Leading by example

They say that behind every great man is an even greater woman. However, in the 21st century, women are increasingly making their way out of the shadows to take up leading roles in some of the world’s biggest organisations.

If the high profile cases hitting the headlines of late are any indication of the wider picture, the traditional divide between the sexes may be crumbling. But, asks CXO Editor Alice Hoey, is this celebration of female achievement masking the reality in business today? Are women still faced essentially with a big ‘boy’s club’, and, if so, how are they squaring up to the challenge.

It seems impossible to browse a business magazine or flick through the news of late without coming across yet another ‘world’s most powerful women’ list or a profile of some new CEO in heels. With the likes of Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo CEO, and Pat Woertz, ADM, at the helm of huge, multinational enterprises, and women such as Carly Fiorina – until recently, Chief Exec of HP – calling the shots in the traditionally male-dominated world of IT, I believe there is certainly cause for celebration... or perhaps simply relief that change is afoot.

If part of the problem, historically speaking, has been that the business world is steeped in stereotypes, expectations that it is a ‘man’s world’ and an unfamiliarity with the concept of a female leader, then media attention such as we have seen recently can only be a positive thing.

But lets get this into perspective. Visit any corporate website, follow the ‘about us’ link and click on ‘Board of Directors’ or ‘Senior Management’ – go on, it’ll only take a second. What are you faced with? Chances are it is a line up of handsome-looking execs – almost exclusively male. Yes, it is likely that there will be more female faces in that line-up than there would have been some 5-10 years ago. And, yes, they are by all accounts doing just as good a job as their male counterparts, but it’s still hardly an even split.

So why is this the case? If there is any truth to the adage at the start of this article, there must be a host of incredibly talented and able women standing in the sidelines, just itching to take their rightful place at the table. Are there invisible barriers holding them back or are women their own worst enemy?

Naomi Climer, Vice President, Sony Europe, and Head of Professional Solutions Europe, Sony, believes her own success is further evidence that attitudes and acceptance to high-level women in business are changing, or at least at Sony. “But outside our walls,” she adds “change is happening a little slower than I would like. As more and more women continue to rise up through their organisations, and there are more influential female role models in business, I think we’ll see this change gather further pace.”

According to Karen Cone, President and CEO of the Tower Group – the global financial services industry’s leading research and consulting firm – there is still certainly an element of the ‘big boys’ club about business today. “Whether you are moving from one company to another, or within a firm, if you’re given the choice between hiring someone that has been recommended to you or someone you know only through a resume and an interview, most of us would opt for the former. There is still a ‘boy’s club’ and it’s hard to be a girl in that club.”

Hard, but not impossible, if those breaking through are anything to go by. Kate Purmal, CEO of U3, has more than 20 years of computer industry experience as an entrepreneur, corporate executive and independent consultant, throughout which she has becomes used to being the only woman in the room. “As a woman, establishing credibility in any setting has been essential to my success,” says Purmal. “For me that comes from having confidence in my self, regardless of the setting.” In fact, the additional challenges of proving herself in a traditionally make environment may well have pushed her more strongly to succeed. “I love the challenge of something new. Once I stop worrying about whether or not I’ll be successful, the challenge of being immersed in doing something new and different is highly energizing for me.”

Barbara Beck, President, Manpower EMEA, believes one of the biggest ‘barriers’ is the lack of role models in business to which women can aspire. She highlights the results of recent studies by Catalyst, saying: “There are still fewer female executive mentors and role models for young aspiring women to look up to and gain mentorship from compared to their male counterparts.” In another study, women and men were observed during university recruiting interviews. “When given a formal job offer during the process, the women accepted the initial salary offer twice as frequently as the men, who instead, were twice as likely to demand more money,” says Beck. “In my personal experience, I have found a higher number of men than women who are willing to accept relocations in order to gain promotions. This by no means indicates women are less ambitious, merely less mobile at times for a variety of reasons.”

So do these women have particular attributes that have enabled them to succeed where others have failed before them. Not stereotypically known for their aggressive or ruthless nature, perhaps – dare I say it – women’s ‘softer’ side is holding them back?

According to Cone we are just as cut-throat as our male colleague, but that it is received differently. “When a man is cut-throat he may not be liked, but he is certainly respected,” says Cone. “A women in the same situation, however, is often simply disliked, without receiving the same level of respect. That can be a barrier to being tough as a women in business.”

Beck believes there is a stronger requirement for women to demonstrate their financial acumen and ability to achieve financial results compared to their male colleagues. “In current surveys of Fortune 500 CEO’s the number one ranking reason that more women are not in C-level positions or sitting on corporate boards is the fact they have not run a P&L,” explains Beck. “Translated, this means they have not demonstrated their ability to deliver the financial results.”

According to Climer, if you are competent at your job and people enjoy having you around – you’ve onto a winner, regardless of your gender. “However,” she acknowledges, “there are clearly different qualities and strengths that enable women to succeed in business. “I’ve needed to invent my own style, as there have been few strong female role-models in the commercial world. For me, women succeeding in business is about being authentic to who you are, resolute in what you want to achieve and passionate about what you believe. Sure, an inherently female style can clash with a male culture, but that’s when you have to use strong interpersonal skills to deal with potential conflicts in order to be true to these three values.”

Purmal believes that these interpersonal skills are a good example of the kind of attributes more usually accredited to women that are an advantage, not a hindrance to their leadership success. “Women are often perceived to have more effective skills at connecting with people,” explains Purmal. “Combined with technical knowledge, this is very powerful as it can make technology more approachable to the non-technical consumer.”

Communication and people skills are something Cone too have been essential in her career success. “I think the most important thing in my success and the thing I’m most proud of has been my ability to leverage, and play to, people’s strengths,” says Cone. “You can never achieve things alone in business so you need the ability to recognise individual’s strengths in a team and to help that team be all they can be. If you can do that the business will be successful.”

She adds that she is very focused on what needs to be done and open-minded about how to achieve it. “While I may be relentless in getting something done, I’m always very aware of the strategy and the situation and I’m sensitive to making course corrections where necessary.”

As CEO of RSM International, the world’s sixth largest accounting and consulting network Jean Stevens has certainly never found any barriers to her achievements. According to Stevens – the first ever woman to be CEO of a top 10 global accountancy network – her success is the fruit of hard work, ambition and development of leadership skills, just as is the case with men.

She does, however, acknowledge the relatively low prevalence of women in positions of power. “I believe this is just a numbers game and over time will change as more companies begin to figure out the importance of retaining top quality women,” she says. “Perhaps in some more traditional industries women are facing not only the challenges of their profession but also the challenges of the male mindset.” But most important of all, says Stephens is the need for quality – for people, whether men or women that really stand out in their field. “We offer our clients a cross-border service – it’s what they require, and we have to ensure we only engage the new member firms that will fit in with our network. We’ve had to develop a vigilant quality assurance programme to ensure we only work with the best.”

Despite the fact that quality, in need and nature, transcends gender, there are still also undeniable social factors, which are always likely to affect women more so than men. “While men are now starting to do their fair share, women are still more often than not the primary caretakers,” explains Cone, adding from her own experience, “I was lucky in that my husband and I did share the load, but we didn’t do that simultaneously. There were times when I was on full acceleration with my career and he was on full maintenance, and visa versa. The upshot is I think I probably reached my current professional level at a later time in my life than I was actually capable of.”

Kate Purmal has found similar challenges in achieving the highest level of success in business and balancing family and work pressures. “I stepped off the career track to consulting when my kids were young,” says Purmal. “While in retrospect this move actually accelerated my career growth – because I worked at the executive level with dozens of companies and gained experience I would not have gained within a company – at the time I was afraid it would take me ‘off track’.”