Lean In Your Way to the Top

July 12, 2013
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Yes, I’ve read Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, and found it to be a great re-start of the thinking about gender issues and lack of advancement by women into leadership positions.

I say “re-start” because somehow the focus on women in leadership laid somewhat dormant for a number of years.  I think part of the dormancy was due to the fact that women have made progress and were lulled into thinking that progress would continue to accelerate without any effort on our part – it didn’t.  This mentality, coupled with the few women who have made it past the glass ceiling stating the corporate party line about how barriers no longer exist, made us question the reality around us and kept us thinking that maybe we weren’t worthy.

Now we’re talking again – in fact, we just had a Lean In book discussion at Imprimis facilitated by leadership coaches, Susan Shapiro and Liz Trocchio.

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(left to right) Leadership coach Susan Shapiro, Imprimis Group CEO Valerie Freeman and Leadership coach Liz Trocchio

We discussed in small groups and reported out our take on issues such as reaching for opportunities even if you are not quite ready, taking bigger risks, and how to get rid of perfectionist attitudes by adopting Facebook’s mantra “Done is better than perfect.”

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Women are drivers of economic growth and bring a different perspective to executive suites and boardrooms.  Many studies show that the more diverse an organization and its senior leadership team, the better it is likely to perform, at least as a moneymaking enterprise.

So why do so many women opt out at middle and senior managements levels? There are many reasons but the main ones have to do with male-dominated corporate cultures, lack of flexible working arrangements, difficulties in managing home and children and women’s  own thoughts about societal expectations. When it comes to the subject of diversity on leadership teams and on boards of directors, men and women differ as to the severity of the problem. Sally Krawcheck, who was formerly one of the highest ranking women on Wall Street  comments in an article in New York Magazine, “It’s not that the men on Wall Street aren’t aware of the helpfulness of diversity of opinion, it’s just that they can’t help sticking to their own. For whatever reason, people are more comfortable networking with their own gender.”  However,  in a survey of marketing professionals from IPG and Advertising Age, 75% of U.S. women called gender diversity a problem; 53% of the men thought it was not a problem at all. Bernie Tenenbaum, who has been a director of more than 35 public and private companies states in an article for YPO/WPO that “An all-male board is not a 21st century model. It’s a primitive model from the time when there were no women leaders or not enough women in the labor force – an antiquated point of view.”

Both men and women need to speak out and up about the lack of gender diversity in leadership positions in corporate management and corporate boards – both public and private. Women are starting “Lean In” circles to help them network and give them the courage to take on opportunities they might not normally accept and to ask for the flexibility they might need to stay in the game. Women are also increasingly becoming champions of other women rather than the “Queen Bee” types who impede the progress of other women. More male executives are stepping out and making an effort to increase leadership opportunities for women including creating policies that address the obstacles women face in the corporate world.

I love the quote in Sheryl Sandberg’s book from Warren Buffett who said “One of the reasons for my  success is because I only had to compete with half the population!”

There is no doubt that women have the skills to lead in corporate America. Both men and women must change both their attitudes and actions to accomplish any sort of equality. In her book, one research study shows that the more successful women become, the less they are liked; the more successful men become, the more they are liked. This is incredibly disheartening that even in success, women face discrimination.

I encourage everyone to read Sheryl’s book – great research, great ideas and suggestions for getting women back on the “leadership opportunity” track.  Women deserve equal opportunity.

BY IMPRIMIS CEO VALERIE FREEMAN