That's what they say…but business is being done a new way. Massive technological connectivity and access to tidal waves of information is causing a shift in society, workers attitudes and how business is done.
Rapid changes in technology are causing disruption in the way corporations do
business. Communication is now digital. Products are now digital. Marketing and
delivery of product and services must be done in a different way.
Added to that, the evolution of global business environments has significantly
increased competition and stress on the traditional corporation.
One other important shift is that now the "knowledge worker" (skilled and
experienced) is now becoming the most valuable asset of the corporation versus
capital equipment and they are leaving corporations by the thousands.
So what is a corporation to do? Find and retain the best people.
I believe a new, better corporate structure is evolving and it will take women of
ability paired with men of ability to make it the best and most profitable business.
However, few women make it to the top management positions.
This is where many women's development programs have failed. They simply
addressed the soft skills of mindset and confidence for women.
The truth is that successful business is led by people of experience with specific
business skills AND the right mindset.
This is why we must develop women managers further through learning
experiences, coaching and training that insure the results a corporation needs to
obtain highly skilled women leaders.
Here are some reasons why we need more women as leaders in business:
Women, on average, are terrific communicators and tend to be better at it than
men. It's the information age and it's highly competitive. This means companies
will need more skilled communicators involved in all aspects of business where
good, clear communication is critical to generate revenue, control expense, manage
top talent and build a loyal customer base.
Global business will require expanding business networks. Women are natural
networkers.
Diverse viewpoints can result in better, more creative solutions to business
issues. Both women and men are needed to address business issues effectively.
Keeping a talented knowledge worker will require relationship strategies.
Women instinctively care about building relationships which is why they tend to
gravitate toward jobs where building relationships is a major component such as
Marketing or HR.
Increased competition will require the resources of creative thinkers to develop
new products and services that meet the needs and desires of the marketplace. The
talent pool of creative leaders is doubled when more women leaders are available.
Rapid change in technologies requires more flexibility. Women have extensive
multi-tasking abilities as evidenced by women who manage business and families at
the same time.
Half of the workers available today are women. Women in leadership roles can
act as mentors to develop other potential women leaders just as executive men have
done for years.
With all this said, women are still not reaching top levels in management. There are
several reasons for this.
Part of the reason is societal in that women were often not included in business
conversations as they were growing up so they did not have the opportunity to
learn. Part is that the corporate structure was invented by men for the way men
think and work. Part is that women are still the primary managers of the family and
cannot always dedicate all their time to the company.
In a recent survey conducted by Womencorp, there were some striking differences
between what men believed and what women believed about the "why" women are
not succeeding as corporate business leaders.
Of the female respondents, 68.3% believe that lack of flexible options for work is
holding women back. 51.7% believe that lack of confidence is also a contributing
factor. 45% believe that women aren't given a chance because men stick together.
This was what one woman had to say about that subject:
"This is a very complex issue. What I have found, after seven years at {a major
corporation}, is that men seem to internally denigrate qualified technical women
(perhaps because of jealousy). They do form cliques and do not wish to 'include'
women in their cliques. They are group-oriented, no doubt. They will hang with
other guys, just because they are guys. There are individual males who
communicate well with women, but they are few. Despite years of emphasis on
including women, promoting women, and hiring women, I feel that the disparity of
women in the business world is growing, not shrinking. Still, both men and women
do not seem to 'get it'. I wish I had something more positive and constructive to
give, but I do not."
On the other hand, 53.7% of men believe that lack of flexible options is holding
women back. 32.3% said they feel the glass ceiling is still firmly in place and just
17.9% believe that women lack confidence.
Perhaps men don't realize women lack confidence, whereas women know how they
feel. This mindset can be altered with a proper development program for both
women managers and men who manage women.
This comment from one male participant is noteworthy:
"Capable women are often unfairly fast tracked early in their career to positions
that may demand experience to be successful over a prolonged period. Found
wanting, they are then niched in dead-end executive roles. Rather like moving a ball
player to the majors too quickly because of their native talent. Their "rookie"
mistakes occur with too much exposure and can prove fatal."
But what difference does it make as to why few women have achieved top leadership
roles in business? The reason to know why is because we can then use this
information to develop solutions.
The bottom line is that more women need to be in leadership roles for many
reasons including the 7 listed above. The challenge is to find new ways to enable
them to succeed at top levels.
For both men and women respondents, they seem to feel that coaching, mentoring
and multi-day workshops are quite important to help develop women leaders to
their fullest potential.
The Womencorp Team agrees and is working to make a difference for women in
business. Would you like to help? Just take a moment to fill in this quick 30 second
survey:
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