Originally published in the July 2004 Issue of Link & Learn. 

I. Introduction

Good Morning! I am honored to be a participant at the Second Russia-U.S. Women Business Leaders Summit. While the experience of participating at the inaugural Summit two years ago was groundbreaking, if not historic, the second is perhaps far more significant. This is because it signals the presence of momentum involving the reality of the founding of the Committee of 20 in Russia, but also because we can now look forward to the cultivation of productive and warm relationships, organization to organization, and person to person.

As Chair of the U.S. delegation representing the Committee of 200, let me thank you all for hosting this summit. On behalf of your friends and colleagues from the U.S., we are delighted to be here and look forward to learning and sharing with you. I am personally looking forward to reconnecting with those of you who were participants at the first Summit, and meeting and exchanging with those of you who are first time participants at the Summit.

I have been asked to talk about the climate for women in business in the United Sates. Suffice to say we have come a long way in the last 40 years. We find ourselves, however, in the midst of a "stalled revolution", as a New York Times Journalist put it in a recent article on the topic.

I will describe the particulars of that "stalled revolution" in the context of expert thinking that defines exemplary leadership in the 21st century. We will review some of the reasons for the "stalled revolution" and discuss potential solutions and enablers. I suspect that there may be many similarities in Russia to the challenges and opportunities we have in the U.S. as it relates to the pursuit of the full partnership of men and women leaders.

With your indulgence let me first share a bit about myself and the extent to which my life experiences have shaped my personal mission, which is:

To create a cultural context shift involving the full partnership of men and women leaders toward transformative contribution to the social and economic well being of the organizations they represent, their communities and the world.

• Non-bureaucratic
• Less hierarchical
• More transparent
• Adaptive
• Empowering
• Open and candid, and
• More risk tolerant.

1. The ability to envision and continuously and consistently communicate and model a clear and compelling mission and vision
2. A commitment to, if not insistence on, the development and cultivation of values based cultures as core to the achievement of organizational pre-eminence and sustainability.
3. The presence of high levels of integrity
4. The presence of curiosity, objectivity and openness to risk
5. The presence of professional humility and high emotional intelligence
6. The ability to build trust in breakthrough possibility, and its achievability among key stakeholders
7. The ability to focus on the critical path issues and priorities, and to keep stakeholders focused on the same
8. The ability to drive results through well developed influencing skills
9. A talent for building powerful networks and allies, internally and externally
10. Excellent communications skills -- 1:1 and 1:many -- including the ability to spend 70% of her/his time listening (vs. tracking and conveying)

• 47% of the U.S. labor force, expected to increase by 15% over the next four years, and
  
• 50% of managerial and professional specialty positions, but only,
  
• 12% of the Fortune 500 companies' board members,
  
• 8% of the Fortune 500 companies' senior most positions, and
  
• 5% of the Fortune 500 companies' top earners

1. The first is referred to as "The Implicit Leadership Theory", relating to the extent to which men and women share an understanding of leadership that is embedded in our culture, one which has a masculine bias. According to this theory the characteristics most often used to describe leaders are viewed as male oriented by men and women. They include "competitiveness", "independence", "rationality", "self-confidence" and "aggressiveness". Women are not viewed as having the necessary attributes for leadership. They are seen as compliant, submissive, emotional and having difficulty making choices. Interestingly, women are perceived to be more risk averse than men. However, research shows, for example, that although women's comfort level with risk may be lower than men's, their frequency and effectiveness with taking risk is no different. This research suggests that assumptions about women's abilities are based on stereotypes, not on actual behavioral characteristics.
   
   
2. According to the "Pipeline Theory", women are not advanced into top positions because of a perceived lack of women in lower levels of management. More than twice as many men than women hold this view. In fact women make up 50% of middle management positions in America.
   
   
3. The so-called "Gendered Nature of Work" is another barrier to the achievement of the full partnership of men and women leaders. The traditional model of work in the U.S. is based on a male dominated, paternalistic, military model, with policies and practices that privilege men and disenfranchise women. Practices such as the highly valued long work hours affect women more than men because men are more often NOT the primary care givers for children and aging loved ones. This has lead to the ubiquitous "work-life" balance challenges most often cited by women.
   
   
4. In turn, these work/life balance issues have led to a career track known as the "Mommy Track", a slower paced career track for mothers involving their temporary -- sometimes extended -- departure from the workforce during child rearing years. A consequence is that they are perceived as less committed and/or less able to do the work than their male peers. This leads to organizations viewing women as less trustworthy than men. They are therefore less likely to be put into leadership positions that the traditional gendered or male driven model of work would define as requiring unconditional commitment.
   
   
5. "Subtle Bias" or stronger form discriminatory behavior can exist toward those who are "different" - including women, minorities and homosexuals. The presence of this bias is recognized as a major reason for the lack of more diversity at the top of organizations in America. In particular, the scarcity of women of color in top leadership roles is seen to be the most challenging aspect of achieving diverse leadership.
   
   
6. Another barrier relates to the fact that women and minorities in top positions are sometimes viewed as "Tokens". Their "difference" makes them subject to stereotyping. They also must cope with the conscious or unconscious creation of a higher standard relating to expectations of their performance. This can lead to higher stress levels, which in turn can affect productivity, motivation and effectiveness.
   
   
7. Finally, women must cope with what we call the "Visibility/Invisibility Paradox". As "Tokens", they are more visible and subject to more scrutiny than their male counterparts. At the same time, women complain of being overlooked or excluded - or made invisible. A common example is the lack of response to an idea put forth by a woman until the idea is repeated by a male counterpart, at which point he is likely to be acknowledged and recognized.

1. We must raise awareness of the case for the full partnership of men and women leaders in order to achieve and sustain economic and social well being for all on a global scale.
   
   
2. We must change the mindsets or shared belief systems, ideas and assumptions -- many of which are unstated -- relating to the capabilities and appropriate roles for women and men in a world whose social and economic well being is dependent on the maximization of women's contributions to families, organizations, communities and the world. In turn,
   
   
3. We must change the "rules of the system", or policies and reward systems which influence mindsets and behavior to aggressively advance the full partnership of men and women leaders.
   
   
4. We must initiate dialogue and inquiry between men and women leaders aimed at challenging the status quo and advancing the proposition that white male leaders could experience -- not threat or subjugation - but relief and liberation in the presence of the full partnership of men and women leaders characterized by a collaborative, transparent, empowering and compassionate approach to leading.
   
   
5. For women, we must commit to the work that involves finding "power within". This is the most important step to enabling us to easily cope with, if not rise above, the confidence deflating challenges we face by those - often, white male leaders - who consciously or unconsciously, subtly or not so subtly, manifest demeaning and hurtful behavior, because they perceive women as "weak", not sufficiently committed or trustworthy, or because they are threatened by the leadership potential of their female counterparts. We know that "personal power" is for most women more important than "positional power". For example, women are commonly cited as feeling most powerful when they are enabling other people, speaking up for what they believe in, becoming educated, rejecting the traditional "expert model", refusing to be marginalized or humiliated and free from the control of others. For most women, power is derived from a "power within" or a "power with" vs. a "power over" -- a hierarchical paradigm. The achievement of "positional power" by more women is nonetheless critical to the realization of the larger priority involving the sustained social and economic well-being of families, organizations, communities and nations. For women, "positional power" will come when we achieve "power within".

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves: Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Who are you not to be?

Your playing small does not save the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking, so that others won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us. It's in everyone. And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others".

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Lin Coughlin, President, Linkage, Inc. For more information or to contact the presenter, visit: www.linkageinc.com, or contact her directly at: LCoughlin@Linkageinc.com.