October 27th, 2008
Women and leadership
Last week, my dead tree copy of McKinsey Quarterly arrived bearing the above title. This section caught my eye (p.45 and written by Joanne Barsch, Susie Cranston and Rebecca A. Craske):
One surprising thing we learned as a result of talking with female leaders was that they often fail to reciprocate and find expectations that they should do so distasteful. A senior partner at McKinsey noted that men naturally understand that you must “give before you get”, but women don’t.
Wow! That made me think. As someone whose partner has made a life long study of inequalities, I am regularly corrected on my own incorrectedness. But does McKinsey resonate with others? I asked some of the women I know what they think. I sent them the link from a Forbes extract and a link to the PDF of the full report. What follows are their responses, lightly edited and in no particular order.
Some may be known to readers, others less so. They’re all women whose thinking , judgment and values I admire, respect and enjoy. In their own way, they’re all ‘irregular.’ I thank them all for taking time to contribute.
Suw Charman-Anderson: independent social media consultant and author of Chocolate and Vodka:
Recession is hard for everyone, but it’s particularly worrying for freelancers who rely on businesses both valuing and being willing to pay for our expertise. In conversations I’ve had recently with other women in the tech arena, one common feeling is that our profiles aren’t as high as we would like and that we’re losing work as a result.
Women are often less confident in their own abilities and thus less likely to promote themselves as much as their male counterparts. Now more than ever, it is essential for us to nurture our public profile. Whether via LinkedIn or Facebook or a blog, we need to not just display our skill and expertise but also talk publicly about our aims and ambitions - you never know who is looking for someone just like you.
The only way I’ve been able to build my confidence is to go right to the edge of my comfort zone and take some risks. One of the best things I have ever done is stand up on a box at Speakers Corner and
orate about issues such as DRM and copyright. No conference, no meeting, no pitch can ever be as terrifying as confronting a huge, perplexed and occasionally drunk crowd over the issue of copyright
term extension.
It may feel icky to us, but we do need to get better at marketing and promoting ourselves. And although it may make us feel vulnerable, standing up in front of our peers and sharing our expertise is a great way to build our reputation and, therefore, our careers. Our future is in our hands - we just need to grasp the nettle.
Rachel Happe –>
Dennis Howlett has been providing comment and analysis on enterprise software since 1991. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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