This past week I co-chaired Babson’s Executive Education Program for women “Moving from Managing to Leading“. For all of us who teach on this program, twice a year this is, hands down, our favorite way to spend five days.

The group of women professionals who attended were from great organizations in telecommunication, insurance, bio-pharmaceutical, education, manufacturing, technology and currently have responsibilities in very diverse functional areas including marketing, operations, finance, investor relations, sales, IT systems, regulatory oversight and project management. But they all had two overarching things in common.  First, every single one of them enrolled because they care about being effective leaders.  They have a real passion for the work they are doing, plus the talent to execute and the desire and motivation to get out front and really make a difference.  Second, most of them really do have supportive bosses and colleagues, and many have strong external networks and good mentors.   So, what’s been slowing them down, stalling them out and causing them to gnash their teeth in frustration? 

The details vary from person to person and company to company, but during the course of our classroom and small consulting group discussions we tapped into several all-too-common themes.  Here are just two that we explored.

The strategy in some of even the most successful organizations is, at best, mysterious to anyone outside the C-Suite and, at worst, blah, blah, blah with no get-your-arms around it substance to guide folks on where to exert their considerable talents. In such turbulent economic times, it’s probably inevitable that corporate strategy will be fluid and flexible, and as a result it will be a challenge to stay on top of.  But if this translates into your best and brightest not knowing, not understanding and not being able to rally others and wisely deploy resource in aid of that strategy, ultimately you’ll have problems.

When talented, passionate people in organizations want to advance, one of the ways they should be able to chart their course is to take a look at the organizational chart—the structure.  What are the roles and responsibilities?  Who is currently in those roles?  What are the skills and experience required for each of those boxes? Another way your up-and-coming leaders figure out “what’s next” is to check out results; who is held accountable for results and who gets rewarded when things work out—or corrected when things go south?  When this invaluable talent pool looks at your organizational structure and pegs their next move up, what do they see?  A real “Hall of Fame”, populated with experts, can-do executors, role-models?  When they track how the policies and practices actually play out, is the story they take away one of clear runways for innovation, fairness, rewards for results, and support for correcting the course?

Make no mistake: absolutely any of the women in the session this last week (or any of the previous sessions) wanted—or even needed—a detailed, step-by-step, hold-their’s-hands roadmap for success. They are smart and savvy and ready and willing to take responsibility for their own leadership development, their own performance. But hear this: the leaders they admire, respect and want to emulate are those who chart clear courses that real people can follow, who remove barriers, who help their team navigate obstacles and who always celebrate achievement.

Submitted by: Jan Shubert, Director, The Center For Women’s Leadership

What follows is the first few paragraphs of Ernst & Young’s press release on their second report in their ”Groundbreakers” series. This report focuses on driving economic growth through the expansion of women-owned businesses around the world.

Ernst & Young released the second report in its “Groundbreakers” series today during the annual Strategic Growth Forum in Palm Springs, California. The report, titled Scaling up: why women-owned businesses can recharge the global economy, details how women entrepreneurs are critical drivers of economic growth and provides resources and insights for private sector, government and NGO leaders who are seeking to close the gender gap.

Worldwide, women own or operate 25-33% of all private businesses, according to the World Bank. Ernst & Young’s Scaling up report highlights key barriers to growth and unique characteristics of women-owned businesses, which historically do not reach the size and scale of businesses owned by men. The report notes several key barriers that must be overcome — including addressing issues of employment, opportunity, lack of role models and access to financing, among others.

In the US, for example, women are starting businesses at nearly twice the rate of men — if these women entrepreneurs started with the same capital as men, they would add 6 million jobs to the economy in 5 years, according to research from Babson College referenced in the report. The report also notes that, according to a new study by the Center for Women’s Business research, women create or maintain more than 23 million jobs, or 16 percent of all US employment.

Link to full press release>>>

 I attended the Harvard Women in Business Conference, Saturday, November 7^th. It was a great experience. The keynote speakers (Anne Sweeney of Disney Media networks, Johanna Faber of Procter & Gamble, Priya Haji and Seema Shah of World of Good by Ebay, and Allison Gollust of NBC Universal) were all powerful, admirable women who discussed a broad range of topics. Anne Sweeney was a very impactful speaker. She exhibited a genuine passion for her career. She is someone who strongly believes in taking risks. The buzzwork of her discussion was definitely “curious.” She encourages everyone to be curious about new opportunities and to be open to big goals. This was so admirable because she proves that it is possible and necessary for women to take risks. She was also exemplary because she was not arrogant about her accomplishments. Rather, she expressed her firm beliefs in being a human to everyone. She said that she always puts her successes and failures on the table for her employees so they see her real person and not just their boss. This leadership style and her personable, passionate qualities definitely had the most impact on me out of all of the speakers.

Priya Haji is also a woman that I recommend connecting with. She started World of Good by Ebay which is a social entrepreneurship venture. The concept of this website is to connect artisans and consumers directly so that the artisans are fairly compensated for their hard work. All of the products on the website support the environment and/or these impoverished artisans.

The conference also organized 4 different “breakout sessions.” I attended panels that discussed conquering investment banking interview, private equity and hedge funds, and careers in investment banking. They provided a great opportunity to listen to Finance professionals. The panelists gave great advice as well as insight into their careers. During one of the sessions, I attended the career fair which was the perfect chance to follow up with the panel members about their discussions and network with them. These sessions are really what made the conference beneficial for me.

As you can see, the conference was a phenomenal experience. I was pleasantly surprised about the quality of the speakers and their discussion as well as the personal interaction at the breakout sessions.

Submitted by: Megan Cyr

Overall, I had a great time Jillian Dreyer echoed. I especially liked the two breakout sessions that I attended in the morning – Consulting 101 and Crackling the Case Interview. I am going for a second round interview for a New England consulting group on Friday so these were the most helpful.

I was really surprised by how many girls were there from different countries and universities.  They said girls came from over 100 countries. I was able to sit next to a girl from the University of Sydney which was awesome since I studied there in the fall.

I am really glad I went to the conference, and I definitely learned a lot.

Submitted by: Jillian Dreyer

Joanna Barsh – what an inspiration. After high fiving strangers to get my Engagement level up, hearing about her husband’s greatest skill being love (he likes to hug) and that being 23 out of 25 for her on a skill profile – I was enthused and bursting with excitement about leading. Joanna took us through her five steps to centered leadership in about 70 minutes, showing clips of her interviews with women leaders worldwide. Two steps in particular had great resonance. First, Meaning – having some greater relationship to the work one does. Joanna drew upon the research of some of the best thinkers in the area of happiness including Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, whose pioneering work, “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience” explores exactly the feeling of great absorption, engagement, fulfillment, and skill that one should experience when an activity has personal meaning for us. Joanna brought the concept of meaning to life by encouraging us to recall a peak vacation experience as a proxy for the sensation that meaning produces.

Framing was the other concept with particular resonance. After requesting that the audience all close their eyes, she surveyed for optimists and pessimists. Her exercise asking a self-proclaimed optimist and pessimist to describe a presentation in which a senior executive walks out on a junior colleague’s presentation perfectly demonstrated the range of meanings we bring to events, colored by our own inherent tendencies to see the glass as half empty or half full. Even with the realization that we bring our own story to neutral events, she counseled that we could practice a more constructive way of dealing with problem situations so that we avoided the spiraling sense of despair that thwarts so many talented people, particularly women.

Read her book How Remarkable Women Lead: The Breakthrough Model for Work and Life, and if you can, go see her speak. Joanna Barsh is a treat.

And visit the CWL web site for information on other great upcoming events free and open to the public.

Submitted by: Julia dePeyster, Assistant Director, The Center for Women’s Leadership at Babson

I just returned from the Center for Women’s Business Research Board meeting in Chicago which included a joint meeting with the Leadership Council.  As a researcher in women’s entrepreneurship, founder of the Diana Project,  and Division Chair of Entrepreneurship at Babson College, I was most heartened to learn of the progress that women business owners are making in growing their ventures. Three things got my attention:

First- we celebrated the new research study released by the Center about the impact of women business owners on the economy.  The research was sponsored by WalMart and for the first time, used a sophisticated and rigorous econometric forecasting tool, Implan.  The research was conducted by two high profile economists, Dr. Hassan Pordeli and Mr. Peter Wynkoop, who have used this methodology frequently in the past.  This study was based on a random geographic sample of women business owners and quantified the economic impact of women business owners.  The forecasting model showed that women created  $11.8 million jobs and are responsible for more than $1.2 trillion in sales.  This is very good news!

Second-the SMU forum for minority female entrepreneurs held in September was a smashing success! More than 120 women attended the Accelerating Growth Forum to discuss how to overcome their biggest challenges to business growth.   Participants gained insights into strategies and had the opportunity to network.

Finally, we had a great discussion about how the Center will use social media to expand and disseminate our research and connect women business owners around the country.  Lena West  of  Xyno Media led our discussion. A continuing success is the Center’s w-bizinsight panel where women business owners have the opportunity to share their opinions, successes and thoughts on current issues through this on-line survey.

After this exciting two day meeting, I am convinced that the opportunities for women business owners are better than ever!

Submitted by: Candida Brush, Chair, Entrepreneurship Division, Babson College and Vice-Chair, Research, Center for Women’s Business Research

At The Center For Women’s Leadership both undergraduate and MBA women students are paired with top local women business colleagues for a yearlong mentoring program.  What have we found? First, three cheers for women’s ability to hold meaningful conversations in all kinds of situations with colleagues from a variety of nationalities and business backgrounds. The culture of openness that this fosters allows our mentors and students to bond rapidly and move quickly to important topics, even in the first encounter.  Fluid integration has been particularly important this year as we incorporate new mentors through a partnership with The Boston Club. Secondly, the self-awareness these women bring to the program really helps them in the context of mentoring.  Much emphasis is placed on two-way mentoring.  Self-awareness helps each member of the pair share more and leads to students and mentors both giving and gaining more in the relationship.  Third, women are highly aware of their pasts and their futures. They think about implications and options and are willing to ask for feedback.  Lastly, women are clear that their careers will move in flexible and often surprising ways. While this is a driven bunch, their driven-ness is not at the expense of curiosity, questioning, playfulness and excitement. All in all this provides for lively discussion, a genuine interest in skills development and growth and a willingness to give honest and frank feedback to help others succeed. 

Submitted by: Julia dePeyster, Assistant Director, The Center for Women’s Leadership at Babson

It is time for some good news.   Many of us were downhearted in July 2007 when we read Catalyst’s latest publication, “The Double Bind Dilemma for Women in Leadership: Damned if you do, Doomed if You Don’t.” [1]  That piece presented research from two Catalyst studies that looked at perceptions of women’s leadership among very senior U.S. and European business executives and found that stereotypes not only endure but they are pervasive across cultures.  The predominant stereotype was that women leaders are better at “taking care” and men are better at “taking charge.”  

The research carefully notes that “these perceptions are not supported by research on actual leadership behavior, which finds that gender is not (the italics are mine) a reliable predictor of how a person will lead.” But we all know that perception is reality, or at the very least, is likely to shape important outcomes.

But wait, there is really good news from another quarter!  [2]  Two professors at Insead, the premier business school in Europe, reported it in a January 2009 article in Harvard Business Review called “Women & the Vision Thing.”  Based on a database of 360-degree assessments for thousands of executive education participants (they call this the Global Executive Leadership Inventory), they found that “female leaders received higher ratings than male leaders in most dimensions of leadership.”

Let us just stop and savor this for a moment.  This means that their bosses, their subordinates and their peers – both men and women — rated the women higher than the men on dimensions that included: 

·         Empowering

·         Energizing

·         Designing & aligning

·         Rewarding & feedback

·         Team-building

·         Outside orientation

·         Global mindset

·         Tenacity

·         Emotional intelligence

And there is only the tiniest bit of negative news in their research: on only one dimension and only by one set of observers were women  rated lower than men!  Stop again and savor.  Now proceed.  While the bosses and subordinates (male and female) of these people scored women as higher than men on their envisioning capabilities, the male peers of these people viewed men as slightly higher than women.  This, of course, seems predictable as competitive posturing, right? 

So, my friends, take heart.  The news is indeed good. Finally, your talents are being seen through the miasma of prejudice and stereotypes. But let us keep in mind that, as the authors of the study caution, “this envisioning dimension is, for most observers, a must-have capability.” 

I recently shared this research with women who have participated in Babson’s very own Executive Education program on Women’s Leadership that we call “Moving from Managing to Leading.” I wrapped up by encapsulating the collective wisdom from my several colleagues who teach in the program: to move from managing to leading, (this is, to be seen as a visionary leader), one needs to

• Articulate opportunities and threats in the environment.
• Articulate strategic direction through this environment.
• Acknowledge and explain how you will manage the risks to get the rewards of this strategy.
• Be decisive (and resilient: expect some to be wrong and let go of those like your male colleagues do – learning is ‘trial and ERROR,’ remember)
• Inspire all your constituents
• Deliver results
• Articulate the linkage among all the above and claim credit for what you do

Take heart and have fun with this. 

Submitted by: Anne Donnellon, Associate Professor and Faculty Director for Babson’s Fast Track MBA Program

Babson College was recently recognized in the latest issue (Aug.Sept.Oct. 2009) of Pink Magazine as one of their favorite picks for our efforts to reach out to women.  In addition to Babson’s Fast Track MBA, the article highlighted five other programs for executives—University of Pennsylvania (Wharton), University of Michigan (Ross), NewYork University (Stern), Emory University (Goizueta) and Pepperdine Universit(Graziadio).  Since featured in the article, the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business has actually improved the percentage of women in the program.  While the article listed the percentage of women in the program at 21.6%, last week’s Fast Track Kick Off brought that number up to 29%–our highest ever!

When interviewed, Jan Shubert, Director of the Center for Women’s Leadership, highlighted the integrated curriculum and the focus on entrepreneurial thinking that all Fast Track students receive.  The Fast Track MBA matched the schools in all areas with one noticeable exception—the price tag!  While other programs cost upwards of $90,000 (and some into the $150,000 range), Babson’s Fast Track MBA cost $56,000—just another example of the great value that the program continues to deliver. 

Submitted by: Allyssa Bates

I had the great privilege and pleasure of having breakfast last week with the new administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), Karen Mills.  The breakfast was for a board on which I serve, the national advisory board to the SBA for the SBDC program.  This was our first meeting with Administrator Mills to hear her thoughts and learn more about her plans for the agency and her expectations for our board.  The current SBA situation actually reminds me of Babson’s situation over the past few years, or at least I think I see some parallels.  First, both in the world of government and the world of business academia, people finally are realizing the leading edge importance of entrepreneurship and small business.  This is the world in which we live - some of it driven by economics and some by lifestyle choice, and most by some combination of the two.   (After all, take a look at the GEM data on opportunity and necessity entrepreneurship around the world).  Second, both the government and academic arenas are recognizing the constraints of silos.  This has certainly been Babson’s song for some time, but the increasing emphasis in our federal government on collaboration and coordination - all learning from each other - is quite exciting.  Can it really work?  All digits crossed on this end.

Submitted by: Patti Greene, Professor of Entrepreneurship, Babson College

If you are a regular follower of events and activities at Babson’s Center for Women’s Leadership, you already know that for the first time in a dozen years (even longer if you count the amazing student-run conferences back in the days when) we will not be holding our Annual Women’s Leadership Conference this autumn. Why? What’s going on?

Late January 2009, we began our usual discussions with sponsors, with supporters and with potential speakers. We quickly discovered just how deeply the economic downturn affected their ability to make commitments. Even organizations that were in strong or at least stable shape, financially, still faced the difficult challenge of employees, customers and suppliers that were unsure, even frightened.

Because of the exceptionally strong relationships we’ve developed with these organizations over the years, this just wasn’t something we could blow off with a “Well, everyone’s in the same boat” attitude. So in the space of one intense staff meeting/brainstorming session we went from trying to figure out ways to get support, to finding ways to give back something to these amazing organizations who have been there with us and for us for so many years. What follows is the intro to the message we then sent to fourteen organizations:

Our Gift To Our Conference Sponsors and Supporters: The 2009 Women’s Leadership “Thank-You”Mini-Conferences…Rather than make 2009 another year of asking you for your sponsorship or to support women attending our Annual Women’s Leadership Conference, we want to make this the year for telling you “Thank You.” Thank you for everything you have done in years past to support CWL, to make our Conferences so successful and for publically underscoring your strong commitment to employing and developing talented women.

So far, ten have contacted us—mostly in amazement—and certainly in gratitude for reaching out to them during tight times. Eight are in the process of working with us to create these Thank-You Mini-Conferences, to be delivered on-site, at their organizations, free of charge.

In the meantime, we’re also hosting a dynamic set of programs and events that, while they can’t ever replace the buzz of our Conference, will give hundreds of women opportunities to explore cutting-edge issues, meet experts and continue the CWL tradition of building strong and lasting relationships.

In some ways, this was a tough decision. In others, we felt like it was really a no-brainer. What’s your view?

Submitted by: Janelle Shubert, Director, The Center for Women’s Leadership