By Robin Madell (San Francisco)
“Everyone has blind spots. Our perspective is defined by our own culture and experiences so we frequently make assumptions about other people. From these assumptions we draw conclusions, which directly influence our behavior.”
-Maria Castañón Moats, Chief Diversity Officer, PwC
Most experts on women’s leadership agree that sponsorship makes good business sense—both for women and for corporations. But if it were easy to develop and maintain a relationship with a sponsor, everyone would have one.
The quote above from PwC’s Maria Castañón Moats reflects her insight about a key barrier to women’s sponsorship. Because of our own “blind spots,” we often trust what is most familiar, when a more diverse approach to relationship-building might serve us better. “We are drawn to people who are like us because it feels comfortable,” says Moats. “We have qualities in common—it could be we went to the same school, live in the same neighborhood, have a similar style—and that leads us to trust one another quickly.”
While it takes more work to find common ground with those who are different from us, those diverse relationships are valuable because they offer us a new perspective, Moats explains. From this diversity, successful sponsorship opportunities can flourish. Yet we might fail to seek such relationships on our own when it comes to potential sponsors. “Since those pairings don’t always happen naturally, sometimes the firm has to intervene and match people together,” says Moats.
Janine Moon, author of Career Ownership: Creating ‘Job Security’ in Any Economy, agrees that when it comes to seeking sponsorship opportunities, women do themselves a disservice by relying on a preference for the familiar. “Women are often most comfortable (as people often are) approaching and connecting with those who look like them,” says Moon. “In organizations, and depending upon the industry, there will be fewer women who fit that bill and so perceptions get in the way…it’s self-sabotage.”
Mastering the Art of Diagonal Networking
Expert AnswersDiagonal networking. Have your heard of it?
Probably not… because I made it up several years ago. It’s a phrase that I coined after noticing a trend in networking efforts that were more and not less successful.
As I set off in my job search, I began the process of networking. Early in my career I observed that people were inherently afraid of one another. For many, the sound of the word “networking” sends chills down one’s spine. Networking has a multitude of definitions that include conversations with colleagues past and present to asking people that you may or may not know to connect on Linkedin. For me, networking meant socializing and finding ways to meet people that I did not know. With over 1,000 contacts in outlook and numerous alumni at my reach, I felt overwhelmed. Where to start? How? What would I say?
I needed to find a way to bridge this gap if I planned on being successful.
So I started to put myself out there – phone calls, coffee, and in office meetings. Each time I put myself out there I braced for the outcome. Every time I entered a situation I expected to maintain the status quo and was always surprised when I could find a good leads.
At first my success/failure ratio seemed random. I was disappointed when “close” colleagues let me down after my past favors, and surprised by the kindness of strangers. I chucked up the failed requests and conversations to other factors out of my control (i.e. company issues, bad day in the office, lack of sleep, etc). But factors that were not out of my control were not a factor. I managed to have successful interactions with people inside organizations that were falling apart and to be rejected by people in thriving organizations.
I am always looking for an angle and process to bisect around. It’s the mathematician in me ever working on how to back into a proof. Given: I want a meeting. Goal: How will I get there.
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Women, Risk, and Banking
Industry Leaders, LeadershipThe day before the Simmons Leadership Conference in Boston last week, Mary Ellen Iskenderian, president and CEO of Women’s World Banking, was fired up. Iskenderian was reflecting on a story in the Financial Times that ran with the headline, “Women bankers linked to rise in risk-taking.“ The article, based on research from the German Deutsche Bundesbak, reported that according to a study of German banks, boards with higher proportion of female executives “lead to a more risky conduct of business.”
Iskenderian knows risk. Women’s World Banking (WWB) is a network of 39 financial organizations from 27 countries that provide credit and loans to low-income women worldwide to fulfill their dreams by starting their own businesses. In addition to providing microfinancing, WBB works to empower and educate women to build financial safety nets for themselves and their families. That can be pretty risky business in some parts of the world.
The report on which Iskenderian was focused, actually looked at three variables on boards: gender, experience, and education. “Level of experience is what influences performance,” said Iskenderian expressing dissatisfaction in how the media had framed the report.
“I don’t think the genie is going back in the bottle,” she said addressing the idea that homogenous boards make better decisions and that women disrupt the “cozy” board environment. She cited a University of Michigan study that shows heterogeneous groups produce better outcomes. “You can’t take this (Bundesbak) study in isolation,” she said, also citing the mandate in Norway to fill 40 percent of board seats at publicly traded company with women. “The Norway mandate had teeth,” she said, and women received training to bridge any experience gaps. “There is a roadmap drawn for us. Train more women to serve on boards and it can be a very virtuous circle.”
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How to Negotiate Like a Litigator
Next LevelThe idea of career negotiation – for a raise, promotion, or special project – can seem scary, especially if you’ve never done it before. But active career management is so important for advancement. And, in fact, many of us negotiate every day as part of our jobs.
“I tell our younger team members that we spend so much time being strong advocates for our clients, but you really have to step back and remember how important it is to be advocates for your own self and your own career,” says Lori Cohen, a shareholder at Greenberg Traurig who holds a record of 55 straight trial wins. She also chairs the firm’s Pharmaceutical, Medical Device & Health Care Litigation Group as well as co-Chairs the Atlanta Litigation Practice.
“It’s hard to get into that mindset as women. We’re so used to watching out for other people, we may not spend as much time as we should, advocating for ourselves.”
By tapping into the negotiation skills you use in business, says Cohen, you can also advance your career. Here’s how.
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Three Keys for a Successful Women’s Network
NetworkingProfessional women are “lukewarm” about the effectiveness of women’s networks, according to a new study out of the Simmons School of Management. Polling over 250 attendees to last year’s Simmons Leadership Conference, researchers found that many women are unsure about the usefulness or direction of women’s networks.
In fact, 79 percent of respondents ranked their women’s networks at “somewhat effective” or “not effective.” And 84 percent described women’s networks as “somewhat effective” or “not effective” at promoting women.
But, the research shows, a there are a few factors that increase the effectiveness of women’s networks. For example, the study says, “there was a very strong correlation between those respondents who were actively involved in their network and those who felt that their network was effective.”
The good news is that they also uncovered a few critical factors that may contribute to their success.
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Avoid Career Traps: Set Goals for Your Growth
Expert AnswersBack in the 1990s, a book called Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus by John Gray sold more than 7 million copies and spent 121 weeks on the bestseller list. CNN referred to it as “the highest ranked work of nonfiction of the 1990s.” The premise of the book is that women and men come from distinctly different realms on almost every issue ranging from automobiles to wardrobes. While that’s not exactly breaking news, particularly among women, the implications of these differences play out in many ways at home and in the business world.
Working over the years with many high caliber female financial advisors, I have witnessed the stark differences between genders when it comes to considering changing jobs. Women and men approach the idea and process of change very differently.
While there are, of course, exceptions, women generally try to make the best of a given situation and wait until they are profoundly unhappy before looking to make a fundamental career change. Further, if they do leave their current firm, it is often driven more by necessity than by taking proactive steps to make a change.
Men, on the other hand, are more inclined to seek solutions to the problems they are facing at their firms and are more aggressive about finding a resolution. They tend to resolve differences by demanding that senior management pay attention to their issues and look to remediate them, or by choosing to go elsewhere. This is not to suggest that women are less proactive than men. Rather, because women have so many competing priorities for their time, often including family matters, it takes a higher level of pain and frustration before they look to rock the boat. I believe many of the differences between the two sexes stem from women being more sensitive and trusting than men and more inclined to believe that the situation at hand will improve if they just continue to work hard and do their job well.
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Role Models Inspire at The White House Project’s Epic Awards
Industry Leaders, LeadershipSpeaking last week at the White House Project’s annual Epic Awards, the organization’s president, Tiffany Dufu said, “My dad used to always tell me, ‘Tiffany Dufu, if you want to have something you’ve never had before, you’re going to have to do something you’ve never done before to get it.’ What I want to have now is for women leaders to reach [levels] we’ve never seen before.”
The White House Project works to prepare women for leadership in politics, business, and the media. The Epic Awards honor individuals who have made big strides when it comes to increasing the percentage of women in leadership roles.
“We will have achieved success when we’ve bottled, mass reproduced, and distributed that White House Project equation to an entire generation of women,” Dufu said.
The host of the event, Geena Davis, Academy Award winner and founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in the Media, remarked, “Our goal has to be to get so many women into leadership that we can focus on their agenda, rather than on their gender.”
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Voice of Experience: Nancy Mellard, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, CBIZ Employee Services Division
Voices of Experience“I’m a Midwest girl, born and raised,” said Nancy Mellard, Executive Vice President and General Counsel at CBIZ Employee Services Division, and National Leader of CBIZ Women’s Advantage, the firm’s women’s program. “It’s my 20th anniversary at CBIZ, and it sounds bizarre to me that anyone could be anywhere for 20 years!”
Mellard studied English as an undergraduate and then enrolled in the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Law. “I went on to law school thinking I would be a great litigator, only to realize that I truly loved using my law degree as General Counsel in a corporate setting.”
It took a few years to figure that out, she said. She worked for the state of Missouri after she graduated, but two years later, she took a General Counsel position. “I found that I’m really great at building relationships – and as a lawyer in a corporation, providing counsel, you have to understand relationships. I liked that – it got me up in the morning.”
She continued, “I knew pretty early that I wanted to be a senior officer and use my credentials to climb the corporate ladder.”
Not only has Mellard done just that, but she remains focused on building strategic value. Last year, she led CBIZ Women’s Advantage to bring in over $1.4 million in business.
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Are Men the Real Winners with the Rise of Female Breadwinners?
Expert AnswersFemale breadwinning is often seen as primarily benefitting women. We think of the wins for her – negotiating power in the relationship, freedom to leave a potentially bad match and the professional fulfillment that comes from pursuing a career. However, in writing Female Breadwinners: How They Make Relationships Work and Why They are the Future of the Modern Workforce, I found these benefits hid a larger truth. The true winners of women’s increasing economic empowerment are men; the men these women love, the men they live with, the men they support.
That’s not to say it’s always plain sailing for the early 21st century man whose partner out-earns him. It can lead to resentment, guilt, stress….on both sides. However, her earnings certainly allow a greater sense of freedom and choice than generations of men have known before. Who wouldn’t want to benefit from a higher family income without all the pressure to earn it oneself? As most families now feature two earners, knowing your partner, male or female, can financially provide is a necessity. In a world where security nets are scarce, not seeking a partner who can contribute to the family through labour or earnings is strange. To limit that choice according to gender roles is madness.
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Top Women CEOs Share Advice at NAFE’s 40th Anniversary
Industry Leaders, LeadershipLast week the National Association for Female Executives held its annual luncheon in celebration of its 40th anniversary. In addition to honoring its 50 top companies and ten to non-profit organizations for executive women, the organization hosted a fascinating discussion between Kraft CEO and Chair Irene Rosenfeld and DuPont CEO and Chair Ellen Kullman.
The two women spoke candidly about family, success, and power – and they acknowledged, the world still has a long way to go in supporting female leaders.
Rosenfeld, accepting NAFE’s award for women of the year, discussed a 1943 Transportation Magazine article on tips for employing women during the war. One piece of advice read:
“Give the female employee a definite day-long schedule of duties so that they’ll keep busy without bothering management for instructions every few minutes. …women make excellent workers when they have their jobs cut out for them, but that they lack initiative in finding work themselves.”
“Truthfully, as they say, we’ve come a long way baby,” Rosenfeld said with a laugh.
“But despite progress, there is still a persistent gender gap,” she continued, pointing out that today’s college educated women will still earn $1.2 million less than their male counterparts. “As a female CEO, these issues concern me deeply.”
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Obstacles to Women’s Sponsorship—and How to Overcome Them
Mentors and Sponsors“Everyone has blind spots. Our perspective is defined by our own culture and experiences so we frequently make assumptions about other people. From these assumptions we draw conclusions, which directly influence our behavior.”
-Maria Castañón Moats, Chief Diversity Officer, PwC
Most experts on women’s leadership agree that sponsorship makes good business sense—both for women and for corporations. But if it were easy to develop and maintain a relationship with a sponsor, everyone would have one.
The quote above from PwC’s Maria Castañón Moats reflects her insight about a key barrier to women’s sponsorship. Because of our own “blind spots,” we often trust what is most familiar, when a more diverse approach to relationship-building might serve us better. “We are drawn to people who are like us because it feels comfortable,” says Moats. “We have qualities in common—it could be we went to the same school, live in the same neighborhood, have a similar style—and that leads us to trust one another quickly.”
While it takes more work to find common ground with those who are different from us, those diverse relationships are valuable because they offer us a new perspective, Moats explains. From this diversity, successful sponsorship opportunities can flourish. Yet we might fail to seek such relationships on our own when it comes to potential sponsors. “Since those pairings don’t always happen naturally, sometimes the firm has to intervene and match people together,” says Moats.
Janine Moon, author of Career Ownership: Creating ‘Job Security’ in Any Economy, agrees that when it comes to seeking sponsorship opportunities, women do themselves a disservice by relying on a preference for the familiar. “Women are often most comfortable (as people often are) approaching and connecting with those who look like them,” says Moon. “In organizations, and depending upon the industry, there will be fewer women who fit that bill and so perceptions get in the way…it’s self-sabotage.”
Read more