Unleashing the Power of Women HOW TO LEVERAGE THEIR UNIQUE STRENGTHS Jack Zenger, CEO Zenger Folkman
Urgent Need For Leadership 60% of companies facing leadership shortages that impede their performance 31% say developing leaders is their largest talent issue (Deloitte) 10,000 baby boomers retire every day
How Might This Be Solved? solution Identify individuals currently in the firm who are capable of stepping into these roles Accelerate the development process for them Zenger Folkman 2014
Discovering and Growing versus Hiring Talent Kevin Kelly, CEO Heidrick & Struggles: We ve found that 40 percent of executives hired at the senior level, are pushed out, fail or quit within 18 months. Zenger Folkman 2014
Utilizing Women More Effectively: 1. Broader, national economic interests In U.S., since 1970, 26% of the growth in GDP has come from more women in the workforce 2. Organizational interests -Companies need strong leadership. Women are a huge, untapped resource -Currently pirate from each other 3. Fairness and equality
Current Situation: Limited Progression Through Leadership Ranks For women, the corporate talent pipeline is leaky and blocked. Vikram Malhotra, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company Percent of Positions Filled by Level, by Gender Women make up more than half of the workforce Source: ZF research estimates
Current Situation Percentages of women in higher level positions is not changing Two forces, seemingly run counter to each other: As women move higher, the more they aspire to senior positions but Aspiration for senior positions declines with age
We Have Published Research About This Topic
ZF Research: How Men and Women Compare Harvard Business Review recently published ZF study based on 360 leadership survey results completed by 100,000 raters evaluating 15,896 leaders 99 th 64% of leaders male, 36% female 63% of leaders based in US, 37% outside US Rank ordered leaders using gender and other demographics to develop percentile rankings overall leadership effectiveness 50 th 1 st effectiveness by leadership competency
Overall, Women Are More Effective 60.0 Overall Leadership Effectiveness Overall 360 Percentile Score 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0 49.6 52.3 T Value = -6.681 Significance (2-tailed)= 0.00 Men Women Results based on 15,496 men 8,236 women
Biggest Differences were for Manager Raters Overall Leadership Effectiveness by Level (Percentiles scores) 45.0 50.0 55.0 Manager 49.0 53.3 Peers 49.4 52.6 Male Female Direct Reports 50.0 51.7
Differences by Geography Overall Leadership Effectiveness by Level (Percentiles scores) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 North America (M 9635 F 5897) 56 58 Europe (M 2092 F 1025) Central/South America (M1510 F 551) Middle East (M 289 F 48) 33 33 39 36 37 35 Male Female Asia (M 1522 F 528) 45 47 Africa (M 158 F 73) 29 29
Women Outperform Men at More Senior Levels Overall Leadership Effectiveness by Level (Percentiles scores) Top Management 48 54 Women Men Senior Management 46 52 Middle Manager 48 52 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
Overall Leadership Effectiveness by Gender, Age 60 Male Female Percentile 55 50 45 40 35 31-35 36-40 41-45 46-50 51-55 56-60 61 and over Age Group 9 points
Women Score Higher in Most Competencies Percentile Score by Competency Leadership Competencies 1 Male Female t Sig. Takes Initiative 49.8 56.4 13.67 0.00 Displays High Integrity and Honesty 49.9 54.7 9.78 0.00 Drives for Results 50.6 55.2 9.53 0.00 Practices Self Development 51.3 56.0 9.51 0.00 Develops Others 51.1 55.1 8.14 0.00 Inspires and Motivates Others 51.6 55.1 7.35 0.00 Builds Relationships 51.2 54.5 6.70 0.00 Collaboration and Teamwork 52.1 54.5 4.96 0.00 Champions Change 51.6 54.0 4.96 0.00 Establishes Stretch Goals 51.7 54.1 4.77 0.00 Solves Problems and Analyzes Issues 52.0 52.7 1.38 0.17 Communicates Powerfully and Prolifically 52.9 53.4 1.14 0.26 Connects the Group to the Outside 0.34 0.73 World 52.3 52.1 Innovates 52.6 52.2 0.96 0.34 Technical or Professional Expertise 52.1 51.1 2.10 0.04 Develops Strategic Perspective 53.7 51.2 5.06 0.00 Significant Positive Differences Women Men
Women Outperform Men Biggest Differences in Male Dominated Functions Overall Leadership Effectiveness by Function (Percentiles scores) 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 Manufacturing (30% Female) Information Technology (28% Legal (31% Female) Research and Development Sales (29% Female) HR, Training (67% Female) General Management (24% Marketing (44% Female) Operations (32% Female) 41 50 45 54 55 48 54 48 52 53 57 46 50 51 55 Men Women 62 63 67
New Voice Has Received Good Deal of Attention Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook Author of best-selling book, Lean In Puts much of the responsibility on women themselves Concludes that women face a successlikeability penalty We support her intent and many of her conclusions
Are Women Less Likeable When They Get Promoted? poll YES NO
Perceptual Study: Heidi and Howard
Should She Aspire To Being Promoted?
Is This Reality or Myth? Anecdotally, many women agree with Sandberg The value of large bodies of data We created a likeability scale 10 questions from our 360-degree assessment We then analyzed our data by gender and by position (level) in the organization
Likeability Index Items 1. Stays in touch with issues and concerns of individuals in the work group 2. Balances "getting results" with a concern for others' needs 3. Is trusted by all members of the work group 4. Promotes a high level of cooperation between all members of the work group 5. Is a role model and sets a good example for his/her work group
Likeability Index Items: (Cont.) 6. Gives honest feedback in a helpful way. 7. Is truly concerned about developing others. 8. Inspires others to high levels of effort and performance 9. Is trusted by others to use good judgment when making decisions. 10. Works hard to "walk the talk" and avoids saying one thing and doing another.
Reality OR Myth? A LOOK AT THE RESEARCH
Likeability Index Likeability Percentile Score 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 58 60 Significant shift for both males and females moving from Supervisor to Middle Management Male 55 56 51 Female Females maintain the same level of likeability Males have another significant decline between middle and senior management 55 49 49 30 Supervisor Middle Manager Top Management
Percentages of Most and Least Likeable by Gender 30% 25% 20% Percentage of males and females that are most and least likeable Male Female 26% 23% 24% 27% 15% 10% Least Likeable - Bottom Quartile Most Likeable - Top Quartile
Practices Self Development by Gender by Age Percentile 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 Up to 25 Males Female 12 points 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 46-50 51-55 56-60 61 and over Age Group
Likeability by Age and Gender Likeability Percentile 58 56 54 52 50 48 46 44 42 Male Female 25-35 36-40 41-45 46-50 51-55 56-60 61 and over
Likeability by Function Comparing Males vs. Females
Women Come By It Naturally
And Differences Appear Early
Conclusions About Success-likeability Penalty It s true that A FEW women become less likable as they move up in positions, but they are a minority In the aggregate, men in management are less liked than women Women remember bad experiences with other women, possibly because it runs counter to assumptions about how women are supposed to behave
Causes for Fewer Women At The Top
What Causes the Diminishing Number of Women as You Move Up the Pyramid? Extremely complex set of forces 1. Culture and societal norms 2. Organization culture and mindset 3. Mindset and beliefs within women
1 Causes Embedded in our Culture Women have a double burden of responsibility They have their job They leave work and in 92% of the cases, assume management of household Meals Child care Housekeeping
1 Causes Embedded in our Culture cont. Virtually Every Culture Has Discriminated Against Women Many cultures still have enormous restraints on women s education, freedom to act independently In US 1920 when women received right to vote Just now getting equality in Armed Forces Still don t have equity in pay
2 Causes Within Organizations 1. Beliefs and assumptions that are embedded in our company cultures We can t put a woman in that senior of a position. She won t stay with us. We ve never had women leaders in that department.
2 Causes Within Organizations cont. 2. Nothing is forcing change legislation 3. Lack of role models 4. Lack of sponsors 5. Exclusion from informal networks 6. Sensitivity about senior male, younger female relationships being misunderstood
Solutions
Solutions Within the Organization 1. Make HR policies more family friendly 2. Formalize Succession Planning 3. More time spent mentoring and coaching by senior leaders-helps create positive role models
Solutions Within the Organization (continued) 4. Create and provide strong support for women s groups inside the organization to encourage and foster upward mobility 5. Democratize development opportunities 6. Help women develop internal networks and sponsors
Solutions Within the Organization (continued) 7. Set clear expectations with senior male leaders to assist in the development of more women in the firm 8. Inspire, motivate & offer opportunities to develop strengths so women don t lose hope and drop out of the game
Solutions: Forces Within Women Themselves 1. Address internal barriers of fear, inadequacy, and feelings of not good enough 2. Make intentions and aspirations known 3. Don t wait for opportunities to come-seek them out
Conclusion 1. This is a serious issue for broad economic, corporate, and moral reasons 2. The causes are complex and many 3. Solutions are not quick-fixes 4. Good information is important to lay the groundwork for change 5. Help women manage the expectations that society has for them 6. Organizations must begin to change their cultures and practices 7. Women themselves can take helpful steps
Zenger Folkman helps organizations flourish by increasing the effectiveness of leaders at all levels. Our unique, strengths-based development methodology enables leaders to move faster and higher. Each offering is solidly grounded in research, utilizing our extensive empirical database. The end results are statistically significant improvements in how leaders lead, how their employees engage and how their companies profit; allowing both leaders and organizations to soar to new heights. Thank you Contact us at info@zengerfolkman.com or www.zengerfolkman.com