Is there a secret formula some women know that propels them to the top?
Over the past six years, Joanna Barsh, senior partner at for management consultancy McKinsey & Co. in New York, and her co-researcher, McKinsey organization consultant Susie Cranston, set out to find out. They interviewed 107 women who have reached the tops of their professions, "in fields from business to orchestra conducting to espionage," Ms. Barsh says. And they found some common ingredients that they identify in their new book, How Remarkable Women Lead.
Wallace Immen spoke with Ms. Barsh. Here are excerpts of their conversation:
Joanna Barsh, author of How Remarkable Women Lead
What consistent threads did you find in the success stories that remarkable women tell?
One of the crucial consistencies is that each of them said they made a commitment early in their career to find personal satisfaction from what they do. About 20 per cent of the women said they knew even when they were children that a career in business would make them happiest.
I came into the study with the preconception that maybe the women who make it big just have an easier time of it, or that maybe they have better luck. But, as it turns out, every one of them had to overcome obstacles and find ways to turn difficult situations around. They all had a turning point that could have made them quit, but they persisted and moved on after adversity struck. When they experienced failure, they were able to see opportunity in the setback.
What was the most common obstacle they had to overcome?
More than 60 per cent of the women said they didn't naturally have the confidence to speak up for themselves early in their career, and they had to gain that confidence to succeed. Recurring themes were that, starting out, they held back because they didn't feel they had anything important to say, or they believed that, since they were in a junior position, it was not their place to insist that their viewpoint be heard.
But most told of a breakthrough moment in which either something they should have said but didn't led to a failure, or they were given the floor by a senior person and made a contribution that led to a success. From then on, they made a conscious decision to make their voice heard - and to insist that others they lead speak up as well.
For example, Shelly Lazarus [former chief executive officer of ad firm Ogilvy & Mather and now chairwoman of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide], said she had that insight early in her career. Another woman she worked with asked her to cover for her while she snuck out of the office to see her child's school play. She told the woman to come right out and tell her manager she was taking off. At that point, she realized that, "if you have to be afraid for who you are, you will be afraid all your life."
From then on, she said, her motto has been: "Just stand up, do what you need to do and smile about it. Look them in the eye and say, "If you don't like it, fire me, and I'll find another job, because I'm talented enough and I'm committed enough.' "
You also found that women had to break free of limiting expectations that others may have about what are appropriate occupations for women.
Because there were so few women in leadership in previous decades, many of the leaders said they had been regularly advised to give up the dream of reaching senior positions.
Ann Moore [chief executive officer and chairwoman of Time Inc.] told me that, from childhood, her mother expected her to be a nurse, like every other woman in their family. But her mother was also a great organizer for her church and a local political committee, and she [Ms. Moore] realized she really wanted to lead, and that her strength and interests were in guiding teams.
