Becoming a Top Woman Manager

Leonie V. Still

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781138244566
• eBook ISBN: 9781351997843
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

An increasing number of women are claiming the careers and the success which are rightfully theirs. This book, first published in 1988, demonstrates that the way to the top consists of a series of steps and strategies. It outlines these steps and provides practical advice, based on Australian research, on the challenges to be faced in achieving career goals. Succinct profiles of successful women demonstrate that these challenges can be met, understood and overcome.

1

The route to senior management

THE GOAL

So you want to be a top woman manager? You have worked your way into management and you wish to establish yourself in a career. You have a good education, your parents have encouraged you to follow your own path, there are opportunities unlimited, and you have the energy, enthusiasm and commitment for the task ahead. In the media you see the various role models—those well-dressed women at all the important functions—or you observe them on the platforms of the conference venues speaking in well-modulated voices. You ask yourself: ‘Why not me? Why can’t I be the one up there? What do I have to do to reach my full potential, to reach senior management?’

Now that women are beginning to find their way into senior positions, their successes are heralded by the media with great fanfare. ‘First woman this’ and ‘first woman that’ is the catch-cry of the day. There are now women leaders of political parties, women Prime Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, board members and managing directors. There are women astronauts, airline pilots and engineers. Wherever you go, women seem to be breaking new ground, and in a highly visible way. They seem to have at last come into their own. All a woman has to do is to reach out and take the opportunity.

The fact is, closer examination reveals a different story. Like it or not, women in senior management are few and far between. The reason you hear so much about the ones who are so visible is that they are the only ones. The percentage of women in the senior levels of Australian management varies from one to five, depending on the particular industry. It appears to be more because of the publicity that has accompanied their achievement.

This does not mean that there are not many more women currently working their way towards senior management. There are many attempting to emulate the famous few. What most do not realise, however, is that it is a long, hard road. Many fall by the wayside. Occasionally this is due to the individual’s own making. More often it is because she does not know the system or game she is entering. As Harragan¹ points out, many women have not been successful because ‘most of us have been playing solitaire in the middle of a football field wondering why we are being trampled to death’.

So, if you really want to be a success in management, to occupy the corner office (that symbol of success), to travel the world, sit on committees and boards, become a prominent personality surrounded by an entourage of people, then there are some fundamental issues that have to be addressed.

For instance, while you may have the desire, do you have the staying power? Are you persistent, consistent and single-minded? Are you prepared for the hard work, the dedication and commitment? Above all, are you willing to sacrifice your soul at the altar of the career in order to become one of the elite—the managerial achievers?

If yes, then you should be prepared for the climb. Any serious mountaineer can tell you that conquering the tricky peaks takes years of planning and careful thought. You should also consider whether you can sustain your desire through many trials and tribulations. Again like the mountaineer, keep going and keep your eye on the objective. You have to have a certain amount of tenacity and ‘grit’ to reach your desired goal.

THE STRATEGY

Successful achievers arrive at their destination because they usually have a long-term strategy. Sometimes this is a deliberate plan; more often it is an instinctive sense of career direction. These days sophisticated managers endeavour to emulate the achievements of their more instinctive and entrepreneurial colleagues through developing ‘game-plans’, ‘business plans’, ‘marketing strategies’ and ‘managerial competencies’. They are assisted in these efforts by consultants and tertiary educational institutions which promote the managerial career benefits of undertaking Master of Business Administration (MBA) programmes. New ‘buzz’ words—such as environmental analysis, macro- and micro-analysis, and situational analysis—have been formed to familiarise executives with the task that lies ahead. Reaching a senior position is promoted as a step-by-step process, similar to launching a new product or achieving a take-over.

Until recently this step-by-step process was the exclusive province of men. However, examination of the financial pages of the more popular business-oriented magazines reveals that women are now apparently ‘breaking through’. For instance, the fortnightly finance magazine Australian Business pictured the female chief economist of the Australian Industrial Development Corporation, Carol Austin, on the cover of a 1986 issue which featured her article ‘Australia’s economic myths’. Such attention would have been unheard of two years previously, let alone an organisation having a woman as its chief economist. The prominence given to Carol Austin’s article demonstrated that women did understand the nuances of getting to the top and were able to address other similar achievers in the language of the ‘arrived’.

However, this does not apply to all women with similar ambitions. Some believe that success just magically happens, provided they wait long enough and work hard enough; others fantasise that it will arrive overnight like a Hollywood talent scout; still others believe that the only way a woman can succeed is to marry success and ride on the coattails of her spouse. To the truly ambitious, however, the way to the top consists of a series of steps—all of which require time, patience, hard work and synchronisation with luck and fate.

If you wish to become a top woman manager you will get there much faster if you know these steps. With knowledge comes power: the power to right your career direction if you have been stationary or running around in circles.

However, if you feel you are not yet ready to become a top woman manager, or would like to delay that decision for a while, then the knowledge will not assist you, Because you do not have a strong career desire, you will not use the knowledge effectively and instinctively at the critical times.

Two crucial questions

To be successful you need to answer two key questions. The first is: what type of manager do you want to be? The truly ambitious or the late developer? The truly ambitious will learn the steps and be able to act accordingly. The late developer will still be ‘arriving’ in the years to come.

The second is: what do you want your career to give you? Answering this question will enable you to develop strategies to overcome the obstacles and barriers that lie ahead. The essence of career management is to be able to capitalise on opportunities. Once you know what you want, or where you are going, the direction will be clear, and you will be on your way.

THE GUIDEPOSTS

Well, what is this step-by-step process to the top in the managerial world? Analysis of the careers of many top people reveals it to comprise:

■An environmental or situational analysis: these are the latest ‘buzz’ words which camouflage the hard work needed to establish a base line from which to commence. Every successful managerial achiever needs a starting point by which to judge their eventual success. Most locate this point by undertaking a feasibility study or some research on the current situation. In your case, this might be determining the current situation for women managers. For instance, how many there are and the industries and occupations in which they work. Such information would provide you with an idea of the problems and opportunities that lie ahead.

■The second step is to become aware of the barriers and hurdles that may block achievement. Sometimes these barriers and hurdles are educational or physical ones. More often they are attitudinal. It is important to learn about these because they are usually entrenched in organisational cultures, making it difficult for aspiring women to overcome them.

■The third step is to learn how to ‘fit in’ in order to achieve. Achievers adapt to the environment in which they find themselves so that they can use that environment. While this adaptation may involve some herculean efforts—especially if your values or temperament do not coincide with those you have to work with—it is an important ingredient for success and marks the individual out as being adaptable and flexible.

■The fourth step is to have the right career direction. Usually this means finding your ‘niche’ in whatever specialty you like and then projecting your career upwards through a series of vertical steps. Achievers always go for the vertical—never the horizontal! Neither can you afford to dally along the way. The ones marked for senior positions never dawdle in jobs that merely happen to interest them nor do they detour into sidetracks.

■The fifth step is to use the social system to assist you in your climb. This means joining various groups, making and using contacts, and generally developing a series of ‘friendships’ which may come in handy at the most unexpected times. Networking and contacts become the order of the day—including putting others under an obligation for future needs. While this may seem distasteful, remember that other aspiring achievers are doing it to you!

■The sixth step is to learn from the triumphs and mistakes of others. No success story is without its problems; usually there have been many defeats before the final triumph. The experiences of others hold the key to many a successful career path.

■Finally, the most important step is doing it yourself! Don’t just think or dream success. Do something about it. While this may involve hard work, sacrifice and dedication, the rewards will be there in the end. It is a matter of deciding what you want to do, and then attempting to achieve it. While you may not always achieve what you desire, you will achieve something—and that something will usually be preferable to the base line you started from!

If it sounds too simple it is because these are merely the guideposts on your path to senior management. But they are guideposts used by other successful achievers. What we now have to do is fill in the detail. Should the detail become overwhelming, remember that you can easily come back to these guideposts for clarification.

2

Where are the women managers?

THE BASELINE: THE PROMISE

1976 marked the beginning of the International Decade for Women. Women as a group were promised many things. For instance, it was expected that great changes would occur in the social and employment status of women; that women now had a right to a career, not just a job; that women had a chance to improve themselves, to be recognised as individuals and to develop their talents and abilities; that women could combine marriage and a career (i.e. ‘have it all’); and that women could enter management and should aim for senior positions. Numerous women’s organisations were formed to assist and support ambitious women in their quest for a career. Governments created women’s departments to improve the employment status of women and introduced legislation to remove discriminatory barriers. The whole socio-cultural environment seemed alive with opportunities and promises. For the ambitious woman, it seemed that the path ahead was at last clear.

1985 saw the end of the International Decade for Women. It was a time for re-assessment of the progress that had been made in the previous ten years. Had the promise become reality? Had women reached the top management levels? Had they gained access to different fields of management or were they confined to specific areas? Were they accepted as equal partners in terms of their contribution to the organisation?

THE BASELINE: THE REALITY

Consider these opinions from various women:

During the 1960s and 1970s, changes took place in Australian social and legal institutions, promising women more of the rights that are accepted as appropriate for citizens of democratic countries. Even though there still remain gaps between promise and reality in many instances, achievements for women in the employment area have been substantial. (Jenni Neary, former Director of Women’s Bureau, September 1985, commenting on the end of the Decade)¹

I have always wanted to be a …manager. I don’t know why. Perhaps it was because I have had plenty of opportunity to observe managers in action and I suppose I built up a whole range of views on good and bad management until it got to the stage where I thought I would like to have a go myself—put some of the ideas I had picked up into practice. But it is difficult for a woman. Sometimes I wonder whether I am accepted as a manager. I know I can do the job and am good at it. But there is a funny sort of dividing line between men and women in management. Even though there are many more women in management these days, I don’t know what we have achieved by entering management. Many of the old barriers still exist, particularly that acceptance problem. Woman General Manager, aged 52

I have been through it so many times that I know when it is going to occur again. Men just don’t want you in the workforce. Your place is in the home and you musn’t intrude on their home—the organisation. They will do everything they can to get rid of you—especially if you are a competent woman. You are to be ‘seen and not heard’, to ‘mind your place’ and not to ‘disturb the status quo’. Of all the women managers I know I don’t know of one who is happy or reaching self-actualisation. They just have a grim battle for survival. Woman Finance Manager, aged 46

You have to push your way up, be you a man or a woman. It is a 24-hour a day, seven day a week commitment. You have to watch what you...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Original Title Page
• Original Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• 1 The route to senior management
• 2 Where are the women managers?
• 3 How women are kept at bay
• 4 Fitting the managerial ‘mould’
• 5 Knowing your career direction
• 6 Piggybackin up the hierarchy
• 7 How to manage your family, dog, cat, and so on…
• 8 Five corporate women
• 9 Entrepreneurial and self-employed women
• 10 Taking off the blinkers
• Profile updates
• Notes
• Index