Equalify - about eras and change

A few years back, I was invited to participate in a panel discussion. The talk came under the banner: ”Up-close with 4 powerful female leaders.

When I met with the other participants for a first briefing session, I thought it was interesting to observe, that all of us formed a common front – we came rather armed, and unilaterally stated, that being a woman had nothing to do with us being in the positions we’re in, and being a powerful female leader, was the last label any one of us wanted.

We all came from different functions, we all had different cultural backgrounds, and though we were all very different, we all had partners that had given us unconditional support, and as such, we had been able to manage, work life flexibility.

The whole experience made me realise that the panel discussion had nothing to do with me as a panelist, but all to do with the audience, those young women and men, that are in the beginning of their career, and who will shape what leadership will look like in the future – by that I came to realise my responsibility as a senior female leader.

Because, why should this new generation of women have to endure:

• being surpassed, because you are too insecure to ask,?
• having your handshake rejected, just because you are a woman,?
• that your job application is rejected before having your portfolio reviewed, just because you are a woman,?
• being paid 25% less salary for the exact same job, as your male peer
• being called ‘a girl’ by another woman, who doesn’t think you have the balls,?
• that some women claim – quote unquote “I never wanted to work for a ‘sheboss’”. ?

If I were to introduce myself in layers, I would say that I am Pernilla, I am a designer and I am a wife & a mother – the order of that matters. The fact that I am a woman only really matters in my role as a wife and a mother.?

I grew up in Sweden with a career-oriented father and a very caring mother, both from a farming background, and both born in the early 40s, with traditional values, and while I recognised early on, that I had my empathy & creativity from my mother and my conceptual debating traits from my father, I wanted to be nothing like them.?

I questioned why men was sent to military service by default, when the physical difference within a gender, was bigger, than the difference between genders. ?

I chose a technical direction in high school, because it offered me the best options, and I came to realise that I enjoyed the male/female ratio that came with this education – in other words I realised that I thrived in a male dominant world.?

I eventually found my calling in Design and though the first job was with an organisation that had a good overall gender mix, I was for a period the only female Industrial Designer. When I pointed this out to a senior leader in a casual elevator talk, he responded with the statement that there was also no real racial diversity, which silenced me.?

Only much later I realised that with 50% of the population being female, gender diversity is a pretty good place to start and it doesn’t diminish the importance of all other aspects.

Initially I actually never pursuit a career, I simply loved being a designer, but I also liked change and if you are able to take decisions, with or without others, you are quite easily seen as a potential leader. Seeing my drive, others saw the leadership potential in me and so they became ambitious for me - all before I knew I was interested in leadership.?

I was not surrounded by any relevant inspiring female role models, and as such, I was on a quest to discover what leadership was to me, as a woman. I always consider all of us having both masculine and feminin traits, and particular in design, I found a good proportion of male leaders demonstrating feminin values. I also looked to those leaders that did not represent the type of leader I aspired to, as I believe, that you can learn as much from bad leadership, as you can from that of good leadership.?

As I was preparing for the panel discussion I mentioned earlier, I came across a research on leadership within a very male oriented industry. This research identified four male leadership profiles.?

• The Father, sharing his experiences with the young protégés,?
• the Son, younger leaders seen to grow into their role,?
• the Devoted, showing devotion and engagement for the product and organisational goals,?
• the Feminin – that was seen to have a broader perspective, focus on personal relationships, being soft and humble, flexible and caring. ‘

The latter was connected to modern leadership seen in most companies today, so one could argue that modern leadership is feminin leadership and that it's practiced by both men and women.

When I shared this insight with a few other senior female leaders, I got quite some upset comments. Some expressed a strong rejection to the definition of female leadership being associated to words like humble, flexible and caring. They apparently stronger associated with the 3rd profile “The Devoted Leader”.?Clearly their responses are a reflection of their time and place. Maybe the ‘feminin’ leaders of our generation were mostly men, because women with this profile, would simply not have made the?most senior ranks? And could it be, that it is our masculine traits, that brought us to this level of seniority?

If it is one thing this group of female senior leaders have agreed on, it’s the fact that it is harder to be a designer in a senior business position, than it is to be a woman - Which says a lot!

I always considered the women before me having more masculine traits, than most men. Their fight has been so much harder, and today, I am so grateful, for the progress they made. Without them, my journey, would have been so much tougher.

A few years back, I met another female design leader, my senior, who had been heading design at a large corporate organisation, and been a board member in a time when it was rare to see women in the board room, but even more rare, to be a designer there. During our conversation, she pointed out ‘how women today wanted to be accepted at the board, wearing a flowery dress’ like it was something unheard of. – Why wouldn’t you be able to be a board member wearing a flowery dress? Regardless of pronoun!

I decided early on to be a woman that supports other women, and as you should not treat people the same, you should not treat women and men the same, because we are after all different people.

I am a big fan of Daniel Ofman, who proclaims that there are no difficult people, just differences, and people in general are more different, than the separation of the gender. This is why books, like “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” have done such harm. Thanks to Neuroscience, we now know, that our brains are the same. Women are not made to multi-task, nor do men need to feel bad, that they are not good at it.

According to research there is a bigger difference in height between men and women (8% delta) then there is in how we think (3% delta). Something I, being 6 feet tall, can relate to.?

We also know, that the brain, has high plasticity, and though hard to change, it’s not hard-wired. In fact, it’s able to be re-programmed. Which brings great hope, for the future.

The scene today, is very different. I have woken up to some amazing female role models in design, and though many of us are not perfect, the next generation of leaders, will stand a so much better chance. Remember to learn, as much from our strengths, as form our flaws. Be critical, and optimistic, and drive the so needed exponential change, and remember, that past behaviour, is not the norm for the future.

Good Design Leadership, is at its core, about putting people in the center of what we do, not products and applications, and I see how women thrive in this new complex world of design. Design at all levels and across all disciplines are all about craft and leadership, as it all about facilitating decision making towards a different future.?

I get so encouraged, when I see young women claiming their voice – finding their authentic and genuine leadership. Eg. WaveMakers.io , which is a Berlin based start-up helping people discover the leader within, by guiding people to influence at all levels, because they believe, that leadership is not a job title, and that everyone has the power to lead in their own unique way. They want to shake out the outdated masculine leadership image.?

Based on my personal experience, there is a strong conformity of leadership styles as you grow in seniority - diversity is filtered out the higher up the ladder you get. In an article, written by one of the Wavemakers, the lack of diversity in the leadership ranks at corporate offices, are not inspiring, and it is not in line with what they see in the world around them.

“Hold Women back, keep treating them like men”, is a Harvard Business Review article, that could just as well say “Hold diversity back, keep treating everyone the same”. The article claims that there was good reasons to push sameness in the past – as equal treatment is better than worse treatment – but today we have more options, and we need to recognise that there are differences between people, woman and men, when it comes to career cycles, communication styles, and even attitudes to power.

Let’s stay true to ourselves and lead with authenticity and genuinity at all levels.