I have just heard someone recount a story that the CEO of his organization stated (only weeks ago) “Forget culture – we’ve got a project to build in a hurry”. Could this be true that there are still leaders who believe that culture is a ‘nice to have’? This organization does not have female representation in senior roles.
People do have a choice about where they work; they also have a choice about how they give their discretionary effort. A great culture ensures greater productivity, and that ultimately delivers a better bottom line result. Hence the reality is if you need to call upon extra effort from your team – they are far more likely to give it – if they enjoy the place they work and believe in its leader.
It makes sense to treat people well and they will return the favor. I know there are many male empathetic and culture driven leaders… but with out a diverse leadership group, a male only point of view in any organization may limits its opportunities. (Goldman Sachs report.)
The reality is that women will offer a different viewpoint… We need people with different backgrounds, ideas and experiences to be able to challenge, debate and argue alternative ideas.
We need more women leaders to be role models for younger women at the beginning of their career. Apparently the time when most women exit the work force is after their second child – when parenting does become more complex and child care more expensive. (Can someone tell me why childcare is not a tax deduction? Which would benefit the whole community and encourage women to return to work).
This is so frustrating! Something really does have to happen (is it going to take until the next generation to get something done… )
May I suggest to the male business dinosaur who wants “to hurry up and get the project delivered”… build a great culture and it will happen.
Mark says
There is a child care rebate from the Government Naomi.
I agree that there needs to be more women in senior roles within all businesses ( you are right they bring a diffent perspective on things and are inclined to listen to differing opinions better than men )
In saying that I don’t believe women should be ” given” senior roles just because organisations want to be seen to be politically correct. Women should earn their position and I think women are starting to do this more because the “boys club” is slowly becoming a thing of the past and the skills they have aren’t being ignored anymore due to gender.