Aspire - Leadership for the future

When it Comes to Role Models for Women Business Leaders, Some Women Don’t Like What They See

Women executives face a “Catch-22” of sorts these days. To make it to senior level positions and stay there, they often need to out-perform male counterparts, forgo starting families (or find a nanny or stay-at-home husband to look after the kids), and literally work 24/7.

You would think such efforts would make these women positive role models for younger women with similar career aspirations . . . but you would be wrong. Recent research by Aspire demonstrates that many senior level women are not considered role models at all and, even worse, many are viewed as setting a bad example for younger generations.

At Aspire, we recently conducted a study of 600 female business managers, directors and executives around the globe, asking them to name their top female role models. Amazingly, “No Idea” (representing 40% of respondents) came in at number one, leaving Hillary Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, and Angela Merkel as the distant, top three named choices (each with 6% or less of responses).

But what about those senior women who have worked hard and outperformed peers to get to senior levels—those who have made personal choices to work full-time, have full-time nannies, or have assumed the role of “main breadwinner” while their partners stay at home with the kids? What’s so wrong with that? Are senior women getting a bad rap? Rarely do I see fingers pointed at male leaders accusing them of being bad role models simply because they have stay-at-home wives and full-time nannies!

Clearly though there seems to be an issue - a large segment of today’s younger female managers do not identify with their more senior female role models who may represent to them a category of women who seem out of balance with their personal and professional pursuits and who appear to be trying to “do it all.”

According to many aspiring “Gen Y” women who must decide whether to “go for it” to attain senior levels, those women who preceded them to the top did so by choosing between having a business career or having time with their family. It was an “either/or” proposition: perform or perish. They could not have both. This is fast becoming a major issue for organizations who find that their female manager pinch point is where their talent is walking out of the door, a costly loss of skills, knowledge and training.

Those who chose career are often criticized for their choices, feel guilty, and are stereotyped as poor parents. Younger colleagues aren’t likely to seek out senior positions because they view these women leaders as examples of what they don’t want to become and what they aren’t willing to give up to achieve success. Those who chose family are often perceived as less committed or end up in non-client contact/less time-taxing roles (or they eventually get squeezed out of the ranks of senior executives altogether).

Nowadays, younger women and men are demanding a different choice. They want to have business careers and life balance. But is this realistic . . . or is it the impossible Holy Grail?

Solving this challenge would seem simple compared to many of the world’s economic and social problems, especially for motivated companies that need to retain and get the best from their talented leaders. Companies become motivated because they want to attract the best and brightest talent to leadership positions and keep them there (no matter what their gender), and because their customers want a company’s senior leadership to reflect diverse decision making and their ideas about diversity so that they can deliver the best products and services.

What’s uncertain is how we get there.

Some firms now offer alternatives to the traditional work model: greater flexibility in roles and responsibilities, part-time or flex-hours, and telecommuting/work-at-home opportunities. Such arrangements make senior level positions more conducive to achieving balance between family life and the demands of work . . . at least they appear to.

There persists the view among many in leadership positions that women and men who desire career and life balance are somehow less-desirable employees who are bound to generate less revenue and fail to meet client expectations. There are countless examples of former full-time employees who purportedly work part-time yet keep the same hours, and many have taken pay cuts commensurate with fewer anticipated hours, only to work the same number. As a result, many “flex” options are seen as little more than band-aids or lip service.

At the end of the day and regardless of gender, senior level executives must choose what is right for them. Some may choose not to have children because it’s what they want, not because it’s what their employer expects; some may choose to work long hours because that’s their preference—and that’s all right, just as the choices to have children or work part-time hours are acceptable. There are always two sides to every story, two sides to every coin.

The key is the shift to reset expectations needs to start NOW. Companies need to address this issue because without a greater number of positively perceived female role models at the top, businesses will not be able to attract and retain top female talent. Women on the fence about “going for it” will have no one to look up to.

Today’s women business leaders have a unique opportunity to open up dialogue with their younger colleagues. Mentoring and coaching by senior level women can go a long way towards dispelling myths and misconceptions about why certain choices were made, the anticipated results, and actual outcomes.

Those who succeed in finding and implementing creative solutions will give hope to generations of younger colleagues, which will promote more numerous and ever more creative approaches . . . and that’s good for companies, clients, and the bottom line.

Posted by Dr Samantha Collins, CEO and founder of Aspire on Monday, November 02, 2009
Tags: female, younger women, role models