Fast Forwarding the Female Advantage:
What Organizations Need to Learn from Women Now
Thursday, April 2 - 12:00 - 1:00 pm eastern
In this webinar, Author, Sally Helgesen and Julie Johnson, Founder of The Reid Group will share topline conclusions from their groundbreaking research on gender differences in satisfaction and motivation in the workplace. They will put what they’ve learned in the context of the global economic crisis we are facing. And they will show how organizations can better address the crisis by learning from what women have to offer.
Click here to register today!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The Satisfaction Factor, Post 2
Following the financial meltdown, I’ve had many occasions to reflect on the research Julie Johnson and I have been doing on differences in how men and women perceive, define and pursue satisfaction in their work, how they are motivated and where they find meaning. Both our interviews and our quantitative research suggest that insights gained from our study can help us understand what has happened and help lead us out of the present mess.
I was reminded of this yesterday when, following the uproar over the bonuses paid out at Merrill Lynch in the waning days of 2008, I read a piece in the New York Times written by a former Merrill banker about the culture of the bonus on Wall Street. One of his observations caught my attention: that the people he worked with felt gigantic bonuses were required because they “justified the days on end of working into the wee hours, the months on end without a single day off, the never-ending ‘fire drills’ — when a client wanted something and wanted it now, whether it was 7 p.m. or 7 a.m. — that kept the stress and adrenaline levels high.” The writer also noted that, no matter how outsized the bonus, it was perceived as satisfying only if it was bigger than what was being handed out to everyone else.
This struck me for two reasons. First, our research suggests that the high adrenaline levels he referred to have a different impact on women than on men. Neuroscientists find that women are more likely to experience excessive adrenal stimulation as highly stressful rather than motivating. Men are more difficult to motivate—their motivation point is set lower and they are more prone to distraction—so a flood of cortisol really gets them going. Women are more easily motivated, less in need to adrenal stimulation, and more likely to be pushed by cortisol into overload.
Neuroscientists also find that women’s neural networks receive more positive stimulation from social interaction than from the prospect of monetary rewards. This data is supported by our own study, which indicates that women place a high value on affiliation and connection in the workplace and a lower value on material rewards than men in similar sectors and at similar levels. Women in our study reported that achievement was important to them, but were less likely to see it in the context of competition, whereas men associate status with winning out over others.
What does all this have to do with the meltdown on Wall Street or culture of bonuses? I would suggest quite a lot. The distinguishing aspects of pre-bust Wall Street have been a habitual reliance on adrenal stimulation to motivate people; an assumption that extremely high financial rewards can compensate the most talented individuals for a daily existence based on unremitting stress; and a belief that compensation had to be based on competitive measures. Julie had in fact seen evidence of this last characteristic in her work with financial services executives. One company she observed used to hand out bonuses of, say, $1,000,001—the $1 being the signifier that that confirmed the superior status of whomever received over coworkers who received a mere $1 million.
Our research suggests that the Wall Street culture that led us into the meltdown was in part the result of male values and measures of satisfaction run wild. It’s no wonder that women Julie and I interviewed who had left Wall Street before the debacle said they had done so because “it wasn’t worth it.” They didn’t need the adrenaline and didn’t find the money an adequate compensation for the stress.
The giant bonus culture today lies in ruins, which means that Wall Street is going to have to find new ways of motivating their people. Simply throwing enormous sums of money at employees—an outmoded tactic in the age of bailouts—will no longer work. As a result, companies will be less able to “justify” the kind of inhuman work hours to which the former banker writing in the Times referred. The nature of the people who work there will begin to change as the implicit terms of their employment contract adjust to meet the demands of a different world. The notion of working 80 hour weeks (and what, in the end, did those 80 hour weeks achieve?) will no longer considered acceptable. In reforming the out-of-whack culture that led to wildly exaggerated results, what remains of Wall Street would do well to look to women, and to the values they bring to the world of work.
I was reminded of this yesterday when, following the uproar over the bonuses paid out at Merrill Lynch in the waning days of 2008, I read a piece in the New York Times written by a former Merrill banker about the culture of the bonus on Wall Street. One of his observations caught my attention: that the people he worked with felt gigantic bonuses were required because they “justified the days on end of working into the wee hours, the months on end without a single day off, the never-ending ‘fire drills’ — when a client wanted something and wanted it now, whether it was 7 p.m. or 7 a.m. — that kept the stress and adrenaline levels high.” The writer also noted that, no matter how outsized the bonus, it was perceived as satisfying only if it was bigger than what was being handed out to everyone else.
This struck me for two reasons. First, our research suggests that the high adrenaline levels he referred to have a different impact on women than on men. Neuroscientists find that women are more likely to experience excessive adrenal stimulation as highly stressful rather than motivating. Men are more difficult to motivate—their motivation point is set lower and they are more prone to distraction—so a flood of cortisol really gets them going. Women are more easily motivated, less in need to adrenal stimulation, and more likely to be pushed by cortisol into overload.
Neuroscientists also find that women’s neural networks receive more positive stimulation from social interaction than from the prospect of monetary rewards. This data is supported by our own study, which indicates that women place a high value on affiliation and connection in the workplace and a lower value on material rewards than men in similar sectors and at similar levels. Women in our study reported that achievement was important to them, but were less likely to see it in the context of competition, whereas men associate status with winning out over others.
What does all this have to do with the meltdown on Wall Street or culture of bonuses? I would suggest quite a lot. The distinguishing aspects of pre-bust Wall Street have been a habitual reliance on adrenal stimulation to motivate people; an assumption that extremely high financial rewards can compensate the most talented individuals for a daily existence based on unremitting stress; and a belief that compensation had to be based on competitive measures. Julie had in fact seen evidence of this last characteristic in her work with financial services executives. One company she observed used to hand out bonuses of, say, $1,000,001—the $1 being the signifier that that confirmed the superior status of whomever received over coworkers who received a mere $1 million.
Our research suggests that the Wall Street culture that led us into the meltdown was in part the result of male values and measures of satisfaction run wild. It’s no wonder that women Julie and I interviewed who had left Wall Street before the debacle said they had done so because “it wasn’t worth it.” They didn’t need the adrenaline and didn’t find the money an adequate compensation for the stress.
The giant bonus culture today lies in ruins, which means that Wall Street is going to have to find new ways of motivating their people. Simply throwing enormous sums of money at employees—an outmoded tactic in the age of bailouts—will no longer work. As a result, companies will be less able to “justify” the kind of inhuman work hours to which the former banker writing in the Times referred. The nature of the people who work there will begin to change as the implicit terms of their employment contract adjust to meet the demands of a different world. The notion of working 80 hour weeks (and what, in the end, did those 80 hour weeks achieve?) will no longer considered acceptable. In reforming the out-of-whack culture that led to wildly exaggerated results, what remains of Wall Street would do well to look to women, and to the values they bring to the world of work.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Cautiously Optimistic
I am an eternal optimist, and this attribute has served me well. I have had a career path with many twists and turns, starting with practicing environmental law at a small firm, then doing research at a nonprofit, and finally being in my current role in Talent at Deloitte. Even though the path was not always clear, I have taken advantage of every opportunity to grow and develop. Invariably, this has led to new opportunities.
I know that these are trying times – many of us are experiencing changes in our lives that we have not initiated, and the future seems uncertain. This level of instability can be unsettling. But it can also be inspiring. There is no better role model for this lesson than JK Rowling. This summer, she spoke at my daughter’s college graduation. She described a point in her life when she was recovering from a disastrous marriage, with a young child and no job. She was literally on the brink of poverty and felt a failure. It was only then that she focused on what was truly important to her – her writing. As she said (and I’m paraphrasing): “Out of rock bottom, I built the foundation for the rest of my life.”
I believe we are all capable of this renewal, both as individuals and as a society. And I am cautiously optimistic that out of the current conditions will arise many new opportunities to rethink how we approach many things – including women and leadership, including work/life integration -- and come out the stronger for it. That is my New Year wish for all of us – myself included.
I know that these are trying times – many of us are experiencing changes in our lives that we have not initiated, and the future seems uncertain. This level of instability can be unsettling. But it can also be inspiring. There is no better role model for this lesson than JK Rowling. This summer, she spoke at my daughter’s college graduation. She described a point in her life when she was recovering from a disastrous marriage, with a young child and no job. She was literally on the brink of poverty and felt a failure. It was only then that she focused on what was truly important to her – her writing. As she said (and I’m paraphrasing): “Out of rock bottom, I built the foundation for the rest of my life.”
I believe we are all capable of this renewal, both as individuals and as a society. And I am cautiously optimistic that out of the current conditions will arise many new opportunities to rethink how we approach many things – including women and leadership, including work/life integration -- and come out the stronger for it. That is my New Year wish for all of us – myself included.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Universum’s 2008 IDEAL Employer Survey - Bringing Students and Employers Together
Don’t worry! If you missed Forté Foundation’s webinar : Universum’s 2008 IDEAL Employer Survey – Bringing Students and Employers Together – you can still access the session.
Claudia Tattanelli, Universum’s CEO addressed the challenges of bringing students together with employers through insightful findings. Some highlights include:
Claudia Tattanelli, Universum’s CEO addressed the challenges of bringing students together with employers through insightful findings. Some highlights include:
- What potential female employees are most passionate about
- What company value propositions are most wanted and sought out
- What makes for a good company recruitment event and what works best
- What are the best communication sources to reach students
- What do students like best in recruiting practices
Click here to hear a recorded version of the webinar or click here to see the slide presentation.
Monday, September 22, 2008
The Satisfaction Factor - Sally Helgesen
Chatham, NY September 2008
Three years ago, I teamed up with Julie Johnson, one of America’s most successful executive coaches, to create a project aimed at looking at differences and similarities in how men and women perceived, defined and pursued satisfaction in their work.
The project was inspired by the fact that Julie and I kept hearing the same thing from an unsettling number of very successful women who were either leaving high profile jobs or deciding to assume positions as individual contributors in their organizations—jobs that often required great skills and hard work, but did not put them on track for senior management.
What was it we kept hearing?
“It’s not worth it.”
What did this mean?
The women we talked to were in essence telling us that the tradeoffs their companies were asking them to make—in terms of time, stress, lifestyle, whatever—were simply not worth the rewards their organizations offered.
Notice: the women were not saying they were unwilling to sacrifice their time or life with the adrenaline rush we all experience when we’re over-extended (or thrillingly involved).
Three years ago, I teamed up with Julie Johnson, one of America’s most successful executive coaches, to create a project aimed at looking at differences and similarities in how men and women perceived, defined and pursued satisfaction in their work.
The project was inspired by the fact that Julie and I kept hearing the same thing from an unsettling number of very successful women who were either leaving high profile jobs or deciding to assume positions as individual contributors in their organizations—jobs that often required great skills and hard work, but did not put them on track for senior management.
What was it we kept hearing?
“It’s not worth it.”
What did this mean?
The women we talked to were in essence telling us that the tradeoffs their companies were asking them to make—in terms of time, stress, lifestyle, whatever—were simply not worth the rewards their organizations offered.
Notice: the women were not saying they were unwilling to sacrifice their time or life with the adrenaline rush we all experience when we’re over-extended (or thrillingly involved).
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Podcast Episode Three: Implementing Change
“The corporate ladder is very rigid. It has two modes, right, you are either on or your off, you are either up or your out and it is very linear. And our world is not that way.” -- Anne Weisberg, Deloitte
In the third episode of our CBPS podcast series, we talk to Anne Weisberg of Deloitte about their ground-breaking work on mass career customization. We also talk to Allyson Moore of Yale University and author Lindsey Pollack about career opportunities for Generation Y and the changing demographics of the workplace. You can click to listen right here, or subscribe to download the podcast via iTunes.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Putting the “I” in Leader
At the Forté Corporate Best Practices Summit, Sally Helgesen heralded the “age of women’s leadership” as companies become less hierarchical and more collaborative. The idea is that this emerging business environment will play to women’s strengths, and that (at least progressive) companies will recognize this by giving women more authority and leadership opportunities.
But companies have been operating in this new mode for a while, and the number of women in leadership has stalled – even at some of the most progressive companies. So, how to explain this apparent contradiction?
I think it has a lot to do with how women take credit. Yes, more and more work is done by teams, and women lead teams well. But are these women getting credit when their teams deliver outstanding results? Yes, more and more business is done through partnerships and relationships, and women are good at building partnerships and fostering relationships. But, are women getting credit for doing so? I suspect that many women are not getting the credit, and therefore the leadership roles, they deserve in part because they don’t know how to ask for it. As the authors of The Labyrinth of Leadership painstakingly document, women must navigate between the “unwritten rule” in the workplace that leaders will self-promote (a leader is decisive and assertive), in order to be seen as a leader, and the implicit bias about women that they must not be perceived as too “aggressive” and “ambitious.”
The trick then is to put the “I” in leader – to take credit for your accomplishments without coming across as only interested in getting ahead. One suggestion is to let others do the bragging for you. In the self- assessment I wrote for my performance review this year, I included feedback from clients who raved about me. It was more comfortable than raving about myself, and it had more credibility coming from a third party! This tip, and many others, can be found in Peggy Klaus’ book, Brag: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It.
Do you have any other tips for putting the “I” in leader? Share your story, so that we can all advance the cause of women’s leadership. If you believe Sally, and I do, our organizations’ future depends on it.
But companies have been operating in this new mode for a while, and the number of women in leadership has stalled – even at some of the most progressive companies. So, how to explain this apparent contradiction?
I think it has a lot to do with how women take credit. Yes, more and more work is done by teams, and women lead teams well. But are these women getting credit when their teams deliver outstanding results? Yes, more and more business is done through partnerships and relationships, and women are good at building partnerships and fostering relationships. But, are women getting credit for doing so? I suspect that many women are not getting the credit, and therefore the leadership roles, they deserve in part because they don’t know how to ask for it. As the authors of The Labyrinth of Leadership painstakingly document, women must navigate between the “unwritten rule” in the workplace that leaders will self-promote (a leader is decisive and assertive), in order to be seen as a leader, and the implicit bias about women that they must not be perceived as too “aggressive” and “ambitious.”
The trick then is to put the “I” in leader – to take credit for your accomplishments without coming across as only interested in getting ahead. One suggestion is to let others do the bragging for you. In the self- assessment I wrote for my performance review this year, I included feedback from clients who raved about me. It was more comfortable than raving about myself, and it had more credibility coming from a third party! This tip, and many others, can be found in Peggy Klaus’ book, Brag: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It.
Do you have any other tips for putting the “I” in leader? Share your story, so that we can all advance the cause of women’s leadership. If you believe Sally, and I do, our organizations’ future depends on it.
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