LEADERSHIP: HOW WOMEN CAN GET TO THE TOP

Published: 2010-04-15   please add a comment below

The authors of “Women and the Labyrinth of Leadership” take a new viewpoint on the challenge women face in rising to senior leadership roles. They emphasise deep systemic problems rather than a single obstacle such as the glass ceiling, which has dominated debate for 20 years. In their view, “by depicting a single, unvarying obstacle, the glass ceiling fails to incorporate the complexity and variety of challenges that women can face in their leadership journeys.” However, notwithstanding this broader perspective and a wide-ranging review of available research, the authors don’t come up with a lot that’s new – or, more importantly, that a woman executive can directly control. So, is there an answer?

When approached by women facing career challenges, I always suggest they focus on their own career, not setting the world to rights. The latter will take decades – and may even be impossible. But maximising performance in your current role and getting your next promotion are things any woman (or man) can focus on to good effect.

What’s really important for a woman working her way up through the ranks of a large organisation? From my experience, the best advice in the article is to insist on taking line roles. Seeking challenging assignments, where success is clearly measurable; and, unlike functional roles, there’s no assumption a woman will naturally excel. Show me a successful senior woman (or man), and generally I’ll be showing you someone, who took the tough assignments.

And, what’s their first step? Developing a leadership action plan. It’s so obvious. Good leaders create plans for anything they’re asked to do. But too many forget this in relation to their leadership responsibilities. The plan may need a focus on vision and goals. Or, its emphasis may be on energising people and driving execution. Or, improving culture; or, lifting operating standards; or, building teams and relationships. But, the priority amongst these elements depends on the specific situation: the business challenges and the people, you’re leading.

So, why not develop your own Leadership Action Plan now. In under an hour, you can have a printable plan of personal leadership commitments. Something to make sure you excel in your current role, and are rewarded with promotion.

Dr. Timothy Pascoe AM
PhD (Cambridge), MBA (Harvard), BE & BEc (Adelaide)
Creator, V|E|C|T|O|R Leadership^®