Closing the Leadership Gender Gap: Susan Colantuono at TEDxBeaconStreet
-
0:16 - 0:19Women represent 50 percent
-
0:19 - 0:23of middle management
and professional positions -
0:23 - 0:26but the percentages of women
at the top of organizations, -
0:26 - 0:28like Kathleen Murphy,
-
0:28 - 0:31whom you've heard, and Gail Goodman
who's speaking later, -
0:31 - 0:34represent not even a third of that number.
-
0:34 - 0:36So some people hear that statistic
-
0:36 - 0:41and they ask, why do we have
so few women leaders? -
0:41 - 0:44But I look at that statistic
-
0:44 - 0:49and if you, like me, believe
that leadership manifests at every level, -
0:49 - 0:52you would see that there's a tremendous,
-
0:52 - 0:55awesome resource of leaders
-
0:55 - 1:01who are leading in middle management,
which raises a different question: -
1:01 - 1:05"Why are there so many women
mired in the middle, -
1:05 - 1:10and what has to happen
to take them to the top?" -
1:10 - 1:13So some of you might be
some of those women -
1:13 - 1:15who are in middle management
-
1:15 - 1:18and seeking to move
up in your organization. -
1:18 - 1:22Well, Tonya is a great example
of one of these women. -
1:22 - 1:24I met her two years ago.
-
1:24 - 1:27She was a vice president
in a Fortune 50 company. -
1:27 - 1:31And she said to me
with a sense of deep frustration, -
1:31 - 1:35"I've worked really hard
to improve my confidence -
1:35 - 1:38and my assertiveness
and develop a great brand. -
1:38 - 1:42I get terrific performance evals
from my boss. -
1:42 - 1:48My 360s in the organization let me
know that my teams love working for me. -
1:48 - 1:52I've taken every management course
that I can here. -
1:52 - 1:56I'm working with a terrific mentor and yet
-
1:56 - 2:00I've been passed over twice
for advancement opportunities, -
2:00 - 2:03even when my manager knows
-
2:03 - 2:09that I'm committed to moving up and even
interested in an international assignment. -
2:09 - 2:13I don't understand
why I'm being passed over." -
2:13 - 2:15So what Tonya doesn't realize
-
2:15 - 2:20is that there's a missing 33 percent
of the career success -
2:20 - 2:22equation for women,
-
2:26 - 2:30and it's understanding
what this missing 33 percent is -
2:30 - 2:35that's required to close
the gender gap at the top. -
2:35 - 2:40So if you have listened
to Sheryl Sandberg's TED Talk, -
2:40 - 2:44get ready for women in leadership 2.0.
-
2:44 - 2:47In order to move up in organizations,
-
2:47 - 2:50you have to be known
for your leadership skills. -
2:50 - 2:53And this would apply to any of you,
women or men. -
2:53 - 2:59It means that you have to be recognized
for using the greatness in you -
3:00 - 3:03to achieve and sustain
extraordinary outcomes -
3:03 - 3:06by engaging the greatness in others.
-
3:06 - 3:08Put in other language,
-
3:08 - 3:12it means you have to use your skills
and talents and abilities -
3:12 - 3:17to help the organization achieve
its strategic financial goals -
3:17 - 3:21and do that by working effectively
with others, -
3:21 - 3:25inside of the organization and outside.
-
3:25 - 3:29And although all three of these elements
of leadership -
3:29 - 3:32are important when it comes to moving up
in organizations, -
3:32 - 3:34they aren't equally important.
-
3:34 - 3:39So pay attention to the green box
as I move forward. -
3:41 - 3:46In seeking and identifying
employees with high potential, -
3:46 - 3:50the potential to go to the top
of organizations, -
3:50 - 3:56the skills and competencies
that relate to that green box -
3:56 - 4:01are rated twice as heavily as those
in the other two elements of leadership. -
4:01 - 4:04These skills and competencies
-
4:04 - 4:09can be summarized as business,
strategic and financial acumen. -
4:09 - 4:13In other words,
this skill set has to do -
4:13 - 4:17with understanding
where the organization is going, -
4:17 - 4:22what its strategy is,
what financial targets it has in place, -
4:22 - 4:26and understand your role
in moving the organization forward. -
4:26 - 4:33This is that missing 33 percent
of the career success equation for women. -
4:33 - 4:37Not because it's missing
in our capabilities or abilities, -
4:37 - 4:41but because it's missing in the advice
that we're given. -
4:42 - 4:46Someone's affirming that that's been
their experience. -
4:46 - 4:48Here's what I mean by that.
-
4:48 - 4:52Five years ago, I was asked
to moderate a panel of executives, -
4:52 - 4:54and the topic for the evening was
-
4:54 - 4:57"What do you look for in
high-potential employees?" -
4:57 - 5:00So think about the three elements
of leadership -
5:00 - 5:03as I summarize for you what they told me.
-
5:03 - 5:04They said,
-
5:04 - 5:10"We look for people who are smart
and hardworking and committed -
5:10 - 5:13and trustworthy and resilient."
-
5:13 - 5:17So which element of leadership
does that relate to? -
5:17 - 5:19Personal greatness.
-
5:19 - 5:24They said, "We look for employees
who are great with our customers, -
5:24 - 5:29who empower their teams,
who negotiate effectively, -
5:29 - 5:34who are able to manage conflict well
and are overall great communicators." -
5:34 - 5:38Which element of leadership
does that equate to? -
5:38 - 5:40Engaging the greatness in others.
-
5:40 - 5:43And then they pretty much stopped.
-
5:43 - 5:48So I asked, "Well, what about people
who understand your business, -
5:48 - 5:52where it's going, and their role
in taking it there? -
5:52 - 5:56And what about people who are able
to scan the external environment, -
5:56 - 5:59identify risks and opportunities,
-
5:59 - 6:04make strategy or make
strategic recommendations? -
6:04 - 6:06And what about people who are able
-
6:06 - 6:09to look at the financials
of your business, -
6:09 - 6:12understand the story
that the financials tell, -
6:12 - 6:17and either take appropriate action
or make appropriate recommendations?" -
6:17 - 6:21And to a man, they said, "That's a given."
-
6:21 - 6:25So I turned to the audience of a 150 women
-
6:25 - 6:29and I asked, "How many of you
have ever been told -
6:29 - 6:33that the door-opener for career
advancement is your business, strategic -
6:33 - 6:35and financial acumen,
-
6:35 - 6:40and that all the other important stuff
is what differentiates you -
6:40 - 6:42in the talent pool?"
-
6:42 - 6:45Three women raised their hand.
-
6:45 - 6:48And I've asked this question of women
all around the globe -
6:48 - 6:50in the five years since
-
6:50 - 6:54and the percentage
is never much different. -
6:54 - 6:56So this is obvious, right?
-
6:56 - 6:58But how can it be?
-
6:58 - 7:02Well, there are primarily three reasons
that there's this missing 33 percent -
7:02 - 7:06in the career success advice
given to women. -
7:06 - 7:07First of all,
-
7:07 - 7:12when organizations direct women
toward resources -
7:12 - 7:14that focus on the conventional advice
-
7:14 - 7:16that we've been hearing for over 40 years,
-
7:16 - 7:19there's a notable absence of advice
-
7:19 - 7:23that relates to business, strategic
and financial acumen. -
7:23 - 7:27Much of the advice is emphasizing
personal actions -
7:27 - 7:30that we need to take,
like become more assertive, -
7:30 - 7:33become more confident,
develop your personal brand. -
7:33 - 7:36Things that Tonya has been working on.
-
7:36 - 7:38And advice about
working with other people, -
7:38 - 7:43things like learn to self-promote,
get a mentor, enhance your network. -
7:43 - 7:46And virtually nothing said
-
7:46 - 7:50about the importance of business,
strategic and financial acumen. -
7:50 - 7:54This doesn't mean
that this advice is unimportant. -
7:54 - 7:58What it means is that this is advice
that's absolutely essential -
7:58 - 8:00for breaking through
-
8:00 - 8:04from career start to middle management.
-
8:04 - 8:08But it's not the advice
that gets women to break through -
8:08 - 8:13from the middle, where we're 50 percent,
to senior and executive positions. -
8:13 - 8:16And this is why
conventional advice to women -
8:16 - 8:20in 40 years hasn't closed
the gender gap at the top -
8:20 - 8:23and won't close it.
-
8:23 - 8:27Now, the second reason
relates to Tonya's comments -
8:27 - 8:30about having had excellent
performance evals, -
8:30 - 8:34great feedback from her teams,
-
8:34 - 8:36and having taken every management
training program -
8:36 - 8:39she can lay her hands on.
-
8:39 - 8:44So you would think that she's getting
messages from her organization -
8:44 - 8:46through the talent development systems
-
8:46 - 8:50and performance management systems
that let her know how important it is -
8:50 - 8:54to develop business,
strategic and financial acumen. -
8:54 - 8:59But here again that green square
is quite small. -
8:59 - 9:04On average, talent and performance
management systems in the organizations -
9:04 - 9:07that I've worked with
-
9:07 - 9:11focus three to one on the other
two elements of leadership -
9:11 - 9:16compared to the importance of
business, strategic and financial acumen, -
9:16 - 9:21which is why typical talent
and performance systems -
9:21 - 9:26haven't closed and won't close
the gender gap at the top. -
9:26 - 9:31Now, Tonya also talked about
working with a mentor, -
9:31 - 9:33and this is really important to talk about
-
9:33 - 9:37because if organizations' talent
and performance systems aren't giving -
9:37 - 9:40people in general
information about the importance -
9:40 - 9:45of business, strategic and financial
acumen, how are men getting to the top? -
9:45 - 9:48Well, there are primarily two ways.
-
9:48 - 9:52One is because of the positions
they're guided into, -
9:52 - 9:56and the other is because
of informal mentoring and sponsorship. -
9:56 - 10:00So, what's women's experience
as it relates to mentoring? -
10:00 - 10:05Well, this comment from an executive
that I worked with recently -
10:05 - 10:08illustrates that experience.
-
10:08 - 10:11He was very proud of the fact
that last year he had two protégés, -
10:11 - 10:14a man and a woman.
-
10:14 - 10:17And he said,
"I helped the woman build confidence, -
10:17 - 10:20I helped the man learn the business,
-
10:20 - 10:24and I didn't realize that I was treating
them any differently." -
10:24 - 10:26And he was sincere about that.
-
10:26 - 10:29So what this illustrates
is that as managers, -
10:29 - 10:32whether we're women or men,
-
10:32 - 10:35we have mindsets about women and men,
about careers in leadership, -
10:35 - 10:41and these unexamined mindsets
won't close the gender gap at the top. -
10:41 - 10:45So how do we take this idea
of the missing 33 percent -
10:45 - 10:47and turn it into action?
-
10:47 - 10:51Well, for women the answer is obvious.
-
10:51 - 10:55We have to begin to focus more
on developing and demonstrating -
10:55 - 10:58the skills we have that show
-
10:58 - 11:02that we're people who understand
our businesses, where they're headed, -
11:02 - 11:05and our role in taking it there.
-
11:05 - 11:10That's what enables that breakthrough
from middle management to leadership -
11:11 - 11:13at the top.
-
11:13 - 11:15But you don't have to be
a middle manager to do this. -
11:15 - 11:19One young scientist that works
in a biotech firm -
11:19 - 11:23used her insight
about the missing 33 percent -
11:23 - 11:27to weave financial impact data
-
11:27 - 11:31into a project update she did
and got tremendous positive feedback -
11:31 - 11:34from the managers in the room.
-
11:35 - 11:38So we don't want to put 100 percent
of the responsibility -
11:38 - 11:40on women's shoulders,
-
11:40 - 11:45nor would it be wise to do so,
and here's why. -
11:45 - 11:49In order for companies to achieve
their strategic financial goals, -
11:49 - 11:52executives understand
that they have to have everyone -
11:52 - 11:54pulling in the same direction.
-
11:54 - 11:57In other words,
the term we use in business is -
11:57 - 11:59we have to have strategic alignment.
-
11:59 - 12:04And executives know this very well,
and yet only 37 percent, -
12:05 - 12:07according to a recent
Conference Board report, -
12:07 - 12:12believe that they have
that strategic alignment in place. -
12:12 - 12:15So for 63 percent of organizations,
-
12:15 - 12:20achieving their strategic financial goals
is questionable. -
12:20 - 12:22And if you think about
what I've just shared, -
12:22 - 12:25that you have situations where
-
12:25 - 12:28at least 50 percent
of your middle managers -
12:28 - 12:32haven't received clear messaging
that they have to become -
12:32 - 12:35focused on the business,
where it's headed, -
12:35 - 12:37and their role in taking it there,
-
12:37 - 12:40it's not surprising that
that percentage of executives -
12:40 - 12:43who are confident about alignment
is so low. -
12:43 - 12:44Which is why
-
12:44 - 12:48there are other people
who have a role to play in this. -
12:48 - 12:51So, it's important
-
12:51 - 12:55for directors on boards
to expect from their executives -
12:56 - 13:00proportional pools of women
when they sit down once a year -
13:00 - 13:02for their succession discussions.
-
13:02 - 13:04Why? Because if they aren't seeing that,
-
13:04 - 13:08it could be an indicator or a red flag
-
13:08 - 13:12that their organization isn't as aligned
as it could potentially be. -
13:13 - 13:18It's important for CEOs to also expect
these proportional pools, -
13:18 - 13:20and if they hear comments like,
-
13:20 - 13:22"Well, she doesn't have enough
business experience," -
13:22 - 13:25ask the question,
"What are we going to do about that?" -
13:25 - 13:29It's important for H.R.
executives to make sure -
13:29 - 13:33that the missing 33 percent
is appropriately emphasized -
13:33 - 13:37and it's important for women and men
who are in management positions -
13:37 - 13:40to examine the mindsets we hold
about women and men, -
13:40 - 13:42about careers and success,
-
13:42 - 13:46to make sure we're creating a level
playing field for everybody. -
13:46 - 13:50So let me close with the latest chapter
in Tonya's story. -
13:50 - 13:54Tonya emailed me two months ago
and she said that she had been interviewed -
13:54 - 13:56for a new position, and during
the interview they probed -
13:56 - 13:59about her business acumen
-
13:59 - 14:02and her strategic insights
into the industry. -
14:02 - 14:06And she said that she was so happy
to report that now she has a new position -
14:06 - 14:11reporting directly to the chief
information officer at her company. -
14:11 - 14:17So for some of you, the missing 33 percent
is an idea for you to put into action, -
14:17 - 14:22and I hope that for all of you,
you will see it as an idea worth spreading -
14:22 - 14:24in order to help organizations
be more effective, -
14:24 - 14:27to help women create careers that soar,
-
14:27 - 14:30and to help close
the gender gap at the top. -
14:30 - 14:32Thank you.
- Title:
- Closing the Leadership Gender Gap: Susan Colantuono at TEDxBeaconStreet
- Description:
-
Sheryl Sandberg's TEDxWomen Talk has been viewed 3 million times by those who wonder why we have too few women in leadership positions. In this talk Susan Colantuono complements advice to "lean in" as she unveils two new strategies for closing the leadership gender gap at the top of organizations. Discover the impact of The Missing 33%™, why 40 years of advice to women hasn't closed the gap, the actions women can take to create careers that soar, and steps companies must take to close the leadership gender gap.
Susan Colantuono is CEO of Leading Women, where she inspires and powers the success of women leaders in organizations and through her books and writings. - Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 14:35
Ivana Korom approved English subtitles for Closing the Leadership Gender Gap: Susan Colantuono at TEDxBeaconStreet | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for Closing the Leadership Gender Gap: Susan Colantuono at TEDxBeaconStreet | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for Closing the Leadership Gender Gap: Susan Colantuono at TEDxBeaconStreet | ||
Morton Bast accepted English subtitles for Closing the Leadership Gender Gap: Susan Colantuono at TEDxBeaconStreet | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for Closing the Leadership Gender Gap: Susan Colantuono at TEDxBeaconStreet | ||
Maysoon Abbas edited English subtitles for Closing the Leadership Gender Gap: Susan Colantuono at TEDxBeaconStreet | ||
Maysoon Abbas edited English subtitles for Closing the Leadership Gender Gap: Susan Colantuono at TEDxBeaconStreet | ||
Maysoon Abbas edited English subtitles for Closing the Leadership Gender Gap: Susan Colantuono at TEDxBeaconStreet |