Are You Intrepid? Want to Give Back? Enjoy the Land of the Eternal Spring!

You don’t really have to be intrepid – as you’ll see from the lovely accommodations and wonderful food we eat - but people will look at you incredulously when you tell them you’re going to Guatemala to help indigenous women create greater capacity for sustainable organizations.

We think of our program as Leading Women Without Borders™ and through it we create an opportunity for you to experience the profound satisfaction of realizing how the skills you have can transform the lives of others.

Watch the video above to get a taste of what last year’s women said about their experiences.

Our unique Leadership in Action program March 23^rd – 31^st combines personal leadership development and a focus on strategy, strategy execution and change with the opportunity to apply leadership skills in support of women's cooperatives around the shores of beautiful Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.

Lots more info here: http://www.leadingwomen.biz/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=340

Register here: http://www.leadingwomen.biz/cde.cfm?event=319850

Lead ON!
Susan
Susan Colantuono is CEO of Leading Women and author of No Ceiling, No Walls.
Follow her on Twitter |  LittlePinkBook  |  Facebook  |  LinkedInGroup |  LinkedIn

New Year's Resolutions for Career Success

As you know, I am sometimes asked to review new books and you're going to enjoy this lesson passed on from the latest. It's The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy, publisher of SUCCESS magazine. 

He writes about how small changes today will make a big difference over time - that's the compound effect. It works for money and it works in other parts of our lives. So it got me thinking about making small resolutions at the start of the year that can pay off in big ways over time.

All of us know how to make resolutions in our personal lives - resolutions to lose weight, work out, etc., but how many of us make smart resolutions for our work lives? So, here are a few ways to spend 15 minutes a day that will make a big difference. We know they work because we and our clients use them! Choose one and allocate 15 minutes each day to:

1. Read your company's quarterly earning statement and any other documents (or webcasts) that relate to business performance and strategy.
2. Track your metrics to ensure you're advancing your organization's goals.
3. Network more strategically. Analyze, extend and nurture your internal and external network.
4. Pass along a sincere compliment to someone in your strategic network (internal or external, direct report, colleague or up the management chain).
5. Embrace your gifts - skills, knowledge, values and attributes.
6. Set a daily plan to focus your energy and time on delivering key outcomes.

I've offered 2 ideas for each of the 3 elements of our definition of leadership, "Leadership is using the greatness in you to achieve and sustain extraordinary outcomes by engaging the greatness in others." By devoting 15 minutes a day to at least one, you'll be enhancing your leadership skills and making a difference to the people around you and the organization you work for.

Here's to a year of great success - at whatever level you lead.

Lead ON!
Susan
Susan Colantuono is CEO of Leading Women and author of No Ceiling, No Walls.
Follow her on Twitter |  LittlePinkBook  |  Facebook  |  LinkedInGroup |  LinkedIn

2011 Top 10 Leadership Skill & Career Tips for Women

We share in depth leadership lessons in our monthly Lead ON! newsletters and in our Premium Content for members. If you don't receive it, become a Subscriber or Member today.

We also use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and the Leading Women Blog to share tips more frequently (along with news of importance to women).

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Looking back over 2011, we hope you didn't miss these tips on career success and leadership skills.

Leadership

1.  Move beyond conventional wisdom, develop skills With Eyes Wide Open

2.   A New Look at Leadership Development for Women

3.  Enhance Your Leadership Brand

4.  The Resilient Leader

5. 9 Things Every Woman Should Know About Leadership

And many more here...

Career Advice

6.  To Get Paid More, Cultivate Your Network

7.  Be Prepared with Your Courageous ASK™

8.  CUS Words - Fending Off Harassment

9.  Associate with Associations

10.Managing New-Job Transitions

Here's to a prosperous, rewarding and JOY-filled 2012.

Check out our top stories from 2011>>

With Eyes Wide Open

Ever since I spoke at the W.I.N. conference in Rome last month I've been thinking a lot about career advice given to women over the past 40 years. Much of the advice hasn't changed although the words might have changed. We've been told and continue to be told to:

• Speak up, be assertive, ask
• Get a mentor (40 years ago the definition was the same as today's idea of a sponsor)
• Dress for success, develop executive presence
• Manage your reputation, enhance your personal brand
• Balance work/life, integrate work and life

and yet the advances that women have made have mostly slowed or stagnated.

That's why my message about the importance of developing and demonstrating business, strategic and financial acumen is so "eye-opening" - as a matter of fact every email I received from the global women who attended my presentation used those words!

The most rewarding email was from Manuela who wrote: 

"I came back and immediately sent an email to our VP clearly communicating the cost savings I achieved working on a project for investments for next year such 63% savings versus plan, 1 mill $ here another 12 mill$ (!) there – it is huge, Im proud of it and I said it this time…."

Manuela not only wrote about sharing her "eye-opening moments with women back at work" she was actually able to put into immediate action the advice about demonstrating business acumen! She'll forever move forward in her career with eyes wide open.

If you're serious about your career and think you can climb to success by following conventional wisdom, please think again. Clear advice about developing and demonstrating business, strategic and financial acumen (what we call The Missing 33%™ or The Secret 33%™) is hard to come by. To remedy that deficit is what motivated me to write No Ceiling, No Walls: What Women Haven't Been Told About Leadership from Career-Start to the Corporate Boardroom.

+ + + + No Ceiling, No Walls is a great gift + + + +

SPECIAL DISCOUNT HERE

If you're serious about your success and don't already own a copy of No Ceiling, No Walls, gift yourself with a copy. It might sound self-serving to promote my book, but really it's you-serving!

With the holidays approaching, we're offering a special discount to help spread the word. It makes a great gift for colleagues, team members, proteges, daughters, nieces, moms and any other woman serious about her career.

Lead ON!
Susan
Susan Colantuono is CEO of Leading Women and author of No Ceiling, No Walls.
Follow her on Twitter |  LittlePinkBook  |  Facebook  |  LinkedInGroup |  LinkedIn

So Glad to be Back!

When Google merged ALL of my accounts (why the heck did they do that?) I couldn't figure out how to log into blogger. Finally, they created a fix. It's good to be back.

Leadership Lessons: What Men Know...about Mentoring

Recently a man who serves as an executive sponsor of his organization's women's initiative attended a presentation I gave. Having heard what I said about The Secret 33%™ he commented,

"It’s hard to imagine business skills not being a big part of what goes on especially when you look at the discussions that happen at the executive director and officer level. The discussions that go on in the room among the people are really related to the business – how does the business go forward, how does the business evolve, where should the business be heading. That is where a lot of the...time on people’s calendars...on email and the content of email – it really is on the business and it’s very hard to imagine mentoring not addressing although our formal training doesn’t... Those of you who were listening to presentations would have observed that 99% of the discussion in his hour presentation was on strategy, and outcomes...” G.P. Chief Engineer

Like many organizations, the one referred to above puts little, if any, emphasis on formal education on business, strategic and financial acumen. Men (and women who are smart about how to use mentors or who have business-savvy mentors) are likely to get informal grooming on the business of business.

How does this compare with the content and competencies furthered by your company's women's initiatives?

At Leading Women, we know that business, strategic and financial acumen represent The Secret 33% of the career success equation for women. To learn more about what that means, why it's important, and what you can do about it; contact us and/or pick up a copy of No Ceiling, No Walls. You'll be glad you did!

Quantum Leap Forward: New Tools for Women's Advancement

"When it comes to women's advancement>"...in the last two years we’ve almost hit a point of stagnation, where we’re not seeing even that incremental change in the representation of women at the top. So it’s time to say, 'We’ve come this far, why haven’t we gone as far as we would like?' Companies need to take a more careful look at the programs they have in place around talent management and hiring practices to determine where there might be hidden biases." (e.a.) Christine Silva, Catalyst quoted in IT Business Edge

If your numbers aren't moving in spite of all your programs based on conventional wisdom, it's time to take a look at what Leading Women has to offer. Consider for example our 4-part series on Power Tools for Career Success (recently delivered to Professional Women in Healthcare).

1. The Secret 33%™ For decades, the paradigms underlying leadership development have been viewed as neutral - in spite of the fact that much the research at the root of these paradigms (dating back to the late 70s) was done on men. As a result, most leadership development initiatives over-focus on 2/3 of the leadership definition, leaving women at a disadvantage. This module explains the negative impact of the Missing 33%™ on leadership, career advice, mentoring, executive presence, self-promotion and more. It goes further to explain what it takes to turn The Missing 33% into The Secret 33% of the career success formula for women.
   
2. Think Like a CEO: Developing Business Acumen Anyone can think like a CEO if she is able to step back and look at the big picture of her business. This means understanding the 4 key outcome areas that executives pay attention to and keep in balance. While this knowledge won't guarantee advancement - without it women will undoubtedly hit a plateau in their careers.
   
3. Show Them the Money: Strategic and Financial Acumen Once women understand the 4 key outcome areas that executives pay attention to and keep in balance, they are able to more deeply understand and interpret strategy and the role financials play in setting and assessing strategy. This module delivers a simple model that makes this crystal clear.
   
4. Speak the Language of Power Without Losing Your Voice This capstone session provides women with actionable tools for demonstrating their enhanced business, strategic and financial acumen - and to do so with grace and authenticity.
   
   To see what else we're keeping our eye on these days, check us out on Facebook.
   
   Lead ON!
   Susan
   Susan Colantuono is CEO of Leading Women and author of No Ceiling, No Walls.
   Follow her on Twitter |  LittlePinkBook  |  Facebook  |  LinkedInGroup |  LinkedIn
   

A New Look at Leadership Development for Women

Over the years, I've been involved with Linkage through their Global Institute for Leadership Development and their Women in Leadership Summit. So I was delighted when I was contacted to take part in a series of interviews on leadership for a global research study on the identification and development of leaders. The result of this work will be in an upcoming book by Phil Harkins, the CEO of Linkage - and a well known expert on leadership.

The interview was far ranging and today I received this note from the interviewer.

"Thank you very much for your willingness to support our leadership research at Linkage. Your discussion of the excess emphasis on traits (rather than results) in modern business is one of the key highlights that came out of this series of interviews. Your candor has been extremely helpful to us..."

Here are 4 of the key points I made during the interview.

1. I shared my definition of leadership: "Leadership is using the greatness in you to achieve and sustain extraordinary outcomes by engaging the greatness in others."
2. Women have been under-served by most leadership development initiatives because they over-focus on interpersonal skills (the 1/3rd of the leadership definition that has to do with engaging the greatness in others). For decades the a collection of competencies labeled interpersonal skills is one where women are consistently rated by their bosses as outperforming men.
3. The individualistic culture in the U.S. drives an overemphasis on seeking individual traits of leaders (the 1/3rd of the leadership definition that has to do with the greatness in you). This also under-serves women because of the competencies sought by boards and CEOs when identifying C-suite candidates and high potential employees, only 24% have to do with personal traits.
4. Of the competencies sought by boards and CEOs when identifying C-suite candidates and high potential employees, 50% have to do with business, strategic and financial acumen. These have to do with the 1/3rd of the leadership definition that has to do with achieving and sustaining extraordinary outcomes. Specifically, they are looking for evidence of these competencies via impact on the business. In study after study over the past several decades, men have been rated as outperforming women in these areas. That's why we call these extremely important competencies The Missing 33%™of the career success equation for women.
   

For decades, the paradigms underlying leadership development have been viewed as neutral - in spite of the fact that much the research at the root of these paradigms - dating back to the late 70s - was done on men. As a result, most over-focus on 2/3 of the leadership definition, leaving women at a disadvantage.

To illustrate: In our work with companies on their women's initatives, we analyze the competencies that they embed in their performance and leadership development systems. In one F500 company, only 18% of its management competencies focus on business, strategic or financial acumen (The Missing 33%) - while 48% focused on personal traits. So, if a woman were to cultivate her personal traits per their system, she would hit a glass ceiling pretty early in her career because she would lack the business, strategic and financial skills required to advance.

And while some companies place more of a balanced emphasis between personal traits and engagement skills, the minimal focus on business, strategic and financial acumen is not uncommon!

How does your organization emphasize The Missing 33% in its performance, succession, leadership development, women's initiative content and other advancement systems?

To learn more about The Missing 33%, why it's important, and what you can do about it; check out this short video, and pick up a copy of No Ceiling, No Walls. You'll be glad you did!

Lead ON!
Susan
Susan Colantuono is CEO of Leading Women and author of No Ceiling, No Walls.
Follow her on Twitter |  LittlePinkBook  |  Facebook  |  LinkedInGroup |  LinkedIn

SLOW and Unsteady Progress

Catalyst released its 2010 Census and it's receiving a bit of coverage (Today online, Seek4Media, MyStateline, Reuters, LifeInc). Conventional wisdom over the summer was that business had been experiencing a "mancession" and that we were experiencing "The End of Men."  I didn't believe a word of it, but because the facts are in opposition to the new conventional wisdom, this release by Catalyst is getting more than its usual coverage. Catalyst is reporting that

136 of Fortune 500 companies had no women executives, among them Exxon Mobil, Berkshire Hathaway, Citigroup, Costco Wholesale and Sears Holding. Women held 14.4 per cent of executive officer positions in 2010, up from 13.5 per cent in 2009, and female executive officers held 7.6 per cent of the top earning positions, up from 6.3 per cent last year, the 2010 Catalyst Census showed.

"This is our fifth report where the annual change in female leadership remained flat. If this trend line represented a patient's pulse, she'd be dead," said Ms Ilene Lang, president and chief executive of Catalyst, a non-profit organisation that advocates greater opportunities for women.

The best five companies in terms of women in the executive suite were Gap, H&R Block, Limited Brands, TIAA-CREF and Western Union.

More than 10 per cent of companies lacked any women on their boards last year and this year."

What bothers me about the coverage is that Ilene Lang's rationale for getting women into leadership is not one that's likely to convince boards and C-suite men to take action. She is quoted as saying, "To be successful, they have to have more points of view - people from all kinds of backgrounds - and have diversity in the senior leadership." A different winning argument would be that companies that have gender-neutral advancement practices (more outcome-oriented versus subjective) get more women to the top which is likely to account for the correlation between women at the top and financial performance. So, uncover and remedy bias in your systems if the top of diverse organizations is mostly male.

The Catalyst census also points to the importance of having sponsors (as opposed to mentors.) Don't get me started on this subject! Women have been told to get mentors (which actually meant sponsors back when the advice started in the 70s) for nearly 4 decades. Formalizing these mentoring programs eliminated the "sponsorship" element and revisiting this to establish formal "sponsorship" programs will do the same and we'll be looking for a new word in 40 years to describe the commitment of more senior people to help more junior advance.

Jenna Goudreau picks up the Catalyst information and writes about the discrepancies in impact between women and men who have mentors. Her bottom line advice is:

"Professional women should seek out mentors at the highest levels of leadership. Those that do are promoted at the same rate as men with mentors at the top. Less clear is why women’s compensation lags behind men’s even with a mentor at the top."

But advice to get a senior mentor (or sponsor) misses the point if you don't know what to seek from the relationship.

Special Tip for You!

At Leading Women we offer unconventional advice about how women can make the most of mentoring relationships. Hint: ask for a piece of P.I.E. Want to know more about what this means and how it can fuel your career success? Email me.

A few random links:  

• After the Glass Ceiling comes a Glass  Cliff
• Women Leave Management More than Men

These two studies relate in one way: "Almost 3% of women were dismissed from their jobs, the study found, while less than 1% of their male counterparts suffered the same fate."

•  Women Targeted as Whistleblowers
• Glass Ceiling Strong in CA
• More on Importance of "Sponsors"
• More on Unsteady Progress

Lead ON!
Susan
Susan Colantuono is CEO of Leading Women and author of No Ceiling, No Walls.  Follow her on Twitter.