Have a Seat with the C-Suite, Vol. 8

We in the C-Suite are dedicated to making sure that women are promoted to and coached through executive positions in schools, districts, and universities. To learn more about women in leadership this week, we take a broad look at how women lead in other sectors.

Try: BeingBoss.club

Just this week, I sent my cofounders the Being Boss quiz – most of us are “Get Sh*t Done bosses” and no surprise there. This website has been invaluable for me – an educator with no experience in the business world who is now a cofounder of a small business. In addition to three great podcasts, Being Boss offers a host of free and paid resources to help aspiring and current business people to set clear goals, manage time and money, develop branding, and build a website. Moreover, the resources grow with your business, so you can find resources for processes like hiring an employee, pitching your business, and maintaining the company’s vision. I love that these resources aren’t just for the business sector. Resources for goal-setting and self-care are relevant to every professional, but especially to women in leadership who might endure particular kinds of stressors and detractors. Whether you’re running an established business, dreaming of working for yourself, or looking for time management resources, this website is an invaluable place to start. For lots more like these, we have a whole section of our Resources page dedicated to Leadership.

Read: Dear Madam President: An Open Letter to the Women Who Will Run the World

It’s been a while since I featured a book in this segment, but I can’t say enough good things about this one. Jennifer Palmieri, a veteran political operative and alumna of the Clinton presidential campaign, offers her suggestions to the woman who will be the first female president of the United States. Part memoir of her own life on the campaign and part tactical debrief, this book offers striking insights into the ways in which women are perceived in the political sphere. Over and over again, she implores women to depart from the traditionally masculine and male ways of participating in politics because, “When it comes to pleasing the masses in a patriarchal society, women seeking power can’t win playing by the old man-centric rules….Women haven’t plateaued; it is the rules we are playing by that are outdated.” Palmieri also talks about how her perspective of the job of the president – or any traditionally male role – has changed. She says, “I have always thought I could do any job a man can do just as well as him. Only recently have I come to realize that I don’t want to. I want to do the job the best way I can do it, not the way he would.” Finally, she echoes advice for women in leadership that we’ve seen repeatedly. “If you act like you belong in the room, people will believe you do. If you act like your opinion matters, others will, too. Simple, true, empowering, and life-changing advice. It is applicable for all women in every endeavor we undertake.” Take it from Palmieri and from us: you belong.

Share: Startup Street: Are Women-Founded Startups A Better Bet?

This brief from Bloomberg summarizes a study of funding and revenue in male- and female-led startups. Boston Consulting Group reviewed five years and more than 1,500 businesses’ worth of investment data. Two major findings emerged: female-led business are less likely to be funded and received an average investment of about $1 million less than do startups led by men. BCG calls this “a clear gap in new-business funding”. Despite this gap, startups helmed by women tend to deliver returns more efficiently and at a higher rate than do companies run by men. Boston Consulting Group calculated that, for every dollar of funding, startups led by women generated 78 cents in revenue compared to the 31 cents per dollar generated by male-led startups. Other interesting findings included: a) Women are often asked to establish and prove their technical knowledge; b) Women tend to be more conservative in their projections and asks; and c) Male investors tend not to know about services that women-funded businesses market to other women. BCG’s report says, “The current system of startup funding puts women entrepreneurs at a clear disadvantage, but in the short term, the reality is that women entrepreneurs must work within the flawed system even as they lobby to improve it.” The same thing is true of women who work in educational leadership. We’ve adopted and adapted some of their action steps for educational settings:

• Seek out coaches who have experience in your field and who can help you shape your language and approach
• Avoid underselling yourself or your ideas and instead use data to emphasize positives and deflect against unwarranted criticisms
• Prioritize partnerships with other organizations that promote and invest in women

Lead: Female Leadership Styles Can Offer a Great Deal of Merit

This seven-minute interview is well worth your time. Virginia Bottomley chairs the Odgers Berndtson Board & CEO Practice. She notes that more women obtain university degrees than men but – as we’ve noted several times – continue to receive less pay for the same jobs and are not offered board positions at the same rates as men. Why are boards so important? They are decision-making entities for government agencies, corporations, and even countries (in the cases of trustees or parliaments). Bottomley notes that job postings can be gender-biased or reflect that organizations “want to hire in their own image” rather than attract individuals with new perspectives. Gender equity on boards is not just about altruism: a McKinsey Global Institute report shows that gender equality could add $12 billion to the global GDP. Bottomley also says that women are likely to undervalue their qualifications: “A man thinks he’s got half the qualifications so he’s qualified, a woman’s got half the qualifications so she doesn’t think she’s qualified.” She also notes that organizations are increasingly “flatter” or less hierarchical, which requires a more collegial style of leadership and women tend to excel in this role. How then, does she suggest that organizations promote women to the most senior positions? “If you want to go for gold, think through what your short [hiring] list is, think through why you’re looking for the people you are. If you’ve already got two people exactly like that on your board, why do you need a third? Look to different people to create a better team.”

- Lauren