What Winning Companies Get... And Others Won't
We are in a bull market for advice to women on how to get ahead in their companies.
For most of my career, I lived it. I worked in some of the most male of companies (OK, I never worked for Twitter). I learned, through trial and error, how to communicate in a way that I could be heard (research tells me: not too tough and not too soft); how to ask for a raise (advice books say: use facts, not emotion); and how to raise my hand for the next opportunity (studies show: similarly qualified females raise their hands for the next job far less often than men.)
But, while I was making my way through the ranks, women were moving sideways in corporate America, and backwards in my industry: the number of women in financial services declined by 200,000 over the past decade, while the number of men increased by 237,000. This has been happening at a time when women’s lower risk tolerance, greater client focus and greater long-term orientation are sorely needed by the banks. Oh, and by extension, by the entire economy.
So are we trying to fix the wrong problem?
Smart companies are thinking differently. They are recognizing that the inherent differences among genders and cultures are not things to be fixed, but are instead sources of strength. It is exactly these differences that drive the higher returns, lower volatility and greater innovation that accrue to more diverse companies.
Smart companies will embrace and draw on these differences. They will put in the effort that working with people who can’t “finish each others’ sentences” requires. They will push themselves to advance the people who always show up on their slates and never get the jobs (and, we all know it, most big companies have these perennial "slate-fillers.") They will change their evaluation systems to eliminate “cascading bias,” in which the qualities of the existing (typically white, male) leadership team are reinforced and other types of skills are undervalued.
It won’t happen quickly, and it likely won’t be dramatic. But companies that don’t take this action will increasingly lose out. They’ll lose out to the companies that “get it” and to emerging entrepreneurial opportunities. And they’ll not only lose out on talent, they’ll lose out on innately understanding their full set of customers and their needs.
In the meantime, perhaps my old industry will choose to believe that its under-representation of women employees and the fact that female customers rank it 33 out of 33 of the industries that serve them is all one big, zany coincidence. And besides, as one bank CEO said to me when I recently laid out for him stats on the economic power of women: “But don’t their husbands manage their money?”
Photo: Flickr, Meneda
EMPRESARIO
10 年+55 91 81288817/81690525 estou no Brasil EM BELéM′PA
Business Oriented Transformational Leader
11 年I agree. We are trying to fix the wrong problem. The problem is that business ethics have changed in America. That is why America is not winning globally. Under a guise of teamwork, it is now really every person for themselves. No one is trying to fix problems. They are being selfish. Congressional representatives are just trying to get elected with the next sound bite; Corporate executives are doing the same thing. No one is truly looking out for the customer or business partner. No one is truly looking to solve problems for the greater good!! Like the show, “Scandal”, it depends on how you spin the tale – whether it be earnings, corporate profits, or corporate culture -- rather than the whole ugly truth. No one looks underneath at the true facts. Business ethics has now become an oxymoron. It is now power and politics squared! There needs to be better (and old fashion, perhaps classier) rules of engagement in business with controlled profits, not usury, and honesty and integrity. Fear and greed are now prevalent. Slogans such as: “Show me the money” exemplify really what is going on. Look at other examples in our culture that many find entertaining: shows like “ American Greed”, Donald Trumps’ “Apprentice” where people are fired , and “Shark Tank” where famous people take advantage of entrepreneurs with innovative ideas. This is what America has been reduced to and are finding entertaining!! How have we have reached this lowest common denominator in our culture rather than reaching for the stars! Nero, Be aware, Rome is truly burning!!! This is what we are showing as examples of corporate gamesmanship to our young people! How horrible! We have witnessed in the financial crisis, where middle America was decimated or even eviscerated and corporate executives were paid handsomely to sell the rest of America down the proverbial tubes. Middle management lost their jobs (and sometimes their houses), never to recover. Corporate executives stayed in their jobs for the most part, if they followed the status quo, did not rock the boat, kept their corporate sponsors, and toted the party line - that is, they did not attempt to correct the errors prevalent like the derivatives market, mortgage backed securities, and the like, -- they did not attempt to integrate, improve, and innovate . Notice, I said nothing about their real job performance! In this world, it has become who you know not what you know. In other words, executives turn a blind eye and do not look at details even when it was brought to their attention. But, they merely find a way to blame the other guy. As an idealist, though my persistence and perseverance are only matched by my hope in the future, that the next generation will do better and that great companies will win, and rise above these challenges and succeed!! Let’s bring that hope to fruition!! Given that that the female workforce represents 51% of the population, there should be many more women in the C- suite positions. Why not 50%? It has been proven that women are extremely well-qualified. They are now more educated than their male counterparts, and are better at socialization skills, problem solving, focused on customer relationships, and process improvement, whereas men usually are more succinct and get to the bottom line. Each have executive presence. Women just need more opportunities to foster more executive corporate sponsors inside and outside their enterprises and have more opportunities to lead the important global programs/projects within their companies. We can only hope that women (and men) will do better than those who got us into this mess. We can only hope that women’s skills, talent, and experience will be recognized and rewarded fairly and on par with men’s.
North America Sr. Technical services Manager at Monster Energy
11 年Level 2 in the maturity continuum: https://ceobusinesscoaching.com/2010/11/maturity-continuum-7-habits-article-5/
I help individuals and teams reach their full potential.Communications Coach, Trainer and Consultant
11 年Great article. It will be interesting to total up the male and female "likes" and comments .
Film and Television writer and producer
11 年The article ignores the fact that there are more single women out there than ever before. They are highly educated and independent. They know what they want and how to get it. Progressive companies, who market to all demographics, are the ones who succeed. Those who limit themselves to the 18-35 year old males are doomed to fail.