I recently read an HBR post from Debora Spar, who is now president of Barnard College but started her career at Harvard Business School.
Her post wasn’t long, but it offered some interesting ideas about female leadership—which is not an oxymoron as I’ve heard at least one man comment.
Ms. Spar begins her post by commenting on “subtle differences” that characterize an organization run by women. The assumption, for example, that achieving consensus and avoiding “outright conflict” is important and desirable.
Ms. Spar goes on to mention a few statistics around female leadership. No big surprises here, even after nearly 40 years of feminism. Women hold just a touch over 15% of the board positions in Fortune 500 companies. Women account for only 19% of surgeons. (I remember being somewhat surprised when, only eight years ago, one of my niece’s medical school classmates mentioned that she was doing her residency in surgery. It seemed like a bold move for a woman, and yes, I confess that with some embarrassment.)
Women are distinctly underrepresented at the highest levels of public and private power. Our careers “stall out for complicated, heavily ingrained reasons,” says Ms. Spar. Often we step back from our potential, don’t push for a well-deserved raise or promotion, or engage in other behaviors that don’t move us forward. Maybe we’re tired out by working all day and then heading home for the “second shift.” A couple of male researchers from Cambridge University believe that we’re hindered by a lack of testosterone, while two female academics have found that women are significantly less likely to bet their raises on performance, even though they’re excellent performers.
So, it does appear than women lead differently from men, if, in fact, we reach leadership roles. And that’s not a bad thing. We women need to use diversity programs and more flexible work arrangements to launch ourselves into the ranks of management. And, frankly, we need to be brave. Corporate America is not always a fun place to be, but it’s not going to become more humane and better run unless we gals start taking some more serious risks.
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