The Pandemic has Illuminated the Need for Companies to Double Down on Investing in Women Leaders
Women have been disproportionally impacted by the pandemic. One in four women are considering downshifting or leaving the workforce altogether as a result of the Covid crisis. They’re participation in the labor force hit a 33-year low at the start of this year; and it’s unclear if, when and how they will return. This has amplified the discussion around gender equity in the workplace, but will it accelerate what companies do about it? Now is the time for businesses to reimagine how they can retain and empower women.
In our coaching practice, we work a lot with women leaders. Afterall, we are both former C-suite executives who know a thing or two about how women can succeed. We created our portfolio of LEADForward programs with the goal of helping high potential women leaders understand how to successfully navigate their career and equipping them with the tools to level up. How can companies support women leaders to ensure that we don’t backtrack on the pre-pandemic progress made toward narrowing the gender gap? After coaching hundreds of women, here’s what we’ve learned that works.
1. Stay small and go deep. Bringing women together as a collective can be powerful, but too often the groups are too large for there to be a meaningful exchange. Smaller groups — consisting of no more than 20 individuals, at most — are optimal. This allows each person to fully participate: to find their voice and, in turn, to know that they’ve been heard. Smaller groups result in greater trust, which fosters deeper dialogue and relationships that stick — all of which advances individual development.
2. Tackle leadership themes specific to women. Leadership is leadership is leadership, right? On the contrary, while it is well proven that while there are many common areas of leadership opportunities for all leaders, regardless of gender, there are also shared challenges mostly unique to women, such as developing confidence, communicating with power and authority or negotiating to get what you want. Tackling leadership topics through a female lens is essential to achieving breakthrough progress for women.
3. Leverage the power of peer support. Women can be notoriously reticent to seek out support, yet a robust professional network is well known to accelerate careers. Once women open themselves up to the wisdom and insight that comes from the experience of others, particularly women just like them, their professional growth can be exponential.
4. Execute development over time to allow for practice, reflection and learning. Shorter “one-and-done” programs for women abound and certainly can be motivational, but rarely do they result in substantive progress. Change and learning take time. In order for leaders to create new behaviors that are sustainable, they must engage in trial-and-error, repetition, feedback and deliberation. The result will be a process of continuous improvement and progress.
5. Engage accomplished women to model and share. Giving visibility to role models allows other women to see themselves in someone else’s success. That’s the power of the mirror, and it works. Hearing the stories and learning from the experiences of accomplished women who have succeeded before them provides enduring benefit. Enlisting successful women pays dividends for everyone involved.
6. Create opportunities for mentorship and coaching. Nothing drives leadership growth more than individual attention. Mentorship is proven to be particularly important to fuel women leaders. Mentors can be men (allies) or women (role models). The important thing is that they are genuinely invested in the leader’s success and willing to dedicate time to the mentoring relationship. Formal and informal coaching can drive performance and create lasting change. It should be personalized to the leader to help them maximize their potential and take their leadership to the next level.
For companies that are truly committed to the advancement of women into leadership positions, these six key elements are a winning combination. As we enter the “new normal”, let’s use this moment as a catalyst to accelerate the progress of women in the workplace. It’s time to LEADForward and join the movement.
Join our next LEADForward Roundtable Orlando cohort starting on August 23rd, 2021. Apply now!
