Category: Miscellaneous

This past summer, during an address to Google employees, Sylvia Ann Hewlett, the acclaimed expert on workplace power and influence, revealed some startling statistics. For starters, today in the US, only approximately eight percent of top earners are women. This is precisely the same number as 15 years ago.

The real bottleneck occurs just below the most senior levels, in the marzipan layer, where women comprise 34-percent. Yet, at the summit, Dr. Hewlett’s statistics indicate that women only represent:

• 4.2% of CEOs at Fortune 500 companies
• 15.7% of board members at Fortune 500 companies

Status quo

For over 20 years, Dr. Hewlett has deeply researched how, and what it takes, to reach the corporate world’s top echelons. As the founder and CEO of the Center for Talent Innovation (CTI),

Dr. Hewlett has spent years investigating the nuances of corporate advancement.
During her presentation, she noted that although there’s been progress at the lower and middle career rungs, CTI wanted to try to determine how people got to the top of US corporations.

What its surveys and research identified is that power is transferred through a replication process. Senior leaders seek to duplicate themselves. They favor people they are most comfortable with, in other words, people like themselves, graduates of the same schools, for example. In essence, the research showed that the long-standing status quo, with white men at the top still prevails.

Less latitude for women

There’s a very narrow window for women. Dr. Hewlett refers to this window as the “Fine Line of Executive Presence,” where women have less leeway. What CTI’s investigation made very clear is that today women are not seen as potential leaders and consequently, rarely chosen. There are four factors, or let’s say excuses, each with a contradictory point of view:
Approach

• She’s too opinionated and too bossy
• She’s too retiring and passive

Appearance

• She dresses too provocatively
• She’s frumpy

Attitude

• She’s too pushy, too show-off-y
• She’s too self-deprecating

Age

• She looks too young
• She looks too old

During her Google address, Dr. Hewlett made very clear that it’s important for all ambitious people to establish specific goals. Another major benefit of setting these markers is that it sharpens the focus on potential sponsors and powerbrokers, people who can actually help to advance careers

Four ways women convey the potential for advancement

We wanted to learn more about Dr. Hewlett’s specific recommendations for women and turned to a Forbes* interview where she gives very clear direction.
Essentially, women must consistently reflect these four behaviors:

1. Focus on developing Gravitas, “the confidence and judgment you inspire in others to follow and trust your vision… it signals that you not only have depth and heft but you also have the confidence and credibility to get your point across and communicate the authority of a leader.”

2. Learn to make compelling presentations, look people in the eye and avoid getting bogged down with notes, lists and slides.

3. Good grooming is imperative at every career stage.

4. Women must make it clear they want genuine feedback and then deal with recommendations unemotionally, not take them as criticism.

*Read the Forbes article in its entirety.

The marzipan layer refers to the level of corporate executives just below the top echelon – the “icing,” typically the C-Suite or partners. Although important to bakers as it prevents icing sugars from leaching into a cake, an organization’s marzipan layer may act as a barrier that prevents advancement.

For aspiring professionals, breaking through this layer can be extremely challenging. As part of the process, a candid self-appraisal is imperative but what often triggers a breakthrough, is a straight-shooting mentor who delivers tough-to-hear, yet pivotal information. Sometimes, a wake-up call is an accidentally overheard put down or criticism…

Acclaimed economist and author Sylvia Ann Hewlett is profoundly open about her own transformative experience. Daughter of a “working class Welsh bloke,” today, she’s an internationally recognized for her innovative thinking. Dr. Hewlett is the author of 12 critically acclaimed books including, Executive Presence: The Missing Link Between Merit and Success, and the founding president and CEO of the Center for Talent Innovation.

Growing up in the 1960’s, in the industrial, impoverished coal-mining valleys of Wales where unemployment reached 38 percent, Dr. Hewlett was an excellent student. She applied and was accepted at Cambridge University. Although she excelled at passing exams, “every time I opened my mouth, I let myself down.”

She sounded rough and raw; she mispronounced words and her grammar was shoddy. Like My Fair Lady’s Eliza Doolittle, she dropped the letter H, so Henry Higgins became ‘enry ‘iggins. At the age of eighteen, she wasn’t well read, had never been to the theater, and had spent family holidays at trailer park rentals. Conversation with her well-educated fellow-students was beyond her. She was awkward and ignored.

Dr. Hewlett overheard her tutor saying to a colleague that she “sounded uncouth.” Tough to take. She realized that to get anywhere, she would need to up her game. Unable to afford elocution lessons, BBC broadcasters became her voice coaches. She listened to the radio, read newspapers and bought cheap theater tickets. Her journey had begun.

Dr. Hewlett understood that she had to revise the signals she sent. Although today, it’s nice to think that a tutor would provide feedback to help a struggling student on her way, the point is that criticism not meant for her ears propelled Dr. Hewlett forward. Her genuine, heartfelt story and journey of self-discovery marked the beginning of her drive to excel. This has culminated in her passionate research about the very issues that got her started – the signals people send.

What is so important to understand is that performance and goal achievement alone, are insufficient to break through the marzipan layer. The cornerstones of Executive Presence – the first impression you make, how you behave, communicate and look – often underrated by detractors, actually send the specific signals mandatory for breaking through the marzipan layer.

The skills to communicate that you really know your stuff, that you can present your ideas and that you look like a member of the top level are fundamental to the ultimate selection process of who gets to move ahead and move through the marzipan layer.

Toronto Executive Presence 2-Day Workshop, November 29-30, 2017
We still have space. Learn more

Learn how a coolheaded leader prevented conflict and animosity by mentoring a team member to conduct a difficult conversation with a colleague.

Spring, 2017

Meet Carol, Marketing Director in charge of several teams working in an open office. She has just hired Mark to head up product development and his enthusiasm is immediately apparent. He is obviously thrilled with his new job and shares his excitement in a very loud voice.

Early Monday morning, two weeks later

Just as Carol is about to make a call, she’s approached by Sarah, a clearly distraught junior copywriter; “Mark is driving me crazy. He is just so loud. You have to do something!”

Carol, a seasoned manager adept at working with her high-energy, millennial teams, realizes that Sarah has been fretting all weekend. Carol also understands that by moving the loud team member to another cube, she only transfers the problem to another area. No solution.

Carol knows this is not the time to be dismissive with, “Excuse me, I must make this call.” Nor is it wise to tease with smart retorts like, “Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”

Instead, Carol calms Sarah down, “Do you have a few minutes to talk?” She then suggests an action plan for Sarah and concludes with; “Make Mark an ally, not an enemy.”

One hour later

Sarah had considered confronting Mark but now equipped with Carol’s strategy, she heads toward his area to suggest coffee. Sarah has realized the benefits of getting to know Mark and discovers he, too, is a trained writer. They share a professional perspective.

The next morning

Sarah drops by Mark’s cube. It’s early and he is so animated and hyped about a project, he invites her to attend his debut presentation later that morning. Hmmm, still she bites her tongue.

Early afternoon

Again, Sarah stops by Mark’s cube. He is actually composed and quiet. After congratulating him for his presentation, she takes the plunge; “Can we change gears for a moment? We need to talk about something that’s important and find a solution together.”

“Sure Sarah, and thanks for making me feel so welcome.”

“Here’s the thing, Mark. The acoustics here mean noise bounces off the walls like crazy…”

“I hear you, Sarah, people joke that I’m a member of the Loud Family. Mark Loud, get it?”

Takeaway

Chances are, that if Carol had become involved, tension would have escalated. She coached Sarah to deal with her frustrations in a non-confrontational, meticulously choreographed approach.
Sarah took time to begin to know Mark and vice versa; he was receptive when she touched on a difficult conversation.

Key Conversations Course

Join us Monday, December 4, 2017 for this 90-minute, interactive session at our Toronto Head Office from 4:30 to 6:00 pm. Fee: $225.00
To enroll, contact Michelle Yuen at: 416-967-1221 Ext 107 or Click Here.

“It’s not like there’s this overwhelming abundance of great leadership talent, and every company gets who they need.”

—Bernard Banks, Associate Dean for Leadership Development, Clinical Professor of Management, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

Bernard Banks is a retired Brigadier General who believes the corporate world can learn about leadership development opportunities through a closer look at U.S. Army strategies. Banks joined Kellogg last year following his retirement from the Army, where he most recently was at West Point’s Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership. Previously he led numerous military units.

4 key strategies for internal leadership success

It is his combination of academic and field experience that caused Banks to see the disconnect within the corporate world on how businesses manage leadership development. He has 4 key strategies that enable organizations to internally cultivate leadership potential:

1. Groom future leaders before they “make the leap”

At Corporate Class, we know first-hand the benefits of grooming high potentials before promotion. People ill-prepared to take on challenging new roles often produce poor results and high frustration – for everyone. Pushing future leaders forward based on their potential, not their readiness presumes employees will immediately become productive in their new roles.

2. Bet on everyone

Clearly, Banks acknowledges that no organization has unlimited resources to invest in talent development. He makes the point that although some select candidates may warrant greater investment, more mainstream employees should not be expected to find their own way. In the Army he learned the benefit of this approach. This broader scope of PD helps to retain talent as well. When an organization invests in ongoing talent development, it sends a clear message to employees: they are valued team members.

3. Immersive Training

Banks recognize that although the Army is well known for placing people in situations to make them better at thinking and responding, this is far more challenging in the corporate world. He believes that going forward, more companies will send employees to business simulation training. According to Banks, “organizations have to learn how to take smart risks in service of growing their people. The challenge is, are you willing to invest those resources?”

4. Keep employees in the driver’s seat

The message here is self-directed development. This encourages people to take responsibility for their future. Leadership training is a door-opener for employees, not a commitment to their advancement.

Leadership Presence: Training for team leaders
https://www.corporateclassinc.com/personal-development-workshops/workshop-leadership-presence-workshop/

Executive Presence Is neither exclusive nor elusive. ™

When it comes to professional social gatherings the reality is that people at almost every organizational level experience some form of anxiety, faced with the prospect of meeting new people. The underlying reason is that ultimately, there’s little preparation or training for what’s known professionally as “working a room.”

Hollywood has fuelled the myth of the young, new hire who confidently enters his first after-work reception and within seconds holds the floor in a compelling conversation with the company president. In the real corporate world, this just does not happen; it’s straight from a script. Working a room refers to maximizing networking opportunities at meetings, conferences and social events. This takes time, genuine effort and determination

“My anxiety about this conference defied all reasonable dimensions.”
— Amy Cuddy*, Presence, Little, Brown and Company, 2015

From Working to Commanding…

Fundamentally, ”working the room” is something of a misnomer because the expression really refers to friendly interaction with fellow-attendees at an event. Mastering the skills to work a room is a fundamental Executive Presence skill that carries a positive connotation. Ultimately, the goal is to be sufficiently experienced with these ever-present interactions to confidently command a room. Or simply put, to achieve a comfort level – and the ease, grace, and poise – to speak to anyone, at any event. Far more than working a room, today the ability to command a room is compulsory for everyone with aspirations to senior leadership.

“Owning” the room has a different dynamic, predicated by the event
If the occasion is to honor an esteemed colleague, for example, the event belongs to the honoree and this is not the time to be center-stage and own the room.

Truly successful leaders carry themselves with innate social grace and aptitude at every single event, bar none. From industry-wide networking functions to exclusive, upper echelon affairs, their actions appear effortless and their ability to connect, seamless. It’s often because of these qualities that people begin to speak of their charisma. Unquestionably, circulating is absolutely mandatory, assuming the event is not taking place around a table, either dining or boardroom.

Yet, sometimes the downside of a crowded calendar and its requisite events results in 
an unconscious lack of enthusiasm for these endless “appearances.” Because consistent behavior is one of the hallmarks of presence, we suggest fine-tuning before every function. A great place to start the process is with a simple question, “Who will be there?”

Consider, for example, an event centered on an important announcement with well-known names and celebrities in attendance. This event category calls for meticulous preparation.

What do you know about the special 
guests? What if you’re asked to make an 
impromptu introduction or say a few 
words? Or perhaps you’ve never before 
met the special guests and will need to introduce yourself, and welcome them. Prepare your notes, rehearse, and then throw your notes away! You’re not making an Oscar acceptance speech. Eye contact is key — with everyone in the room.

When it comes to engagement, part of every leader’s mantle of responsibility is actually remembering names. Make a conscious decision to just try harder. Sounds absurdly optimistic, but concentration actually works!

* Harvard Business School Professor and social psychologist, Amy Cuddy, is known around the world for her 2012 TED talk, the 2nd most viewed talk in TED’s history.

Back to school countdown!
Classes will soon be in session:
How to Command and Work any Room

Join us Monday, October 2, 2017 for this 90-minute, interactive session at our Toronto Head Office from 4:30 to 6:00 pm. Fee: $225.00
To enroll, contact Michelle Yuen at: 416-967-1221 Ext 107 or Click here

In our complex, challenging and competitive world, Executive Presence is not an optional asset. Executive Presence is an expectation. We encourage you to take stock of your presence to take charge of your future.