What does it take
to break through
the glass ceiling?
Some of Australia’s
top female leaders
share their experience
and insight
As companies around the world compete for market share, ideas and talent, it has become clear that women leaders will have a huge impact on their business success. Research by McKinsey has shown that companies with the most gender-diverse leadership teams are also the top financial performers.
Women bring different perspectives in terms of diversity of thought, knowledge of what motivates customers and employees, and their different life experience.
Nevertheless women are confronted with a variety of invisible barriers to their progress up the corporate hierarchy. That “diversity of thought”
can actually prove to be a barrier, as women are pushed into roles that allegedly play to female strengths, while being held back in other key roles.
In Australia these attitudes appear to be particularly entrenched. Women hold only approximately 10%
of ASX 200 executive roles. Morgan McKinley is proud to bring you this research and the collective wisdom of some of Australia’s top female leaders.
We asked successful women involved in Australian and international business how they moved their careers forward. They all had something unique to say but there was much common ground. Perhaps the most important point of all: believe in yourself.
Don’t turn the glass ceiling into a glass cage held together by self-doubt or anxiety. Resilience is a key strength of all the women we spoke to.
Here’s how one successful female executive describes the sound of a woman breaking through the glass ceiling: BOOM! – Bloody, Obvious, Observable and Measurable. Or to put it another way, it’s hard work but you’ll know when it happens, if you set goals and measure your progress.
Here’s how one successful female executive describes the sound of a woman breaking through the glass ceiling: BOOM! – Bloody, Obvious, Observable
and Measurable.
Unfortunately there is no magical unique path to success. Every woman and every situation is different. But here are our contributors’ top tips for women who aspire to leadership:
EARN TRUST AND BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
You have to accept that making progress will be hard work and will require courage. You also need reliable allies. Earn the trust and confidence of your manager (and other more senior
stakeholders). They must feel that you will get things done without being micro-managed. That is what sets you apart as manager material. Don’t simply wait to be asked to do something, seek out new opportunities and take them.
Make promises, and then keep them.
When you start in a new role, make an effort to meet people across the company. This will give you a better
understanding of how the organisation as a whole functions, which in turn
provides the breadth of outlook that is vital in a leader. As you progress, seek the opinions and feedback of people across the organisation. They will appreciate you as a consensus-builder.
Learn to build relationships quickly. Not just networks on paper but people who know they can trust you to help them out, and whom you can rely on for support. Help out other women in your organisation and they will help you in return.
KNOW YOUR VALUE AND BE VOCAL
Women tend to underestimate their abilities, whereas men tend to be very proactive about voicing what they want from their career and getting advice on what’s the best next step.
Do some market research into benchmark salary scales for your role so that know you your value and marketability.
Work on your own personal “elevator pitch” so that you can sell yourself in 30 seconds – who you are, what you’ve done, and where you want to go.
If you want to be seen as a rising star, you will also need to make a stand on the issues you feel passionately about. Even if that means rocking
the boat now and again. Of course, you need to temper this advice according to your corporate culture but increasingly, the people who make progress, be they men or women, are the ones who are “responsibly irresponsible”, trying out new ways of doing things.
Being quietly competent is laudable, but it’s likely that it will leave you to clear up other people’s messes while they move up the hierarchy. You’ll be building your own glass cage, you may become disillusioned and burnt out. Unfortunately, it will sometimes be the case, that your current employer cannot fulfil your ambitions and this is when you need to be prepared to move on.
Your exit strategy is very important - always aim to leave on good terms and be thankful of the
Being quietly competent
is laudable, but it’s likely
that it will leave you to clear up
other people’s messes while
they move up the hierarchy.
EMBRACE FEAR
Male-dominated environments can be scary, and the temptation is to try and adapt and be something you are not. But this does you no favours. Get your head out of the sand, be yourself, feel the fear, understand that all successful people have failures and learn from them, and get on with it. That is the advice of most women who have succeeded. You are being paid to be a leader so don’t dwell on the fact that you are female and therefore disadvantaged.
“If there’s a glass ceiling, it is often because women themselves have put it there,” says an executive who has reached the upper heights of one of the world’s leading financial institutions.
“If you show self-confidence, you will find that male bosses and stakeholders are actually very supportive,” she adds.
Nobody, male or female, is ever 100% prepared for a new project. “Recognise that the best decisions you make – the inspired ones – you make when you are a bit worried,” says a Head of Finance.
In fact, your fear may be a sign that you are doing something outstanding.
EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS EARLY IN YOUR CAREER
Women who are setting out on their careers must be ready to get out of their comfort zone.
“Do it early, when it is easier to make mistakes.
Expand your horizons. You will learn how to tackle problems, think flexibly and earn a reputation for getting things done.
This will also make re-entry from maternity leave easier,” says an Executive Director.
GET THE SUPPORT OF PERSONAL MENTORS AND SPONSORS
Most successful women executives will tell you about the benefits of an internal or external mentor or ally. This is an advantage women have over men – they are better listeners and are better able to accept impartial advice.
Set yourself goals by having an open and honest conversation with someone in confidence now and again, say every six weeks or two months.
Then get honest feedback on the best way to achieve them.
However, mentoring is not enough. You should make sure that you have a senior-level sponsor when taking on high-visibility projects and roles. Someone who can open doors and who is committed to your success. Sometimes involving the sponsor is the only way to overcome the obstacles that will be thrown in your path and to gain full visibility for your achievements.
Your support team at home can also be a great source of strength. Behind many a successful woman is a successful and supportive life-partner.
Leverage your family network and be smart about how you spend your time out of work.
As one senior leader commented, “The best career decision I ever made was finding the right husband.”
BUILD YOUR REPUTATION FOR TEAM-BUILDING
You can’t do it all yourself so choosing, developing and retaining a great team will always be a key success factor. Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.
Don’t be afraid to restructure your team again and again until it is right. And hone your people- management skills: learn how to direct people’s effort to achieve the best business outcome.
Women are often better than men at taking a non-judgmental interest in the personal lives of their colleagues, and this helps to build confidence and trust within a team.
The team that you build should complement your own strengths and weaknesses. “It is a bad idea to spend a lot of time trying to correct personal weaknesses,” says a senior banking executive. “It’s much better to find people who do well the things you do badly, and give yourself
time to focus on developing your strengths further.”
The cliché of the multi- tasking female may actually hold you back.
“Men often get ahead faster because they are
more focused,” says a woman CEO.
MEASURE SUCCESS
As a woman you will need to overcome a lot of stereotypes. One of them is that men are more results-oriented whereas women are stronger on emotional intelligence.
As a woman, you may therefore need to work doubly hard to gain recognition for your personal strengths by setting yourself measurable targets and making yourself personally accountable for achieving them. Break your targets down into what you need to achieve in the next month, the next week or the next day, as appropriate. Build target-setting into your routine.
Use your CV as a resource to support your performance appraisals and to justify a promotion.
ENJOY, AND LEARN FROM OTHER LIFE EXPERIENCES
If you have a family, treat motherhood as a positive blessing and it will help rather than hinder you in your career. While you are on maternity leave stay in touch with your organisation and talk about what you want when you return. Make it clear that you expect to make further professional progress and ensure your sponsors are looking for the right opportunities for you to re-enter
the workforce.
The experience of motherhood can have an extremely positive impact on your relationships with people in your support network it seems – an advantage for women.
“Through being a mum you learn to be less harsh on yourself and on other women,”
says one of our interviewees.
When back at work, banish any feelings of guilt when you compare yourself with stay-at-home mums. This is where you really need your support network. Understand and accept your blind spots and weaknesses here, too. Don’t be ashamed to take on help such as nannies and cleaners, but allow yourself time for your family. “Trying to do five days’ work in three is always a mistake.
Determine the boundaries and stick to them,”
says a female CFO.
Be aware of your children’s changing needs as they grow up, seeking support where you need it, and take the time to enjoy being with your
If you have family, treat motherhood as a positive blessing and it will help rather than hinder you in
your career.
FINALLY:
BE AN ADVOCATE FOR WOMEN
If you find you are confronted with
institutionalised resistance to gender equality, just don’t accept it; join with other women to push for change. “Companies have to believe that having a gender-diverse team will deliver better results. If they don’t really believe it then you need to work hard to change attitudes. All the research bears it out,” says a woman CEO.
If you break through the glass ceiling, send the elevator back down to give other women a lift!
SOME OF THE CONTRIBUTORS:
Suzanne Young
Executive General Manager,
Global Business Services at Leighton Holdings Limited;
Yogini Rajan
Head of Finance, Lloyds International;
Susan Ebenston
Ex-Chief Compliance Officer, Westpac;
Franca De Blansio
GM, Wealth Risk Management, CBA;
Anne Garlick
CIO CommInsure, CBA;
Sarah Parton
GM, Support and Service,
Enablement Platform Architecture, CBA;
Fiona Floyd CIO, Suncorp Life;
Debbie Lotz
Head of IB&M Finance Change, CBA;
Anne O’Leary CEO, Vodafone;
Jenny Chamberlain CFO, Qantas;
Karina Kwan
Chief Financial Officer, Citi;
Lisa Fraser
Head of Finance, Macquarie Group;
Nicole Grantham
Head of Audit & Risk, Qantas;
Susan Turner CFO GAM at CBA;
Vicki Hartley
General Manager, Group & Life Finance at Challenger Sarah Adams
Ex- Managing Director, Partner Business Group, Cisco;
Kerry Fullagar
Head of Program Delivery, Allianz;
Tracy Harvey
GM, Financial Operations, CBA.
