When we arrived at the “gamma” letter, the word was quite obvious. We want to reflect on “woman” as a point of focus in considering business and career issues.
Let’s make a bold call: this will be the century of women. There are some excellent reasons behind this:
Education:
■Woman now outnumber (demographically) all men in every strata of education and educational attainment
■Law schools and Medical schools now produce 50%+ graduates from the ranks of “women”
■Business MBA programs are stuffed with women candidates and graduates
■This educational push will evince deliberate and expected shifts in culture and decision making every year and every decade henceforth
Business:
■Recent polls of CEO’s indicate a preference for executives with imagination, inventiveness, a grasp of cognitive complexity, an outstanding ability to communicate, and a high degree of emotional resilience
■While progression is slow (“glass ceilings”) there will be inevitable progression into leadership as the networked world requires a sophistication of leadership and communication and intimacy (yes “intimacy” particularly of the customer/client variety)
■Our business problems will increasingly rely on “teamwork” functionality and motivational leaders with the ability to generate breakthrough results
Leadership: (reference here Joanna Barsh/Susie Cranston/Rebecca Craske; all from McKinsey)
In the continual juggling of work/families/energy demands/emotional intensity; women exhibit a number of strengths:
■Meaning: women are motivated by meaning and impact and it drives them
■Energy: women understand that life is mostly out of balance and it is really about participating in what energizes you
■Positive framing: women frame the world and problems as they actually are and work from a positive point of view for solutioning
■Connecting: women want to belong, have meaningful impact, and want to mentor
■Engaging: women “create their own luck” and accept risk as an opportunity
The view here:
unquestionably this is the century of women and their leadership.
