It's Harder for Women CEOs!

I run “think tanks” consisting of top-notch CEOs and key executives in Manhattan for Vistage International—the world’s largest CEO coaching and peer advisory organization for small and midsize business leaders. A Vistage peer advisory group comprises 16 other CEOs or local business owners. It’s like having a confidential, private advisory board to troubleshoot problems, vet ideas, and identify blind spots.

As a CEO, you are in the business of making decisions, and it’s the outcome of those decisions that define your success. A Vistage group gives you the perspective you need to make better decisions.

The journey to true leadership isn’t easy. Like climbing Denali, K2, or Everest, it’s the challenge of a lifetime. It’s for those with enough grit and commitment to do what only a few can do.

And it is even more challenging for women.

Being a female CEO has its unique set of challenges, and while I cannot speak to those lived realities, I know about them because about 15% of the CEOs I work with are female: Susan White Morrissey Judy Paul , Christine Courtney Beth Ward , Nisha Balwani , Patricia Dahl

As a Vistage speaker, I ask CEOs to anonymously write down the questions and concerns they are too afraid to say out loud on a card. Here’s a sample of what they wrote:

I’m never satisfied.

I’m not the kind of parent I want to be.

I don’t feel worthy or smart enough and it holds me back from my full potential.

I'm afraid of failing or disappointing everyone in my life.

?I’m afraid I can’t have kids.

I feel lonely all the time.

??Failure, even small, is unthinkable.

Having the right work-life balance…being there when my family needs me.

No matter what I do, I don’t feel like it’s enough. No accomplishment seems to satisfy me.

I don’t know if I’m the best person to lead my company

Out of the dozens of responses I received, these are the ones from female CEOs. Their concerns show the additional burden women face.

While each CEO’s journey up the mountain is their own…They don’t have to do it alone. In the past ten years, our group has helped twelve members successfully exit their business—25% were women CEOs: Jill Vitiello , Sheril Feldman , Gerry Kelly

I asked the women CEOs in my group what benefit they get from being in a group of mostly men.

“It’s helpful to have support in such a male-dominated industry…and it’s nice to have the male experience.”

“I value being in a group of mostly men because I feel that just by being who I am, I can bring value to the group.”??

“I feel safe in the group, which is essential given that in many industries, women often have to work harder than men to prove their competency and legitimacy.”

After coaching 100,000+ CEOs for over 60 years, Vistage has identified a proven approach for making better decisions and getting better results for your business. ?

But we need more women CEOs.?

As reported by Forbes, “In?the highest ranks of corporate America, there are seven times as many male executive officers as female executive officers; and, at the CEO level, men outnumber women by almost 17 to one.” While only 15% of CEOs at Fortune 500 companies are female, this number has grown significantly over the past twenty years.

I’ve witnessed firsthand the range and excellence of female leadership and their unique and essential contributions to the think tanks I lead. Diversity makes businesses better. The research proves it, and with forty years of experience, I’ve found it to be true 100% of the time.

A 2019 analysis by McKinsey & Company, a well-known global management consulting firm, found that “companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25 percent more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile. Moreover, we found that the greater the representation, the higher the likelihood of outperformance. Companies with more than 30 percent women executives were more likely to outperform companies where this percentage ranged from 10 to 30.”

This echoes a 2018 HBR report analyzing the venture capitalist industry that found, “diversity significantly improves financial performance on measures such as profitable investments at the individual portfolio-company level and overall fund returns.”

In my many years in the business world and with C-suite leadership, I can attest to the tremendous benefits of diversity and how far-ranging those benefits are: financial, organizational, and ethical.

My mission is to grow leaders and share my experience and philosophy of lifelong learning with those I work with. I firmly believe that a strong peer support group that provides unbiased feedback can help leaders make great decisions that benefit their organizations, families, and communities. And I know the best feedback and most powerful insights come from the most diverse groups.

If you're curious about Vistage, please join us on September 23 for a free online event.