What do a global engineering company looking to develop their project management methods, a global manufacturing business introducing project management for their New Product Development lifecycle, and a national retailer going through a major and complex business transformation programme all have in common, apart from the obvious “project management”?
Many businesses give considerable thought, investment and effort towards the professionalism of their project management community, and to determining and developing project management processes which are operationally “fit for purpose”. However, the same cannot be said for the development of project sponsors and the clarification of the sponsor role. Often directors or senior managers who have the authority to initiate and sponsor business critical projects do not understand their ongoing responsibilities in relation to sponsorship. I’ve not often seen organisations that are aware how  to develop the skills of their leaders and seniors regarding the big influence they can have on project success. Many do not get involved in basic areas such as project status; when specific support is required they are conspicuous by their absence; large, complex projects can start with impressive impetus and strong sponsor presence, then are quickly discarded when the next high profile project appears.
Generally, the sponsor role can have a tremendous impact on project success. However, in my experience, the sponsor role is very unclear in many organisations as are the appropriate levels of authority and responsibility, and the personal attributes, behaviours and capabilities needed. Trying to find a single person to be the unblocker” (who owns the business case, can be the business conscience and make things happen for the project) is a tall order.
Sometimes, the sponsor is not very involved in the project for a variety of reasons typically around available time and priorities. Sometimes, they are too involved and try to act as a sort of “super project manager”, which generates its own issues. How does a sponsor successfully walk the line?
“ ….. the sponsor from hell – a micro manager …”
“ ….. they’ve given me a sponsor who has no authority and very little interest in responsibility”
“ ….. our sponsor was really involved at the beginning, but now he seems to have a completely different set of priorities. We face a continuous battle to re-engage his interest.”
“ ….. he keeps treading on my toes when I need a clear view of the target. How can I get him off my back?”
I am frequently faced with recurring questions which businesses have regarding the project sponsorship role: in which area, and at which level, of the business to identify sponsors; how to develop appropriate models of sponsorship for different projects, depending on their size and complexity; how to educate potential sponsors and encourage appropriate behaviours; how to keep the sponsor’s interest engaged with the project when there are other calls and priorities on his/her time; how to balance the role of the sponsor with that of the project manager; how to measure the “success” of the sponsorship role; at which point in the project lifecycle to identify and educate the sponsor. All these should be clarified and agreed in advance of the project delivery, rather than done “on the hoof” not just to the benefit of the project but also to safeguard the nominated sponsor in what can be a “career defining” role.
Projects can certainly succeed without sponsors but it can be a painful, stressful and thankless task if there is no one around to clear the path and fly the flag at senior levels, especially for high cost, high value, high profile projects.
Sarah Coleman is an experienced and qualified Project and Programme Manager. She has extensive hands-on experience of ICT and business transformation projects, and of turning around failing projects. She is Chair of the Derby Chapter of the Association for Project Management and runs masterclasses in Project Sponsorship. Sarah is also a Director at Business Evolution.
This blog was first published on the Association for Project Management website.
I was recently invited to speak at a conference in London. The theme was “Tools for Change and Engagement”, and I presented on “Developing Leadership, Transforming Impact”.
The majority of the delegates were from the internal communications function for national and global corporates, at different stages of their careers. Many of them felt that internal comms was often not given the attention and support by the business that they believed it deserved. Two main issues in particular kept appearing: how to capture the attention and engage senior leaders in their organisations, and how to demonstrate the value of internal comms to the business.
Let me start by painting a picture of the current macroeconomic climate for context, and of three particular issues typically facing boards and leadership teams at this time:
a) We have spent the last 4 years working under some of the most challenging economic times many of us have seen. How are we going to grow the business?
b) We are anticipating business change and transformation to help meet business growth. How do we ensure we bring everyone with us?
c) Multi-culturalism, diversity and geographic spread are the norm for us. How do we ensure we touch everyone to make it easy to share the vision and the strategy?
Many of the delegates were involved with business change and transformation programmes, or with a new strategy roll-out, and we explored their successes in effectively engaging (and in many cases, effectively re-engaging) their leadership tier, and explored their questions about demonstrating the value of internal comms in the context of what was happening in the business.
Know your audience and make it relevant to them
One of the most effective ways of securing the attention of a senior level audience is to understand their issues, targets, objectives and challenges: in other words, identify what is important to them. Understanding their perspective enables you to demonstrate how you can positively impact their initiatives, as well as the strategic aims of the business.
Understanding the perspectives of those at senior levels is to do with managing upwards: what are their targets and objectives, and how can you help them achieve these whilst achieving your own objectives? Do your homework: if necessary, take the time to interview formally or informally each of the senior players, paying specific attention to understanding their use of language as well as their issues.
Getting to know senior management’s individual standpoints on those issues facing the business, and their knowledge levels of the issues you’re focusing on, can help you identify how to bridge the gap and engage their attention. It can also help you to understand what else is competing for their attention, and how they have chosen to prioritise it all.
Language and style
Are you comfortable with the language of business? Can you speak it confidently, or do you find it too full of jargon? Should you engage with your leaders using corporate speak, or do you look at it as Business Buzzword Bingo and prefer a richer language, snaring the senses?
The phraseology and wordsmithing typical of corporate business speak is often dry and stark; it can lack depth, expression, emotion and it can numb the imagination. Which language sets do your leaders use, and can you improve your rapport with them by mirroring the type, pitch, volume and pace of language they are using?
Perhaps it is about constructing a compelling narrative to get them engaged and involved, knowing that telling a story is sharing what you see, smell, feel, taste, and hear. When you trigger a sense in someone, you bring them into the story with you.
Sell the benefits
The primary aim of internal comms, regardless of business size or industry sector, is in getting the “right” message to the “right” people in the “right” way. Some businesses regard internal comms as optional, and budgets are slashed as a way of cost cutting at a time when, ironically, communication needs to be precise and focused on what is happening and why. Tellingly, Heads of the Communications function are less optimistic about their expected 2012 budgets than they were last year.
Are you able to provide qualitative and quantitative data about your internal comms initiatives that demonstrate a return on investment? Let me put this another way: the world of commercialism and performance measurement is the context and the reality we are faced with. Especially in today’s economic climate, business leaders continuously look for performance and productivity gains, and the internal comms function is no exception. Business leaders continue to ask how the internal comms function adds value to the business. Getting the buy-in and continued support of your business leaders is now an integral part of the internal comms activity and, of course, business leaders will want to understand how communication contributes to the strategic aims of the business, and how it delivers clear and persistent value to the business.
Sarah Coleman has extensive experience working in and with leadership teams. Her experience across industry sectors as a senior manager, Director and developer give her a deep appreciation of the complexity and challenges facing business leaders. Sarah’s particular interest lies in developing the next generation of business leaders. Sarah is a Director at Business Evolution.
In previous blogs (“Women getting to Leadership: are women pulling their weight?” and “A “monstruous regiment” of women in the boardroom?”), I suggested that popular methods to move a career forward include finding role models and mentors. I say plural in both cases since a singleton will rarely provide all the various facets that you need; moreover, those you choose will also change over time, depending on your own needs.
Many organisations now have specific leadership development programmes, identifying their talent pipeline and focussing on developing these individuals through workshops, coaching, webinars, networking events, secondments, job rotation, etc. Some of these programmes include the opportunity to be sponsored. Certainly, many studies have identified that women need to build networks early in their careers to help them move up.
Why is this important?
One year on from Lord Davies’ report, 6.5 per cent of FTSE 100 executive directors and 14.9 per cent of non-executive directors were women. Among FTSE 250 companies, women comprised 4.6 per cent of executive directorships and 9.4 per cent of non-executive posts. Effectively, since Lord Davies’ report was first published, almost 100 women have been appointed to the boards of FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies, 27 per cent of all board appointments have been women and the number of FTSE 100 companies with all-male boards has dropped from 21 to 11. Even though the UK’s biggest companies have more diverse boards than a year ago, the number of female executives on FTSE 350 boards has actually fallen slightly in the past year.[1]
A 2011 US study[2] found that women underestimate the role sponsorship plays in their advancement, and that those who do grasp its importance fail to cultivate it properly. Many women seem to feel that getting ahead based on “connections” is a dirty tactic, and that hard work alone is their ticket to the top, whereas typically men do not seem to have this issue.
Even women who do grasp the importance of this type of relationship can fail to make it work for them effectively. Many feel that getting ahead based on “who you know” rather than “what you know” isn’t “playing fair”, and that hard work alone will provide them with the rewards and recognition they deserve. Technical and commercial knowledge are the hygiene factors here: these are the professional things that you have had to do, learn and experience in order to get you as far as you are. But these are only the “entry level” requirements for executive positions. Understanding the business, the market and the product portfolio are certainly important, but the next step up to senior level is a little different.
The study also identified that there is a reluctance to engage senior men as allies: sponsorship can be deliberately or otherwise misconstrued by others as sexual interest since it often involves an older, married male spending time with a younger female. The wider the power gap between them, the greater the risk to both parties so often ambitious women and highly placed men avoid it. The study also found that for women, the career ladder comes with judgments about their personal lives. If they’re married with children, their would-be sponsors assume they are less available, less dedicated and therefore unsuitable for senior levels. Ironically, at the same time a single woman with no children can be viewed by senior-level men as an oddity or a threat.
What exactly is a sponsor?
The terms “mentor” and “sponsor” are often used interchangeably. Many mentors’ ideas extend as far as providing advice and guidance, formulating a development plan to raise your profile at meetings, by networking or taking on high-profile projects.
By contrast, sponsorship is about your personal advocacy from men and women in positions of power in the organisation. Sponsors help you identify and take advantage of career opportunities. A mentor gives advice and guidance (typically having been there, done that, and got the t-shirt) but a sponsor will actively promote your profile and introduce you to development and promotion opportunities. In some formal development programs, a sponsor is held accountable for actively helping the development of the individual and is measured on the success of that individual. This means that often one of the defining criteria for a sponsor is how highly placed they are within an organisation.
“By helping you find projects or job opportunities that will help you advance, sponsors take a more active role in your career development: they advocate for you, assist you in gaining visibility in your company and industry and fight to help you rise through the ranks”, says Margot Carmichael Lester[3].
Formal sponsor programs
Recently, American Express hosted its first summit for top women managers to “increase engagement from our senior female talent and to put a spotlight on the importance of creating meaningful sponsorship relationships,” says Kerrie Peraino, chief diversity officer for American Express in the greater New York area. “You need engagement from the top and an executive team willing to lead by example.”
KPMG has also created a development program that identifies “high potentials” among minority groups of employees who traditionally need a boost, including women. Senior leadership is engaged in sponsoring candidates and supporting their development for the top 200 roles in the firm. “There is a clear focus on women. We have the most senior members of the firm and national partners actually engaged in relationships with high potentials, to make sure they have the right exposure and sponsorship to achieve a [higher] level,” says Kathy Hannan, KPMG’s national managing partner for diversity and corporate responsibility.[4]
There are a number of notable themes running through formal programs: there is the expectation that those at senior level do sponsor high potentials in order to make sure they have the right exposure and achieve career advancement, so developing the pipeline of talent for the success of the organisation; further, that sponsors are held directly accountable for the success of the individuals; finally, that this success is measured.
Get prepared in order to benefit
Whether or not your organisation offers a formal sponsor program, how can you benefit from a sponsor?
1. Understand what you have to offer a sponsor
Recognise that this is a reciprocal relationship, and that you will need to give something back to your sponsor. Can you make a difference to your sponsor by getting noticed, making an impact and getting on? By actively advancing your interests and introducing you to development and promotion opportunities, sponsors put their own reputation and credibility on the line. Succeeding and getting ahead will reflect well on them as well as helping you, so ensure you make the relationship work for your sponsor as much as for you.
2. Understand what your sponsor has to offer you
Where do you find a sponsor? Look for an appropriate senior-level person who has the power, influence and position to open doors for you. This may not even be within your own organisation: it could be an influential figure in your field and industry. A sponsor’s sex doesn’t matter, just how high he or she is in the organisation. Approach them with an offer (remember that if you don’t ask, you don’t get) and again recognise the reciprocity in the relationship.
3. Interview your sponsor
Don’t be afraid to approach a number of sponsors: effectively interview them for the role. Some organisation programs match sponsors with high potentials and simply expect the relationship to work; however, these relationships don’t always work out for a variety of reasons. So hold a “beauty parade” of sponsors: set expectations upfront, agree the parameters, and accept that there will be a “natural life” to the relationship.
4. Know when to move on
Notice when the relationship starts to flag: can it be re-energised, or is it time to move on? Can you fire your sponsor if things do not go according to plan? Nobody likes to think that they have been taken advantage of purely for their network, power and influence base but there will come a time when you will both need to move on from the relationship. If you have agreed the rules and set expectations upfront, both parties are more likely to recognise that the relationship is no longer mutually advantageous and that it is better to close it off. This is a great natural break point to review your situation and decide whether to look for a further sponsor.
I often suggest to women that if they want their career to match their ambition there is no room for modesty, and that looking for opportunities for self-promotion is a positive move. If a sponsor is willing to actively promote you and to introduce you to development and promotion opportunities, the door is then open to you to prove yourself.
Sarah Coleman has extensive experience working in and with leadership teams. Her experience across industry sectors as a senior manager, Director and developer give her a deep appreciation of the complexity and challenges facing business leaders. Sarah’s particular interest lies in developing women for the next generation of business leaders. Sarah is a Director at Business Evolution.
[1] Liz Bolshaw in the Financial Times, January 26 2012
[2] Hewlett SA., Peraino K., Sherbin L., Sumberg K., “The Sponsor Effect: Breaking Through the Last Glass Ceiling” January 2011
[3] Lester MC., “Why Women Need a Sponsor for Career Development”, www.career-advice.monster.com
[4] Prost M., “Mentoring Missteps “ HR Executive Online January 5, 2011
 John Adair’s work with ICI during the 1980s was a landmark in British industry, defining the shift from old style command-and-control management to the concept of leadership. His work helped dispose of the myth that “leaders are born and not made”: leaders can be trained or developed, although people do vary in their relative amount of leadership potential and tend to favour particular leadership competencies.
Adair identified that leadership exists on three levels (team, operational, strategic[1]) so that leadership development doesn’t start and stop only with senior management. He also debunked the common fallacy that all an organisation needs is a good strategic leader at the helm. This is also echoed in the Egon Zehnder International and McKinsey & Company’s research published in 2011, which has disproved the myth that a small group of high-potentials – or just a star CEO – can drive business success. Instead, the study shows that a critical mass of excellent leaders is needed to trigger and sustain corporate growth.
This study quantified the link between leadership talent and revenue growth, so demonstrating a return on investment for leadership development[2]. Here, a global sample of 5,560 leaders across 47 listed companies from all major industry sectors was used, and each company’s performance and leadership strength was analysed for a period of at least five years. The aim was to focus on the leadership competencies that matter most for growth, especially important given the current economic climate. The study found evidence of a link between achieving above-average growth and having a critical mass of outstanding leadership talent, but also found that truly excellent leaders are few and far between, and that it is not easy to develop leaders.
So what does this mean for business? The research identified that:
- beyond a focus on Customer Impact[3], there is no standard skill set for success
- leadership is always contextual, and the competencies needed to achieve growth vary greatly, depending on the business strategy. It is not true that a solid talent bench can pull off any strategy
- for above-average growth, companies need a critical mass of senior executives with superior competency levels most relevant for their particular growth strategy.
So, what are the steps that companies should take to configure their leadership for business growth? The research suggests:
- Align leadership competencies with the corporate strategy
- Assess managers against those competencies by comparing the current talent with required standards
- Identify ways to close competency gaps, so building a critical mass of excellent leaders. For example, modifying recruitment and selection processes, job rotation and secondment, establishing a mentor and/or sponsor programme, promoting learning agility[4], etc.
- To establish a pipeline of talent, define the required competencies and skill levels for each job family and hierarchy level, and focus existing business processes and talent management practices on these critical competencies
- Celebrate the extremes and develop and promote “spiky” leaders. The research identified that leaders who drive high-growth companies are “spiky”, having a few but particular key competencies, rather than being uniform across all competencies. Though these spiky leaders have a solid grounding in all aspects of leadership, they have invested in becoming best-in-the-world in their areas of strength, even if this means they are average at other leadership competencies.
Finally, the research highlighted that strengthening even one or two leadership competencies in an individual takes considerable time and investment. Here, the last word goes to John Adair. He recognised that too many organisations look for a quick fix, but estimates that at least a five year horizon is needed to grow and develop leaders.
Sarah Coleman’s extensive experience across industry sectors as a senior manager, Director and developer give her a deep appreciation of the complexity and challenges facing business leaders. Sarah has extensive experience working in and with leadership teams. Her particular interest lies in developing women for the next generation of business leaders. Sarah is a Director at Business Evolution.
[1] Adair, J. 2005 “ How to grow leaders: the seven key principles of effective leadership”
[2] Study by Egon Zehnder International and McKinsey & Company , February 2011 “Competencies that Generate Growth – Return on Leadership “
[3] Defined as “the capacity to understand customers’ evolving needs”. Companies that had a critical mass of executives who got excellent scores in this competency recorded superior growth consistently.”
[4] Defined as “an executive’s ability to acquire new skills quickly by seeking and learning from new experiences, which allows them to be more adaptable in this uncertain global environment”.
The banking crisis raised the profile of the macho, risk-taking culture and at the same time highlighted it as one of the things which encouraged it. The question was asked whether the more open, collective decision-making approach which is typically credited to women would have made a difference. More recently, David Cameron has argued that ending a male-dominated business culture will help companies succeed, and he is keen to see more rapid progress on increasing the number of women on boards so raising the possibility of quotas.
One year on from Lord Davies’ report, 6.5 per cent of FTSE 100 executive directors and 14.9 per cent of non-executive directors were women. Among FTSE 250 companies, women comprised 4.6 per cent of executive directorships and 9.4 per cent of non-executive posts. Effectively, since Lord Davies’ report was first published, almost 100 women have been appointed to the boards of FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies, 27 per cent of all board appointments have been women and the number of FTSE 100 companies with all-male boards has dropped from 21 to 11. Even though the UK’s biggest companies have more diverse boards than a year ago, the number of female executives on FTSE 350 boards has actually fallen slightly in the past year.[1]
Research shows that balancing a board of directors to have at least 20% female directors has a significant positive impact on a businesses’ growth in equity and profitability. You might have read slightly different figures, but report after report shows that having a balanced board is good for growth, good for profitability and good for sustainability.
So, what types of women are “welcomed” (I use the term very specifically) onto a board?
It is often remarked that people recruit people like themselves. Intuitively, we all feel comfortable with people who are like us. It is easy to choose who you know, who’s in your network but do we need more clones of the same board types? Lucy Marcus, Professor of Leadership & Governance at IE Business School in Madrid remarks “When I see a business with a board that has a preponderance of people with similar, if not identical, profiles, this is a signal that it is not a healthy business built for the long term. It is the canary in the coal mine — the warning that business fundamentals are not being looked after. If a board is not diverse, it makes me wonder about the business as a whole.” [2]
 The value of having a woman on the board is in a woman behaving like a woman on the board, and being welcomed for doing so; it is not in women behaving as a man, especially taking on the traits of the predominantly male board, under the impression that it would help them to “fit in”. A different perspective, a different approach, a different skill set but still aligned and focused on the business vision and business performance. And it takes self-confidence and emotional resilience not to be swayed by peers, to retain integrity and authenticity.
“Being able to regulate one’s masculine behaviour does not simply put women on par with men, it gives them even more of an advantage,” notes Dr Olivia O’Neill.[3] Her 2011 research suggests that you must be assertive and confident in the business arena to be successful; however, if you are aggressive as a woman you are sometimes punished for behaving in ways that are contrary to the feminine stereotype. So, in the business world, women who are aggressive, assertive, and confident but who can turn these traits on and off as the situation demands are more likely to be successful.
There is strong recognition that at board level a different level of sophistocation, engagement, ownership and participation is required. The board typically runs on emotional maturity, even more so than at other levels. Some of the preparation is on setting expectations of these women (this is a significant commitment which can have a critical impact on work-life balance) as well as on making the board itself ready to receive them. It is one thing to identify, develop and promote talented females to the board, and it is another to ensure the board is prepared and ready to receive her. Typically, there is work required to prepare the board and review its effectiveness, especially where there are varying levels of understanding and commitment to inclusion, diversity and sustainability.
Those women who have made the move to the board have told us that there is a sudden realisation of the energy and drive required. They have recognised mental agility and technical ability as being the hygiene factors to get to the senior levels in the first place, but equally have recognised the necessity to step up to the mark in being even more well-organised and disciplined, with a strong commitment and work ethic.
Sarah Coleman’s extensive experience across industry sectors as a senior manager, Director and developer give her a deep appreciation of the complexity and challenges facing business leaders. Sarah has extensive experience working in and with leadership teams. Her particular interest lies in developing women for the next generation of business leaders. Sarah is a Director at Business Evolution.
[1] Liz Bolshaw, Financial Times, January 26 2012
[2]www.blogs.reuters.com/lucy-marcus/
[3] “Overcoming the Backlash Effect: Self-Monitoring and Women’s Promotions,” Olivia A. O’Neill and Charles A. O’Reilly III, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 2011.
I was talking recently with a friend of mine who has owned his business for the past 10 years. During this time, his business has gone from success to success and he has just opened up a new office in Dubai. We were discussing the use of coaching in business, specifically high growth business coaching, and I asked him at what point he would engage a business coach. He responded at first that he was just too busy to do any coaching justice and that “coaching doesn’t work with awkward sods like me” but finally, when pushed a little further, the real story slowly emerged.
I had thought that the reasons might have been to do with the performance of the business. After all, opening up your business for scrutiny even by an impartial and non-judgmental coach has in the past been described to me by one client as akin to “undressing in public”. In fact, for this successful business leader, the reasons were to do with his personal brick walls, his own attitudes and beliefs. He told me:
- I hate taking advice and know my own mind
- I have fears I don’t want others to see
- I hate looking weak
- I hate talking about my feelings: it makes me lose focus
- Looking incompetent is my greatest fear
- I worry I’ll discover I’ve been doing it all wrong.
But, at the same time, these were his issues for the business:
- I want to grow my business and for it to succeed despite me
- I don’t want the business to miss opportunities because of me
- The business has got really complicated and I don’t always know the way forward
- It has got increasingly lonely as the business has grown
- Everyone thinks I am the expert at everything, and has all the answers
- I’m in danger of looking seriously incompetent if I don’t develop with the business
- I fear failure of the business more than ever, and more than anything.
So how could business coaching help? Well, in our experience the business leaders we work with prize the safe space and time-out we give them, which helps them and their senior teams to step back from the day to day minutiae of the business and look at the wider picture.
Sometimes it’s about giving them the opportunity to talk openly and get help and support without feeling guilty, and without it being taken as a sign of weakness or ignorance.
Sometimes it’s about helping the business build resilience and better manage the rate of change; transforming the business into a continuously improving and learning organisation for future performance; helping the business leaders themselves get out of their people’s way to allow them make better decisions; supporting the business to run profitably without personnel having to chase the leadership for each and every individual decision.
But mainly business coaching is about focusing on business performance, capacity and capability. Business coaches look at strategy, finance, marketing, operations, personnel, productivity and profitability as well as leadership, team dynamics and personal performance. They take a holistic view of the business to understand how each part is integrated with the rest, and where the pressure points are within the business. Business coaching is is about supporting a business in “raising their game” and “taking the next step” perhaps by increasing levels of profits, enhancing the competitive edge, creating the ideal conditions for the business’s long-term success or raising the business profile.
In the UK several years ago just 4% of small businesses used coaches. Current figures show in excess of 20% of small business enterprises are using coaching as part of their growth strategy[1]. Coaching is increasing because it is a cost effective means of achieving excellent results for teams and businesses. Organisations are asking “can we afford not to use a business coach? “
There is increasing evidence that coaching is one of the most powerful ways of developing people and adding to bottom line business performance. A study of Fortune 1000 companies[2] using coaching showed these percentages of executives reported the following range of benefits from the coaching they received:
- An increase in productivity (by 53%)
- Increased customer service (by 39%)
- Increased retention of senior people (by 32%)
- Reduction in costs (by 23%)
- Increased bottom line profitability (by 22%).
The over-riding requirement of business leaders is to drive the business forward: they expect a business coach to be able to earn their keep by supporting that ambition and to have the credibility of personal experience, not just the theory and qualifications. The focus is on people who have done it, rather than those who can talk about it. This is where real-life experience counts: being able to bring knowledge and ideas from a variety of industry sectors, and across different business models, is extremely valuable.
Sarah Coleman is an award-winning High Growth Business Coach helping organisations develop capacity and capability for sustainable growth and performance improvement. She specialises in organisational strategy and planning, and has extensive experience working in and with leadership teams. Sarah is a Director at Business Evolution.
[1] Auerbach, JE (2005) “Seeing the Light: What Organisations Need to Know About Executive Coaching”.
[2] Fisher, A (2001) “Executive Coaching – with Returns a CFO Could Love”, Fortune Magazine
Most businesses know the proven commercial benefits of having a more diverse board reflecting the diversity of their own client base. In May 2010, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) revised the UK Corporate Governance Code to include for the first time a principle recognising the value of diversity in the boardroom, stating that “the search for board candidates should be conducted, and appointments made, on merit, against objective criteria and with due regard for the benefits of diversity on the board, including gender.”[1]
Another of the most recent influential reports for the corporate sector in the UK is the Davies Report[2] challenging FTSE 100 boards to provide a minimum of 25% female representation by 2015, so setting the agenda for corporates over the next few years. The percentage of FTSE 100 board seats held by women is now 14.2% (up from 12.5%) and since the Davies Report was published there have been 21 new female appointments.[3] The percentage of women holding directorships on top corporate boards is important because it is taken by many as indicative of the degree to which women have equal access to power and influence in business, decades after equality legislation was passed in the UK. It is equally important because it will form part ofthe agenda informing business strategy for the future, especially around talent recognition and retention, succession planning, recruitment and selection.
 Some have viewed the moves as “quotas” levied on business but love it or loathe it the challenge is here to stay. Forgetting for a moment the rights or wrongs of this, it is one point to specify a proportion of women in the board room but another to find those women capable, currently or potentially, of being able to fulfil such a role. “Ability” is not just about technical ability, it is also about confidence and motivation.
In “Do Women Lack Ambition?”[4], Fels identified that women are more likely than men to abandon top careers because their achievements go unrecognised, and suggests that the underlying problem has to do with cultural ideals of femininity. I would like to add that some women who have had equal access to education and ambition also have priorities other than the time and energy required to operate at board level. The emotional and time conflict of managing family and career has been reported in depth by IDDAS in their 2009 study of women on FTSE 100 boards.[5] In “Women don’t go after the big jobs with gusto: true or false?”[6] Silva and Carter identified that the best career advancement tactic for women is getting their achievements known: actively seeking recognition and credit for their achievements, and asking for promotion. They also identified that even when this happens, the gender gap in advancement and compensation remains due to workplace culture.
Since Norway’s introduction of quotas in 2008 mandating at least 40% of each sex on publicly listed boards, a number of European countries (for example, e.g. Spain, Iceland, Finland, France, Netherlands, Belgium and Italy) have, or are considering, legislation in the form of quotas. Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission, has stated that whilst she would prefer organisations to take actions themselves to improve gender balance in their leadership, if there is no progress over the next couple of years she is prepared to push for European-wide legislation on quotas to increase the numbers of women at board level.
The pressure is on then to start to determine what the specific barriers are and address them. Unsurprisingly, these barriers can depend on the situation and context, and can be different for different businesses, and for different women. A good start would be better mentoring support, development opportunities and flexible working to help develop the pipeline for women onto boards.
Sarah Coleman has particular interest and experience in working with women in leadership roles to help them succeed and thrive. She is an award-winning consultant and coach helping organisations develop capacity and capability for sustainable performance improvement. Sarah is a Director at Business Evolution.
[1] Supporting Principle B.2, UK Corporate Governance Code, Financial Reporting Council, May 2010
[3] “Women on Boards: 6 month monitoring report” October 2011, Cranfield University
[4] Fels, A. “Do Women Lack Ambition?”, Harvard Business Review April 2004.
[5] “Board Dynamics: a female perspective. Women on FTSE 100 boards”, IDDAS September 2009
[6] Silva, C. and Carter, N. “Women don’t go after the big jobs with gusto: true or false?” Harvard Business Review, October 2011
Are women promoting their accomplishments enough in organisations? Typically, they are not “self promoting”: they do the job and expect they will be noticed for a job well done, as well as being promoted within organisations. There is frustration and anxiety when this doesn’t happen.
Having been a senior woman in global corporates and public services, I have experienced my own frustrations and learnt that I do need to be “self promoting” and that in setting up my own business there is no room for modesty! This also means that I have a particular interest and experience in working with women in leadership roles to help them succeed and thrive. As a Leadership Coach, I am often asked by women how I managed my own way up organisations. To be quite frank, the answer is “with some difficulty acting against entrenched views”, but I was also extremely fortunate to have found excellent male and female, formal and informal mentors who helped me reflect and plan. Having set up my own business, I continue to value mentors and coaches each of which bring their own particular strengths.
A frequent theme which I have come across in women, although it is also present to a lesser extent in men, is “imposter syndrome” where women typically deny their strengths due to their own limiting beliefs (“it was just luck”) and are worried that they might somehow get “found out”, that someone will discover that they are not as talented or as capable as their promotion might indicate. This often gets translated through into everyday behaviours such as anxiety and indicates a confidence gap, something which is highlighted in the recent Institute of Leadership and Management study[1]. This is quite a different scenario to women who deliberately chose not to go for promotion or other career moves since their interests and priorities lie elsewhere.
 In “4 Skills that Give Women a Sustainable Advantage Over Men”[2], Llopis describes how women are opportunity experts, networking professionals, relationship specialists and natural givers all of which helps to make them socially conscious leaders. I’m not a big fan of gross generalisations, but all of this would indicate that women’s typical talents lie in building strong, effective relationships.
Conversely, in “Four Ways Women Stunt Their Careers Unintentionally”[3], the authors conclude that women can be their own worst enemy in being overly modest (women believe their accomplishments should speak for themselves whereas men are more willing to take public credit for their successes); not asking (women fail to get promoted because they fail to step up and apply and, in effect, not asking means you’ve lost the chance to influence the outcome. Really, if you don’t ask, you don’t get); blending in (some women go to great lengths to avoid standing out in meetings, in the boardroom or even in the elevator); and remaining silent (it is not always easy to find space in meetings when colleagues are all fighting for the floor, but this is a missed chance to express your point of view).
I recently did a quick and dirty survey of 20 women business leaders across all industry sectors, asking “as a woman leader and whilst you were making your way through your organisation’s promotional levels or setting up your own business, what THREE THINGS would you have liked to have known earlier about leadership or that have been of most benefit to you?”. The results were varied but generally fit around the following themes:
- Role models: find role models on which to develop your own style, traits and skills. A single role model will rarely provide all the various facets that you need. Role models also change over time, depending on your own needs and can be in the form of mentors or sponsors for your career
- Develop yourself: in terms of self awareness as well as technical ability. Consider also how you present yourself in body language, posture and mannerisms
- Find your voice: firstly, physically with pitch and volume; secondly, intellectually be prepared to voice a more varied, less conventional point of view; thirdly, have a point of view
- Recognise that doing a great job doesn’t get you promoted in itself. Yes, please do continue to deliver high performance, but this is the hygiene factor. You also need to make connections, identify those key decision makers and develop your influencing skills in order to raise your profile
- Be positive, and be seen to be positive
- Understand the numbers!
Sarah Coleman has particular interest and experience in working with women in leadership roles to help them succeed and thrive. She is an award-winning consultant and coach helping organisations develop capacity and capability for sustainable performance improvement. Sarah is a Director at Business Evolution.
Typically, organisations know that employees give of their best when they believe that organisation is worth working for. But what can employees themselves do to help develop organisations to become and remain worth working for?
Relationships. The ability to create a positive impact and good relationships with our bosses and our peers determines how well we work with them: the better the relationship, the more effectively you will work together so ensuring benefit for you, your work and your career. In “The Speed of Trust”[1], Stephen Covey discusses 13 behaviours for effective personal and professional relationships ranging from straight talking to keeping commitments.
Understand perspectives. It is very easy to criticise others without understanding what is important to them: their perspectives, concerns, objectives and motivations. Leaders, in particular, are very visible in organisations and do make easy targets for criticism especially when it appears that your concerns andtheir ideas do not coincide. By “putting yourself in your leaders’ shoes” you will be able to understand what is important to them, so understand what is important in your role in the organisation.
Manage upwards. Understanding what the other person wants and what is important to them is key to managing upwards. How adept are you at understanding different perspectives, or is it only you who counts in any situation? Helping your line manager or leader meet their objectives will also help you meet yours. Take the time to observe how they use their authority, the way they relate to others, and their communication style. How does their style impact you, and how might they change their style for better results? It will also help inform you of beneficial or inappropriate communication, negotiation and influence styles so helping to build your own capabilities.
 Resilience. Especially with the current economic climate, organisations are rapidly moving through change in their vision, strategy, markets, suppliers – in fact, every facet of their operations. How are you able to bring to the fore your own inner strengths and positivity, that “Inner Hero” and “Can Do” attitude to keep not only yourself but your team motivated through challenging and ambiguous times? Southwest Airlines calls this the “Warrior Spirit”[2] – a cheerfully fierce approach to challenges. And if you truly cannot find this within yourself, perhaps you are in the wrong role or the wrong organisation: you always have a choice.
As well as the formal employment contract setting out the job requirements, the “psychological contract” between employee and organisation works in two directions and sets the dynamics of the relationship. Where this informal contract is broken, it might result in reduced loyalty or commitment, and other more overtly inappropriate behaviours by either or both parties. Both parties have the responsibility to make
the relationship work in ways which they can directly control: the responsibility for making an organisation “worth working for” rests with both employers and employees.
[1] Covey, S “The Speed of Trust”, 2006
[2] Work Hard, Desire to be the best, Be courageous, Display urgency, Persevere,
Innovate
This Worth Working teleseminar was recorded by Sarah Coleman and Jo Ann Sweeney, and first aired May 2011.
Sarah Coleman is a twice award-winning management consultant and coach helping organisations develop capacity and capability for sustainable growth and performance improvement. She is also an experienced and qualified Project and Programme Manager. She has extensive hands-on experience of ICT and business transformation projects, and of turning around failing projects. She runs masterclasses in Project
Sponsorship and is a Director at Business Evolution.
Jo Ann Sweeney is a communications consultant and mentor who helps project managers win the support of their sponsors, senior executives and end users. She has just launched the brand new Communicating Projects MasterClasses to help teams present their projects so audiences listen, understand and get involved.
Typically, organisations know that employees give of their best when they believe that organisation is worth working for. However, given the current economic climate where employment figures have fallen fairly consistently, it cannot be a surprise that some organisations feel that it is an employer’s market where they can easily pick, choose and sometimes discard employees.
But spare a thought to what happens when the market swings back, as these things tend to do over time, and today’s desperate employee becomes tomorrow’s attractive and poachable expert to another organisation. Organisations might consider it prudent to demonstrate now that they value their employees in order to keep talent, experience and expertise.
 High-pressure environments are often masked by a façade of organisational values, the jargon of investment in people and talk about people being the most important asset. Add to this the different expectations of Generation X and Generation Y , and employers are well advised to understand what makes any organisation worth working for in the eyes of current and potential employees.
It isn’t just the usual issues about remuneration, skills development and challenge. It’s also about organisations meeting its employees’ needs around culture and emotional intelligence not just at the team, department or local level, but also at the organisational or “group” level.
From an organisation’s point of view, there are a number of well-researched themes which impact employees’ perceptions of organisations. For example,
Trust consists of two basic dynamics. I trust you if I believe in your competence and capability, and that you are genuinely concerned and caring for others. However, if I know you are good at what you do but that you won’t support me, I might respect you but I won’t trust you. Similarly, if I know you care for my welfare but are incompetent, I might be friendly towards you but I still won’t trust you. Finally, if you are not capable and won’t support me we probably won’t form any type of relationship and the opportunity to benefit both of us may be lost.
 Open, honest communication flows up, down and across an organisation. Wise organisations use the informal as well as formal networks (and there are plenty of both) to understand what is happening at different levels and in different parts of the organisation. They also ensure their messages are relevant, consistent, well-articulated and reach everyone regardless of role, seniority or geographic location. In addition, they allow open, honest feedback and give it proper consideration.
Congruity. As senior managers do you honestly and consistently practice your organisation’s values? Really? Because there are a lot of people watching what you say and what you do, and not only noticing the inconsistencies but being quite verbal about them too.
Leadership emerges and is welcomed at all levels, not just at the top tier. The type of leadership is also important: in times of change and stress leaders can over focus on the tangible aspects such as profit, productivity, cost base and market share to the detriment of all else. A constant stream of leadership initiatives at best becomes something of a joke (“what’s the current flavour of the month?”) and at worst “strategic initiative fatigue” where employees tune out.
But what can employees themselves do to help develop organisations become and remain worth working for? (to be continued …..)
[1] Chartered Management Institute, “Building an organisation fit for Generation Y”; Institute of Leadership & Management and Ashridge Business School, “Great expectations: managing Generation Y”
[2] Scholtes, PR “The Leader’s Handbook” 1998
This Worth Working teleseminar was recorded by Sarah Coleman and Jo Ann Sweeney, and first aired May 2011.
Sarah Coleman is a twice award-winning management consultant and coach helping organisations develop capacity and capability for sustainable growth and performance improvement. She is also an experienced and qualified Project and Programme Manager. She has extensive hands-on experience of ICT and business transformation projects, and of turning around failing projects. She runs masterclasses in Project Sponsorship and is a Director at Business Evolution.
Jo Ann Sweeney is a communications consultant and mentor who helps project managers win the support of their sponsors, senior executives and end users. She has just launched the brand new Communicating Projects MasterClasses to help teams present their projects so audiences listen, understand and get involved.
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to develop the skills of their leaders and seniors regarding the big influence they can have on project success. Many do not get involved in basic areas such as project status; when specific support is required they are conspicuous by their absence; large, complex projects can start with impressive impetus and strong sponsor presence, then are quickly discarded when the next high profile project appears.
