‘Women in leadership' continues to be an important topic for CEOs, HR managers and women themselves. Why do companies recruit a balance of men and women into junior jobs and yet, by the time people move up the leadership tree, fewer and fewer women make it to the top?

Not just a matter of fairness - it makes good business sense to retain and promote the best talent, irrespective of gender. Functionally the picture is even more unbalanced, with higher percentages of women in human resources and marketing than in finance or operations. Industries too show an imbalance with more women in retail or nursing leadership roles and less in construction or banking.
Remember how far we have come from the 1950s notion that women got married, had children and stayed home. But we still have a long way to go to ensure the best talent makes it into leadership positions.

So what's wrong with women?

Women do not have a problem developing an effective leadership style. Both the public and private sectors have many top flight women leaders but what they struggle with more than men is claiming the authority to lead. Women have fewer role models that demonstrate how to lead in a style they can relate to and, while the stereotypical leader is male it compounds the problem.
Social psychology research shows women tend to have lower expectations than men. Where a man might say: ‘I deserve that leadership position' a woman is more likely to think: ‘Am I good enough?'

Women also say they do not like what they see higher up the organisation and that it takes too much energy to compete against their male peers. This factor may have contributed to the increase of female entrepreneurs who have exited the corporate rat race to develop their own successful businesses. Female entrepreneurs are getting younger because they are making the decision to exit sooner.

Leadership development for women

Behavioural expectations suggest women should be ‘nicer' than men and women can find entering a stereotypically masculine environment difficult. How to get what they want? Some women fade against their male peers, while others become so authoritative that their style becomes aggressive. Some say they feel aggressive when compared to other women and so check their own behaviour. Authority, power and assertiveness are key areas for women leaders to understand and use competently.

We all have a way we like to think of ourselves behaving - and for many women, what they have traditionally seen from male leaders does not seem to fit. Women need to become more aware of these gender issues so they can reposition their behaviour to develop a style that feels right and delivers effective leadership.

Women leaders also need to develop their social networks inside and outside the organisation. These provide excellent sources of information and ensure the female leader is as well plugged into the political agenda, and has access to resources, as her male counterparts.

The good news for women seeking leadership roles is that traditional ‘command and control' leadership is becoming redundant because the business world is too complex and dynamic for one person to have all the answers. The newly emerging style is more ‘influential'. Predicated on effective relationships - and plenty of them - this is an area where women naturally score because they know intuitively how to get things done through others.

Actions for companies

Companies must increase the transparency of their leadership training and development programmes, resources, and other opportunities women can explore if they are interested. The trend towards placing extra emphasis on high potentials in recent years carries the possibility of discrimination against minority groups that may not immediately seem to fit the corporate mould.
Policy makers and development advisers should realise that people are whole human beings with family lives as well as work lives. This view might help them create more flexible arrangements for work and leadership development activities. Companies already acting in this way not only enhance their staff commitment but retain better talent for longer.

If organisations improve the chances for women in leadership roles, they are also likely to improve opportunities for everyone. Most of these changes do not need radical reorganisation or explicit affirmative action policies. Being more aware of the subtle signals embedded in the way the organisation works, such as interview processes, holiday arrangements, promotional boards and feedback structures will enable the business to get more value from their talent.

Companies are losing out by passing women over for key leadership positions - but women can help themselves by having the confidence to seek the leadership roles they want.

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tcooper, over 3 years ago

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