Why Women Are Needed in the C-Suites

by John Keyser
How can it be 2015, and yet brilliant and talented women are still stuck in the pipeline? The “glass ceiling,” coined way back in 1979, is still impenetrable for many women. To a senior businessman like me, this is misguided and unacceptable.

So I recently published a book to do something about it. Make Way For Women: Men and Women Leading Together Improve Culture and Profits documents the overwhelming evidence that companies led by women and men together are more profitable and sustainable. Also in the book are clear strategies for making this culture change happen across industries.

A little background. I have held high-level executive positions in the corporate and not-for- profit worlds for 40 years. During this time I have worked with many highly effective leaders, many of whom are women. These women inspired others with their business smarts and their people skills, and that is leadership.

Yet, while a few of these highly skilled women made it senior leadership positions, way too many were limited by that damned glass ceiling. And yet men at the top would never admit that. Why? In my mind, it’s because men tend to make assumptions about women. “Yes, she’s very capable, but her family responsibilities will prevent her from traveling as necessary, or as a women, she can’t handle our largest and most difficult clients.”

I hear these assumptions by men over and over again, unfounded assumptions, and I know that often these decisions are made without discussion with the women. These women are not even asked if they are in a position to take on stretch opportunities!

All too often, a man who is less qualified and has not earned the promotion or assignment will be given the job.

As Ilene Lang, former President of Catalyst, observed, a man is promoted based on his potential, while a woman has to earn that promotion over and over again.

In my leadership coaching practice, I’m working right now with two women, currently SVPs of major companies, each of whom told me she is about ready to move on to a new company. Despite having important responsibilities, one regional, the other national, and having earned a superb reputation with and the respect of their clients, colleagues, and in their industries, each feels her boss will give the next promotion to one of the guys, someone not nearly as capable as she.

Fact is, capable women and men leading together strengthen a company’s leadership at a time when highly effective leadership is needed. Morale is generally low, way too many do not feel fully engaged, people do not love their jobs nor their companies.

Women in key positions help favorably effect organizational culture and that is key to how well a company does over time.

In my experience, women need advocates in the C-Suites to create pathways to leadership. For example, a very accomplished woman I work with in my coaching practice wanted to continue to advance within her company. The next step would be a seat on the management committee, all male. She knew the company would be better with women on the committee, that women would open up and improve the committee’s discussions and decisions.

She was given the opportunity to join the committee, and she was certainly nervous. Her strategy was to listen intently, be ready to handle negativity and criticism toward her with grace and then to thoughtfully offer her ideas. To come out from behind herself, to believe in herself and her voice.

So she spoke up and sure enough, there were men who shot down her ideas, yet she learned to roll with it, to keep speaking up until she got comfortable with how it worked. And that persistence is how she broke through the glass ceiling to become one of the very top executives in the company, a true leader.

Another colleague, also highly accomplished, told me of the disadvantage she had as a single woman in the office. She said she did not feel comfortable taking male clients out for a drink, or to a ball game, or hosting an evening party at her home, as we male colleagues often did. I told her I saw her point, thanked her for reaching out and assured her that her male colleagues would gladly join her in these client events. She accepted this offer, and within a few short years she had an enormous number of highly satisfied clients who knew she had a personal as well as a professional interest in them. She went on the break the glass ceiling in her industry, thanks to her self-awareness and readiness to ask for help.

Great stories, right? So, I write weekly leadership articles, often about women’s advancement, and how women’s leadership skills are necessary to balance men’s. As examples, women tend to be better communicators, better at relationships, caring about the team, seeking input in decision making and being more risk aware (not risk averse, risk aware). These are every bit as important as men’s boldness, confidence, decisiveness and comfort with risk taking.

In my leadership articles, I kept emphasizing these truths, wondering if the message was getting through, until one day I got an email response from a woman whom I did not know, who was a CEO. She had read one of my articles on women’s leadership, and asked that I expand it into a book. She told me there are hundreds of books by women for women in business, and a book by a man written to the guys in the corner offices was urgently needed.

With the help of my friend and a writer, Adrienne Hand, we undertook the mission of the book Make Way for Women.

The first part of the book identifies research studies that validates that companies with gender diverse leadership outperform companies that do not have as many women in key senior positions.

I also share my own views and experience, and those of 45 successful men and women we interviewed. We selected these men and women as they are highly respected in their fields. The men we spoke with understand the value women bring, and the women are highly accomplished and skilled leaders who are succeeding in male-dominated environments.

These fine men and women had the kindness and generosity to sit with Adrienne and me for an hour to discuss the impact of women’s leadership. Together with HR strategists, they recommend ways of attracting and especially retaining women.

I hope the book is good as the messages are, I believe, very important!

Has progress been made? Yes, sure, up to the middle management level, but from there up it continues to be male dominated leadership.

We still face this hidden bias in our business world today!

Fortunately, there has been a lot of attention brought to this subject and I hope the time has finally come when women – who by the way are the majority of college graduates and do better academically, and in my experience, are more reliable – will advance up into key leadership positions in the C-Suites – and companies’ cultures and financial results will improve!

Now is the time to be forward thinking leaders, be out in front of the change that is coming, and help it happen!