Transcript Gender Issues and Personal Story 'Mommy, is God a boy or a

Familiar or Different?
Gendered Aspects of Leadership
in Times of Economic Crisis
Becky Havens, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics
Ruth Toews Heinrichs, D.P.A.
Director of Institutional Effectiveness
Point Loma Nazarene University
CBFA Conference, “Making the Familiar Different”
June 30, 2011
Motivating Questions
 Are senior leadership styles gendered?
 What are female leadership distinctives?
 Do women have unique leadership qualities wellsuited for times of crisis?
 How does female leadership impact company
performance?
 How will familiar obstacles of the past give way
to the different needs of the future?
 What impact can Christian business faculty have
on students, and ultimately on organizations, to
make the familiar different?
Background
Perfect storm in higher education
Recent economic crisis
Significant economic structural change
Women are over half of the American
workforce, “arguably the biggest social
change of our time” (lead story, first issue
of The Economist in 2010)
A “Perfect Storm”
in Higher Education
Cutbacks, layoffs, wage freezes, reducing
operating budgets, building cash reserves
Crisis of trust, fear and uncertainty
What do we need from our leaders?
Frequent communications
Honest explanations
Credibility and clarity
Rebuilding trust
What is Needed in Crisis?
“We won’t be able to rebuild trust in institutions
until leaders learn how to communicate honestly—
and create organizations where that’s the norm.”
Guidelines for building a culture of candor are—
tell the truth, tell truth to power, diversify sources
of information, admit mistakes, encourage
transparency, and share information.
James O’Toole and Warren Bennis. “What’s Needed Next: A
Culture of Candor.” Harvard Business Review. 87.6 (June 2009):
54-61.
Female Leadership Distinctives
Female Leadership Tendencies
Male Leadership Tendencies
Transformational, people-oriented
Transactional, task-oriented
Gain power from relationships
Gain power from position
Interactive style
Hierarchical style
Participatory style
Command and control style
Collaborative, developers
Competitive, knock out competition
Inclusive
Authoritarian
Lead from the center
Lead from the top
Build web-structured organizations
Build vertical, top-down organizations
Use human relationship to do business
Use goal-oriented planning to do
business
Share information
Control information
Care about both means and ends
Care about ends vs. means
Work is cyclical, never-ending
Work has a beginning and an end
Enjoy the journey, process-oriented
Enjoy the completion, seek closure
Female Leadership
Five Dimensions of Centered Leadership
Preconditions:
Talent
Desire to lead
Tolerance for change
Framing
Connecting
Self-awareness
Learned optimism
Moving on
Adaptability
Inclusiveness
Reciprocity
Network design
Sponsorship
Engaging
Meaning
Happiness
Core strengths
Purpose
Outcomes:
Impact
Renewal
Joy
Energizing
Voice
Ownership
Opportunities,
risks & fears
Sources & uses
Recovery
Flow
Joanna Barsh, Susie Cranston and Geoffrey Lewis. How Remarkable Women Lead: The
Breakthrough Model for Work and Life. New York: Crown, McKinsey & Company, 2009.
Women: Living Whole
Live holistically
Value emotional, spiritual and physical
well-being
Treat work and home/family as noncompartmentalized
Connect deeply to work itself and colleagues
Own their own journeys
Respond as optimists in face of challenges
Survive even through painful setbacks
Women’s Leadership in Crisis
 Rosener says, “The women’s success shows that a
nontraditional leadership style is well suited to the
conditions of some work environments and can increase
an organization’s chances of surviving in an uncertain
world.”
 In “How to Be a Good Boss in Bad Times,” Stern
concludes that women managers do have an advantage
in bad times
 More collaborative and compassionate – better at delivering bad news
 Better skilled at building emotional ties and fostering a feeling that
“we’re all in this together”
 Acknowledge the human component of layoffs – it’s not “just business”
 Better at inciting trust in the employees who remain
Judy B. Rosener. “Ways Women Lead: The command-and-control
leadership style associated with men is not the only way to succeed.”
Harvard Business Review. 68.6 (Nov-Dec 1990): 119-125.
Performance: Gender Matters
Gender diversity is a driver of corporate
performance
Companies with three or more women in
senior management on their leadership team
score higher on organizational excellence
criteria
Companies with a higher proportion of
women on their senior management teams
have a statistically significantly higher
financial performance
Women Matter, McKinsey, 2007.
Gendered Leadership Behaviors
Nine Leadership Behaviors (Avolio & Bass)
Displayed More Frequently by Gender
Women Use More
Frequently
Men Use More
Frequently
Men and Women
Use the Same
People development
Control and corrective
action
Intellectual stimulation
Expectations and
rewards
Individualistic decision
making
Effective
communication
Role model
Inspiration
Participative decision
making
Women Matter 2. McKinsey, 2008
Matching Leadership Behaviors
and Corporate Performance
Corporate Performance Drivers
Reinforced by Leadership Behaviors, by Gender
Women’s Behaviors
Reinforce
Men’s Behaviors
Reinforce
Work environment and
values
Coordination and
control
Accountability
External orientation
Leadership team
Direction
Motivation
Women Matter 2. McKinsey, 2008
Men and Women
Reinforce the Same
Innovation
Women Bring It
Top Three Long-term Business
Trends Identified by 1000 Global
Business Executives
Four Leadership
Behaviors Needed
for the Future
Which Gender
Displays More
Frequently
Faster pace of technological
innovation
Intellectual
stimulation
Both equally
Increasing availability of
knowledge and ability to exploit it
Inspiration
Women
Competition for talent will
intensify and become more global
Participative
decision making
Women
Expectations and
rewards
Women
The study shows that women can help fill the
leadership needs of the future.
Women Matter 2. McKinsey, 2008.
Mobility…or glass ceilings?
 Women hit a glass ceiling, while men have a glass
escalator
 Women’s double burden (family/work) is
irreconcilable with male-centric corporate models
Anytime, anywhere – work 24/7
Linear career path – no breaks
Geographic mobility – unlimited moves
 Women are less assertive and self-promoting
 Women are more likely to be childless
 Women don’t identify with success and opt-out
Opportunities…or glass cliffs?
 Many women get their “big break” in crisis times
 Times of crisis create opportunities for new leaders
to prove themselves
 More women are appointed to senior leadership in
failing organizations: glass cliff appointments
 Women’s leadership qualities are perceived as more
suitable for placement in organizational units in
crisis
 Concern: women are being promoted onto glass
cliffs, with formidable hurdles and increased risk of
failure, before they can advance up the ladder of
leadership to the top positions
Womenomics & Economic Realities
 Women: the new American workforce majority
 Globalization: increasing income inequality
 Family composition: female-headed households
 Divorce & economic status, ownership of assets
 Gender wage gap: 23 cents
 41% unexplained, accumulates over time
 Motherhood: discrimination in the labor market
 Interruptions in job mobility, $1 million “mommy tax”
 Single biggest factor in poverty of elderly women
 Society’s attitudes: caring labor isn’t really work
 Women who care for children and elderly are “not working”
 Women should be happily self-sacrificing by “choice”
Women’s Economic Contributions
 Two incomes are required for an American family
to earn a modest living
 Only families with working wives have experienced
inflation-adjusted family income growth
 Working wives contribute 42.2% of family earnings
 4/10 women are primary breadwinners
 1/4 women are co-breadwinners (25% earnings)
 Female unemployment rates are below male rates
 Women make up 66% of the workers in 10/15 job
categories likely to grow fastest
 Changing economic structure toward skill-based v.
muscle-based jobs (where women can compete)
Building Leadership Diversity
 Leadership: must be from the top
 Conduct regular meetings for top management to hear
issues from women’s perspective
 Organizational Structures: flex time, career breaks
 Strategic Use of Data: gender diversity indicators
 Proportion of women at each level of management
 Pay levels among men and women in similar functions
 Attrition rates among men and women in similar functions
 Ratio of women promoted to women eligible
 People Development: set up mentoring program
Women Matter. McKinsey, 2007.
Making the Familiar Different
“The notion that things work better and human
beings become their best selves when men and
women work together is found on page one of
the Bible.” (James)
Following the attack on the blessed partnership
in Genesis, God sent Jesus to restore oneness.
“So whether we are talking about business,
banking, politics, ministry, home, or any other
human sphere, the Blessed Alliance is still the
best way to get the job done.” (James)
Carolyn Custis James, “The Blessed Alliance.” OutcomesONLINE, Christian
Leadership Alliance, March 7, 2011.
Implications for
Christian Business Faculty
How will we apply these concepts to higher
education?
Leadership diversity is critically important for
higher education to navigate through the
economic crisis and prepare for challenges
ahead.
What is one thing that could be done at your
institution?
What can be done in your school of business?
Turning Adversity into Advantage
“Use adversity to give your life
purpose and mission.
Turn your adversity into
advantage and opportunity.”
Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Hope Does Not Disappoint
“…suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character,
and character produces hope,
and hope does not disappoint…”
Romans 5:1-5 (excerpt)
Thank You
Becky Havens
[email protected]
Ruth Heinrichs
[email protected]