“Bitch, geisha, invisible woman….or just another guy?” (Margaret Heffernan) In mentioning these stereotypes to female executives, I see some ‘sad but true’ smiles of recognition. The more successful female executives then go on to explain how they have learned to successfully navigate among these roles and beyond. Their issues are complex because gender roles and female participation rates at the executive level vary from country to country and from organization to organization. Nevertheless, there are some common questions that tend to emerge around:
- Professional and personal sustainability
- Enhanced ability to influence and persuade
- Strategic networking and career planning
I help clients to rediscover purpose, passion and possibility in their professional and personal lives. I also work with select groups of executive women on these topics through our 3.5 day Through the Ceiling Authentic Leadership for Executive Women Program. (www.throughceiling.com)
Sample assignments
Coached the head of communications and public affairs of a major business unit of a global manufacturing company on how to improve her work/life effectiveness. She was struggling to keep to the 80% work commitment that she had promised herself and her family. Her 360 feedback indicated that she was not networking sufficiently. Though she had a great boss, all of the communications officers struggled with the frequent rages of the CEO. The coaching focused on acknowledging tradeoffs and building her areas of control and influence. Key stakeholders reported improvement in targeted areas.
Coached the #2 person in a global staff function of an international services company (with dual headquarters) on handling a difficult boss, getting the work done and leading across borders. The coaching focused on enhancing her strategic influencing skills and working more effectively across the cultures of the two headquarters. She was eventually chosen to succeed her boss, reporting directly to the Executive Board.
To love what you do and feel that it matters, how could anything be more fun?Katherine Graham