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A Personal Letter from Molly D. Shepard - February 2008
At a recent campaign stop in New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton spoke to a group of 16 undecided voters along with over 100 members of the media. A woman in the crammed coffee shop asked Clinton how she “gets up every morning and makes it through the day” during the rigorous campaign trail. In answering the question, Clinton’s voice became strained and with eyes beginning to tear up she said, “Some people think elections are a game: who’s up or who’s down… It’s about our country. It’s about our kids’ future. It’s about all of us together. Some of us put ourselves out there and do this against some difficult odds.” Many of the media outlets barely mentioned the previous hour worth of policy talk, but instead made Clinton’s few seconds of emotion the topic of criticism. Political analysts and reporters are making assumption about how this will affect her efforts. One writer commented, “Those voters who take Clinton's response in New Hampshire as too emotional, and her teary moment today as weak, may very well turn toward other candidates.” An article on Newsweek.com asked, “A Muskie moment, or a glimpse of the ‘real Hillary’?” What is it about emotion that makes women seem “unfit” for politics in the public eye? Men who display their emotions are revered as “passionate,” yet women who display their emotions are often viewed as vulnerable or unstable. Ironically, on this very same day the new Mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter, became emotional during his inaugural speech. However, the media had little to say about this, yet Clinton made headline news on every national website within minutes. After the fact, the incident seemed to benefit Clinton as voters felt they got to see a little shred of the “real Clinton.” She later revealed, “...in the last week I listened to you and in the process I found my own voice.” What this situation seems to illuminate is that there is a potential breakthrough for women in high profile careers. In the past, female executives have been confined to a socially constructed role that forces women to try to fit a mold in order to succeed in a male-constructed system. This role may typically involve being hard-nosed and cold, or analytical as opposed to intuitive. But, research shows that the most affluent and forward-thinking organizations have a cohesive team of male and female leadership. For example, a recent Catalyst research study found that “companies with the most females in top management significantly outperformed those with fewer.” In fact, for both Return on Investment (ROE) and Total Return to Shareholders(TRS) on average, top-quartile companies experienced a TRS that is 34.0 % (or 32.4 percentage points) higher than the bottom-quartile companies. Similarly, top-quartile companies experienced an ROE that is 35.1 % (or 4.6 percentage points) higher than the bottom-quartile companies. As this study shows, the goal within organizations should not be to make women like men—the goal should be to gender-appreciate in order to have as many diverse perspectives to provide the highest quality products or services. To date, the impetus for change has been with the women entering the inner sanctums of corporate America, even running for President. But it will take a willingness and informed awareness for change on the part of male executives in order to complete the equation for co-leadership. Corporate leadership styles have actually become more and more aligned with women’s natural skills (intuitive, collaborative and cooperative) and less and less aligned with linear mental processes, which may shed light on why voters connected with Clinton during her emotional moment. Establishing co-leadership between men and women in a company allows the company to leverage women’s talents for better business results. Research study after research study has shown that women think differently and lead differently. Only by understanding the value of co-leadership as part of the sweeping changes in gender diversity will companies be aligned for success. In conjunction with this topic, Dr. Peter Dean and I have written a book on co-leadership, entitled Two Faces of Leadership, in which we discuss the changing dynamics of gender in the workplace, including power, ego and communication, and its profound effect on organizations. In our book, we explain how men and women can overcome their core challenges, link their unique styles, and create a new form of leadership that draws upon one another’s strengths and improves workplace cultures. Please look for more details in future communications. Molly D. Shepard |
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