By Liz O’Donnell (Boston)
The Institute of Leadership and Management, a UK-based organization that helps companies improve standards of leadership as well as individual and team performance, recently released a research report titled, “Index of Leadership Trust 2009.”
The report looked at six areas by which leadership is measured: ability, understanding, fairness, openness, integrity and consistency and asked respondents to assign importance to each of them. The Institute then examined the results based on the size of the organizations, the length of time in leadership, and the age and gender of managers and subordinates. The report revealed that, “Ageism and sexism are largely and reassuringly absent from the findings of this research. The most significant trend to emerge is that employees show slightly more trust in managers ‘in their own image’ – that is, of the same sex and similar age to themselves.”
While sexism doesn’t play an obvious role in managers building trust, the findings do underscore one of the key challenges in advancing women to the C-suite. Many believe that businesses “hunker down” in difficult times, like the recession and jobless recovery, and tap the resources that walk, talk and look like them. So even though more women are now reporting to work than men are, with so few women still at the top of businesses, the men already in power will typically turn to other men to make key decisions and fill critical roles.
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Work-Life Balance Retreats for Women
Work-LifeIt’s an unfortunate fact that there are certain things in life that must be re-taught after years of plugging away at work, giving all of ourselves to our employers and families, and going months without a serious break of any kind.
Sometimes we must re-learn how to take care of ourselves, how to make time for ourselves, how to become rested, centered, and refocused. Providing women with the platform and tools necessary to make these things happen has recently become a top priority for Martha Simpson and Jo Adams, whose UK-based LadyLeader Retreats are currently making a big splash in their native Scotland.
Both Simpson and Adams are life coaches who, after meeting over a cup of coffee at a networking event, decided to move forward with Simpson’s plan of creating a personal and professional development program specifically geared towards women.
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The Walker Report: What’s Next for Corporate Governance in the UK?
NewsBy Elizabeth Harrin (London)
Earlier this year Sir David Walker was asked by the UK Government to examine corporate governance in the banking industry. His consultative report was released in July and caused a stir with its far-reaching recommendations about the role of non-executive directors, the establishment of board risk committees and remuneration. There was a lot of chatter in the news about the fact that the Government was not going to adopt these recommendations. Were they too unpopular? Too wide-ranging? Too complicated? Probably a bit of all of those.
However, the final Walker report has just been issued and on 26 November the UK Government announced that they would “move quickly” to implement the necessary reforms.
What started out as a report into the state of banking was extended to cover other financial institutions, where the recommendations were applicable. It was an extensive study of what could be better, including how financial incentives for board members impact the propensity to manage risk effectively, the balance of skills, experience and independence required on boards and whether the UK approach is consistent with international practice. The overarching message throughout the report is one of poor governance practices, and Sir David is clear about the lack of control. “Serious deficiencies in prudential oversight and financial regulation in the period before the [economic] crisis were accompanied by major governance failures within banks,” he writes. “These contributed materially to excessive risk taking and to the breadth and depth of the crisis.”
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Voice of Experience: Dr. Sherry Cooper, Executive Vice-President and Global Economic Strategist of BMO Financial Group and Chief Economist of BMO Capital Markets
Voices of ExperienceDr. Sherry Cooper, Executive Vice-President and Global Economic Strategist of BMO Financial Group, was destined for the world of finance. An entrepreneur from an early age, Dr. Cooper said, “When I was 12, I spent the summer babysitting. But I didn’t just watch one child. I would gather all the children from up and down the street and take them into my backyard and watch them. At $50 per child, I made quite a bit of money that summer.” One of her role models was her great aunt, who was a “hotshot in mortgage finance” long before it was even a possibility for most women.
But despite the early attraction to finance, it took some time before she embraced it as a career path. Dr. Cooper marveled, “I always assumed that I would just get married and be a homemaker. Until I got to Goucher College, it never occurred to me that I would have a career for the rest of my life.”
She graduated first in her class with a dual degree in economics and math, and then continued on to the University of Pittsburgh for a Ph.D. in economics. Although Dr. Cooper wasn’t interested in academia, she still didn’t see any future in a financial institution. “I grew up in a time when there were very few women in banking or finance so it never occurred to me as a possibility.”
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Managing Men
Industry Leaders, LeadershipThe Institute of Leadership and Management, a UK-based organization that helps companies improve standards of leadership as well as individual and team performance, recently released a research report titled, “Index of Leadership Trust 2009.”
The report looked at six areas by which leadership is measured: ability, understanding, fairness, openness, integrity and consistency and asked respondents to assign importance to each of them. The Institute then examined the results based on the size of the organizations, the length of time in leadership, and the age and gender of managers and subordinates. The report revealed that, “Ageism and sexism are largely and reassuringly absent from the findings of this research. The most significant trend to emerge is that employees show slightly more trust in managers ‘in their own image’ – that is, of the same sex and similar age to themselves.”
While sexism doesn’t play an obvious role in managers building trust, the findings do underscore one of the key challenges in advancing women to the C-suite. Many believe that businesses “hunker down” in difficult times, like the recession and jobless recovery, and tap the resources that walk, talk and look like them. So even though more women are now reporting to work than men are, with so few women still at the top of businesses, the men already in power will typically turn to other men to make key decisions and fill critical roles.
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Ask-A-Career Coach: Gratitude As A Career Management Tool
Ask A Career CoachGiven the upcoming holidays, I thought about writing about holiday networking, job search during the holidays or perhaps office party etiquette. Here’s why gratitude works not just around the holiday table but for your career as well:
Gratitude puts you in a spirit of plenty – of having, instead of lacking. This leads to confidence, energy and a position of strength that is attractive to the people around you, whether it’s prospective employers or senior management looking for whom to tap for leadership.
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Sharing Inspiration for Success: NAFE’s 2009 Women of Excellence
Movers and ShakersOn Friday, December 4, the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE) honored its 2009 Women of Excellence. NAFE is the largest professional association of women. The awards celebrated successful female business leaders dedicated to making a difference in their workplace, the larger community, and the world.
Keynote speakers and Pulitzer-prize-winning writers Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn opened the event with a call to make a difference in women’s lives around the globe, as detailed in their book Half the Sky.
They stressed the importance of addressing women’s issues around the world, not only because it’s simply the right thing to do, but because meeting women’s economic needs can help overcome poverty and violence. As Kristoff explained, “the paramount moral challenge of the 21st century is the brutality inflicted on women and girls around the globe.”
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Female Execs: The New Metric
Breaking the Glass Ceiling, FeaturedBy Elizabeth Harrin (London)
There’s been a lot written about getting more women on to boards. But boards act as an oversight body. Could you even name half the members of the board at your own company? Using the number of women on boards is a useful measurement in how enlightened or competitive a company is, but it’s rarely the case that having more women on boards means that lower down the organisation women are being promoted and supported in more senior management positions.
Enter a new study – Womenomics 101. This survey, from the consultancy 20-first, looks at a different metric: women on the Executive Committee. After all, it’s easy(ish) for the corporate board to elect a woman or two and say that the job of creating gender equality is done. Much harder for a company to promote its home-grown talent up through the ranks to a position on the Exec.
“This survey invites you to look deeper into companies, and to use metrics that distinguish those serious about gender balance from the rest,” says Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, CEO of 20-first and co-author of authored the book Why Women Mean Business. She’s also the woman behind the new annual survey. “That’s what Womenomics 101 proposes to do.”
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Voice of Experience: Wendy Cai- Lee, Director, Chinese Services Group, Deloitte
Voices of ExperienceBy Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)
Wendy Cai-Lee is quick to point out that much of her success is attributable to the sacrifices her parents made for her and her sister. When the director of Deloitte’s Chinese Services Group was just twelve, her father—a former diplomat from China’s State Department—gave up his career and his country and moved his family to the States. “We moved mostly for money and my sister’s and my education,” said Cai-Lee. “My father was concerned that if we waited any longer, I wouldn’t be able to learn English and speak it without too much of an accent.” She continued, “My parents were hardworking people who put their careers on hold and put all their hopes and dreams on their children. There was a lot of emphasis on education.”
The family ultimately settled in New Jersey. “It was a huge adjustment. But kudos to my parents: they made the move when I was young enough so that the impact was not as traumatic as it would have been if was older. I was very lucky that my parents not only moved me here when I was very young but also with a sold background of Chinese—I speak 5 Chinese dialects—and moved us to a town with an excellent school system.”
Cai-Lee was a good student and a quick learner, although there were some challenges: “In New Jersey, I grew up in an Italian and German town…my sister and I were the only Asian Americans in our school system.” Still, Cai-Lee said, “I learned English within a year. And, by the time I went to junior high, I already joined the junior debate team. I don’t think I’m that much smarter…it’s just that my father was already teaching me geometry in 5th grade. I just simply I learned all that stuff early on so it was easy to excel.”
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In Case You Missed It: Business News Round-up
NewsIndia reported unexpectedly strong third quarter GDP growth. Kraft published its formal offer for Cadbury. U.S. cable company Comcast is entering into a joint venture with NBC Universal. These are but a few highlights of important market events that we’ve gathered to help you start the week well informed.
Economic Backdrop
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Work-Life Balance in the Legal Profession: A Necessity Even in a Down Economy
Work-LifeBy Jennifer Gonzales-Frisbie, Esq. (New York City)
Over the last year, in large law firms across the country, associates have lived in fear of losing their jobs, accepting and even seeking out longer hours at the office in the hope that if they can accumulate enough billable hours, their jobs will be spared. Unfortunately, such a practice is leading to growing dissatisfaction for all involved. Associates are worn out and resentful of their current predicament. Clients are becoming fed up with large legal bills which reflect the work of several attorneys billing a significant number of hours in order to produce a single piece of work product. Law firm partners are struggling to maintain and bring in business since clients are going in increasing numbers to smaller firms where the same legal work can be done for a lot less.
In this time of high unemployment and economic hardship, should we consider work-life balance a luxury, available only when economic times are good, and just be thankful we have jobs at all?
Although the answer from many quarters seems to be “yes”, others believe that sacrificing work-life balance is not the best strategy to surviving a tough economy. Lisa Gates, life balance coach and author of “Are You Ditching Work-Life Balance Because You’re Afraid of Losing Your Job?” explains that balancing work and personal life in a down economy is important, not just for your well-being outside of work, but to ensure you remain mentally and physically prepared to successfully carry out workplace goals and make sound decisions in your career.
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