Table of ContentsConfidence and ability – when ability is low Now% that% you have%considered% the%...
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Improving gender diversity by instilling confidence and belief in women who want to step up Step up
Transcript of Table of ContentsConfidence and ability – when ability is low Now% that% you have%considered% the%...
Table of Contents
Improving gender diversity by instilling confidence and belief in women who want to step up
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The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing their inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives
William James
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We care but you’re responsible This white paper is general in nature and not meant to replace any specific advice. Please be sure to take specialist advice before taking on any of the ideas. Maree Burgess, and her employees and contractors disclaim all and any liability to any persons whatsoever in respect of anything done by any person in reliance, whether in whole or in part, on this e-‐book.
What’s preventing gender diversity?
Does your organisation need to improve its gender diversity? Gender diversity means aiming to have an equal balance between men and women in roles. There are dozens of reasons given why we haven’t achieved this equal balance. And hundreds of ideas of how to address this issue. The trick is to work out which ideas will have the biggest impact. I am interested in identifying the challenges women face, which prevent them from stepping up and then addressing how to overcome these challenges.
Various reasons or excuses exist for this lack of gender diversity: • There aren’t enough suitably
qualified women to move into senior roles
• We don’t have sufficient childcare options for women to return to work easily after having children
• Men are more likely to hire men for roles. This is linked to unconscious bias
• Women don’t believe they have the necessary qualifications, experience, skills, confidence, and so on to apply for more senior roles
What woman tell me
Challenge # 1 I don’t meet all the criteria for that role “ I don’t have the necessarily skills to do the role as advertised. I am not qualified to do everything advertised in this job description.”
Challenge # 2 I am very good at what I do now. “ I am competent in what I am doing now. I’m on top of what is required and I’m afraid to step into a more senior role as I don’t feel I have the necessary skills. I’m afraid that if I do I will fail ”
Challenge # 3 I don’t want to act or have to behaviour in a way that’s not me “ I’m afraid that moving to a more senior new role will mean that I will have to behave in more masculine ways to be ‘one of the boys.”
Bridging the gender diversity gap starts with having suitable women available to step up into more senior roles Finding ways to move the diversity figures to a more equal footing, to tap into the richness of thought and experience that diversity provides and propel our organisations forward is part of leading. Only when we have more diversity overall, including gender diversity, will we be able to discover what we are truly capable of achieving.
This paper delivers a framework of priorities and actions, tools and ideas your organisation can use to improve the balance of men and women in your organisation particularly at leadership levels
Expertise and mindset on potential
Expertise and mindset impacts potential. If expertise is low a person is generally not trusted (to do their role effectively), they can feel stressed and operating well below their potential. When expertise is sought after a person is trusted (to do their role well) and they are in flow, operating at a potential that exceeds the norm and above expectations. Have you considered the expertise and the mindset of the women in your organisation?
Figure 1. The ‘expertise and mindset’ model shows a significant difference between the potential of a person who is sought after and one who is avoided.
Focusing on building a diversity balanced organisation filled with trusted individuals whose expertise is accepted, valued and sought after; who themselves feel capable and believe in their abilities will help you create a workforce that operates above the line.
Avoided > When a person’s expertise is avoided it is often due to not having the necessarily skills to do their role effectively. They may not know what their strengths are and have fallen into a role that doesn’t suit them. Productivity will be low and they are under considerable stress from the expectations of those around them to lift their game. Tolerated > When a person’s expertise is tolerated they aren’t raising too many alarm bells around what they are or are not doing however they aren’t operating at expected levels for the role. They may find their role challenging as they aren’t quite skilled enough or they may be unchallenged and bored and find what they are doing is the same old thing over and over. Accepted > When a person’s expertise is accepted they are on par with what is expected for this role. They are capable and doing everything required. They are feeling very much in their comfort zone and know what is expected day to day. Valued > When a person’s expertise is valued they are kicking goals and doing and achieving more than expected in this role. They are leading and creating. They have a real belief in their abilities and have a good understanding of their strengths and values. Sought after > When a person’s expertise is sought after they are shooting the lights out. They are in flow and feel everything is ‘easy’ yet they are challenged and always on the lookout for stretch opportunities. They know what their strengths are and use those in this role. They are doing far more in this role than expected and truly stepping up in their leadership.
When expertise is …
Confidence and ability – when ability is low
Now that you have considered the expertise and mindset ladder from Stressed/Avoided to Flow/Sought After, there are two specific areas to focus on in helping women step up: Confidence and Ability
Being a problem When a person operates from a space of low confidence and low ability it’s like they are walking through treacle. Things are tough and they just can’t see their way forward. They definitely don’t look forward to coming to work each day. This creates trust issues with team members and frustration. Coping mechanisms may start to fail and it is very difficult to become motivated. Mistakes are made and often hidden. To overcome this, the person needs to build clarity on what their strengths are, what roles those suit and work on raising their abilities, or move roles.
Being a poser When a person operates from a space of high confidence and low ability it can be like they are revving the engine and releasing the clutch and mistakenly being in reverse. This can also create trust issues with team members. If that person is very confident and doesn’t yet have the ability to do what needs to be done they will frustrate team members and sometimes create more work for the team or worse. Understanding strengths and seeking feedback on how they are going is essential to develop any abilities that may be lacking.
Figure 2. Describes the quadrants people can fall into based on their confidence and ability to do a role
High Confidence
Low Confidence
High Ability Low Ability
Problem
Poser
Potential
Purposeful
Having the potential and really feeling like an imposter When a person operates from a space of low confidence and high ability it’s like being afraid of being found out for not being who they are perceived to be. This can also frustrate their boss and team members. They don’t back themselves and have low confidence in their abilities even though they are very good at what they do. Building confidence in their own abilities and backing it up with evidence creates ease in doing the role or even applying for a promotion or a new role.
Working with purpose When a person operates from a space of high confidence and high ability it’s like having the right key for the right lock. This is where they are trusted, their expertise is sought after and they work from a place of flow. What they do is effortless. They also find ways to create challenge in what they do and don’t become complacent about their role. They look for stretch opportunities and assume leadership responsibilities even if they aren’t in a leadership role. At this stage, it is time to look for new challenges, or more senior roles to continue to stretch and grow.
High Confidence
Low Confidence
High Ability
Low Ability
Problem
Poser
Potential
Purposeful
Confidence and ability – when ability is high
Figure 3. Describes the cycle careers move through – and where the choice point is – to advance or decline.
Point of Choice In the Figure 2 quadrants there is a point of choice in career direction and whether that career will advance or decline. It is up to the individual to identify where they are and make that choice.
Putting it all together and questions to consider
The ‘expertise and mindset’ ladder shows a significant difference between the potential of a person who is sought after and one who is avoided.
Where are the women in your organisation on this ladder and where to you want them to be?
The confidence and ability quadrant describes the quadrants people can fall into based on their confidence and ability to do a role.
What does your organisation need to do to move more women into the Purposeful quadrant if they aren’t there already?
High Confidence
Low Confidence
High Ability Low Ability
Problem
Poser
Potential
Purposeful
The sigmoid curve describes the cycle careers move through – and where the choice point is – to advance or decline.
Develop an understanding about the women in your organisation. Where they are in their career: maturity in the current role and ready to innovate and step up; or at inception and starting the learning curve?
Next steps
Thank you!
How do you improve your diversity figures?
Leverage the activities your organisation already has underway to work with women, if they exist. Work with the women in your team and talk to them about stepping up and what they need to do.
Distribute this white paper to your team and beyond. Talk about it at your next meeting.
Lead by example and expect others to follow.
The success and future of our businesses depends on it.
About the author
Maree Burgess
Maree is focussed on working with organisations who are interested in improving their diversity. She works with women looking to step up into more senior roles by helping them increase their confidence in their abilities, understand their strengths and what they love to do. Her passion to tap into a person’s potential to create change led her to leave corporate banking life in 2003 and establish her own business. Since then Maree has developed a process which incorporates multiple methodologies to increase gender diversity within organisations. Maree is currently embedded within a large corporate bank and splits her time between facilitating sessions, coaching women to step up, delivering keynotes and running training sessions.
0419 106343 | [email protected] | www.mareeburgess.com
