Tales from a Blooming Ghost Orchid: Tips for Cultivating Women Leaders

I have been a passionate, vocal and life-long believer in gender equality.  The importance of it is one of a number of socially-driven charges I made in a recent declaration for the profession of landscape architecture, published in this month’s Landscape Architecture Magazine and awaiting verbal presentation at the upcoming Landscape Architecture Foundation’s Summit on Landscape Architecture.

Recently, we lost the first woman architect to receive the Pritzker Prize, we witnessed an epic new artistic endeavor that tackles both race and gender, “Lemonade” and we watched as our first potential major-party female presidential nominee inched closer to that milestone. The simultaneity of these events has made the rarity of visible female leadership in in our culture even more front of mind for me than usual.

At the same time, I have been lecturing at schools of design and planning across the country.  I am always amazed at the reliable stream of women who come up to visit after the talk. Inevitably, they look at me with heartbreakingly earnest and inquisitive stares, and say something like “It’s so great to see a woman speaker” or “It is so rare to hear from women leaders in our profession”.  I am always flattered and thrilled, but also, honestly, strangely self-conscious. My presence is regarded as one would notice a shooting star or a wild blooming ghost orchid – like some sort of magic, fleeting and rare sight. How is this still the case in 2016?

Two years ago, I participated in a panel on women in leadership with an amazing array of landscape architects from across the country. I used that opportunity to summarize three pieces of advice to firms, leaders and aspiring leaders interested in nurturing and retaining talent, and, in particular, the female kind.  In honor of Zaha, Beyonce and Hillary – and all of the women who are struggling to stay and excel in the allied design professions – I decided to put my advice in writing.

In full disclosure, much of “my advice” is really just my lessons learned from practical application of Sylvia Anne Hewlett and the Center for Talent and Innovation’s brilliant work here, here and here. If you care about these issues, read them, seriously.

#1 -Harness Ambition

People are motivated by different things. Though generalizations about gender can quickly lead to many non-productive threads (insert any number of clichés here about women liking softer design forms or being better communicators here), there are empirical studies that show fundamental  differences between men and women when it comes to relative priorities and values. Women are more likely to prioritize work that contributes to a “greater good” and quality of working networks and relationships over title and financial reward, for instance.

Now, before you go thinking I am making a case here for the perpetuation of the pay gap, think again! Equal pay and representative leadership are the baseline for both a just society and 21st century business success! 

Sea Change: a research initiative led by young professionals at Sasaki

What I am arguing for is the creation of platforms to harness ambition and allow for a greater diversity of contribution. At my firm, Sasaki, this has meant a number of changes in the last decade. We have embraced teaching and other academic connections as an important part of our business model. We have created internal programs that support research and thought leadership. We support pro-bono and charitable teams and activities. We have forums for internal networking (called bite-sized talks) and constructive critique (bi-weekly pin-ups). Practices seeking to increase diversity of leadership need to reject one-size-fits-all definitions and move toward diverse platforms for leadership.  This is good for women, and actually, everyone.

#2 - Take the Long and Flexible View

The conversation of gender equity in the workplace often quickly becomes about the challenges of family. I want to be clear that family certainly is a challenge for many, but it’s not the only reason women fail to achieve at the highest levels or opt out. To place all of the emphasis on the discussion of family and work/life balance fundamentally misses the profoundness of subtle exclusion.

Disclaimer aside, the confluence of starting a family and nurturing a career does pose significant challenges to the retention of talent. This is particularly true in today’s society, where the age of first-time parents is increasing and often corresponding to moments of career-defining  opportunity (what Hewlett calls “the make-or-break years” of the mid-thirties.  Though falling more squarely on both parents these days, the challenge is still often disproportionately on the mother (just look, for example, at the biases that are still driving leave policies).

This issue itself could drive an entire essay, but I’ll keep it simple by suggesting two critical ideas for retention of working parents. First, we must take the long view. Too often, performance evaluation and management systems are based on relatively short periods of time, like annual reviews or monthly staffing.  This puts us in a mindset of short-term returns on our investment of talent. Careers, however, are life-long investments. Companies that want to innovate and retain talent need to take a longer view, understanding that a little extra investment in talent today (in more flexible hours, more financial support, and more empathetic understanding) means a much greater return in the long-run (in loyalty, retention, and quality). 

Second, we need to create flexible systems that enable contribution and engagement.  For some, this means the ability to create and drive their own work schedule. For others, this means more proactive and creative decision-making around things like burdensome but sometimes necessary work travel. And yet others may seek opportunities to work remotely. For companies wanting to retain talent, these creative and flexible work arrangements are key. Paramount to their success is the need for better, open and honest communication systems, universal and fair application of policies and the persistent de-stigmatization of their use. 

#3 - Commit to Sponsorship

Everybody loves a good mentor. A mentor’s great advice and constant ear, however, are not nearly enough to truly help propel a career forward. That’s the role of what Hewlitt and team call “sponsors”. Where a mentor is a passive advisor, a sponsor is an active advocate that uses his or her power in service of their successor. When I look back at my own career, I can see all of the sponsors that helped me to achieve. They were not just witnesses. They were as committed to my success as I was. They fought for me. They created opportunity. They told me how things really work – and let me know, directly but with care, when I erred or missed the mark. 

So, why doesn’t this happen more? And why aren’t more women being sponsored? Sponsorship – particularly between an older man and younger women - has many inherent challenges that limit its “natural” occurrence in the workplace, including fear of impropriety and subtle exclusion / like-mindedness.  

Regardless, what I like about this notion of “sponsorship” is that it gives us a clear roadmap for how existing leadership can play a role in cultivation of a diverse next generation of leaders. Too often, all of the responsibility for change – even well-intentioned and very useful things like taking public speaking workshops or participating in leadership training – falls on the one climbing rather than the ones already solidly at the top. The idea of sponsorship places equal responsibility on existing leadership to be proactive, to be more self-aware, and to challenge traditional and easier paths. 

These are three ideas I have found valuable to think about and understand as someone trying to best cultivate and nurture the incredible talent - both male and female - in my own life and practice. These lessons are certainly not all of the best advice out there, but I figured it was useful to share and do hope others will provide their thoughts and ideas as well!  Together, we can lead a conversation that can help build a more inclusive and innovative path forward.