders must learn to forgive, and how to do so with grace and power.

He writes, “Forgiveness is one of the factors that differentiates exceptional from mediocre or ineffective leadership. When leaders forgive, they dissipate built-up anger, bitterness and the animosity that can color individual team and organizational functioning.”

“Forgiveness offers people the chance to take risks, to be creative, to learn, and to grow in their own leadership. Individuals, organizations, institutions, and societies can progress when people are not preoccupied by past hurts,” adds Kets de Vries. “Forgiving means accepting the fallibility of the human condition. It demonstrates courage, vulnerability, integrity, and trust, all constructive ways to build collaboration and connections.”

By letting go, leaders can help move their people forward.

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Voice of Experience: Natalie Trunow, Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Equities, Calvert Investments

Natalie Trunow, Calvert InvestmentsBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

According to Natalie Trunow, Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Equities, at Calvert Investments, women and other minorities in the financial services industry can turn their diverse background into a competitive advantage. She encouraged women to consider the industry as a place where their personal viewpoints can make the difference in their firm’s success.

She advised, “I would try to not be so apprehensive about entering an industry with pockets of male dominated environments. If anything, this industry seeks out differentiated viewpoints. If you look at the industry today, compared to a few decades ago, there is a conscious reach for that differentiated viewpoint. Women, minorities, and people with international backgrounds do add to the mosaic of viewpoints and perspectives. In this globally competitive environment, firms are trying to add to that.”

She also encouraged women not to shy away from a big career in the financial services because of perceived work life challenges. “It can be done – you can have a family, be successful, and be competitive. If anything, perhaps you have an advantage because you’re part of a group that can add a differentiated viewpoint to the decision making process and help your organization succeed.”

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4 Tips for Reducing Your Stress Level at Work

Businesswomen drinking coffee.By Michelle Hendelman, Editor-in-Chief

Moving your way up the corporate ladder undoubtedly comes with a lot of reward, but increased responsibilities and a heavier workload can also result in elevated stress levels as you learn how to manage your new role. In order to continue to be an effective team member and leader within your company, you need to figure out how to reduce the amount of stress you experience at work.

Whether it is your own or your colleagues’, workplace stress can act as a huge barrier to productivity. Although some stress at work is expected as deadlines loom and clients constantly keep you on your toes, it is essential for you stay organized, focused, and motivated. If you feel overwhelmed every time you open up your email or your meeting calendar, you need to figure out how you can bring your stress level down a few notches without affecting your output.

Don’t let stress get the best of you at work by following a few of these helpful tips:

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Mentoring the Millennial Generation: Advice for Senior Female Executives

girlpowerBy Michelle Hendelman, Editor-in-Chief

What is the best way to find out what makes NextGen employees tick? Ask them. This is exactly what PwC, along with the University of Southern California and The London Business School did in their groundbreaking study, PwC’s NextGen: a global generational study [PDF]. With over 40,000 responses collected and 18 global territories represented, this study identifies the attitudes, perceptions, mentality and overall work preferences of the next generation of the world’s workforce – Millennials.

Although Millennials and non-Millennials hold many similar viewpoints about flexible schedules, the ability to work occasionally from home, and the importance of healthy work/life balance, it seems as though PwC’s NextGen study reveals one important difference between Millennials and the generations before them. Millennials are not as inclined to make big sacrifices in their personal lives in order to climb the corporate rungs at work.

In fact, according to the study, 15% of all male employees and 21% of all female employees would accept less pay and extend the pace of their personal career advancement to work fewer hours. The study also suggests, however, that Millennials value different contributing factors to their personal advancement. What is the impact of these findings?

“Millennials are not afraid of working hard,” says Terri McClements, US Human Capital Leader for PwC, “it’s that the experience is equally important to them as putting in the hours it takes to achieve a certain title or role.”

While the results of the NextGen study have the potential to significantly affect workplace culture as corporate leaders adapt to accommodate the needs of this emerging workforce majority in an effort to improve employee retention and create effective talent development programs, the real impact just might be felt in the mentor/mentee relationships between non-Millennial senior level executives and Millennials.

This is especially true in the case of senior level female executives who choose to act as mentors to Gen Y rising stars within their company. With Millennial attitudes differing from non-Millennials in some key areas, how can these two generations of female workers connect in a way that is meaningful and beneficial for everyone involved, including the company?

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Why Role Models are Critical for Developing Women Leaders in Tech

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iStock_000009318986XSmallBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Recently, The Glass Hammer revealed our new research on women in technology – we wanted to find out what companies can do to better retain women at the junior and mid-career levels. Many companies are making a robust effort to recruit a high percentage of women at the entry-level, but few are building the organizational structure that will ultimately keep them there.

In our study, we identified a few motivators that stoke the career ambition of junior and mid-level women in technology – things like “walking the talk” (see our earlier article on the topic) and participating in a leadership development course.

Another key indicator of C-suite ambition was having a role model. In fact, the vast majority of our respondents (79.9 percent) said they had a role model. Meanwhile, respondents who didn’t have a role model were significantly more likely to say they had no C-suite aspirations than those who did have one.

That’s why, we believe, it’s important for companies to recognize the importance of nurturing connections between junior and mid-level technologists and the people at the top who support them through sponsorship initiatives, women’s networking groups, and mentoring programs.

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Negotiate with Precision: Using Round Numbers May Get You a Lower Offer

iStock_000012303174XSmallBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

When it’s time to negotiate a salary or raise, what kind of number do you throw out as a first offer? According to a Columbia Business School study [PDF] published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, it may be better to avoid using round numbers – for example, you may be better off asking for $98, 650 instead of a nice round $100k.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal, Quartz, and NPR, the researchers found that using a round number often leads to a lower counter-offer than if the number had been more precise. The reason why, though, is intriguing. It could change the way you talk about what you know, and negotiate for other benefits, opportunities, and everyday tasks.

The writers, Malia F. Mason, Alice J. Lee, Elizabeth A. Wile, and Daniel R. Ames, all of Columbia University, write, “First-offer recipients appear to make assumptions about their counterpart’s language and infer meanings that are not explicitly conveyed. Precise numerical expressions imply a greater level of knowledge than round numerical expressions and are therefore assumed by recipients to be more informative than the true value of the good being negotiated.”

Simply put, using precision in your offer makes you sound like you know what you’re talking about and deserve what you’re asking for.

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Does Mobility Affect the Wage Gap?

Does Mobility Affect the Wage Gap?By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

According to a recent Yale working paper, when married men and women relocate, men make more money, and women make less. The study is based on an analysis of population data from Denmark, and revealed that couples “chose locations with higher expected wages for the man than the woman.”

In this paper, “Geography, joint choices and the reproduction of gender inequality,” researchers Olav Sorenson, Yale University, and Michael S. Dahl, Aalborg University, set out to determine why.

“We call attention to another allocative process that contributes to the wage gap: the sorting of people to places. Workers earn more when they reside in regions with employers that value their abilities and attributes,” they write.

“In dual-earner households, however, husbands and wives often match best with employers in different regions. When couples live in places better suited for the husbands’ than the wives’ career prospects, men earn more than women.”
Studies have shown that dual-earner couples relocate less frequently than couples with one earner. Research has also shown that after dual-earner couples move, men tend to make more money, and women tend to make less.

Based on detailed calculations, Sorenson and Dahl determined that geography could account for 36 percent of the gender wage gap. “In other words, if couples split and behaved as singles (independently choosing their places of residence) one would expect the gender wage gap to narrow by roughly one-third.”

Here’s why the gap exists.

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