If it’s not about accommodating the women, then what is it?

Fixing the glass ceiling isn’t about accommodating women. It’s about engaging the workforce.

There are many schools of thought when it comes to the glass ceiling.  I’ve encountered opinions that vary from “you go girl!” to “pick a new battle… that one’s been won” to “we’ve given you equality and now you want favour?”  What I find interesting is the view that the gender diversity issue is something that caters to women at the expense of men.  People have said that when parents choose to have children, they shouldn’t expect the government or their companies to have to look after them.

While I agree with that last statement, that viewpoint tells me that people still have an antiquated and limited view of what it means to have women in the workforce.  It tells me that some people are still living in the past and haven’t adjusted their thinking to the new realities of the world we live in today.

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The future starts at an early age

I recently finished reading the book, The Confidence Gap, by Russ Harris, again.  Its advice needs to be shared with all women, girls and parents.

Rule 1: The actions of confidence come first; the feelings of confidence come later.

In 2013, we’re trying to figure out how to make a dent in the problem of the low numbers of women in corporate senior leadership positions. One theory of how to fix the problem is to increase the level of confidence in women, and especially in young girls.  The theory is that the more confidence we have, the more likely we are to compete, take necessary risks, and build skills and careers that are prone to advancement.

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Warren Buffett replaces diamonds as girl’s best friend

If ever there was any doubt that women are good for business,  billionaire investment guru Warren Buffett has put the question to rest.  In a recent article in The Telegraph, Buffett is quoted as saying,”[It is] one of the things that make me so optimistic about the future.”  What is IT?  ‘It’ is the trend that women will have the same chance to succeed as men.  He calls this potential as ‘key to a bright economic future.’

It will be interesting to see what happens to popular opinion now that Buffett has claimed that women will save the US economy.  Just because he says it, doesn’t mean that everyone will embrace his opinion and open up their previously tightly closed arms.  But if there is anything that should give us cause to celebrate, this is it!

But just as many will criticize Buffett as will praise him.  After all, he didn’t get to be the third richest person on the planet by making everyone happy.

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How often do you lead from behind?

The family Olympics continues and while I’m clear that I’ll never make a great runner, I am also clear that unusual circumstances bring out leadership qualities and talents.

As my boys ran ahead together, my husband stayed with me. What I noticed was that Hubby would often run behind me, letting me get well ahead, and then he would put in a good fast sprint so he would get a bit of workout too. He’d stay with me for a while, we’d chat a bit, and he’d fall back again. What I found interesting was that when he was behind me, I felt as though I was in the lead. I know I wasn’t really, especially with my boys so far ahead that I couldn’t even see them any more. But that didn’t matter. I felt motivated because I felt like I was making some progress.

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Actions speak louder than words

 

I was reading an article recently that had career advice from women CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.  I noticed that some common themes emerged, and one of these themes was the importance of walking the talk.

I liked the way Irene Rosenfeld, CEO at Kraft Foods said, “The fastest way to create cultural change is to start acting the way you wish the company would start to act, and very soon it starts to catch on.”

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