W2W Kick some Glass

November 19, 2018

November 19, 2018. This morning, the Women’s Business Council of the Philippines, Inc. (WomenBizPH) held a learning session entitled “Kick Some Glass” at the Dusit Thani Hotel Manila. Though tired from an exhausting APAC Tour (she flew in late last night from India and has to leave for the US tomorrow), Ms. Jennifer Martineau of the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) gamely shared research-based lessons captured in her book Kick Some Glass: 10 Ways Women Succeed at Work on Their Own Terms.

Ranked Top 10 in the 2018 Financial Times for worldwide executive education, the Center for Creative Leadership traces its roots to the Smith Richardson Foundation, set up by H. Smith Richardson, son of Lundsford Richardson, a pharmacist in Greensboro, North Caroline who developed household mainstay, Vick’s VapoRub. CCL’s mission is to advance the understanding, practice and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide. Today, it has more than 700 faculty and staff on 11 campuses in 9 countries on 6 continents, serving more than 60,000 leaders and 3,000 organizations annually from more than 100 countries and delivering sustainable results that matter.

As senior vice president of research, evaluation, and societal advancement at CCL, Ms. Martineau serves as the lead relationship manager for highly complex organizational leadership solutions and as lead facilitator for several of CCL’s programs. Quite personable, Jennifer gave us a glimpse of her personal life as a wife for 29 years, mother of three adult children, professed beach and lake fanatic, and recent convert from cat to dog-lover. What comes across clearly is her passion for leadership research, and how to apply this in practical and powerful ways for women leaders, many times drawing lessons from her personal experience.

Jennifer’s presentation was rich with strategies for advancement which women can apply personally or as a mentor, sponsor, or women’s initiative leader, from living our intention, to stepping into our power and building our own personal network of mentor and sponsor champions. We have to beat the impostor syndrome, as many times we are the ones who stop ourselves from believing that we can achieve the things we set out to accomplish. If we do have to slow down because of motherhood or other reasons, we must power down instead of dropping out. Jennifer also reminded us to get fit to lead, to redefine work-life balance, and to take charge of our personal brand. And finally, we have to start paying it forward so that we can help girls and young women grow into the next generation of women leaders.

Listening intently to Jennifer’s presentation, the 60-strong audience of women leaders (and two men) greatly appreciated the learning session. Many of them nodded their heads in agreement as she described how one study highlighted that while men and women both displayed bossy behaviour at work, men were usually seen as the boss on the fast track to success, while women were seen as bossy, less popular, and less likely to be promoted.

Another study underlined the “Queen Bee” stereotype where women bosses were perceived as wanting to be special and to be the only one at the top. Those who did one to help other women were seen as less competent and lower performing than men who value diversity. It’s a catch-22 situation.

One thing that struck to me was the phrase, “over-mentored but under-sponsored.” Mentoring certainly helps in developing one’s self-confidence, especially in negotiations and self-promotion, but it is really sponsorship that opens doors as sponsors advocate for developing leaders and create opportunities for advancement for those they are sponsoring. Everyone needs a leg up, and finding the correct sponsors can make the vital difference to success. When asked how one should go about finding a sponsor, Jennifer urged the companies present to set up a leader sponsorship program. She also believes that leaders are made, not born, so there is definitely an opportunity for women to become leaders. And definitely, to kick some glass!

Many thanks to all those who attended, especially the large contingents from Clark Development Corporation (yes, they left at 5am to get to the 8am breakfast meeting), Bases Conversion and Development Authority, Capital One, Sutherland, and TESDA. Thanks too and hearty congratulations to WomenBIZPH Trustee Leah Caringal for leading the Women Mentoring Women Talks (W2W Talks), and to our secretariat lead by Russel Joy Rivera. Well done!