Women represent 50 percent of middle management and professional positions, but the percentages of women at the top of organizations represent not even a third of that number. So some people hear that statistic and they ask, why do we have so few women leaders? But I look at that statistic and, if you, like me, believe that leadership manifests at every level, you would see that there's a tremendous, awesome resource of leaders who are leading in middle management, which raises a different question: Why are there so many women mired in the middle and what has to happen to take them to the top?
Žene predstavljaju 50% srednjeg menadžmenta i stručnih zanimanja, a postotak žena u vrhu organizacija manji je od trećine tog broja. Kad ljudi čuju te podatke, pitaju se zašto je toliko malo žena među liderima? No, ja gledam tu statistiku i ako vi, kao i ja, vjerujete da je liderstvo moguće iskazati na svakoj razini, vidjeli biste da postoji ogroman zadivljujući izvor lidera u srednjem menadžmentu, iz čega proizlazi drugo pitanje: Zašto je toliko žena zapelo u sredini i što se treba dogoditi da se probiju do vrha?
So some of you might be some of those women who are in middle management and seeking to move up in your organization. Well, Tonya is a great example of one of these women. I met her two years ago. She was a vice president in a Fortune 50 company, and she said to me with a sense of deep frustration, "I've worked really hard to improve my confidence and my assertiveness and develop a great brand, I get terrific performance evals from my boss, my 360s in the organization let me know that my teams love working for me, I've taken every management course that I can here, I am working with a terrific mentor, and yet I've been passed over twice for advancement opportunities, even when my manager knows that I'm committed to moving up and even interested in an international assignment. I don't understand why I'm being passed over."
Neke od vas mogle bi biti neke od tih žena, u srednjem menadžmentu, koje pokušavaju napredovati u svojoj organizaciji. Tonya je sjajan primjer jedne od tih žena. Upoznala sam je prije dvije godine. Bila je potpredsjednica u jednom od poduzeća iz "Fortune 50", i s osjećajem duboke frustracije rekla mi je: "Naporno sam radila da bih postala samouvjerenija, da bih bila asertivnija i razvila sjajan osobni brend. Moj šef odlično ocjenjuje moju radnu uspješnost. Informacije iz "360 stupnjeva" u organizaciji govore mi da moji timovi vole raditi za mene. Pohađala sam sve moguće tečajeve menadžmenta. Radim s izvrsnim mentorom. Svejedno, dvaput su me zaobišli prilikom promoviranja, čak iako moj menadžer zna da želim napredovati i da sam čak zainteresirana i za međunarodne izazove. Ne razumijem zašto me zaobilaze."
So what Tonya doesn't realize is that there's a missing 33 percent of the career success equation for women, and it's understanding what this missing 33 percent is that's required to close the gender gap at the top.
Tonya ne zna da ženama nedostaje 33 posto u formuli karijernog uspjeha, a razumjeti što je tih nedostajućih 33 posto nužno je da bi se smanjila ta velika spolna razlika na vrhu.
In order to move up in organizations, you have to be known for your leadership skills, and this would apply to any of you, women or men. It means that you have to be recognized for using the greatness in you to achieve and sustain extraordinary outcomes by engaging the greatness in others. Put in other language, it means you have to use your skills and talents and abilities to help the organization achieve its strategic financial goals and do that by working effectively with others inside of the organization and outside. And although all three of these elements of leadership are important, when it comes to moving up in organizations, they aren't equally important. So pay attention to the green box as I move forward.
Kako biste napredovali u hijerarhiji, morate biti poznati po vašim liderskim vještinama i, ovo se odnosi na svakoga, i na muškarce i na žene. To znači da morate biti prepoznati zbog korištenja veličine u sebi da dostignete i održite izvanredne ishode potičući veličinu u drugima. Drugim riječima, to znači da morate koristiti svoje vještine, talente i sposobnosti da pomognete organizaciji dostići njene strateške financijske ciljeve i to postići u efektivnom radu s drugima unutar i izvan same organizacije. I iako su sva tri ova elementa rukovodstva važna, kada dolazi do napredovanja u organizacijama, nisu jednako važni. Dakle obratite pozornost na zelenu kućicu dok govorim.
In seeking and identifying employees with high potential, the potential to go to the top of organizations, the skills and competencies that relate to that green box are rated twice as heavily as those in the other two elements of leadership. These skills and competencies can be summarized as business, strategic, and financial acumen. In other words, this skill set has to do with understanding where the organization is going, what its strategy is, what financial targets it has in place, and understanding your role in moving the organization forward. This is that missing 33 percent of the career success equation for women, not because it's missing in our capabilities or abilities, but because it's missing in the advice that we're given.
U potrazi i identifikaciji zaposlenika s visokim potencijalom, potencijal da se dostigne vrh organizacija, vještine i kompetencije koje su povezane sa zelenom kućicom su dvostruko važnije nego one u preostala dva elementa rukovodstva. Ove vještine i kompetencije se mogu sumirati kao poslovne, strateške i financijske sposobnosti. Drugim riječima, ovaj set vještina je povezan sa shvaćanjem kuda organizacija ide, koja je njena strategija, koje su joj financijske mete, i razumijevanje svoje uloge u pokretanju organizacije prema naprijed. To je tih nedostajućih 33% u formuli za uspjeh žena u karijeri, ne jer nedostaje u našim sposobnostima ili vještinama, već jer nedostaje u savjetima koji su nam dani.
Here's what I mean by that. Five years ago, I was asked to moderate a panel of executives, and the topic for the evening was "What do you look for in high-potential employees?" So think about the three elements of leadership as I summarize for you what they told me.
Pod tim mislim sljedeće: Prije 5 godina, zamoljena sam voditi okrugli stol rukovoditelja, i tema večeri je bila "Što tražite u zaposlenicima s visokim potencijalom?" Razmislite o 3 elementa rukovodstva dok vam sumiram što su mi rekli.
They said, "We look for people who are smart and hard working and committed and trustworthy and resilient." So which element of leadership does that relate to? Personal greatness.
Rekli su: "Tražimo ljude koji su pametni, vrijedni, predani, od povjerenja i otporni." U koji element rukovodstva ovo spada? Osobna veličina.
They said, "We look for employees who are great with our customers, who empower their teams, who negotiate effectively, who are able to manage conflict well, and are overall great communicators." Which element of leadership does that equate to? Engaging the greatness in others.
Rekli su: "Tražimo zaposlenike koji su odlični s našim klijentima, koji osposobljavaju svoje timove, koji pregovaraju uspješno, koji dobro upravljaju konfliktima, i sveukupno su sjajni u komunikaciji." Na koji se element rukovodstva ovo veže? Poticanje drugih na veličinu.
And then they pretty much stopped. So I asked, "Well, what about people who understand your business, where it's going, and their role in taking it there? And what about people who are able to scan the external environment, identify risks and opportunities, make strategy or make strategic recommendations? And what about people who are able to look at the financials of your business, understand the story that the financials tell, and either take appropriate action or make appropriate recommendations?"
Tada sam stala. Pitala sam: "Što je s ljudima koji razumiju vaš posao, gdje ide, i svoju ulogu u njegovom vođenju? I što s ljudima koji su u mogućnosti osmatrati vanjsku okolinu, prepoznati rizike i prilike, napraviti strategiju ili napraviti strateške preporuke? I što s ljudima koji mogu pogledati financije vašeg posla, razumijeti priču koju financije govore, poduzeti prikladne poteze ili prikladno savjetovati?"
And to a man, they said, "That's a given."
Muškarcu, rekli su, "To je urođeno."
So I turned to the audience of 150 women and I asked, "How many of you have ever been told that the door-opener for career advancement is your business, strategic and financial acumen, and that all the other important stuff is what differentiates you in the talent pool?" Three women raised their hand, and I've asked this question of women all around the globe in the five years since, and the percentage is never much different.
Okrenula sam se publici od 150 žena i pitala: "Koliko od vas je ikad čulo da su otvarač za napredak u karijeri vaše poslovne, strateške i financijske sposobnosti, i sve te druge važne stvari koje vas izdvajaju iz hrpe talenata?" Tri žene su podigle ruke. Pitala sam ovo pitanje mnogo žena diljem svijeta u proteklih 5 godina, no postotak nikada nije puno drugačiji.
So this is obvious, right? But how can it be? Well, there are primarily three reasons that there's this missing 33 percent in the career success advice given to women? When organizations direct women toward resources that focus on the conventional advice that we've been hearing for over 40 years, there's a notable absence of advice that relates to business, strategic and financial acumen. Much of the advice is emphasizing personal actions that we need to take, like become more assertive, become more confident, develop your personal brand, things that Tonya's been working on, and advice about working with other people, things like learn to self-promote, get a mentor, enhance your network, and virtually nothing said about the importance of business, strategic and financial acumen. This doesn't mean that this advice is unimportant. What it means is that this is advice that's absolutely essential for breaking through from career start to middle management, but it's not the advice that gets women to break through from the middle, where we're 50 percent, to senior and executive positions. And this is why conventional advice to women in 40 years hasn't closed the gender gap at the top and won't close it.
Dakle, ovo je očito, zar ne? No, kako može biti? Postoje tri osnovna razloga za nedostatak tih 33% u savjetima za karijerni uspjeh žena. Kada organizacije upute žene prema resursima koji su usmjereni na konvencionalne savjete koje smo slušale preko 40 godina, postoji primjetan nedostatak savjeta koji se vežu za poslovne, strateške i financijske sposobnosti. Mnogo savjeta naglašavaju osobne radnje koje moramo poduzeti kao postati asertivniji, samopouzdaniji, razviti svoj osobni brend, stvari na kojima je Tonya radila, i savjeti o radu s drugima, kao naučiti se promovirati, naći mentora, povećati svoje mreže, i praktično se ništa ne spominje u vezi važnosti poslovnih, strateških i financijskih sposobnosti. To ne znači da ti savjeti nisu važni. To znači da su ovo savjeti koji su apsolutno presudni za proboj od početne karijere do srednjeg menadžmenta, no to nisu savjeti koji će uspjeti dovesti žene iz sredine, gdje smo 50%, do izvršnih pozicija. Ovo je razlog zašto konvencionalni savjeti ženama u 40 godina nisu zatvorili spolnu razliku na vrhu niti hoće.
Now, the second reason relates to Tonya's comments about having had excellent performance evals, great feedback from her teams, and having taken every management training program she can lay her hands on. So you would think that she's getting messages from her organization through the talent development systems and performance management systems that let her know how important it is to develop business, strategic and financial acumen, but here again, that green square is quite small. On average, talent and performance management systems in the organizations that I've worked with focus three to one on the other two elements of leadership compared to the importance of business, strategic and financial acumen, which is why typical talent and performance systems haven't closed and won't close the gender gap at the top.
Drugi razlog je povezan s Tonyinim komentarima vezanim za izvrsne ocjene rada odlične povratne informacija od njenih timova, i svaki trening menadžmenta na kojem je sudjelovala. Mislili biste da dobija poruke iz njene organizacije kroz sustav za razvoj talenata i sustave upravljanja izvedbom koje joj govore koliko je samo važno razviti poslovne, strateške i financijske sposobnosti, no ovdje opet, zelena kućica je poprilično mala. U prosjeku, se sustavi za upravljanje talentom i izvedbom u organizacijama s kojima sam radila fokusiraju u omjeru 3:1 na druga dva elementa rukovodstva u usporedbi s važnošću poslovnih, strateških i financijskih sposobnosti, što je razlog zašto tipični sustavi za talent i izvedbu nisu, niti će prekinuti spolnu razliku na vrhu.
Now, Tonya also talked about working with a mentor, and this is really important to talk about, because if organizations, talent and performance systems aren't giving people in general information about the importance of business, strategic and financial acumen, how are men getting to the top? Well, there are primarily two ways. One is because of the positions they're guided into, and the other is because of informal mentoring and sponsorship.
Tonya je također govorila o radu s mentorom, i o ovome je vrlo važno pričati, jer ako organizacije, sustavi talenata i izvedbi, u pravilu ne daju ljudima informacije o važnosti poslovnih, strateških i financijskih sposobnosti, kako muškarci stižu do vrha? Postoje dva osnovna načina. Jedan je zbog pozicije na koje su navođeni, drugi je zbog neformalnog mentorstva i pokroviteljstva.
So what's women's experience as it relates to mentoring? Well, this comment from an executive that I worked with recently illustrates that experience. He was very proud of the fact that last year, he had two protégés: a man and a woman. And he said, "I helped the woman build confidence, I helped the man learn the business, and I didn't realize that I was treating them any differently." And he was sincere about that.
Kakvo je žensko iskustvo vezano za mentoriranje? Ovaj komentar od člana izvršnog odbora s kojim sam nedavno radila opisuje to iskustvo. Bio je vrlo ponosan na činjenicu da je prošle godine imao dvoje štićenika: muškarca i ženu. Rekao je: "Pomogao sam ženi da izgradi samopouzdanje, pomogao sam muškarcu da nauči posao, i nisam shvatio da ih tretiram ikako drugačije." Bio je iskren u vezi toga.
So what this illustrates is that as managers, whether we're women or men, we have mindsets about women and men, about careers in leadership, and these unexamined mindsets won't close the gender gap at the top. So how do we take this idea of the missing 33 percent and turn it into action? Well, for women, the answer is obvious: we have to begin to focus more on developing and demonstrating the skills we have that show that we're people who understand our businesses, where they're headed, and our role in taking it there. That's what enables that breakthrough from middle management to leadership at the top. But you don't have to be a middle manager to do this. One young scientist that works in a biotech firm used her insight about the missing 33 percent to weave financial impact data into a project update she did and got tremendous positive feedback from the managers in the room.
To opisuje da kao menadžeri, bilo da smo muškarci ili žene, imamo određeno mišljenje o ženama i muškarcima, o karijerama u rukovodstvu, i ova neprovjerena mišljenja neće prekinuti spolnu razliku na vrhu. Kako da uzmemo, stoga, ovu ideju o nedostajućih 33% i pretvorimo ju u akciju? Za žene, odgovor je očit: moramo se usmjeriti više na razvitak i demonstraciju vještina koje posjedujemo koje pokazuju da smo ljudi koji razumiju naše poslove, kuda idu, i našu ulogu u svemu tome. To je ono što omogućava proboj iz srednjeg menadžmenta do rukovodstva na vrhu. No, ne morate biti srednji menadžer da napravite ovo. Jedna mlada znanstvenica koja radi u biotehničkom poduzeću je iskoristila svoj uvid u nedostajućih 33% da bi utkala podatke o utjecaju financija u ažuriranje projekta na kojemu je radila i dobila iznimno pozitivne povratne informacije od rukovoditelja u sobi.
So we don't want to put 100 percent of the responsibility on women's shoulders, nor would it be wise to do so, and here's why: In order for companies to achieve their strategic financial goals, executives understand that they have to have everyone pulling in the same direction. In other words, the term we use in business is, we have to have strategic alignment. And executives know this very well, and yet only 37 percent, according to a recent Conference Board report, believe that they have that strategic alignment in place. So for 63 percent of organizations, achieving their strategic financial goals is questionable. And if you think about what I've just shared, that you have situations where at least 50 percent of your middle managers haven't received clear messaging that they have to become focused on the business, where it's headed, and their role in taking it there, it's not surprising that that percentage of executives who are confident about alignment is so low, which is why there are other people who have a role to play in this. It's important for directors on boards to expect from their executives proportional pools of women when they sit down once a year for their succession discussions. Why? Because if they aren't seeing that, it could be a red flag that their organization isn't as aligned as it could potentially be. It's important for CEOs to also expect these proportional pools, and if they hear comments like, "Well, she doesn't have enough business experience," ask the question, "What are we going to do about that?" It's important for H.R. executives to make sure that the missing 33 percent is appropriately emphasized, and it's important for women and men who are in management positions to examine the mindsets we hold about women and men, about careers and success, to make sure we are creating a level playing field for everybody.
Ne želimo staviti 100% odgovornosti na ramena žena, niti bi to bilo mudro, a evo i zašto: Kako bi poduzeća dostigla svoje strateške ciljeve za financije, voditelji razumiju da svi moraju vući u istom smjeru. Drugim riječima, termin koji koristimo u poslovnom svijetu je, da moramo biti strateški usklađeni. Voditelji ovo jako dobro znaju, pa ipak tek 37% njih, prema nedavnom izvještaju Conference Boarda, vjeruje da su strateški usklađeni. Dakle, za 63% organizacija, upitno je dostizanje njihovih financijskih ciljeva. Ako razmislite o onome što sam upravo rekla, da imate situaciju u kojoj barem 50% vaših srednjih menadžera ne dobiva jasne poruke da moraju postati usmjereni na posao, kuda on ide i njihovu ulogu u tome, nije iznenađujuće da je taj postotak voditelja koji su pouzdani u vezi usklađivanja toliko nizak, što je razlog zašto postoje ostali ljudi koji imaju važnu ulogu. Važno je za direktore da očekuju od svojih voditelja proporcionalnu količinu žena kada sjednu jednom godišnje raspravljati o sljedbenicima. Zašto? Jer ako ne očekuju, to bi mogla biti crvena zastava da njihova organizacija nije usklađena koliko bi mogla biti. Važno je i za direktore da očekuju proporcionalnu količinu, i ako čuju komentare poput: "Ona nema dovoljno poslovnog iskustva," pitajte: "Što ćemo učiniti u vezi toga?" Važno je za kadrovsku službu da se pobrinu da je tih 33% prigodno naglašeno, i važno je za žene i muškarce koji su na pozicijama u menadžmentu da preispitaju mišljenja koja imamo o ženama i muškarcima, o karijerama i uspjehu, da bismo osigurali prostor za igru na istoj razini za sve.
So let me close with the latest chapter in Tonya's story. Tonya emailed me two months ago, and she said that she had been interviewed for a new position, and during the interview, they probed about her business acumen and her strategic insights into the industry, and she said that she was so happy to report that now she has a new position reporting directly to the chief information officer at her company. So for some of you, the missing 33 percent is an idea for you to put into action, and I hope that for all of you, you will see it as an idea worth spreading in order to help organizations be more effective, to help women create careers that soar, and to help close the gender gap at the top.
Dopustite mi da zaključim sa zadnjim poglavljem u Tonyinoj priči. Tonya mi je poslala e-mail prije dva mjeseca, i rekla je da je bila na razgovoru za drugu poziciju, i tijekom razgovora, ispitali su njene poslovne sposobnosti i njen strateški uvid u industriju, i rekla je da je bila iznimno sretna što može izvjestiti da je sada na novoj poziciji i odgovara izravno direktoru za informacije u njenom poduzeću. Za neke od vas, nedostajućih 33% je ideja za pokretanje, i nadam se da ćete svi vidjeti to kao ideju vrijednu širenja u svrhu pomoći organizacijama da budu efektivnije, pomoći ženama da stvore karijere koje se uzdižu, i pomoći prekinuti spolnu razliku na vrhu.
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)