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There is so much work being done to increase the number of women in senior roles in organisations.
Diversity and inclusion is at the top of many organisational agendas and some are even positively discriminating – so if there are two equally qualified and suitable candidates for a role, one male and one female, they will choose the female candidate.
Don’t get me wrong – there is still a lot to do. Unconscious bias, male dominated work environments and cultures, a lack of flexibility (although the pandemic has done much to change this in many companies), poor mentorship and sponsorship programmes and little psychological safety so that the necessary conversations can take place, all continue to contribute to a lack of women getting to the top positions.
However there is one thing that I’ve noticed in my coaching of women, that as women we can do something about ourselves, and it’s something that I don’t really get when I coach men, and that is how we stop ourselves from going for those positions.
Let me explain – I have coached countless ambitious, smart women who when I talk about going for a role in the C-Suite, say:
“Oh no Sonia. That’s not for me. I don’t want to be like that.”
“What do you mean?” I say
“I don’t like who you have to be and how you have to behave in order to be in the C-Suite. And there’s no way you can have any sort of life either”
Many women hold a belief that in order to get to the C-suite you have to become someone else, that you can’t be who you are and succeed, and that you cannot have a life outside of work if you want a board position – especially if you want to become CEO.
If we are going to get more women into senior roles, we have to change our womens’ beliefs about who you need to be to get those roles and enjoy them. We have to make sure that women know that they are valued for who they are, and that they can be themselves and do things their way. That there isn’t one way to be a CEO or board member.
Now this could be a bit of a chicken and egg situation…
We need role models that women can look up to and the problem is that many of the women I speak to say that they cannot find them in their organisation and that therefore they find it difficult to believe that it’s possible to get there.
So here are two things we can do:
- If you are a male leader in your organisation, step up to mentor the ambitious women around you and support them in finding their own way to achieve the milestones that are needed. Take an interest in who they are inside and outside of work and make it possible for them to believe that they don’t have to change who they are to get there.
- Join a women leaders’ group and speak to other women who are in similar situations to yourself. Get support, encouragement and challenge from others on a similar journey. Hold each other accountable and hold each other up.
Do you belong to a womens’ leadership group?
If not I have two options for you:
- Join my Rising Leaders community by signing up for the waitlist here (click this)
- If you are a senior leader (VP and above), ambitious and wanting to work closely with others in a similar position and get individual and group support from an experienced coach/mentor and other experts in a year long membership programme, register your interest here (click this)
We are putting together the details for an exclusive, application only membership designed to support women who want to get into the most senior levels in organisations and flourish there.
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Speak soon!
Sonia xx
