Recent research suggests women are much more likely to be transformational leaders, and organizations with transformational leaders over perform in profit, revenue and strategy.
What exactly is this sort of leader?
Transformational leaders are the cream of the crop, those with the ability to transform an organization. They build solid, committed teams while providing a substantial ROI. They are at the top of their game, driving strong performance and innovation with a loyal group of followers – even in a downturn. Transformational leaders have deeply embedded values, support collective concerns, and are capable of achieving extraordinary results. Women- more than men – demonstrate transformational leadership characteristics. Why aren’t more of them leading?
Theories abound why women are not in the [front of the] boardroom. McKinsey, The Center for Creative Leadership and other groups have looked at a multitude of reasons and offered multiple solutions. The business case for women in leadership roles is overwhelmingly positive; a 30% ratio of women in senior roles not only drives change and innovation but create a ‘stickiness’ factor that fuels performance. McKinsey’s recent research and Alice Eagly of Northwestern University’s earlier studies provide quantitative data supporting a clear organizational and financial performance link.
Many multinational organizations have seen talented women depart for a variety of reasons, and a plethora of new opportunities. To address this exodus, McKinsey recently created a new leadership paradigm for women leaders. This model uses a holistic developmental approach, combining the physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual. The ‘spiritual’ component is an interesting one for a firm and a significantly important ingredient in building transformational leadership, moving beyond a sense of self and towards the greater good of the organization. James Macgregor Burns differentiates transformational leaders as those with a higher moral purpose and ability to raise their followers’ game as well. Without transformational leadership, “organizations are just marketplaces for self-serving transactions, subject to drift and disintegration” (Joanne Ciulla, (2004) “Ethics and the Heart of Leadership”) In the midst of the global financial crisis such a comment resonates that much more.
One industry, investment banking, has focused on on-boarding processes, training around diversity and special leadership workshops targeting high potential women, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and UBS, to name but three, have such programs in place. (Again, in the new financial landscape, such programs will be severely impacted) All these efforts are admirable and genuinely needed, but ignore the essence of organizational life – the political structure.
Researchers, consultants, and senior management often overlook the organizational environment where work and politics thrive. Politics-in the true sense of the word-is about building coalitions and managing company affairs. Women are extremely adept at building networks, but often these relationships build social capital rather than business capital. Men and women may form tight bonds at work but in doing so, have vastly different agendas.
Adroit in understanding nuances, women rarely take time to read the organizational airwaves, see organizational influences and understand power networks, all essential in moving up the corporate ladder. Such skills are rarely discussed or taught through on-boarding processes or reviewing leadership curriculum. Listening to female voices in hallway conversations, one can hear seemingly innocuous but ultimately, career limiting comments; ‘My work speaks for itself’, ‘with job and family, I have little time for politics, and ‘I’m not one to brag.
While transformational leadership is not completely linked to gender, women are more prone to transformational leadership given their interpersonal agility in mentoring and building confident followers. Transformational leaders set higher standards of behavior, are future focused and act for the greater good of the organization or community. Yet armed with these attributes women often face more barriers than men in getting the top job. Some barriers can be attributed to a misunderstanding of how organizations work and thrive. Moving ahead requires an adept knowledge and grounding in politics; building powerful networks, and ethical lobbying. The first step is building key relationships to understand the influential networks needed to get ahead. The other is learning how to manage the corporate whispers to promote ideas and self.
Jane Horan
