August 29, 2011
Meaning: You’ve heard the term “the glass ceiling,” a metaphor for an invisible barrier that exists between competent women and their documented lower percentage presence at the top of organizations. The “glass wall” is similar: it’s the invisible barrier between women in staff leadership roles and their lower percentage numbers in significant line or P&L leadership roles. The glass wall takes away the very opportunity to be promoted to the top! In a Forum on Women and Leadership, sponsored earlier this year by The Wall Street Journal, new research from McKinsey & Co, shows that “Qualified women actually enter the work force in sufficient numbers, but they begin to plateau or drop off when they are eligible for their very first management positions. And it only gets worse after that.” One of the ways we can counter this distressing trend is to help women broaden their experience and raise their hands for new opportunities.
Ideas for Action: If you’re a leader and a woman or if you manage women who lead, you can help address this talent shortfall by proactively working to ensure that women in your workplace receive ample development opportunities. This is not just about being ready to move up within one area, it is equally about breadth of experience. One of my clients told me a story about her manager asking her to consider a move from her HR role to a line role. Her first response was, “Am I not performing well in this job?”
Helping women gain the breadth of experience that can set them apart for promotion is increasingly smart business, and indicative of a well-run company. As recent research studies indicate, when women are in an organization’s senior leadership team, the company is likely to be more profitable, have a higher share price and have more innovative research and development capabilities. The June 2011 issue of Harvard Business Review summarized research indicating a team’s collective intelligence rises when more women are included. The same holds true for boards of directors.
My colleague Nancy Weidenfeller recently researched what it takes for women to achieve senior leadership roles. Her work was based on interviews she conducted with 12 disparate and highly successful female enterprise leaders. According to Nancy, the five most vital recommendations for women seeking to shatter the glass wall:
- Seek out and gain profit/loss experience – This was the single most important leadership development recommendation. Women should proactively pursue visible and impactful profit/loss responsibility.
- Consistently expect and exceed high performance – Perform exceptionally in your current role to be in position to assume additional roles and responsibilities.
- Develop your self-awareness and authenticity – Focus on aligning your inner values and outward behaviors and track your personal strengths and development opportunities.
- Build cooperative relationships – Establish and leverage a “connect-and-collaborate” leadership style with peers, direct reports and your supervisors.
- Become resilient and adaptable – Learn how to become the “keeper of your own boundaries,” set priorities, model a balanced life and find supportive partners.
These five tips are actually applicable for all leaders, regardless of gender. However, by specifically practicing these, women in particular will more likely position themselves to advance their careers. Go for it!
Best regards,
Sandra Davis, CEO