The (Measurable) Power of Your Female Talent

Earlier this year, I was honored to contribute to the July-August issue of HR Today, devoted to Women in Leadership, with a piece focused on the tangibly positive impact companies tend to see when they decide to invest in developing their female talent and in allowing them to blossom and reach the highest levels of leadership.? If you are not yet subscribed, I encourage you to consider it! You can do it here .

This is a subject I am very passionate about. My career has been all the better because I was exposed to some outstanding female leaders that helped me shape it and improve. My point is not that every female leader is, by virtue of being one, great and outstanding. Rather, I want to shine a light on the fact that, once they surmount the significant societal hurdles they face (to which I am sensitive, as the father of two brilliant daughters), their many strengths allow them to make disproportionate contributions to company performance.

It is important to continue raising awareness and focusing on the need to continue creating opportunities for female leaders to contribute their many special and considerable talents to their organizations. With this in mind, I chose to reproduce the content here. This is why I share this content here.

Dear reader, I hope not only that you enjoy this article, but that you also become a champion for the cause and help continue to find ways to benefit your team, your company, and even your career, by tapping into that talent pool and creating conditions for them to thrive.

The Power of Female Leadership and Its Measurable Impact

Over my career of 30-plus years, I worked with many remarkable individuals. Some were my bosses, others were peers or team members. Each offered unique lessons. But those who stand out the most are the exceptional female leaders I had the fortune of crossing paths with. It is from them that I learned the most.?

Women are often criticized for being too assertive (“competent but difficult”) or not assertive enough (“nice” but weak). But this “double bind” (first described in 1956 by Bateson, Jackson, et. al.) notwithstanding, these female leaders not only survived but thrived, reaching the highest echelons of management, and leading successful personal lives.?

The common traits they all exhibited to get there (resilience, perseverance, emotional intelligence, tenacity and a healthy dissatisfaction with the status-quo) allowed them to make contributions commonly observed in companies with women in their highest leadership ranks.?

Female leaders tend to have a profound effect on the executive team’s strategic thinking, positive effects in staff supervision and performance measurement, and better leverage of talent across a wider, more diverse base, as well as a larger bias to internal innovation, creating a wider path for value creation.

The Effects

Research consistently shows better financial outcomes for companies with higher gender diversity, particularly in leadership roles. A survey of nearly 22,000 firms globally found that increasing the proportion of women in C-suite jobs and board seats from 0 to 30% can create a 100-basis point improvement in net margin. Another study on retail found that more power wielded by female executives resulted in improved operating performance, and a McKinsey report found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 25% more likely to have above-average profitability.

These studies focused more on the effects than on their cause, but they offer hypotheses such as increased effectiveness in monitoring performance and higher attractiveness to talent from less gender discrimination, on top of the personal observations I made above.

“My personal experience is that women bring different perspectives and different ways of addressing conflicts and problems, and this in itself is an enormous value, even more so in an unstable and conflictual context like today's,” said Maria Letizia Mariani, Executive & Non Executive Board member, formerly Chief Commercial Officer and Board Member at Signify, and added, “very often the quality is higher because for a woman there are many more obstacles to overcome.”

Diverse teams bring diverse perspectives. When women are included in decision-making processes, companies benefit from a wider range of ideas and solutions. This leads to more innovative products and services that cater to a broader audience.?

Post, Lokshin and Boone analyzed over 13 years of data on about 160 enterprises. They uncovered a substantive impact in the strategic decision-making process: firms with a higher proportion of female leaders exhibited an approach to innovation more compatible with “building” vs. “buying” knowledge (i.e., more internal R&D vs. M&A, typically seen as a more aggressive “masculine” approach).?

They also found that more female executives produced teams reflecting their desire to challenge the status quo. And, as a side note, there is more value to be found in more diversity: other studies hypothesize that these findings probably apply to other underrepresented groups as well (i.e., racial, ethnic, and other minorities).

Things You Can Do

• Systematically encourage organic growth of female talent getting to the C-Suite. McKinsey & Co. points to this “broken rung” as more of an obstacle than the “glass ceiling.” Noland and Moran’s research suggests that helping women grow earlier in their careers is where the real gold is, beyond only bringing in more female leaders to the board (but also that more women board members tend to be associated with more women leaders getting to the C-suite).?
• Foster focused education for female talent. Post et. al. 's study found educational patterns behind successful women leaders, like higher math scores, and higher prevalence of concentration in management disciplines. Offering workshops on negotiation, leadership, and technical competencies might empower female career advancement. Leadership training programs specifically designed for women can also help prepare them for senior positions.
• Evaluate implementing formal parental leave policies (including paternal) and child support. This helps create an environment that helps women thrive both professionally and personally.
• Establish Solid Mentorship and Sponsorship Programs. This is important to provide budding female leaders with guidance, support, and opportunities for career advancement. It helps them navigate organizational dynamics and develop essential skills.
• Consider Employee Resource Groups. ERGs provide a supportive network for women to connect, share experiences, and support each other’s professional growth.
• Visibly encourage and enforce a discrimination-free workplace. Leaders play a pivotal role in setting the tone, encouraging the entire organization to follow suit. Post et al. also found that inclusive cultures positively correlate to stronger firm performance.

Are We There Yet?

We are closer, but nowhere near where we need to be. I say this not only as the father of two daughters: according to 2023 statistics, women are roughly 47% of the U.S. workforce but just 29% of the senior leadership roles, with tech and finance particularly notorious for pronounced gender gaps. Plus, they frequently earn less than their male counterparts.?

The case for further developing female talent in organizations is incontrovertible, but further progress is needed. “An incapable man is accepted much more easily, it is statistically possible and expected,” said Mariani, adding: “An incompetent woman is immediately identified, accused of having exploited the attention given to diversity.”?

I enjoyed my corporate career immensely, in no small measure thanks to the female leaders I had the opportunity to learn so much from, not only technically, but more so about the attitude, focus and mindset necessary for anyone to progress their careers. Regardless of “how far, how high” I might have gotten, I would not have made it without everything I learned from those talented female leaders that took me in, made a bet on me, and taught me so much.?

Growing female talent isn't just a moral imperative; it's a business one. The benefits are clear—from enhanced innovation to employee engagement and improved financial performance.

Interested in Coaching?

If you are a female leader looking to amplify your impact, or a leader committed to championing the development of female talent in your organization, Coaching could help you unlock the significant power of your strengths to achieve (or propel female members of your team to reach) new levels of personal growth and organizational success.

For women striving to realize their full potential, coaching provides a powerful platform to navigate and overcome the unique challenges they face. It helps in harnessing your resilience, emotional intelligence, and tenacity, traits common to successful female leaders. Personalized executive coaching can help you refine these skills, build confidence, and create a clear path to your leadership goals.

If you’re an ally or leader dedicated to fostering female talent within your team, coaching can benefit you as you define and implement effective strategies to support and elevate your female colleagues. You will be able to gain new perspectives, identify and deploy best practices, and create a more inclusive environment that encourages organic growth and development. Coaching is also helpful to equip you to spot and address biases, and think about things like mentorship programs, and policies that can benefit everyone.

Coaching can provide tailored support that will allow you to drive meaningful change and achieve measurable success, regardless of whether you are looking to advance your career or enhance your team’s capabilities (which will make your career accelerate, anyway!). Coaching is a tool to unlock potential, and ensure that all voices are heard and valued.

So, if you are interested, let’s hop on a brief complementary discovery call, to discuss how Coaching can help you attain your goals and allow you to manage with more ease and intentionality.?

Book a call here!