Learning and Leading Women

This is the second article that incorporates the recent research done in Calgary with some of our top executive women. In-depth interviews were conducted with 31 of Calgary’s leading women from 15 companies representing 5 different industries: Commercial Property & Real Estate; Manufacturing/Chemical; Finance & Banking, Power and Oil & Gas. The women represented three levels of management: executive level, VP and mid-management levels.

I was interested in finding out what kinds of learning facilitated the advancement of these women. A study done by Van Velsor & Hughes (1990) identified 5 top “lessons” for female leaders:

• Recognizing personal limits & blind spots
• Coping with situation’s beyond one’s control
• Taking charge of their career
• Recognizing and seizing opportunities
• Knowing what excites you

You’ll notice that there are no references here to technical learning, although that is important. Much of the learning relates to personal self-awareness and how to use that awareness to fit into the organization successfully. This finding of personal learning and self-awareness was also evident in the study I did in the Spring, 2006.

3 Core Competencies that Relate to Personal Learning

The participants were given five sets of core competencies which included several variables within each competency that were rank ordered. Three of the core competency clusters relate to learning around oneself as a leader:

Interpersonal competencies have to do with building and sustaining relationships based on trust, developing partnerships, influencing others, coaching & mentoring, facilitating teamwork and collaboration, fostering inclusion and connection and networking. The importance of building relationships was a clear theme throughout the study and women commented that being able to develop relationships in the oil and gas industry is of primary importance. In fact, when asked about how work gets done in the oilpatch, 53% of the women reported relationships as the main pathway for achieving results. As one participant reported:

“A lot of work gets done through connections…personal contacts and getting the right people on board …. A close knit incestuous community”.

Communication competencies included components such as communicating the vision and values which was ranked as the #1 competency in this cluster by 81%, followed by negotiation skills and then transfer of knowledge.

The cluster of Self included issues around acceptance of oneself, finding balance and managing stress and having strategies to renew confidence. Having a balanced self regard is a component of Emotional Intelligence and was seen as the most important followed by confidence in self and then perceiving oneself as having value and worth to the organization. All of these variables contribute to having confidence. Managing stress was ranked as the least important, not because it wasn’t important, but I suspect because this was an area the participants identified as having solid strategies in place that were working. 

What Core Competencies Are Used?

When asked what core competencies are actually used in the workplace, the number one competency identified was Understand the Business. This is one of two areas where the findings deviate from the Van Velsor & Hughes study. For Calgary’s leading women, business skills and technical abilities are referenced. This cluster includes variables such as:

• Having big picture thinking, which was ranked as the most important
• Anticipating the future or impact of decisions
• Knowledge of business fundamentals
• Project management skills
• Fostering business innovation
• Technical skills including budget & math skill. In addition, numbers are seen as a foundation piece in the development of a leader – it is assumed and expected that leaders have this core skill developed as part of one’s management development.

The second most important competency was a tie between communication skills and interpersonal relationships, of which both are components of managing relationships and fits with the learning of interpersonal skills as a critical piece for development.

Where and How Are Business Skills Acquired?

 The number one response had to do with key on the job work which included highly technical work; managing a turnaround; exposure to work that was totally new; moving to different parts of the organization; having small projects that increased over time in scope and responsibility. Formal education augmented the foundation of technical education, where attending conferences, courses and reading was seen as avenues for continuing to develop business acumen.

Third, women reported relationships as being important to fostering the development of their business skills. Here, women reported the importance of a network of mentors, or “having a fan club at the senior level”. This is related to a fourth factor, Belief Systems – this was referenced only 11% of the time, but when considered in light of relationships, it becomes significant. Women referred to a boss who expected her to do well, or others who “believed in her capabilities”, or a mentor who believed in her and as a result gave her an opportunity. It also included comments around the culture of the organization, where making a mistake was allowed and seen as part of learning.

“He made me believe in myself”  Research Participant 2006

 What Implication Does This Have For You? 3 Things You Can Do

You might be wondering how all this leadership stuff applies to you. First, we are all leaders in some regard either in our workplace or in our communities. Organizations today require this. Leadership is a factor that is taken into consideration for not only advancement, but for compensation. I’ve participated in enough board room discussions to know that leadership truly is valued, no matter what the position title might be and does get rewarded. Here are some check points for you to consider, especially since it’s close to performance review time in your organization:

Are you seizing opportunities when they are presented to you? Have you been asked to work on a new project, perhaps outside of your current skill level, and you’ve turned it down? Have you volunteered to work on a task that was critical to the business? One step further – maybe in this performance review, you’ll take the initiative to tell your boss about a project that you’d love to do that could really impact the company, or your department or work team. Create and seize opportunities.

Develop your interpersonal skills.  It’s not a competition to see how many new friends you can make. Be strategic. What are some of the key employees in your department that you rely on for team work? Ask yourself if this is a quality work relationship. If not, then you can begin to find ways to build on that relationship. Develop new relationships inside the organization – what employees outside your department or team do you depend on? How could you build on those relationships? Who do you network with outside your company? What strategies do you have in place for networking?

Ensure your technical skills are rock solid. If you want to move forward, you need to understand numbers. Read your annual report. Find ways to connect your work to business data that your boss will appreciate. Learn how to read a balance sheet. Continue to take courses and attend conferences in your area of expertise.

Leading From Within Coaching

The Leading from Within Workshop has been successfully modified to individual coaching sessions to offer more flexibility for women who are interested in managing their careers. The Leading From Within leadership development program helps women who want to build their careers by creating a leadership profile and action plan in key success areas.  The program consists of several parts that enable participants to build a leadership profile and with an action plan for continued progress. For more details on what the program involves, contact me at Leibham.and.company@shaw.ca

Calendar of Events

Christmas Carols in Gulf Canada Square – Edith Fuhrman of ConocoPhillips Canada has done it again! The Gulf Canada Christmas Choir is ready for performances in the mornings from 7:30 – 8:30 a.m. from December 11 through to 15, and at noon on December 11th and 13th. Grab a coffee and listen to some amazing Christmas carols!

Bella 2007 – Wednesday March 24, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Calgary. It’s a pleasure again to sponsor this event and this year, proceeds will be directed to the Regional Breast Health Program. Funds will be used to establish a High Risk Multidisciplinary Breast Cancer Clinic. This has been an amazing fundraiser for the past 2 years, and I hope to see you there supporting this important health issue for women. For tickets contact Mandy Berndsen at 943-0611.  

Leading From Within Wine & Cheese Reception – I’ve had lots of people ask me when the next wine & cheese function is. It’s on my list of things to do and I do  want to hold a function that can tap into the wisdom of some of the Leading  Women that I interviewed in the spring. So, the date is still to be determined!

Thanks in 2006

This year has been an awesome year for Leibham and Company and I want to express my appreciation to the following individuals and organizations for working with me this past year. Thanks to:

Kim Worth of Worthwhile Webs, the webmaster for Leibham & Company. I often ask for things without much notice and this has always been done so efficiently. Colleagues including Jennifer White of White & Colleagues who worked with me on the EQ & Wellness Presentation at the Annual HR conference this past April; Dr. Lori Egger who accepts referrals for individuals who want more personal work; Leslie Davies and Bill Janmen of Friday Professional Group who have referred clients to me that are truly a pleasure to work with; Debbie Bruce, Laurel Robbins, Luisa Cruz-Milette & Janey Sondergaard from Mount Royal College who coordinate all the courses that I teach; Carol Gerein & Julie Nagy who coordinate courses I teach at the University of Calgary and have been so supportive all these years; and finally, Elisabeth Fayt of RnR Wellness who is always a willing sponsor of events for women.

I’ve grown on a personal level as a result of the relationships that I have with my coaching clients (whom I can’t name, but would love to!!) and all the students that have been in all my courses this year. You have challenged me! And I was reminded again this December of all that I have learned about high performance teams as a result of the wonderful women from “Corporate Resources” who worked with me at Canadian Natural so many years ago – you continue to be amazing women! And most important, I would like to acknowledge my husband and two girls who continue to support me in this work.

Thank You to the Sponsors of Leading Women Research

Finally, I would like to acknowledge again the following corporate sponsors who are interested in understanding leadership issues for women, and are committed to being a workplace of choice for Calgary’s female talent:

Clout Level:

ENCANA

Executive Pipeline Level:

SUNCOR ENERGY – TRANSALTA – CANADIAN NATURAL – TRANSCANADA  –  PARAMOUNT ENERGY TRUST

Women in these organizations who facilitated the sponsorship and some of the interviews are Vicki Reid of EnCana, Deb McDaniel of Suncor, Linda Roderick of TransAlta, Mary-Jo Case of Canadian Natural Resources Limited, Valerie Nishi & Donna Friesen of TransCanada Pipelines, and Sue Riddell-Rose of Paramount Energy Trust.