The high potential of women and how to help them rise

While not a hard and fast math rule, consider it with a 5 percent margin of error and see if it holds true now as well as it did in 1906.

Let’s think about how many women are in your top 20 percent and why it matters.

The Fortune 500 list of firms has long shown that those with the highest number of women on their boards outperform those with lower female participation. And according to a recent Gallup poll, revenue in female-balanced business units outperforms revenue in male-dominated business units.

Your company’s bottom line will benefit from high-performing women. Women are 45 percent more likely than men to be perceived as consistently demonstrating empathy. Coaching and mentoring, influence, inspirational leadership, conflict management, organisational awareness, flexibility, teamwork, and accomplishment orientation are other areas where women outperform males, according to Korn Ferry.

Women are doing more to support their teams and drive diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, according to McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace 2021 report. They further add that this vital work goes unappreciated and unrewarded by most firms.

So, how can women be supported so that they are seen and heard, and so that they can continue to rise? Here are a few suggestions:

Assist them in putting on their crowns

At work, women have a terrible time taking credit for their accomplishments. They tend to put the team and others first since they are collaborative by nature. But here’s the truth: how will they be chosen to climb if the person who can help them do so doesn’t realise the magnitude of their contribution? While taking credit for other people’s work is never a good idea, encouraging ladies to flex their muscles after they worked hard for that bulge is something to be proud of.

Become a sponsor for them

Women are more likely to seek mentors than men. Someone who has been there and done that is referred regarded as a mentor. Mentors are essential for all of us. However, we all require sponsors.

A sponsor is someone who has the authority to offer you challenging jobs so that you can show off your abilities to others, as well as the clout to make things happen for you. There is a distinction, and women require sponsorship, particularly from men, who account for 90 percent of the C-suite and power positions.

Demonstrate how to take advantage of networks by extending yours to them

We’ve all heard of the “Old Boy’s Club” as a nasty organisation. In most circumstances, being a member of the ‘Old Boys Club’ entails conducting business with and supporting people you know in a social setting. Isn’t it innocent enough?

So, why don’t women have it? Is it because women don’t have time to socialise outside of the office because of all the extra duties they have that no one appears to notice? Is it due to imposter syndrome and the inability to ask for assistance? Is it the impossibility to combine social and professional activities because they are two entirely distinct individuals in each situation?

It’s most likely a mix of all of these factors. Regardless, take the initiative and introduce women to your networks, displaying their crowns if they are unable to do so confidently, and coach them to the top.

Point out when they are negotiating poorly for themselves and show them how to improve their negotiating skills

When you ask a woman her price, she will usually fumble. That question elicits a wide range of responses, including one from Robert Redford. The majority of women are unable to negotiate on their own behalf. It is for this reason that most women are underpaid. That is a simple question with a simple response.

Your pricing for your strengths at any particular time is determined by your needs at that time for a specified amount of time. It may be $60k to cover your living expenses for three months doing what you do best in the world. It may be $10m for the time and effort you put in as a CEO for someone else’s firm rather than starting your own. Women must be aware of their professional worth, and if they falter, males must step in and assist them through the wilderness.

Let them know that it’s okay if they don’t know

Men were asked if they qualified for the C-suite job, and they all raised their hands, despite the fact that none of them did. A group of women were asked the same question, and only a few raised their hands. Women appear to believe that before they can be included, they must dot all of their “I’s” and cross all of their “T’s.” This simply isn’t the case.

The ability to learn is the most valuable skill one can possess, especially in today’s unpredictable environment. So, when asking women to opt in, pay attention to how you phrase the question and leave room for learning, then sit back and see how many more women sign up and rise up.

Finally, women advance faster when “women who have ascended” serve as role models, lifting them up and ensuring that they even help them leapfrog ahead. So, if you truly are a “woman risen,” measure your achievement in terms of the women you help rise every day.

SallyAnn Della Casa is the founder of GLEAC