Robert Peston (BBC blog, Why men are to blame for the crunch, 29 July 2009) may be right, but will things ever change? Commission after commission reveals that discrimination against women at most work levels is only improving at a snail’s pace, if at all. In Norway, they’re tackling the problem with a minimum 40% quota of women on plc boards. But would that work here? Indeed, is it enough?
I’ve been coaching, developing and working with big business for many years and it seems there are a number of issues that need to be addressed – and soon.
We need diversity
The first thing to say is that this isn’t just about being ‘fair’, it’s about being better. With all-male boards and executive teams comes a very real tendency to think the same way and then develop similar solutions to the challenges the business faces. People have a natural tendency to recruit in their own image. Everyone agrees, so it must be the right thing to do. Organisations need diversity of all kinds; race, gender, style, experience, approach, background. Only with true diversity can organisations become more dynamic and creative in the market.
Cultures must change
Some organisations have recognised that they need to be more diverse; they’ve established ways of employing people from more diverse backgrounds, even setting quotas. But there is a significant risk that this will all be for nothing, unless the fundamental cultures of organisations are addressed at the same time. Too often organisations aren’t seeing the added value of diversity, because once, for example, women join, they soon realise that their skills aren’t really valued and they leave. Either that or they realise that they have to copy the dominant group to get things done. They become ‘more male’ in their approach and organisations fail to realise the true benefits of diversity.
Leaders need help
At CHPD we’ve been assessing and developing leaders for more than a decade and something continues to trouble me. The fact is that vast majority of leaders that come to us have weaknesses in the very leadership capabilities that they need to operate effectively in today’s complex and dynamic environment.
No individual leader can be expected to have strengths in all areas, but across boards and executive teams you would want to see a good spread of strengths. That’s why diversity is so important; in a team you’ll cover each other’s weaknesses and complement the strengths.
We find that the least developed behaviours are those complex interpersonal and cognitive ones which enable people to understand and value others’ perspectives, think outside the existing paradigms, and create powerful ideas within a group – we call them empathy, teamwork and conceptual flexibility.
Women are more likely to be naturally stronger in empathy, teamwork and conceptual flexibility, so there is a real chance that the right women could help redress the balance in the boardroom and beyond. However, in my view there is such a dearth of strategic strength in this area that we should look urgently at development activities for all genders to improve these key behaviours.
And finally …
So diversity makes excellent business sense. It can’t just be about quotas, it must also be about changing systems, structures and values, to create cultures which value and encourage diversity. And we need to help all of our leaders develop the vital skills that redress the imbalances that have contributed to our current economic predicament.
For all our efforts to date, we’ve done barely more than scratch the surface. Let’s stop tinkering and start shifting the paradigm.
More on leadership behaviours
I’ve been coaching, developing and working with big business for many years and it seems there are a number of issues that need to be addressed – and soon.
We need diversity
The first thing to say is that this isn’t just about being ‘fair’, it’s about being better. With all-male boards and executive teams comes a very real tendency to think the same way and then develop similar solutions to the challenges the business faces. People have a natural tendency to recruit in their own image. Everyone agrees, so it must be the right thing to do. Organisations need diversity of all kinds; race, gender, style, experience, approach, background. Only with true diversity can organisations become more dynamic and creative in the market.
Cultures must change
Some organisations have recognised that they need to be more diverse; they’ve established ways of employing people from more diverse backgrounds, even setting quotas. But there is a significant risk that this will all be for nothing, unless the fundamental cultures of organisations are addressed at the same time. Too often organisations aren’t seeing the added value of diversity, because once, for example, women join, they soon realise that their skills aren’t really valued and they leave. Either that or they realise that they have to copy the dominant group to get things done. They become ‘more male’ in their approach and organisations fail to realise the true benefits of diversity.
Leaders need help
At CHPD we’ve been assessing and developing leaders for more than a decade and something continues to trouble me. The fact is that vast majority of leaders that come to us have weaknesses in the very leadership capabilities that they need to operate effectively in today’s complex and dynamic environment.
No individual leader can be expected to have strengths in all areas, but across boards and executive teams you would want to see a good spread of strengths. That’s why diversity is so important; in a team you’ll cover each other’s weaknesses and complement the strengths.
We find that the least developed behaviours are those complex interpersonal and cognitive ones which enable people to understand and value others’ perspectives, think outside the existing paradigms, and create powerful ideas within a group – we call them empathy, teamwork and conceptual flexibility.
Women are more likely to be naturally stronger in empathy, teamwork and conceptual flexibility, so there is a real chance that the right women could help redress the balance in the boardroom and beyond. However, in my view there is such a dearth of strategic strength in this area that we should look urgently at development activities for all genders to improve these key behaviours.
And finally …
So diversity makes excellent business sense. It can’t just be about quotas, it must also be about changing systems, structures and values, to create cultures which value and encourage diversity. And we need to help all of our leaders develop the vital skills that redress the imbalances that have contributed to our current economic predicament.
For all our efforts to date, we’ve done barely more than scratch the surface. Let’s stop tinkering and start shifting the paradigm.
More on leadership behaviours
Chris Parry, 2009
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