Taking Risks and Making Challenges: Advice from Dynamic Women in Business

Leader with team in backgroundBy Melanie H. Axman (Boston)

Harvard Business School kicked off its 20th Annual Dynamic Women in Business Conference last Saturday, celebrating esteemed, accomplished, and professional women from various walks of life. Created in 1992 to highlight issues women face in the workplace, the Conference continues to draw emerging and distinguished female business leaders into a “conversation about how to proceed, succeed, and survive as women in business.” The panelists and speakers hailed from a variety of backgrounds and career trajectories, sharing their journeys, successes, challenges and even failures. In turn, they received a reception of energetic engagement, curious respect and supportive appreciation from their diverse audience (comprised of undergradudate and graduate students, young and experienced professionals, community leaders, and Harvard faculty.)

The morning began with a Keynote address by Beth Comstock, Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President of GE. The focus of her discussion was on risks, consistent innovation, and the bravery to recognize failure as a critical and integral part of the learning curve and growth process. Throughout her career, including two years as President of Integrated Media at NBC Universal, she kept coming back to the notion of risk and risks worth taking. She said, “To live is to risk. Not to take a risk is to be stagnant. To stand still.”

“You have to stand for something. You have to stand very tall. Sometimes risks are risks that aren’t of your choosing,” she said. She challenged the captivated audience to allow themselves to fail fast, and fail in small enough ways that lessons were learned quickly and innovative solutions were the outcome.

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It’s Time to Redefine Authenticity

lesliewilliamsContributed by Leslie Williams, Author of Leading With Grit And Grace: Smart Power for Women Leaders

Authenticity at work: oxymoron? Pipe dream? Many of us long to be more honest and true to ourselves at work. Yet in most organizations, authenticity is a risky proposition.

Here’s a quick exercise that illustrates why that might be so. Identify a current work situation that you think is being badly handled but that you haven’t confronted. If you had a free pass to react authentically – with no threat of repercussion – what would you do or say? Now… if you actually did or said that, what do you think would happen? For many of us, that much honesty could constitute career suicide.

This is the double bind of authenticity. We want more of it, but we fear the vulnerability it can create. So we resign ourselves to the belief that authenticity is only possible in ‘enlightened’ organizations – which is certainly not where WE work.

The problem with authenticity lies in how we define it. Many people equate being authentic with being emotionally transparent. Defined thus, the authentic move in response to anger might be to give someone a piece of your mind. In a conflict, it might be to tell someone that they’re being selfish and short-sighted. This kind of honesty has its place; it can clear the air and let people know where you stand. But it can also backfire: escalating conflict, eroding trust and damaging reputations. You’re smart to be wary of that.

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Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

MartinLutherKingBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Dear Readers, we are taking the day off in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We are inspired by Dr. King’s vision of a better future for all people, and it is our hope that The Glass Hammer provides you with the tools and inspiration to work toward workplace equality as well. As Dr. King said, “The time is always right to do what is right.”

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Movers and Shakers: Mary Bennett, Owner of MLBennett Consulting and Chair of the AICPA Women’s Initiative Executive Committee

MaryBennetBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“Something I often speak about is the invisible networking and advocacy structure that exists in every organization. For many years, I did not understand how robust this structure is. Women need to increase their awareness about themselves and the environment they work in – the work you do is only one part of career success,” advised Mary Bennett, owner of MLBennett Consulting and Chair of the American Institute of CPAs Women’s Initiative Executive Committee.

“Do the right people know that you are working on the right thing? It sounds political or harsh – but you really need to understand and build relationships with people who can advocate for you,” continued the 25-year accounting and consulting veteran. “This is not hard core political games but learning to access the natural structures that exist and drive an organization”

“These advocacy relationships exists at every organization, and women are often not aware of how robust the process is. They hear about it and shrug it off, but it really is an essential factor in a successful career,” she said.

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Message from the Founder: Happy Holidays

christmasBy Nicki Gilmour, Founder and CEO of The Glass Hammer

As 2010 draws to a close, I want to thank all the supporters and readers of theglasshammer.com. We are continuing to enjoy our journey of informing, inspiring, and empowering our readers through news, advice, and profiles on amazing professional women. We have been thrilled with the feedback from you, the women we do this for, at both our career management events and our business networking events.

In fact, we have an amazing events lineup for 2011, including more events for women in fund management and for women in technology. We also have some new events to help you to stay up to date on the latest career management strategies – including how to get the most from your mentor and sponsor relationships.

There have been so many excellent seminars that we have attended and covered on the site. One of the most encouraging topics to gain popularity this year is that of compensation transparency – that we can start to measure progress by benchmarking pay, promotion, and advancement rates. This excellent dialogue is possible due to progressive companies hosting useful events for women, and implementing their own benchmarking initiatives. A large thank you must go to great research and on-going work by organizations like Catalyst, McKinsey, the Center of Work Life Policy, NCRW, Harvard Business Review, the White House Project, the Forte Foundation, 20-First, and many others.

If you have some down time over the holidays, I hope you enjoy reading some of the great articles written by our editor Melissa Anderson or any of the top notch contributors who are women in the trenches themselves. My final Op-Ed of the year is optimistic about what 2011 will bring, as firms now compete again in the war for talent post recession.

Finally, I want to tell you about new site, www.evolvedemployer.com, which will be launching on January 6. I invite you to have a sneak peak now at the content we have been preparing this year. The site is a great way for you to know more about the most attractive and progressive employers out there. Before you join a company shouldn’t you know more about their culture and policies? The new site enables employers to communicate more about what they are up to in areas such CSR, diversity, work/life balance programs, innovation, and more.

Happy Holidays, and here is to a prosperous New Year.

Yours sincerely,
Nicki Gilmour
CEO and Founder

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Catalyst Finds Mentoring Isn’t Enough – Here’s What’s Missing

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iStock_000005080703XSmallBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“All mentorship is not equal,” said Debbie Soon, Vice President of Executive Leadership Initiatives at Catalyst. Soon said she was shocked by the huge discrepancies between men and women, which were revealed by a report released today by the organization. According to the report, men benefit significantly more from mentoring than women do.

How much more? $9,260.

Once again: $9,260. That’s how much more men with mentors make in their first post-MBA job than women who also have mentors. Men get a considerably higher promotional increase as well, compared to women.

Why the discrepancy? According to Soon, it comes down to quality. “Women seek mentors, but men seek sponsors,” she said. Men tend to have mentors who are higher ranking, higher paid, and have more influence in the organization – in other words, sponsors, who are willing to spend their own personal political capital to advocate on their behalf.

“Mentorship is not sufficient,” said Soon. “Sponsorship closes the gap.”

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In Case You Missed It: Business News Round-Up

Beth 005Contributed by Beth Collinge of CTG – a division of ILX Group plc.

Economic Backdrop

  • There were broad gains for global equity markets as a result of improved economic news around the world.
  • The 10-year US Treasury yield climbed to 3.3%, one percentage point higher than its October low, following the biggest two-day sell-off this year. The move came after President Barack Obama agreed with Congressional Republicans to extend Bush-era tax cuts and combine them with a $120bn payroll tax holiday. Government bond markets across the globe followed the move up: the German Bund yield rose 10bp to 2.9%, while the 10-year UK gilt yield added 10bp to 3.5%.
  • On the currency markets, the euro was under some pressure due to unease about the outlook for peripheral eurozone nations, following fresh signs of disunity among EU leaders over the expansion of the region’s rescue fund and the question of joint European government bonds. It was not helped by news that Fitch had downgraded Ireland’s sovereign debt rating to BBB plus.
  • In commodities, gold touched a nominal record high of $1,430.95 an ounce immediately after the US tax cut announcement, before falling back with profit taking. Silver also briefly rose to a 30-year peak of just over $30 an ounce.
  • In its December monthly meeting the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee left rates at 0.5% and maintained the existing level of quantitative easing at £200bn.
  • A CBI survey showed that export orders for UK manufacturers were at their highest levels in more than two years, but that the prices producers had to pay for oil and other commodities could force them to raise prices.
  • The Halifax House price Index showed the first year-on-year decline in house prices this year: the average property is now worth £164,708 – 0.7% down on a year ago.
  • The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that Britain’s goods trade gap with the rest of the world widened to £8.5bn in October, the highest since records began in 1992.
  • U.K. retail sales climbed in November as higher food-price inflation pushed up values and cold weather boosted demand for clothing and footwear.
  • Beijing again raised the reserve ratio requirement for banks on Friday by 50 basis points, for the sixth time this year, leading to uncertainty over monetary policy in China. Though some believe the move reduces the chance of an imminent rise in Chinese interest rates, most people still expect a move before year-end.

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In Case You Missed It: Business News Round-Up

Beth 005Contributed by Beth Collinge of CTG – a division of ILX Group plc.

This week’s financial news was dominated by the following Europe’s debt crisis entering a new phase when EU finance ministers agreed an €85bn bail-out for Ireland and the outline of a permanent mechanism to deal with future debt crises; ECB bond buying steadying the euro markets; and mixed US data dampening recovery hopes.

Economic Backdrop

  • At the beginning of the week, Eurozone ministers announced plans to replace the current €440bn rescue fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), which was agreed after the Greek debt crisis, with a permanent European Stability Mechanism (ESM). The ESM will be similar to the EFSF, except that private creditors could be involved in future debt relief or restructuring. Eurozone bonds issued after June 2013 will contain “collective action clauses”, which will enable a majority of creditors to pass legally binding decisions to change terms of payment, such as an extension of the maturity of bonds and “haircuts”, or discounts, on the price paid. The mechanism distinguishes a “solvency” crisis from a “liquidity” one, with bondholders in insolvent countries expected to share in the losses.
  • At the same time the EU agreed the Irish bail-out, using the €750bn emergency funding system established after the Greek debt crisis in May. The Irish package totals €85bn, to which the IMF will contribute €22.5bn, Ireland will contribute €17.5bn and Europe will contribute €45bn. The latter will come from both the European Financial Stability Mechanism, a fund overseen by the commission and backed by the EU budget, and from the European Financial Stability Facility, backed by the 16 members of the eurozone. Bilateral loans have been promised by Sweden, Denmark and the UK. The UK will provide €3.84bn in bilateral loans, and will also contribute €3.1bn to the EFSM money, since British banks, particularly RBS, which is now largely state-owned, have very significant exposure to Ireland.
  • The €85bn will be split: €50bn will provide funding for the Irish state and €35bn will go into the banking system. The initial capital injection into the banks will be €8bn, most of which will be divided up between the two largest banks: Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Ireland. They will also have access to €2bn of funds that will be used for loan portfolio protection, taking the total upfront support to €10bn. The banks will have a further €25bn of contingent capital that they can use to cover future losses on loans, to ensure their core tier one capital ratio remains above 10.5%.
  • The European Central Bank (ECB) left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at its regular policy meeting, as expected, and announced an extension of its full allotment of refinancing facilities until April next year. However, the central bank stopped short of announcing a major increase in its programme of unsterilised purchases of eurozone government bonds, as many in the markets had hoped for.
  • Eurozone retail sales rose by 0.5% in October compared to the previous month. The highest monthly increase was logged in Germany, up 2.3%, with the highest annual improvement among all European Union states coming in Poland, which jumped by 12.8%.
  • Unemployment across the eurozone crept up to 10.1% in October, according to Eurostat, as inflation held firm at 1.9% in November. The rise in the unemployment rate reflected an estimated 80,000 more people out of work in October. The highest rate, 20.7%, was seen in Spain, which the markets fear may soon need external financial assistance.
  • Spain announced a number of measures to restore confidence in its solvency: it said it is on track to cut the budget deficit from 11.1% of gross domestic product in 2009 to 9.3% this year and 6% in 2011. Spain has raised tobacco tax, reduced wind power subsidies and brought forward pension reform. It will cut its new sovereign debt issuance by about a third next year compared with its original plans, and will privatise parts of the state lottery system and the airports authority.
  • In the US the jobless rate rose to 9.8%, the highest since April, as only 39,000 jobs were added in November, far worse than forecast, and not fast enough to keep up with population growth. Though private sector employment rose by 50,000, there was a drop of 28,000 in the retail sector, and an 11,000 fall in government jobs. Average hourly earnings and the average work week – both important indicators of future hiring – were flat compared with October. Although the population continues to grow, the percentage of adult Americans with jobs fell to 58.2%, compared with pre-recession levels of about 63%. Payroll data are important because they give an up-to-date reading on what is happening in the labour market. The number of Americans with jobs and how much they are paid is a guide to how much they will consume, which, in turn, is an indication of how much the economy will grow. Orders placed with U.S. factories fell in October for the first time in four months, as demand for durable goods also slowed.
  • Growth in UK service sector activity fell slightly in November, indicating a slowdown in overall fourth-quarter economic output and hence no change to monetary policy in the near future. Overall, the survey suggests the services sector is not expanding as quickly as the manufacturing sector, where activity picked up at its fastest pace in 16 years in November due in part to strong exports.
  • Oil prices rose to their highest in more than two years as a result of very cold weather increasing demand, as consumers and electricity producers consume more oil. There is also increased demand in China, due to residents using diesel to generate power, in an unintended consequence of efforts to meet national energy and environmental targets.
    Commodity prices were higher across the board: copper neared record levels, and during the week gold rose above $1,400 an ounce, close to November’s nominal record high of $1,424.10.

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In Case You Missed It: Business News Round-Up

Beth 005Contributed by Beth Collinge of CTG – a division of ILX Group plc.

The big news this week involved Ireland’s €85bn bailout loan from the EU and IMF, increasing concern over Europe’s spreading sovereign debt crisis, and uncertainty following North and South Korean exchanges of fire over Yeonpyeong Island.

Economic Backdrop

  • Ireland unveiled a four-year, €15bn programme of tax rises and spending cuts billed as “The National Recovery Plan 2011-2014”. It aims to reduce the deficit to 3 % of GDP by 2014, assuming real GDP growth of 2.75 % annually between 2011 and 2014. The government will cut the minimum wage by almost 12 %, slash welfare expenditure, reduce public sector pay and lower the rate at which earners start to pay income tax. Expenditure will be cut by €10bn and taxes raised by €5bn between 2011 and 2014. The plan was needed to win approval from Ireland’s European Union partners and the International Monetary Fund this weekend for an emergency rescue package of €85bn. This will take Ireland’s total debt up to 160 % of GDP. The loan will be at 5.83% and Ireland has been given until 2015 to reduce it deficit to 3%.
  • Stock markets had a turbulent week lower due to fears of Irish political deadlock, European sovereign debt contagion, and geopolitical tension between the Koreas.
  • The euro dropped the most against the dollar in three months as German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the 16-nation currency was in an “exceptionally serious” situation after Ireland asked for a financial rescue.
  • The Ifo index showed that business confidence in Germany this month reached its highest since the reunification of the country.
  • China’s current-account surplus rose to $102.3bn in Q3, double the amount from a year earlier and about 7.2% of GDP.
  • The minutes of the November Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting revealed the following projections:
    • The Jobless/unemployment rate is projected to rise in Q4 2011 to 8.9% to 9.1 %, compared with 8.3 % to 8.7 % in the June forecast;
    • The US economy is forecast to expand by 3 % to 3.6 % next year, down from a 3.5 % to 4.2 % projection in June;
      Inflation Outlook: forecasts for inflation, excluding food and energy, were little changed for the next two years;
    • Previously-owned home sales in America were 2.2% lower in October than in September, and 25.9% lower than in October 2009, when first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of an expiring tax credit
    • America’s economy grew faster in Q3 than previously thought: by 2.5% at an annual rate, against an initial estimate of 2%.
    • Federal Reserve policy makers disagreed over expanding record monetary stimulus this month, with a majority seeing a boost to growth and employment and a minority concerned about risks to inflation and the dollar.

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The Other Side of Performance Metrics?

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iStock_000004944174XSmallBy Elizabeth Harrin (London)

If you complete timesheets, you’ll know how important it is to make sure the numbers at the end of the month look good. After all, you’re judged as much on the time you spend at work – which might even be billed to clients – as you are on what you actually do.

But what would happen if we scrapped the insistence on measuring time spent at the desk and focused solely on results? Surely the working world would be a happier place, with employees judged and rewarded on their contributions, and able to go home early if they meet their objectives before 5pm. Unfortunately, there are also issues that come with adopting this type of working culture. Employees could focus on their targets to the detriment of being a team player. It could increase competition in the office and have a damaging effect on morale. These are some of the reasons that managers fail to embrace an organisational culture that looks at performance metrics as more than just hours chained to your laptop.

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