Executive Coach Leigh Henderson was curious to see what it would take to change the question from “Why are only nine Fortune 500 companies run by women?” to “How did women come to hold 50% of the top jobs at Fortune 500 companies?” She developed a survey (available on-line at her company’s website, www.LeadershipTrainingRoom.com) and is inviting both men and women to report how key environmental/cultural conditions are affecting who gets the top jobs in corporations.
New York, New York (PRWEB), October 13, 2005 – “How do YOU level the leadership playing field?”
That’s one of the questions Leigh Henderson, Managing Director of Leadership Training Room, is asking in her survey, “How Level is the Leadership Playing Field?” This assessment on the conditions of the road to the top jobs in organizations is showing significant gaps and areas of concern affecting both women and men as they strive for equality in the workplace.
“We’re interested in gathering data because leveling the playing field is one of the questions that “C’s to Be™” – men and women on their way up to C-level jobs (CEO, CFO, etc.) – have on their mind,” states Henderson, a New York City-based executive coach. The challenges and stories I’ve heard through my speaking, management consulting, and leadership coaching engagements – combined with my twenty-plus years of corporate experiences – has made it imminently clear that ‘something’s terribly wrong.’ Now I’m reaching out to a larger population to assess how they feel about the leadership playing field and the steps they’re taking to level it out.”
Early findings from the survey are, as expected, wonderfully provocative:
- When asked to choose a response to the statement, “Your approach to an un-level playing field is to…” 41% of respondents answered, “Acquire knowledge and skills to level the playing field.” Yet, 56% of those surveyed when asked, “Please select your greatest workplace frustration,” responded, “Unequal advancement opportunities.”
- When asked, “How do YOU take action to level the leadership playing field?” 50% responded “Lead from my strengths.” Yet, when asked, “Would men and women take the same actions?” 67% responded, “No.” One person offering, “Men would focus on the politics and the networking.”
- When instructed to, “Please rank in order of importance what women need to focus on to achieve success on the leadership path,” 43% of the respondents ranked, “Organizational politics” their Number One concern.
- When asked “Do you believe the there is a ‘female leadership’ style separate and different form a ‘male leadership’ style?” 88% of respondents said, “Yes.”
“Clearly, people are saying that leadership has a gender,” says Henderson of these early results, “which makes me conclude that women aren’t approaching the workplace in the most effective ways they can to be successful. I am committed changing this.”
At a networking meeting, Henderson asked the President and CEO of a $4 billion company, “What was your biggest challenge to being taken seriously in the workplace?” The woman thought a moment before offering an answer. “I played golf with my male colleagues and won,” the tanned, athletically slim woman with windblown hair and a 14-handicap said. “When I started taking their $5 bills from them, they took me seriously.”
To be successful, this woman played the same game as the men, on their field, by their rules, under equal circumstances, and won on a level playing field. But too few women can – or even know how to – do this effectively. This survey is intended to help them understand that this is a much broader issue that can be addressed in a much more meaningful way.
To access the survey go to: www.LeadershipTrainingRoom.com and click on, “Take the Survey Now” button. To arrange for an in-depth interview with Leigh Henderson or for further information, please call 212-362-0942.
Leadership Training Room is a management consulting and leadership coaching firm that specializes in assessing the cultural landscape of the workplace as the foundation for its customized programs that optimize professional interactions and personal advancement. We focus on women and “Cs to Be™” – those with potential to assume top positions of authority.
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