Women & LeadershipWorking the levers of success

INSIGHTS FROM YSC INDIA

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Working the levers of success

In the recent times, we have seen unprecedented dialog across the globe on gender equality. In this dynamically changing world there has been a new wave where women, more than ever before, are beginning to rewrite their scripts and are competing with men on an even keel. They no longer believe that they are living in a ‘man’s world’, but that it is an equal one - with a growing number of men who are also supportive of this view. Thus it appears that the socio-cultural fabric is shifting; at a psychological level women are far more confident and are experiencing a different ethos in most quarters, eroding age-old stereotypes. This is truly a great time to celebrate and accelerate their growth journey!

by Smita Naidu, Mellissa Ferrier & Benaifar Nagwaswalla

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In the world of work, similar shifts have been visible, yet the favour still seems to lie more with the male leader. This can be viewed in the existing affirmative action, gender-biased policies as well as sympathy-based approaches that serve to propagate the male view-point of the “weaker sex”. Recently, YSC India organised a Women’s Leadership Roundtable event with the objective of identifying key challenges, needs and processes that are relevant and would enable organizations to inclusively build successful women leadership talent. The objective of this note is to share some of those insights and to also initiate a deeper organizational dialog on this subject. The questions that have kept us thinking the most are – In Organizations, is it about filling up seats? Are we truly creating the right people to fill up those seats? and, How can we achieve this in a meaningful and balanced way?

1. Breaking Barriers:Challenging assumptions, socialized frames that have held women back and recognizing the need to step out of these mental barriers to forge their own path.

The Rubicons which women must cross, the sex barriers which they must breach, are ultimately those that exist in their own minds. – Freda Adler (criminologist and educator)

If you went through a list of top CEOs in India or globally, you would find that less than 5% of them are women. Is it possible that women even in this century are following a ‘life script’ at a subconscious level? And does this act as an active deterrent to pursuing leadership? There is some truth in saying that for many women, the primary role model is still male. Evolutionary perspectives suggest that women are inherently the primary care-givers and nurturers. Hence,

women’s characteristics imply far greater co-dependency and collaborative styles, which are significantly different from being alpha-male or hunter or warrior like. And while humans have evolved in many senses, our brains are still pre-historic and are trying to catch up with significant changes at all levels. An Eastern ethos which holds true in the Indian context is the socialization process which entrenches the acceptance of hierarchy as a cultural phenomenon; this leads to hesitancy around crossing lines at a subconscious level. In India, women are socialised differently from men, hence women who use opportunities for networking risk raised eyebrows and loss of status, especially when connecting with male colleagues. At a psychological level, it creates a tug-of-war between societal role expectations of being a mother or wife and the desire to break away from this norm, impacting a woman’s self-image. Consequently, many women experience guilt over making career related choices and some may prefer to operate within socially acceptable boundaries. At a fundamental level, the question that polarizes women is what comes first - me or others? And a step further, my partner and family or my career? Those who have chosen to ‘bite the bullet’, experience satisfaction in one of these domains – which in some ways leads to acceptance in the other. Thus, foremost, for women it is more an issue of ‘will’ before it is that of ‘skill’.

Some tips on what will bring equity between men and women and break societal and mental barriers:

• Make a choice. Women are inherently seen as multi-taskers; this often puts a heavy load on them especially when they need to juggle priorities between work and family. It is probably time for women to make choices and be ready to switch off the guilt stemming from not being able to do ‘justice’ to both.

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“ “• Take the ‘blinkers’ off. Women need to

get free from the self-fulfilling prophecy of seeing themselves as second class citizens. Many women live their own assumptions - one of them is that to succeed, they need to work extra hard since they are already disadvantaged in a man’s world. Additionally, the socialized mindset makes many men think that women don’t want to take on leadership positions and hence don’t invest in their grooming for future readiness. For instance, they assume that women may not travel to a tier 2 or 3 city, or be keen to relocate due to mobility issues related to family obligations. It is time men and women start believing and living a different reality!

• Don’t be insular – move out! Women need to look beyond the parapet by stepping out of their comfort zone to expand their horizons. Taking a backseat approach and hiding behind family duties only serves to rationalize what they might need to do for themselves in order to develop and grow. Reaching out, proactively building connections, taking on challenging roles etc. will not only help them gain and access more tacit knowledge that others carry, but also increase their worldview and enable them to be more visible.

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2.Impact Through Uniqueness: To create impact women need to create their own recipe of success than emulate what exists.

Gender does not matter. To get to any position what counts are your achievements. – Abanti Sankaranarayanan (MD, Diageo – India)

Due to the constantly evolving understanding of leadership, there has come a point where the hierarchical, directive and hence, typically male leadership style is no longer relevant. Contemporary leadership demands a style that balances edge with empathy. It demands being authentic, painting a vision with clear outcomes as well as inspiring and supporting people. This in turn, conjures an image of a male-female leader who stands for discipline and accountability but who also enrols people via meaning and purpose, who nurtures to enable success and can be vulnerable yet leverages the strength of the team.

The key question is, What does it take for a woman to succeed and create impact across levels? Is it the same as for men? The answer certainly does not lie in women becoming more like men. In fact, many women who have donned male traits have often failed because they are perceived as trying too hard to be someone else. Instead, women are known to have a better developed ability to intuit i.e. to ‘feel and sense’ strongly, multi-task and see multiple dimensions yet put things in objective perspective. All of this enables them to manage complexity via synthesis and complements gaps. Thus by trying to be like their male counterparts, women miss the real opportunity to bring their side of the strengths to the fore.

Women can benefit from defining their personal leadership philosophy as well as being comfortable and confident about the same by:

• Being YOU. Learning to be comfortable in their skin will allow women to value their signature strengths. Women need to demonstrate the attributes that make them unique. They should be conscious of not under utilising or losing the very attributes that makes them who they are – from their collaborative style of functioning to showing empathy. This will truly bring forth the spirit of diversity in the workplace.

• Take a stand. Women leaders will gain better credibility if they challenge stereotypical views of leadership. By being assertive, showing self-belief, and valuing their strengths and convictions creates gravitas. Being bold as a form of self expression and confidently stating their needs along with learning to negotiate to ‘claim their space’ is a skill women need to continue to strengthen.

• Personal branding. Women need to be clear about their personal vision and

should be able to communicate it with confidence. Role modelling collaborative styles of working and creating cohesiveness will help her create a brand of an empathetic and fair leader.

3. Navigation:Knowing ‘where you want to be’ is as important as ‘how to get there’. Being strategic by enhancing their environmental radar and building connections will help women reach their desired goals.

It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from. The ability to triumph begins with you.– Oprah Winfrey

Our findings and insights have led us to believe that being successful is about knowing your true ‘north star’ and allowing that clarity of purpose and direction to guide the choices one makes. What men need to be successful isn’t very different from what

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women need to be successful. Thus, higher levels of self awareness, knowing where I want to be and what that looks like for me, can help women strike an inner balance and keep the momentum going towards the goals they wish to achieve for themselves.

It is important to remember that there are many routes to get there. For women, breaking barriers and exerting personal power goes hand-in-hand with widening the sphere of influence to fast track their careers. While naturally collaborative, they tend to overuse expert power, i.e., rely heavily on their functional or technical capabilities over referent power such as personal charm and charisma. Furthermore, as women see it, their playfield comprises of men and women. They tend to see other women more as a threat than they see men, whom they consider as ‘hurdles’; while with other women there is distrust of intentions. The seeds for some of this lie in how differently men and women compete – men tend to compete for larger good while women get caught up in the need to be first amongst equals. Hence, women carry a higher level of insecurity, compete at a personal level and have triggers for distrust that are far more sensitive than men. Women can miss opportunities to show more empathy to their female colleagues and end up showing apathy instead. This might also be the reason why there are more male mentors for women in the workplace than women mentors.

True value shines through when a woman can reach out to another woman; mentor and support her career progression by sharing success stories and playing a key role in building her future. Thus, whatever the rules within the playfield, developing navigational skills to reach out, connect and being heard and seen is vital; and being a ‘known’ figure certainly helps to de risk.

Tips to navigate effectively:

• Make those connections. Women need to be comfortable with forming connections

more readily. Being guided by their north star, using their natural intuitive sense and sharper environmental radar will help in picking whom to connect with. To take this further, they will need to make a real effort in finding common areas of interest and a shared language that builds connectivity. For instance, when connecting with men or women, making an effort to recognize a person’s interest, drivers and motivations is essential.

• No cat fights! Building an environment of inclusion and nurture goes a long way in creating good leaders. Being more inclusive with other women and competing in a fair manner, respecting each other’s needs are important. A common trait of successful women leaders has been their ability to encourage and be supportive, which brings out their innate nurturing side and allows other women to co-exist.

• Mentoring. Women need to have male as well as female mentors and advocates with large span of influence and organisation visibility. For this, especially more women need to step up and take up formal and informal mentoring roles to release the power of other women.

To conclude, a lot of gender issues in the workplace fundamentally exist and stem from issues outside the workplace. Therefore, to address this at work, the strategy would be to use a holistic approach rather than focusing on the symptoms. The creation of a dynamic and fair ecosystem which allows men and women to draw and gain from each other is the keystone to real transformation and success.

Fixing numbers to create gender balance is passé. YSC believes that we can create true gender equality through identifying and grooming the right talent, be it male or female and supporting them early in their career to enhance their capabilities and also supporting them at different stages for future readiness. We stand for values of authentic leadership and believe organizations should be mindful of getting caught in the quota game which only serves to propagate distinctions but is far from creating real and sustained impact.

So, whether you are a man or a woman, take a moment to think about this –

‘ What are we pretending not to know about our individual and collective experiences that need our support to change? How can you help women best impact the organization and their careers? Is there a difference you are making today – or are you living a script? What is the one script, which if you change, can change your life? What new dialogs can you engage in, at home and at work, that will empower you to live a more powerful life?’

– Business Today Online, October 14, 2012

Smita Naidu and Mellissa Ferrier are Senior Consultants, Benaifar Nagwaswalla is a Client Manager, all based in YSC’s Mumbai office. T: +91 22 6671 9917/8 smita.naidu@ysc.com mellissa.ferrier@ysc.com benaifar.nagwaswalla@ysc.com

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© YSC Ltd. 2013. YSC is the trading name of Young Samuel Chambers (“YSC”) Limited. Registered in England at 50 Floral Street, London, WC2E 9DA. Company Number 2402857

At YSC our mission is to release the power of people. We do this by combining industry leading psychological insight with a thorough understanding of our clients’ business needs. We work with clients across their entire talent lifecycles, including: recruitment, induction, development, the identification of potential, internal selection, role change, measurement and departure. Our key client offerings include 1:1 and team assessment, executive coaching, organisational consulting and the measurement of change.

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