Developing a Leadership Style for Women

When working at a Washington, D.C., foundation a few years ago, Jennifer Christian Murtie was promoted to oversee three staffers. She worried about how to project

authority without seeming mean. This is a dilemma for

most of the Women in leadership positions.

 Developing a leadership style is a challenge for most young managers, but particularly for young women. Leadership experts say they must navigate a "double-bind": If they assert themselves forcefully, people may perceive them as not acting feminine enough, triggering a backlash. But if they act in a stereotypically feminine way, they aren't seen as strong leaders. "This is a particularly challenging process for women early in their careers," says Herminia Ibarra, a professor at Insead, a business school with campuses in France and Singapore, who has studied women's leadership styles. "It's one of their big hurdles." One major problem is a shortage of female role models. People often learn leadership styles by observing others; but there are often few female executives to observe. Women can watch male leaders too, of course, but men can't illustrate how to navigate female stereotypes

 Experts suggest several strategies. If there aren't many female leaders at their employer, young women should join professional associations or community organizations to find role models. These nonworking settings also offer young women a chance to try out new leadership styles outside the office.
At work, young women should enlist mentors and solicit feedback on leadership techniques. After a meeting, ask a trusted superior what behaviors worked and what didn't. Asking subordinates for feedback, however, is usually a mistake because it can indicate the leader is unsure of herself -- a perception young female managers particularly want to avoid. In theory, these mentors could be either men or women, but young women should realize that male mentors may not be as aware of the unique challenges young women face in asserting leadership.

Ms. Christian Murtie wasn't sure how to exert authority initially. She had just been promoted from office manager, loosely supervising the receptionist, to administrative director with three reporting to her. It was her first job with real authority managing others. She was preoccupied with wanting to be seen as nice. "The most difficult thing for me was taking an authoritative stance when I needed to -- part of it was age, part of it was gender and part of it was my personality," she says. "I was uncomfortable having to give negative feedback." Early on, one of her employees wasn't performing well. She gave him "a little pep talk" with a sympathetic tone, but wasn't explicit. "Nothing changed," she recalls. She realized she needed to be more direct. So she spelled out specific requirements for him to keep his job. She tried not to be harsh, but clear and straightforward. It worked; his performance markedly improved. She sought out a mentor at work whose style seemed like it would work well with her own personality. Her mentor was "very straight and to the point and upfront, but in a really nice way," Ms. Christian Murtie says. She asked the other women about her leadership style and observed how she led others. She noticed the woman led by example. She gained respect from staffers because she herself was willing to work extra hours when needed and threw herself into projects.

 Ms. Christian Murtie is now a manager at an investment-consulting firm in Boston. There, she has had to ask an underperforming employee to leave. The woman had only been working there a couple of months but wasn't up to par. Ms. Christian Murtie told the woman that she wasn't coming close to meeting expectations and that she would have to be let go. She believes the woman "appreciated the honesty." Ms. Christian Murtie also had to manage the morale of her other staffers. She quickly held a meeting to explain why the woman had been let go, and how they would cover her duties while searching for a replacement. She told staffers the woman had seemed promising in job interviews, but wasn't doing a good job. Ms. Christian Murtie said she would take on some of the work herself rather than dumping it all on others. The meeting "seemed to go really well," she says It reinforced the importance of being clear and direct with her staffers. "When people feel like they don't know what's going on, they get very disheartened," she says.

 McKinsey research released recently shows that European companies have shown better-than-average financial performance with the highest proportion of women in influential leadership roles.
It is also true that if potential women leaders do not get the right mentors, their gender limitation may come in the way for growing into powerful leaders. However, if potential women leaders seek the right mentors they can become influential leaders and help the organization grow along with them. The next few slides shows the research on this fact.

 The report, launched at the Women's Forum for the Economy & Society in Deauville, France, finds these companies do better than their sector in terms of return on equity, operating result and share price growth. The management consulting firm also reports that companies around the world where a third or more of the senior team are women score higher, on average, than those with no women on nine criteria of "organizational excellence". These criteria include accountability, innovation and work environment. McKinsey notes that these correlations do not necessarily mean senior women cause superior financial performance. There is qualitative research and anecdotal evidence, however, that points to changes in behaviour and environment when the gender balance improves significantly.

A sole woman on a board often feels marginalized, according to research reported in Harvard Business Review. The appointment of a second woman can help reduce this isolation but can also create difficulties: two women may have to be careful not to be seen as "conspiring", said researchers Alison Konrad and Vicki Kramer, who interviewed 50 women directors, 12 chief executives and seven corporate secretaries at Fortune 1000 companies. A "clear shift" occurs when there are three or more women, they found. The women tend to be seen just as directors, rather than female directors, the boardroom dynamic becomes more collaborative and the discussions richer and more informative. Eric Daniels, chief executive of Lloyds TSB, the UK bank, is unusual in presiding over a management committee where half of the directors are women. He disputes the suggestion that the presence of women creates a more supportive environment, but says everyone feels free to challenge each other in an egalitarian way. As more women have been appointed, the team's dialogue and dynamic has improved, he says. "I think it has more to do with the quality of the women than the fact they are women."

Points to ponder for HR professionals in India:

There is definitely a mind shift among the average middle class Indian Workforce in dealing and building women employees. Women power if leveraged, can bring significant benefits to all stakeholders.
At a national level, India needs to understand that women form one-half of the human resources of the country, but only a fraction of their capacity has been tapped. The solution is not in implementing some feel good policies; it calls for a fundamental change in the outlook, supported by powerful thoughts and actions that could result in measurable benefits.

Source: Wall Street Journal 28th Aug 07, Financial Times 2007