This Week’s Tip Is…Understand what leverage you have at all times!
Continuing the negotiation theme, do you know what cards you have to play? What is valuable to others? You could be in a better position than you realize!
Welcome to Career Tip of the Week. In this column we aim to provide you with a useful snippet of advice to carry with you all week as you navigate the day to day path in your career.
By Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational Psychologist
“Through every step of my career, I have focused on learning a set of skills and doing everything possible to meet the needs of my clients, so that when an opportunity came up, I was ready,” says Anne Ozimek, senior vice president at Voya Investment Management. “Each job will offer a different set of challenges and every one of them will prepare you for your next step.”
Ozimek’s career in the insurance and investment business has spanned many years and a wide variety of positions. As she has taken on different roles, she has always preferred those that were fast paced and required ongoing problem solving.
Her first job out of college was at The Hartford Insurance Group, where she traveled to regional offices to offer the production teams solutions to improve workflow and reduce backlogs. She became part of their management training program and held several positions before moving to Aetna. She started as a business analyst on an investment accounting system, handling the production functions, and then worked her way up to supervisor of the unit and ultimately manager – all while obtaining her MBA.
As a result of the business knowledge she acquired supporting those functions, Ozimek left that daily production role to manage a small unit of business analysts working on a large accounting system replacement project. Completing that project allowed her to enhance her project management skills, working closely with IT and the business to develop specifications, test plans, identify, document and resolve issues and then ultimately implement the new system.
Based on that work and connections she had formed, she was offered a new role putting together an institutional shareholder recordkeeping unit for what was then Aeltus Investment Management (and became ING and now Voya).
This entailed learning the functions, hiring the team and then working with IT and Client Services to develop a proprietary recordkeeping system to handle the client level transactions for the funds the firm managed. The system was in place for more than 15 years, since replaced with a new operating model where an external service provider does the recordkeeping work and other back office functions and the Voya Business Support and Operations team oversees the work. Her team’s role has thus shifted from processing to oversight, analysis and problem solving.
Having been a member of an operational team for most of her career, Ozimek relishes her collaborative role – performing the day-to-day jobs to meet client needs but also supporting huge projects. “It’s fast paced, but what I love the most is the mentality of operations. The team always displays a can-do attitude. We know that no matter what the obstacle, we can figure out a way to get it done.”
She sees the industry as being a vibrant one for years to come, as baby boomers hit retirement age and need new products and advice as they segue from the asset accumulation phase to the spending phase.
Advice for Rising Stars
Ozimek had an excellent role model of a career woman in her mom, who worked at a time when many women didn’t. That gave her a good grasp on what the corporate world was like and how to mesh home organization, occasional late working hours and family needs, all while performing at her job.
Early in her career, she recognized that you may come into situations where you work hard and yet you still don’t get the acknowledgment you want or the job you want. At that point you have to assess what happened, determine if there was anything else you could have done differently, and then move on, making sure that you are getting the skills you need and connecting with the managers and mentors who are interested in making sure you succeed. She has had some great mentors over the years.
“If you’re not in a good situation for your skill set, recognize it and make a change,” she says. “Defining your world too narrowly is not a barrier in the business but in your mindset.”
Ozimek’s own personal philosophy on getting ahead is to work hard, and make sure you’re not getting caught up in an “it’s not my job” mentality. “If you go out of your way to help other people with their issues, you become a ‘go to’ person. Then the next time you need help, others around you are more likely to reciprocate. Every time you go the extra mile, you’re building those relationships and creating a situation where people are looking out for you.”
Saying yes is another crucial factor in a successful career ascension. “So many times, when someone approaches us to do something, we find reasons to say no. Instead, we should determine if there are good reasons to say yes,” she says, adding that it’s important to try to figure out why you were asked to do something. “Don’t discount that you just might be the perfect person..”
As the industry has evolved, Ozimek is no longer the only woman in most meetings and appreciates that change. She sees the benefit of having been involved in both formal and informal mentoring programs over the years and actively works with younger associates to provide that perspective. She knows that having a mentor offers a comfort level in talking through an issue or a problem and getting advice from someone who’s been there. She urges people to speak up if they want a manager to act as their mentor or coach. “Don’t be shy about what you want.”
Away From the Office
Ozimek has been married for 37 years and has two grown sons and two daughters-in-law. On the weekends she and her husband spend as much time as they can at their second home in Vermont, joined by family and friends. “This stage is a blast,” she says, “watching the ‘kids’ make their way in their lives and careers.”
“As a country, we are 80 years away from gender equality.” That statistic, which was shared during the World Economic Forum, caught Mike Jones’ attention, because as he says, “If that’s true, I won’t live to see it.”
Jones is CEO of Core Consulting, a technology and management consulting firm. His personal mission is reflected in the company motto: “Have a positive impact on the lives of others – do that and you’ll be ok.”
Jones’ varied career spans from his early years in banking to a stint in IT for an international insurance company to eight years with a large consumer electronics retailer. Along the way, he has had numerous career-defining moments that have underscored the importance of increasing gender equality.
He recalls an incident in the early 1980s when the bank president took a female loan officer to a customer lunch. The customer later called and said “If you replace my current loan officer with the woman you introduced me to, I am leaving the bank.” In Jones’ eyes, the customer was wrong, but the bank president wouldn’t stand up for his female loan officer. Jones recalls that he said that it was the customer’s choice, and the male colleague remained as the loan officer, even though the female had excellent credentials.
“Life might not be fair, but I realized that some of us could play referee and arrange the game so it’s a better playing field,” Jones said.
He sees gender inequality heightened by the lack of role models. At the electronics retailer, Jones said that only one of the 16 decision makers were women. “When she left, we became an all-male society, and we all knew we needed more balance.” He knows that the problem can be self-fulfilling. “How do we give our female middle managers someone to aspire to be and learn from? Who will they turn to for mentoring opportunities and to discuss the issues with which they are wrestling?”
A Strong Commitment to Giving Back
As a seasoned volunteer, Jones has spent ample time in the non-profit world, which he finds to be more balanced with women in key positions.
As part of his work on the board for the United Way, their Women’s Leadership Initiative held a breakfast attended by 600 women leaders. He said it was empowering to see how people will flock to support something when you establish the support mechanism.
He has also been supportive of Women in Technology, a subgroup within RichTech (Richmond Technology), which regularly meets to tackle relevant issues facing women in leadership. His company also organizes a dinner every other month that helps support and encourage women executives in technology.
Diversity in all areas is important to Jones. As he says, he wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth. In 1990, he began working with Partnership for the Future, a non-profit that pairs CEOS with potential interns from the inner city. “We work with them to help them rise above the hand they were dealt, and give them a lift. We provide interviewing skills; match what they save dollar for dollar; help them get scholarships and essentially give them the tools they need. Many in this group would be lost if we didn’t lend a helping hand.”
Jones says he was inspired by his boss at the time to become involved. “He taught me you have to stand up for things that aren’t fair and give people a chance they otherwise wouldn’t have.”
Promoting the Best Person
At the boutique firm he leads, he tries not to draw a distinction between men and women, but always hires the best person for the job. The controller and the vice president of recruiting and staffing are women, but he says that he can only draw from the pool that he is offered, which is why he knows that women need to be reached earlier.
He sees that the problem starts young, noting that there’s a point in middle schools where boys continue to pursue STEM endeavors and girls drop out. “I believe we have to reach young women earlier in their school career if they want to be ready for the boardroom,” he says. We are seeing that young girls are lacking confidence and don’t have seat at the table. We have to start earlier, to find ways to increase and maintain their interest at a young age and in the tech and science industries and then help they see how they can be leaders like Carly Fiorina.”
A Lifelong Mentor
Mentoring is part of the fabric of Jones’ life. He is part of an organized group at the
Virginia Commonwealth University’s graduate school, where he mentors one or two students a year.
He also lends a hand to anyone who asks or with whom he interacts, particularly helping those who need an injection of confidence. “My goal is to ‘encourage greatness,’ he says, adding that he mentors anyone who transitions through his life who needs encouragement. He even compiled his advice into a book, called “Hello Old Friend,” designed as a resource for career development.
“My mentoring is mostly not part of a formal program; I just live it. People have to care,” he says.
His mantra is to exceed the Golden Rule with what he calls the “Platinum Rule,” which focuses on paying it forward.
“I have never turned away someone who wanted to network or needed a hand, because we’re all one step away from needing that help.”
Advice for other Leaders
He firmly believes that promoting diversity is everyone’s job, and that you can’t be caught up in your own myopic world. “You have to engage and listen and recognize the need and then do something about it. Be the change agenda, and have the courage to stand up for what you believe in.”
In his view, a career is composed of two halves – the first half, which is when you’re taking and learning and building, and the second, when you find out what you’re called to do.
“Everyone should have their own personal ‘why,’ and mine is to inspire others to find what inspires them. We can be both a student and a teacher at every level of our career.”
By Cathie Ericson
By Aimee Hansen
“Countless books and advisers tell you to start your leadership journey with a clear sense of who you are. But that can be a recipe for staying stuck in the past. Your leadership identity can and should change each time you move on to bigger and better things,” says Herminia Ibarra, professor of Leadership and Learning at INSEAD.
In an article entitled “The Authenticity Paradox” in Harvard Business Review’s January 2015 issue, Ibarra challenges the predominant views and momentum on authenticity to assert that “true to self” approaches can hinder leadership growth. She argues “a too rigid definition of authenticity can get in the way of effective leadership,” often keeping leaders from evolving as they gain new insight and experience.
“Because going against our natural inclinations can make us feel like impostors, we tend to latch on to authenticity as an excuse for sticking with what’s comfortable,” she explains. “In my research on leadership transitions, I have observed that career advances require all of us to move way beyond our comfort zones. At the same time, however, they trigger a strong countervailing impulse to protect our identities.”
Misunderstanding the Leadership Journey
How did we all come to revere “true to self” approaches? In her book ACT LIKE A LEADER, THINK LIKE A LEADER, Ibarra states the “holy grail of leadership development” that says you must navigate your way to leadership from a clear inner compass of who you are (inside-out development) is a fallacy derived from a research tradition of profiling highly effective leaders NOT the journey they took to get there. Ibarra’s research on the “development of leader identity” suggests that people become a leader by acting like a leader, which necessitates acting outside of your self-perceived identity rather than within it.
According to what she calls the out-sight principle, when it comes to leadership, what we do changes how we think, what we value, and who we see ourselves as – not the other way around. She writes, “Simply put, change happens from the outside in, not from the inside out.”
The Danger of Staying “True to Self” for Women
Ibarra spoke to us about how latching onto authenticity plays out for women. “The more common trap I see women falling into is not acting like a man but sticking too long to an authentic but outdated way of leading.”
She shared a scenario of role-transition in which both men and women were clearly out of their depths. “Women were more likely to try to prove their competence by demonstrating technical mastery over the long term; while men are more intent on making a positive first impression to create relationships.”
She explains how latching onto authenticity back-fired, “The women cited their reliance on ‘substance rather than form’ as a more ‘authentic’ strategy and thus as a source of pride; yet they were also frustrated with their inability to win their superiors’ and clients’ recognition.” She observed, “Despite the value they placed on authenticity, their cautious and protective behavior wasn’t necessarily true to self either, and they had a harder time enlisting others’ support because they were perceived as less adaptive and flexible than their male peers.”
Ibarra strongly emphasizes however “the divergent strategies of men and women are not due to issues of confidence or personality, i.e. women being more cautious, prudent or less risk taking and bold than men. What explains women’s heightened authenticity concerns is ‘second generation bias,’ defined as the powerful yet often invisible barriers to women’s advancement that arise from cultural beliefs about gender, as well as workplace structures, practices, and patterns of interaction that inadvertently favor men and accumulate to interfere with a woman’s ability to see herself and be seen by others as a leader.”
The antidote to that self-perception gap, of course, is leading. INSEAD research has shown that the more leadership experience women have, the less identity conflict they experience as a woman and a leader.
The authenticity paradox is especially acute for women in male-dominated companies. Ibarra told us, “Stepping up to leadership in male-dominated cultures is particularly challenging for women because they must establish credibility in cultures that equate leadership with behaviors that are more typical of men and where powerful female role models are scarce… If they ‘don’t look like a leader; to the seniors who evaluate their potential, they are less likely to get the assignments and sponsorship that are the heart of the learning cycle involved in becoming a leader.”
The Importance of Being “Adaptively Authentic”
In her HBR article, Ibarra encourages leaders to view themselves as works in progress with adaptive professional identities evolved through trial and error, acknowledging “That takes courage, because learning, by definition, starts with unnatural and often superficial behaviors that can make us feel calculating instead of genuine and spontaneous. But the only way to avoid being pigeonholed and ultimately become better leaders is to do the things that a rigidly authentic sense of self would keep us from doing.”
This takes more courage for women, because it can lead to a catch-22 as Ibarra shared with us, “When women are authentic, leading in less prototypical ways — crafting a vision collaboratively, for example, rather than boldly asserting a new direction — their contribution and potential is more likely to go unrecognized. But ‘chameleon’ strategies, that involve emulating the leadership styles of successful role models – as men are more apt to do – are less effective and less appealing to women in male-dominated leadership companies: they are evaluated negatively if they appear to be ‘acting like men’ and the styles that work for men are less likely to be a good fit for and appealing to them.”
In HBR, Ibarra proposes being “adaptively authentic”, a leadership approach that comes from embracing a playful attitude to identity rather than a protective one, a willingness to try out possible selves to figure out what’s right for new challenges.
Ibarra shared two thoughts with us for women under biased pressure to prove themselves as leaders, “First, often time you can play around with different ways of being in your side projects and extra curricular activities first, where the spotlight isn’t so bright. Second, you can’t underestimate the risk of doing just as you always have. At different points in your career you reach inflection points where the only way to ‘prove yourself’ is to just try new stuff because the old way clearly isn’t working.”
In HBR, she argues that being too internally focused can limit us, “Without the benefit of what I call out-sight — the valuable external perspective we get from experimenting with new leadership behaviors — habitual patterns of thought and action fence us in. To begin thinking like leaders, we must first act: plunge ourselves into new projects and activities, interact with very different kinds of people, and experiment with new ways of getting things done…Action changes who we are and what we believe is worth doing.”
Women and Adapting to Influence
Ibarra shared perspective on how women can influence leadership as they adapt to become better leaders, “Christine Lagarde (Managing Director of the IMF) has a lovely phrase for women: she says you have to ‘dare the difference,’ meaning dare to be different, to bring to your company your unique gifts, values and perspective as a woman and an individual. I can’t agree more.”
“But,” she cautions, “that doesn’t mean you don’t adapt to essential ‘leadership demands’ to think more strategically beyond your narrow area of expertise, to develop a full arsenal for selling your ideas to the people who have to buy in to make them reality, and to stretch your style so that you can inspire and persuade a more diverse audience. Being authentic doesn’t mean you just say ‘It’s not me to go out on a limb;’ it means you experiment until you find new ways of leading that work and also feel authentic.”
Guest contribution by Beate Chelette
It happens to even the best communicators, especially when we are having that kind of day. One thing pushes us to the edge of our tolerance and the voice inside our head says, “You have to confront her about this.” And we do—with disastrous consequences.
The calm yet firm conversation we had intended somehow turned into a much bigger issue than the one we had before. Now she is avoiding you, working around you, and giving you the cold shoulder. The problem is that she may be your boss or a key person within the company. You have a nagging suspicion your confrontation was bad for your career and may have just turned your office life into living hell.
When someone rubs us the wrong way and we want to let them know it, chances are we’ve made judgments based on our PERCEPTIONS of that person or the situation. We don’t know what she (or he) really thinks, feels, or is going through. Perhaps she is dealing with excruciating personal pain. Everyone has a story.
Direct confrontations usually don’t fix anything because they follow the outdated “I win, you lose” model. We are living in a collaborative, communal environment (compared to when gurus where all the rage) and we need to shift our approach.
The key to dissolving the issues you are facing is to identify where the problems lie. In 90% of cases, miscommunication and drawing incorrect conclusions are the root causes. Start by detaching yourself from the situation and look at the issue/problem/incident objectively. Switch the language you use from “you did/I think” to “when that happened/that incident was.”
It’s important to know your desired outcome before you go into fixing mode. Do you want to have a better relationship with your co-worker? Do you want to improve team collaboration, office communication, or work processes? Your primary goal will be the focus of what you say.
Clarifying miscommunications is how we start to repair a strained relationship. It’s also where we apply the first Pillar of The Women’s Code—awareness.
Awareness
Our perceptions are often based on assumptions. Have you ever been furious at someone for what she did to you, only to find out later that she was genuinely trying to help? That’s what happens when we act without knowing the other side of the story. Ask yourself, “What is the real issue here? Was I right to confront her? Did I act on facts or did I act on assumptions?”
Now what?
We start by offering a genuine apology. “I am sorry I…confronted you; called you out in front of the group; made a snarky comment; wrote the one-sided email; acted without understanding where you are coming from and without hearing your story first…”
We try to improve communications. Do this by giving a compliment. Trust me on this—it works wonders! The caveat is that it MUST be sincere or else we come across as fake. Try a simple compliment like: “I admire how fiercely you negotiate; I like how professionally you dress; I appreciate how you lead meetings…”
Most of the time when we give, we get something back. Watch for the sign. If you get a compliment or a nicety in return, you can skip the next step.
If we don’t receive a signal of truce, we’ll need to do more softening. Make the incident impersonal while still taking responsibility. “When the confrontation happened, I don’t know what got into me. I realize it was not appropriate.” Or simply say, “I wanted to make things better, not worse, but my approach backfired. I don’t want the tension between us to continue.” The key here is to take full responsibility for your part. After all, nobody is perfect. Keep it clear and concise, remain apologetic, admit making a mistake, and above all—be honest and genuine.
Our final step is to focus on the future. Don’t allow the conversation to dive deeply into an explanation of the mistake you made. Instead, guide the conversation by painting a picture of what is next. “What can I do to fix this situation? I’d love to hear your ideas on how to avoid this in the future. Would it be helpful if we plan to meet more often or have a daily check-in? What kind of updates would you like from me? I want to make this work…”
We all make mistakes, so we may as do something useful with them. Don’t feed a situation more negative energy. Seek ways to reconcile and resolve the issue as soon as possible. And please share what you learn so others can avoid similar pitfalls.
Let me know how these suggestions help you. I’d love to hear your tips for mending strained relationships!
At her lowest point, Beate Chelette was $135,000 in debt, a single mother, and forced to leave her home. Only 18 months later, she sold her image licensing business to Bill Gates in a multimillion-dollar deal. Today she is a respected speaker, career coach, consummate entrepreneur, Author of Happy Woman Happy World, and founder of The Women’s Code, a unique guide to leadership, and personal and career success that offers a new code of conduct for today’s business, private and digital world. Determined to build a community of women helping each other, she took her formula and turned her life around into a book Brian Tracy calls “an amazing handbook for every woman who wants health, happiness, love and success!” She spends her time helping people and companies transform leadership and success, sharing her foolproof fix “From Overwhelmed to Awesome.”
Guest advice and opinions not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com
This Week’s Tip Is…Know your bottom line. On Everything. Where are your boundaries?
Last week we talked about “Everyday Negotiations” in Career Tip of the week. What is your bottom line? What is acceptable and what is out of the question?. Know this ahead of every meeting!
Welcome to Career Tip of the Week. In this column we aim to provide you with a useful snippet of advice to carry with you all week as you navigate the day to day path in your career.
By Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational Psychologist
Seble Tareke-Williams describes her professional path as nontraditional, but each step has been vital to creating her current career, which combines her real estate investing acumen with her passion for community development.
She started her post-college career at a social policy think tank before running an economic development program at Pratt Area Community Council, a neighborhood-based community development organization. That’s when Tareke-Williams realized it was necessary to acquire solid business experience for her next career step, whether she decided to transition to the private sector or progress to a more senior management level in the nonprofit sector.
She decided the most expedient way to make a professional pivot was to earn a graduate degree in business and chose Harvard Business School because of its strong focus on leadership across disciplines, combined with the opportunity it provided to network with people across a broad spectrum of professional and cultural backgrounds. “As a career changer, I also felt it was important to attend a top-tier school; that I would benefit from that extra stamp of approval,” she says, although she adds she doesn’t think this route is necessary for everyone.
While at Harvard, Tareke-Williams was named a fellow by the Robert Toigo Foundation, which works to advance the development and careers of minority MBA talent seeking careers in finance. Toigo allowed her to build a greater network with peers across business schools. “Toigo has such a great reputation in the industry for its strong caliber of fellows so I felt the Foundation offered an extra level of credibility.” She says the Toigo Foundation was influential in landing her internship at GE, and later for the number of interviews it helped coordinate, including with Emmes, where she has been since graduation.
I find that women are naturally bolder when we’re representing the interests of others, including our firms’, because it’s how we’re built. We feel more comfortable in that role. But we need to exude that same level of confidence and boldness when representing our own interests
Real Estate Fund Combines Her Interest in the Public and Private Sectors
Tareke-Williams decided to focus on real estate based on the exposure she had received at the community development organization prior to business school.
Emmes acquires, manages and sells commercial real estate on behalf of institutional partners, primarily domestic pension funds. While at Emmes, she’s been involved in asset management, capital raising and acquisitions and takes pride in the depth and range of her professional experience.
“The diversity of assignments I’ve undertaken has made me a better leader; it’s allowed me to be able to have meaningful context when making decisions. And ultimately, that’s just as important as your innate abilities. Your experiences are what make you an expert in your field.”
She currently manages the Emmes Interborough Fund that is solely focused on markets across New York City that have historically lacked institutional investment, namely Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Staten Island and pockets of Manhattan.
“When you think about the attributes of these markets within the context of the entire United States, there are tremendously positive fundamentals, including density and cultural value.
“I’m going back to my professional roots as we bring institutional dollars to these markets. It’s exciting to think about the economic development implications of investing in these markets, while still working within the private sector,” says Tareke-Williams. She notes that while the primary goal, of course, is to make money on behalf of pensioners who are investing, there is also the secondary positive impact on these communities. “It is a great marriage of the two phases of my career.”
She finds the real estate industry to be in a fascinating phase given several economic trends such as technological growth. Technology is changing where and how people work: technology increases worker mobility and productivity which impact space utilization as, for example, the average square footage dedicated per worker is decreasing. And the growth of technology firms, as well as other high-growth industries like media, are attracting workforces that value working and living in culturally relevant urban markets that foster creativity and business development such as the ones that the Emmes Interborough Fund invests in. These residential population and workforce shifts are creating resurgence in the outer boroughs of New York City.
“Real estate is fascinating because it touches every aspect of your life- where you live, work, and play.”
Confidence Will Lead to Success
Tareke-Williams knows that the No. 1 asset a professional needs is confidence – in your own work, ideas and perspective.
“I find that women are naturally bolder when we’re representing the interests of others, including our firms’, because it’s how we’re built. We feel more comfortable in that role. But we need to exude that same level of confidence and boldness when representing our own interests,” she says.
She notes that the men with whom she interfaces are more transparent about their own interests – they tend to be clear about their personal intentions, including making money. She finds they’re not shy about it, and in return they more often get what they want.
“When we represent ourselves well internally, that also raises our value to the firm. The assumption being that if you can represent yourself well, that you will also represent the firm with conviction.”
Striving for Balance – In All Areas
Though her company, as a boutique firm, doesn’t lend itself to having robust, scaled programs dedicated to diversity, she has always felt supported by the firm’s leadership who encourage her to develop and retain a strong external support network. She is active in WX, a group of women executives in real estate, as well as the Toigo Foundation.
Tareke-Williams has three daughters, soon to be ages two, four and seven. She spends as much time with them as she can, but considers balance to be about more than work and family. She is proud to have come full circle and be engaged at a deep level as the board chair of the non-profit where she worked prior to business school. “No matter how busy I am with my work and family, I won’t feel complete unless I’m also involved in community.”
And even with all that on her plate – or maybe especially because she has all that on her plate — Tareke-Williams knows that she has to make a little time for herself. She does that through training for races and is especially looking forward to an upcoming all-women half-marathon.
By Cathie Ericson
Elisabeth DeMarse is the archetype of a distinguished leader. The current Chair, President, and Chief Executive Officer of TheStreet.com is a pioneer in the field of digital media and information technology, leading the next generation of women by example.Observing gender diversity progress at top executive levels and in the Fortune 1000 boardroom is like watching an uncommitted jogger – we’re moving in the right direction, but where’s the pace?
INSEAD’s Van Der Hyden commented that reaching “historic highs” of 4.8% female Fortune 500 CEOs isn’t exactly impressive as it’s touted: “A more accurate statement is that when one starts at (or near) zero any positive change is (almost) infinite progress.”
In a recent article, Van Der Hyden points out that “the barriers (behaviors, labels, biases…) that prohibit the progression of women to the top are deep-rooted, pernicious, and ubiquitous… and much more prevalent than we imagine and recognise.”
These include serious pay disparities on top jobs, traditional-values skewed decision making, limiting perceptions around career path, women being mentored more but sponsored less than men, for a few.
Our founder and CEO Nicki Gilmour summed up 2014 boardroom figures as “Groundhog Day”: 17.7% of board positions are held by women in the Fortune 1000, a gain of 90 board seats during 2014. The US trails Europe in female board representation in S&P companies.
A recent study shows that the reason we may feel like we’re running in circles is that the boardroom has a revolving door.
A recent study entitled “Progress on gender diversity for corporate boards: Are we running in place?” analysed field data from more than 3000 companies across 9 years and found that voluntary gender equality efforts are hampered by a tendency towards gender matching – the tendency to pick a female board member when a female board member leaves and a male board member when a male board member leaves.
This is an obvious equation for perpetuating the status quo that the researchers point out could seriously undermine voluntary goals to build gender equality over time.
“The predominance of male directors results in a self-perpetuating outcome,” the researchers wrote. “The more women on the board, the better the chance they will further increase their representation, but these estimates suggest that it is a slow process, and not a gender-neutral one.”
The researchers conducted laboratory studies to understand the field evidence, and it revealed that the gender matching dynamic operates underneath stated and articulated thought processes. Participants judge gender as an insignificant factor when directly asked about it and give different reasons for their selections. “Yet, when controlling for these other reasons,” the researchers reported, “the gender of the departing candidate still plays a powerful role of determining the gender of the candidate selected.”
The researchers also found that talking about the importance of diversity did not increase the chances a woman candidate would be selected to replace a departing male executive. What did help was increasing the ratio of women in the candidate pool, but still a strong gender-matching effect remained.
In other words, banging the diversity drum doesn’t change boardroom composition towards greater gender equality.
Changing boardroom composition does.
The researchers report, “Our results suggest that the glacial pace at which women’s participation on boards is increasing may stem from a sub-conscious heuristic that guides people’s decisions towards using the gender of the departing director as a cue to the appropriate choice of a replacement…valuing diversity may not be sufficient to increase boardroom gender diversity.”
Quotas, which can attract highly qualified applicants, are incredibly controversial but a more restrictive word for women is status quo. We can talk our way around diversity all day, and still not hit on the unconscious and ingrained dynamics that are at play even after everybody walks away from the table nodding their head, and indeed, while at it.
Researchers struggle to see how gender equality will show any real progression at a voluntary rate without public targets. Legislation and mandatory quotas are not generally favored in the USA environment. However, some non-quota initiatives recommended to improve boardroom diversity include “short-term goal setting, targeting, and disclosure, and a long-term focus on increasing the pipeline of qualified female board candidates.”
While women-led campaigns can push for results, getting more highly qualified at executive levels and in the boardroom comes down to companies delivering by taking up those initiatives with commitment, which poses a question.
What else are corporations truly committed to achieving that they do not set tangible, measurable, and reported targets for? And if they don’t set targets, are they committed?
By Aimee Hansen
Guest Contribution by Jennifer Bradshaw
One way of gaining exposure when looking to advance at work is to put your back into it and drag yourself out in the open, into the spotlight.
Now, if you ask me, “how can someone hog the entire spotlight when there are already plenty of entertainers on the stage”, I would say, ‘optimize your presence’. How would I do that? Use social media like LinkedIn!
Being home to over 290 million users all over the world, LinkedIn connect individuals with the professional world, giving them a chance to embrace professional exposure and growth. Yet, according to a survey, only 50.5% of the total users make the most of LinkedIn. What about the rest? Well, the rest of the flock is still missing out on the goodies LinkedIn has to offer since they are just too lazy to optimize their profile.
LinkedIn is a pretty powerful network, but that dominance can only be leveraged to your advantage if only are you aware of its KEY hidden tricks that bring actual results. Here, I will reveal those tricks and educate you how to optimize your LinkedIn profile, aka digital resume, empowering you to make the most of this valuable professional hub.
Customize that Inappropriate Profile URL
It is important to understand that the majority of prospective recruiters, these days, use search engine in their quest to finding the right employee. However, they often fail to do so because some individuals (even well-experienced and skilled ones) totally forget or ignore to optimize their LinkedIn URL. If you don’t want to lose a lucrative opportunity, you need to replace those confusing numbers at the end of your profile URL with your name.
Replace Your Funky Display Pic with an Appropriate Image
Don’t forget that LinkedIn isn’t your social profile, but a professional portfolio. Thus, strip down that inappropriate or funky looking selfie of yours and replace it with a professional portrait. Remember that the first thing that grabs the roving eyes of the employer is your DP. If it is exuding professionalism, the employer won’t hesitate to call you for an interview that very instant. However, if it reflects otherwise, the employer won’t bother to review the rest of the profile.
Make the Best Use of the Headline
Next thing that can be said as the epicenter of your profile success is the headline, written under your original name. It is the area that gives you an opportunity to make your profile standout from the crowd. Brand that headline and make it appealing so that the prospective employer may know who he is dealing with. Make that headline descriptive and use multiple titles to cover the keyword that recruiters usually use to seek candidates.
Expand the Headline Articulately in the Summary
The summary section of your profile reflects the essence of who you are, where your skills and expertise lie and what accomplishments you have attained so far. In other words, it is an area where you stretch out and present all the information that makes you a ‘must-hire’ for a company. Hence, keep it neat, simple, clear and engaging; yet, don’t go overboard with the décor.
Amplify the Credibility of Your Profile with Endorsements
Unlike a traditional paper resume, LinkedIn allows you to not only list down all your skills but also get them endorsed by your connections and thus add credibility to your digital profile. Though it may not be much helpful when it comes to the optimization of your profile, it can certainly generate an air of integrity in your profile that employers most seek.
Take That Credibility to Even Great Heights with Recommendations
Recommendations can be considered as testimonials as well as references, either way they are valuable. It is the feedback on your character, personality, work skills and attitude by people who either know for a long time or have worked with you. Ask recommendations in your connection and don’t forget to return them the favor by recommending them.
Jenifer Bradshaw is a developer and a writer. She assists students in choosing the right career path. She also provides assignment help to students facing problems with their coding assignment. Find her on Facebook.
Guest advice and opinions are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com