The career advice you probably didn’t get
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0:01 - 0:03Women represent
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0:03 - 0:0650 percent of middle management
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0:06 - 0:08and professional positions,
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0:08 - 0:11but the percentages of women
at the top of organizations -
0:11 - 0:14represent not even a third of that number.
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0:14 - 0:18So some people hear that statistic and they ask,
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0:18 - 0:21why do we have so few women leaders?
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0:21 - 0:23But I look at that statistic
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0:23 - 0:26and, if you, like me, believe
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0:26 - 0:30that leadership manifests at every level,
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0:30 - 0:33you would see that there's a tremendous,
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0:33 - 0:36awesome resource of leaders
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0:36 - 0:39who are leading in middle management,
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0:39 - 0:42which raises a different question:
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0:42 - 0:44Why are there so many women
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0:44 - 0:46mired in the middle
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0:46 - 0:48and what has to happen
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0:48 - 0:50to take them to the top?
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0:50 - 0:53So some of you might be some of those women
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0:53 - 0:55who are in middle management
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0:55 - 0:59and seeking to move up in your organization.
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0:59 - 1:02Well, Tonya is a great example
of one of these women. -
1:02 - 1:04I met her two years ago.
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1:04 - 1:07She was a vice president in a Fortune 50 company,
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1:07 - 1:11and she said to me with a sense of deep frustration,
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1:11 - 1:15"I've worked really hard to improve my confidence
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1:15 - 1:18and my assertiveness and develop a great brand,
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1:18 - 1:22I get terrific performance evals from my boss,
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1:22 - 1:25my 360s in the organization let me know
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1:25 - 1:29that my teams love working for me,
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1:29 - 1:32I've taken every management course that I can here,
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1:32 - 1:35I am working with a terrific mentor,
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1:35 - 1:37and yet I've been passed over
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1:37 - 1:41twice for advancement opportunities,
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1:41 - 1:43even when my manager knows
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1:43 - 1:45that I'm committed to moving up
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1:45 - 1:49and even interested in an international assignment.
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1:49 - 1:51I don't understand why
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1:51 - 1:53I'm being passed over."
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1:53 - 1:55So what Tonya doesn't realize
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1:55 - 1:58is that there's a missing 33 percent
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1:58 - 2:02of the career success equation for women,
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2:02 - 2:06and it's understanding what this missing 33 percent is
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2:06 - 2:11that's required to close the gender gap at the top.
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2:11 - 2:14In order to move up in organizations,
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2:14 - 2:16you have to be known for your leadership skills,
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2:16 - 2:18and this would apply to any of you,
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2:18 - 2:20women or men.
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2:20 - 2:23It means that you have to be recognized
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2:23 - 2:26for using the greatness in you
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2:26 - 2:29to achieve and sustain extraordinary outcomes
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2:29 - 2:33by engaging the greatness in others.
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2:33 - 2:34Put in other language,
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2:34 - 2:36it means you have to use your skills
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2:36 - 2:39and talents and abilities
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2:39 - 2:41to help the organization achieve
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2:41 - 2:44its strategic financial goals
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2:44 - 2:48and do that by working effectively with others
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2:48 - 2:52inside of the organization and outside.
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2:52 - 2:54And although all three of these elements
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2:54 - 2:56of leadership are important,
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2:56 - 2:59when it comes to moving up in organizations,
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2:59 - 3:01they aren't equally important.
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3:01 - 3:04So pay attention to the green box
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3:04 - 3:08as I move forward.
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3:08 - 3:10In seeking and identifying
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3:10 - 3:12employees with high potential,
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3:12 - 3:17the potential to go to the top of organizations,
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3:17 - 3:20the skills and competencies
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3:20 - 3:22that relate to that green box
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3:22 - 3:25are rated twice as heavily
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3:25 - 3:29as those in the other two elements of leadership.
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3:29 - 3:31These skills and competencies
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3:31 - 3:33can be summarized as business,
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3:33 - 3:37strategic, and financial acumen.
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3:37 - 3:39In other words, this skill set has to do
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3:39 - 3:43with understanding where the organization is going,
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3:43 - 3:46what its strategy is,
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3:46 - 3:48what financial targets it has in place,
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3:48 - 3:50and understanding your role
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3:50 - 3:52in moving the organization forward.
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3:52 - 3:56This is that missing 33 percent
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3:56 - 3:59of the career success equation for women,
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3:59 - 4:02not because it's missing in our capabilities
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4:02 - 4:04or abilities,
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4:04 - 4:06but because it's missing in the advice
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4:06 - 4:07that we're given.
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4:07 - 4:09Here's what I mean by that.
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4:09 - 4:11Five years ago, I was asked to moderate
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4:11 - 4:13a panel of executives,
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4:13 - 4:15and the topic for the evening was
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4:15 - 4:19"What do you look for in
high-potential employees?" -
4:19 - 4:22So think about the three elements of leadership
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4:22 - 4:24as I summarize for you what they told me.
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4:24 - 4:27They said, "We look for people
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4:27 - 4:31who are smart and hard working and committed
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4:31 - 4:35and trustworthy and resilient."
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4:35 - 4:39So which element of leadership does that relate to?
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4:39 - 4:41Personal greatness.
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4:41 - 4:43They said, "We look for employees
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4:43 - 4:46who are great with our customers,
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4:46 - 4:48who empower their teams,
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4:48 - 4:50who negotiate effectively,
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4:50 - 4:52who are able to manage conflict well,
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4:52 - 4:56and are overall great communicators."
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4:56 - 4:59Which element of leadership does that equate to?
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4:59 - 5:02Engaging the greatness in others.
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5:02 - 5:04And then they pretty much stopped.
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5:04 - 5:05So I asked,
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5:05 - 5:07"Well, what about people
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5:07 - 5:10who understand your business,
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5:10 - 5:11where it's going,
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5:11 - 5:14and their role in taking it there?
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5:14 - 5:15And what about people who are able
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5:15 - 5:17to scan the external environment,
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5:17 - 5:20identify risks and opportunities,
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5:20 - 5:25make strategy or make strategic recommendations?
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5:25 - 5:27And what about people who are able
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5:27 - 5:30to look at the financials of your business,
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5:30 - 5:33understand the story that the financials tell,
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5:33 - 5:35and either take appropriate action
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5:35 - 5:38or make appropriate recommendations?"
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5:38 - 5:40And to a man, they said,
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5:40 - 5:42"That's a given."
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5:42 - 5:44So I turned to the audience
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5:44 - 5:47of 150 women and I asked,
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5:47 - 5:50"How many of you have ever been told
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5:50 - 5:53that the door-opener for career advancement
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5:53 - 5:57is your business, strategic and financial acumen,
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5:57 - 5:59and that all the other important stuff
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5:59 - 6:03is what differentiates you in the talent pool?"
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6:03 - 6:06Three women raised their hand,
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6:06 - 6:08and I've asked this question of women
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6:08 - 6:11all around the globe in the five years since,
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6:11 - 6:15and the percentage is never much different.
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6:15 - 6:17So this is obvious, right?
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6:17 - 6:19But how can it be?
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6:19 - 6:21Well, there are primarily three reasons
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6:21 - 6:23that there's this missing 33 percent
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6:23 - 6:27in the career success advice given to women?
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6:27 - 6:30When organizations direct women
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6:30 - 6:31toward resources
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6:31 - 6:34that focus on the conventional advice
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6:34 - 6:36that we've been hearing for over 40 years,
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6:36 - 6:40there's a notable absence of advice that relates
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6:40 - 6:43to business, strategic and financial acumen.
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6:43 - 6:46Much of the advice is emphasizing
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6:46 - 6:48personal actions that we need to take,
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6:48 - 6:50like become more assertive, become more confident,
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6:50 - 6:52develop your personal brand,
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6:52 - 6:55things that Tonya's been working on,
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6:55 - 6:57and advice about working with other people,
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6:57 - 7:00things like learn to self-promote,
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7:00 - 7:02get a mentor, enhance your network,
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7:02 - 7:05and virtually nothing said
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7:05 - 7:07about the importance of business, strategic
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7:07 - 7:09and financial acumen.
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7:09 - 7:13This doesn't mean that this advice is unimportant.
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7:13 - 7:16What it means is that this is advice
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7:16 - 7:19that's absolutely essential for breaking through
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7:19 - 7:24from career start to middle management,
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7:24 - 7:25but it's not the advice
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7:25 - 7:28that gets women to break through
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7:28 - 7:30from the middle, where we're 50 percent,
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7:30 - 7:32to senior and executive positions.
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7:32 - 7:35And this is why conventional advice to women
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7:35 - 7:40in 40 years hasn't closed the gender gap at the top
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7:40 - 7:42and won't close it.
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7:42 - 7:44Now, the second reason
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7:44 - 7:46relates to Tonya's comments
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7:46 - 7:50about having had excellent performance evals,
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7:50 - 7:53great feedback from her teams,
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7:53 - 7:56and having taken every management training program
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7:56 - 7:58she can lay her hands on.
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7:58 - 8:01So you would think that she's getting
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8:01 - 8:03messages from her organization
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8:03 - 8:05through the talent development systems
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8:05 - 8:08and performance management systems
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8:08 - 8:10that let her know how important it is
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8:10 - 8:13to develop business, strategic and financial acumen,
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8:13 - 8:18but here again, that green square is quite small.
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8:18 - 8:20On average,
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8:20 - 8:22talent and performance management systems
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8:22 - 8:24in the organizations that I've worked with
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8:24 - 8:27focus three to one
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8:27 - 8:29on the other two elements of leadership
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8:29 - 8:32compared to the importance of business,
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8:32 - 8:34strategic and financial acumen,
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8:34 - 8:39which is why typical talent and performance systems
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8:39 - 8:41haven't closed and won't close
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8:41 - 8:44the gender gap at the top.
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8:44 - 8:48Now, Tonya also talked about working with a mentor,
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8:48 - 8:50and this is really important to talk about,
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8:50 - 8:52because if organizations,
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8:52 - 8:54talent and performance systems
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8:54 - 8:56aren't giving people in general
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8:56 - 8:58information about the importance of
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8:58 - 9:01business, strategic and financial acumen,
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9:01 - 9:03how are men getting to the top?
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9:03 - 9:05Well, there are primarily two ways.
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9:05 - 9:07One is because of the positions
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9:07 - 9:09they're guided into,
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9:09 - 9:12and the other is because of informal mentoring
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9:12 - 9:14and sponsorship.
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9:14 - 9:16So what's women's experience
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9:16 - 9:18as it relates to mentoring?
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9:18 - 9:21Well, this comment from an executive
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9:21 - 9:23that I worked with recently
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9:23 - 9:25illustrates that experience.
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9:25 - 9:27He was very proud of the fact that last year,
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9:27 - 9:31he had two protégés: a man and a woman.
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9:31 - 9:35And he said, "I helped the woman build confidence,
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9:35 - 9:37I helped the man learn the business,
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9:37 - 9:40and I didn't realize that I was treating them
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9:40 - 9:41any differently."
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9:41 - 9:44And he was sincere about that.
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9:44 - 9:46So what this illustrates is that
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9:46 - 9:48as managers, whether we're women or men,
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9:48 - 9:50we have mindsets about women and men,
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9:50 - 9:52about careers in leadership,
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9:52 - 9:55and these unexamined mindsets
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9:55 - 9:59won't close the gender gap at the top.
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9:59 - 10:01So how do we take this idea
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10:01 - 10:03of the missing 33 percent
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10:03 - 10:05and turn it into action?
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10:05 - 10:08Well, for women, the answer is obvious:
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10:08 - 10:11we have to begin to focus more
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10:11 - 10:12on developing and demonstrating
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10:12 - 10:14the skills we have
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10:14 - 10:17that show that we're people who understand
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10:17 - 10:19our businesses, where they're headed,
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10:19 - 10:21and our role in taking it there.
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10:21 - 10:24That's what enables that breakthrough
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10:24 - 10:26from middle management
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10:26 - 10:29to leadership at the top.
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10:29 - 10:31But you don't have to be a middle manager to do this.
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10:31 - 10:35One young scientist that works in a biotech firm
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10:35 - 10:39used her insight about the missing 33 percent
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10:39 - 10:42to weave financial impact data
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10:42 - 10:44into a project update she did
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10:44 - 10:47and got tremendous positive feedback
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10:47 - 10:49from the managers in the room.
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10:49 - 10:52So we don't want to put 100 percent
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10:52 - 10:55of the responsibility on women's shoulders,
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10:55 - 10:59nor would it be wise to do so, and here's why:
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10:59 - 11:01In order for companies to achieve
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11:01 - 11:04their strategic financial goals,
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11:04 - 11:06executives understand that they have to have
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11:06 - 11:09everyone pulling in the same direction.
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11:09 - 11:11In other words, the term we use in business is,
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11:11 - 11:14we have to have strategic alignment.
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11:14 - 11:17And executives know this very well,
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11:17 - 11:19and yet only 37 percent,
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11:19 - 11:22according to a recent Conference Board report,
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11:22 - 11:23believe that they have that
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11:23 - 11:26strategic alignment in place.
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11:26 - 11:30So for 63 percent of organizations,
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11:30 - 11:32achieving their strategic financial goals
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11:32 - 11:34is questionable.
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11:34 - 11:37And if you think about what I've just shared,
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11:37 - 11:40that you have situations where at least 50 percent
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11:40 - 11:42of your middle managers
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11:42 - 11:44haven't received clear messaging
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11:44 - 11:48that they have to become focused on the business,
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11:48 - 11:51where it's headed, and their role in taking it there,
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11:51 - 11:53it's not surprising that that percentage
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11:53 - 11:55of executives who are confident about alignment
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11:55 - 11:57is so low,
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11:57 - 12:00which is why there are other people
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12:00 - 12:02who have a role to play in this.
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12:02 - 12:06It's important for directors on boards
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12:06 - 12:09to expect from their executives
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12:09 - 12:11proportional pools of women when they sit down
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12:11 - 12:14once a year for their succession discussions.
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12:14 - 12:17Why? Because if they aren't seeing that,
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12:17 - 12:19it could be a red flag
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12:19 - 12:22that their organization isn't as aligned
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12:22 - 12:24as it could potentially be.
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12:24 - 12:26It's important for CEOs
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12:26 - 12:28to also expect these proportional pools,
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12:28 - 12:30and if they hear comments like,
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12:30 - 12:33"Well, she doesn't have
enough business experience," -
12:33 - 12:34ask the question,
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12:34 - 12:36"What are we going to do about that?"
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12:36 - 12:38It's important for H.R. executives
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12:38 - 12:41to make sure that the missing 33 percent
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12:41 - 12:43is appropriately emphasized,
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12:43 - 12:45and it's important for women and men
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12:45 - 12:47who are in management positions
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12:47 - 12:49to examine the mindsets we hold
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12:49 - 12:52about women and men, about careers and success,
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12:52 - 12:54to make sure we are creating a level playing field
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12:54 - 12:56for everybody.
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12:56 - 12:58So let me close with the latest chapter
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12:58 - 13:00in Tonya's story.
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13:00 - 13:02Tonya emailed me two months ago,
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13:02 - 13:05and she said that she had been
interviewed for a new position, -
13:05 - 13:07and during the interview, they probed
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13:07 - 13:08about her business acumen
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13:08 - 13:11and her strategic insights into the industry,
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13:11 - 13:14and she said that she was so happy to report
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13:14 - 13:16that now she has a new position
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13:16 - 13:19reporting directly to the
chief information officer -
13:19 - 13:21at her company.
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13:21 - 13:24So for some of you, the missing 33 percent
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13:24 - 13:27is an idea for you to put into action,
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13:27 - 13:29and I hope that for all of you,
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13:29 - 13:32you will see it as an idea worth spreading
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13:32 - 13:35in order to help organizations be more effective,
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13:35 - 13:37to help women create careers that soar,
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13:37 - 13:41and to help close the gender gap at the top.
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13:41 - 13:43Thank you.
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13:43 - 13:45(Applause)
- Title:
- The career advice you probably didn’t get
- Speaker:
- Susan Colantuono
- Description:
-
You’re doing everything right at work, taking all the right advice, but you’re just not moving up. Why? Susan Colantuono shares a simple, surprising piece of advice you might not have heard before quite so plainly. This talk, while aimed at an audience of women, has universal takeaways — for men and women, new grads and midcareer workers.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 13:57
Morton Bast approved English subtitles for The career advice you probably didn’t get | ||
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Morton Bast edited English subtitles for The career advice you probably didn’t get | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for The career advice you probably didn’t get | ||
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Madeleine Aronson edited English subtitles for The career advice you probably didn’t get | ||
Madeleine Aronson edited English subtitles for The career advice you probably didn’t get | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for The career advice you probably didn’t get |