The conversation around women in leadership is not new, yet we find the topic continues to be at the forefront of leadership discussions. Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic recently did a blog post regarding The Under-Representation of Women in Leadership which highlighted organizations inability to distinguish competence from confidence. I tend to agree with Dr. Chamorro-Premuzic around the debate for women to “lean in” and adopt the dysfunctional characteristics we find to be prevalent in our male leaders. This concept only perpetuates the issue of choosing arrogance over humility in our leadership; right or wrong.

Hogan has defined leadership as the ability to build and maintain a high-performing team that beats the competition. To build a high-performing team, the leader must be someone the team is willing to follow. This allows us to assess performance with respect to the overall team performance. Taking this view on leadership and the recently released paper The Case for Investing in Women by the Anita Borg Institute (ABI), we find there are some key advantages to women in leadership roles.

According to The Case for Investing in Women, having a priority on hiring women manifests higher organizational and financial performance. In particular, the following outcomes have been noted (see article for full details):

• Fortune 500 companies with at least three women directors saw:
  • Return on invested capital increased by at least 66%
  • Return on sales increase by at least 42%
  • Average return on equity increase by at least 53%

These and other data points in the report provide compelling information concerning the advantages of women in leadership. Interestingly, as of 2010, women held 47 percent of the total U.S. labors force (United States Department of Labor), however, when it comes to women in CEO positions the numbers are dismal. Women represent 4.6% of the Fortune 500 CEO positions (Catalyst 2014).

If the research strongly suggests the need for women in leadership positions, then where are they? Lately, we have received questions around the lack of upward movement of women into executive levels. Organizations with a targeted approach and programs created to provide development opportunities for women to move into Executive ranks are finding their efforts moving slowly. Leadership programs, along with mentorships, job previews, and peer support groups to guide and educate women have been established within many companies and, yet, organizations find themselves with little movement among their female population. Organizations are starting to ask themselves, why?

To tackle this topic, my colleagues, Morgan Meister and Jennifer Lowe will explore how we got to this point, what organizations are doing right and wrong, and how to invest in future women leaders.

Life is determined by the decisions you make; from the mundane to major life choices. When it comes to decision-making, everyone is different. There are individuals who prefer to act swiftly and seem to generate their plan midstream, while others appear to become paralyzed by what could go wrong. 

Our decisions are influenced by our personality, values, biases, emotions, and past experiences. Chances are, the people you work with are different from you in what influences their decisions. These differences can lead to conflict among colleagues, teams, and direct reports, thus causing delays and impeding progress. So, how can you ensure decisions are made in a timely manner and everyone is on board?

1. Know yourself. The first step in understanding the decisions you make is to have self-awareness. How do you make daily decisions, are you strategic or pragmatic? How does stress affect your process, do you become stuck or reckless? Does the decision you are trying to make align with your values?
2. Know your team. Do you know what is important to the person or group with whom you are working? What information have they requested in the past to make a decision? Are they currently under stress or will your request cause additional stress. Understanding that your colleague's decision-making style can change under stressful conditions will help alleviate frustration on your part.
3. Communication. Individuals with a more direct communication style can feel as if you are trying to butter them up for a bad idea. Where individuals who tends to provide a lot of explanation, examples, and niceties might feel as if someone who communicates differently is not providing enough explanation. Pay attention to how others communicate with you. Use their communication style to relay your idea.
4. Political Savvy. As hard as it can be to navigate the political landscape of a corporation, it can be even harder getting ideas off the ground and making decisions. Becoming more adept and learning about what drives those individuals you work with can help you present information in way that speaks to their values and how they prefer to make decisions.

Driving change and influencing decision-making requires energy, savvy, and a lot of hard work.

The year I was born, personal computers didn’t exist and Apple wasn’t a household name. In fact, the World Wide Web hadn’t been invented. Google wasn’t a verb, noun or adjective. My first on-the-job experience with a desktop computer was in DOS and printed on green bar.

The year my daughter was born, Twitter opened its site. iTunes sold it billionth download just days before her birth. Just after her first birthday, Apple introduced the iPhone.  

Now, two out of every three people on the planet have a mobile phone subscription. There are more people with mobile phones than running water or toothbrushes. One in 10 people on the planet have a Facebook account and revolutions in the Middle East are gaining momentum through social media.

The difference between what I knew as a kid and what my daughter knows is mind-boggling at best. She is growing up with a pill for everything, food-like substances, ‘reality’ TV, and laws to try to prevent people from texting/Facebooking/Googling while driving. Her generation has a rapidly growing desire for the best, newest and fastest. For her and her peers, it’s a race to gain information, but maybe not always knowledge.

Discussing the differences between parents and our kids with a friend, he might have hit the nail on the head when he stated “the future of voting in America will be via text messages and on a platform similar to ‘American Idol.’”  Although I find this thought completely humiliating for the human race, he probably isn’t that far off.

We will soon have five generations in the workforce, and the landscape is in a constant flux. Not only will individuals need to be agile and open to new ideas and processes, but organizations are being forced to look at the definition of work. The tools we use to do our jobs are going to change, but more importantly the application will need to be more fluid. Organizations will need to adapt to a growing market of customers and employees who are overly-connected through technology, and push to getting what they want, when they want it.

As you prepare for your next strategy meeting, a discussion with your child might prove useful to begin the process of moving in the new direction. If we take a look at the habits of our children and how they communicate amongst their peers and adults, we could gain a glimpse of the future in workplace communication. Additionally, she is learning in a technology-based atmosphere and is required to pass a reading test not only through a paperback book, but also on a computer. This makes me wonder what else has changed in twenty-five years.