How will this be achieved?
This is much more of a longer term vision of Women in
Business and Organisational life; to quote a Board Director
of a well-known UK Bank “gender will not be an issue in
15 years’ time”. While 15 years seems a long time, it is
recognition of the fundamental shifts which are taking
place today. The strategic choice is about how we provide
accelerated support and facilitation of these trends which
will make the 15 year journey a well ordered march, as
opposed to a last minute rush in through the back door.
This longer term view enables us to recognise these
changes and provide practical and sustainable support to
this acceleration and achievement.
So how will this evolution come about?
It will happen through a combination of current and
future changes related to; the structural pressure for
change, developments in organisational ‘technology’ and
changes in attitudes of and support for women themselves
as drivers and generators of business results.
On the structural context, in the UK and globally there
is an increasingly dynamic and vocal constituency of
advocates and adjudicators, who are ensuring that the
aims of ‘Women on the Board’, are kept in the headlights
and are not forgotten or swept under the carpet. This
includes; a proliferation of league tables and women
friendly organisational ratings, for example the Annual
Cranfield University League table of Women on FSTE
companies. Politicians and Governmental Leaders being
on the lookout for dramatic sound bites. Professional
organisational groups such as the ‘Women in Leadership’
and the ‘2% Club’ in the UK (some companies such as HSBC
are broadening these networks to include both men and
women). To an increasing Governance approach focusing
on the composition, effectiveness, diversity and behaviour
of the Board as fundamental good governance. All these
pressures will create an irresistible drive for progress and
development. Working in Boardrooms and with senior
executive teams, the reality is the mental switch has been
thrown in all but the most dinosaur laden companies. In
one recent conversation, the blood drained from a UK
Board Chairman’s face as we discussed the prospect of his
profile as the only Chairman of a large company without a
female on the Board.
On the ‘organisational technology’ front, developments
are making flexible management a reality and increasingly
playing into the capability of women to be adaptive and
multitasking in their approach to senior roles. No longer
are leadership roles pinned to a static desk, having lots
of face to face meetings and a secretary popping into
the office to go through the ‘in-tray’ The new world is
about the ability to connect virtually and instantaneously
to your team and customers, wherever they may be.
Personal mobile ‘Face Time’ apps will be universal in 15
years’ time as the generation flow makes it as ubiquitous
as the ‘modern’ mobile phone, yes, there were times when
you could only make international calls from your desk!
Similarly, networking and connecting, though LinkedIn
et al, is becoming the norm with the individual’s
‘surroundasound’ of virtual and mobile technologies. To
quote one Senior female executive, “my team is global
and virtual’, my customers’ expectations are for constant
response across time zones, and the concept of sitting
in an office from 8.00 to 7.00 when I need to respond at
11.00 in the evening or on a Sunday when many of my
clients are at work, is the reality of my business life”.
While this sounds demanding, with a bit of creativity
and a ‘virtual secretary’, it provides much more flexibility
to deliver business results and outcomes outside the
traditional ‘norms’.
Finally, Women’s attitudes and the cognisance of what
is needed to achieve a senior career are changing. The
recognition of effective career planning, allied to specific
capability development and focus on the right kinds of
experience, are moving women from a ‘see what turns
up approach’ to a more definite ‘how do I chart my
way through this maze’. This in turn is creating a more
focused support and development approach to the
needs of women within the organisational environment.
Included in this change is an increasing ‘balancing’ of
women’s career with their partners and the deliberate
mapping of ‘lightning raids’ into client facing and P&L
roles to gain the required ‘credibility’ on their CV. One
senior woman coaching client took on a role as MD of a
divisional subsidiary managing a group of engineers and
had successfully achieved a targeted series of outcomes
before the blink of an eye. She now sits on a major FTSE
PLC Board.
Additionally, women are becoming increasingly confident
as more ‘balanced’ role models emerge and their support
and capability development becomes more relevant
and impactful.
So how do organisations and individuals make
this happen?
As a specific coaching and development need for women
the model of Personal Influence and Credibility has a
special resonance. This model provides a basis for the
design and development of Women’s capability to achieve
the desired senior leadership roles. This includes; Business
Competence and Knowledge; Effective Communication &
Networking, and Self-Belief & Self Image
The Evolution of Women into the Boardroom and Senior Leadership Roles
Article by Helen Pitcher
Hawkamah issue02 56pages.indd 47
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9/23/13 2:43 PM