THE FITNESS TEST


The fitness test questions whether a woman leader has the right experience for the job. A leader's background and fitness for a position are legitimate grounds for caution ”but that caution is often exercised unevenly ”with women generally being held to higher standards of suitability than are their male colleagues. [ 28] This double standard may be why they are likely to have more lateral transfers and why it simply takes them longer to be deemed ready. [ 29]

Many commentators point to the lack of line experience as a major reason why women are not better represented in leadership positions . [ 30] Although it is certainly true that women could be more proactive in seeking out these responsibilities, other factors may be in play. Different opportunities are often put in front of women than those offered to men. The late Ellen Gabriel, who launched the Women's Initiative at Deloitte & Touche, observed that when the CEO approached her to take on the project, she saw it as another example of a woman being given a "human resource" assignment. [ 31] While male colleagues were challenged with strategic assignments that promised direct benefits to the bottom line, women were routinely asked to help with recruiting or to serve on diversity or performance management task forces. As women, after all, they were good at these assignments. There was another wrinkle. It was unwise politically to say no when presented with a developmental opportunity. As a result, under an unstated obligation to accept, women were channeled into roles that proffered fewer chances of enhancing their careers and did not add to perceptions that they were "leadership material."

The leadership learning curve ”the experience trajectory ” has a great deal to do with grooming. In many organizations, top management has concentrated its efforts on increasing the numbers of women in management, but not on grooming them for leadership positions. As one of the top women in accounting noted, "We have really focused no attention on what to do with women once they are partners , and none of the other [big] firms have either." [ 32]

Absent this kind of grooming, it is perhaps inevitable that a woman would lack the experience profile that fits the role. Anne Mulcahy admits she "was never groomed to be CEO of Xerox." She characterizes her appointment as a "complete surprise to everyone, including myself ." Mulcahy, dubbed the "accidental CEO," did not have the resume of a potential CEO. When she was appointed, doubts were immediately voiced, questioning the board's wisdom. "An 11 th hour , back-to-the-wall choice," Mulcahy had spent only sixteen months in a line job during her twenty-six-year career at Xerox. [ 33]

Finally, it is not at all clear what experiences prepare new leaders to confront the organizational threats some high-profile women leaders have faced. When Mulcahy took over as CEO at Xerox, the company was reeling from seven quarters of losses, towering debt, and an expanding SEC investigation into past accounting practices. Sallie Krawcheck was recruited to reorganize operations at Smith Barney after the firm was slapped with a $400 million fine, the largest of the penalties the SEC extracted from ten securities firms, and Smith Barney's stock research had been branded as "fraudulent." Carly Fiorina took over at Hewlett-Packard when its earnings were down to single digits and the company's reputation for innovation had lost its luster. What kind of experience suits these challenges? It is clear that people no longer think it is necessarily the "superstar CEO." [ 34]

Passing the fitness test means recognizing that nobody is a perfect match for a leadership role in a rapidly changing global environment. Moreover when that role carries a mandate for change, a new leader can draw fire not just as leader but as symbol of a new regime . Before you can take actions that dispel some if not most of the questions about your fitness, you first have to negotiate for what you need. Anne Mulcahy is a case in point. She might not have had all the pertinent experience in different functional domains, but she knew the company inside and out. She tapped Xerox's own resources, its people, to bolster areas where she was weak ”converting the potential liability into an asset.

[ 28] Rhode, "The Difference 'Difference' Makes." Rhode also edited a collection of essays by women leaders with the same title: The Difference "Difference" Makes .

[ 29] Valian, Why So Slow?

[ 30] Wellington, Krofp, and Gerovich, "What's Holding Women Back?"

[ 31] Harvard Business School, "Deloitte and Touche: A Hole in the Pipeline."

[ 32] Michelle Conlin, "The Glass Ceiling: The CEO Still Wears Wingtips."

[ 33] Betsy Morris, "The Accidental CEO."

[ 34] Rakesh Khurana, "The Curse of the Superstar CEO."




Her Place at the Table. A Woman's Guide to Negotiating Five Key Challenges to Leadership Success
Her Place at the Table: A Womans Guide to Negotiating Five Key Challenges to Leadership Success
ISBN: 0470633751
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 64

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