THIS PLAYING FIELD IS NOT EVEN

“Because once we feel, know, and dare to imagine more for ourselves, we cannot unfeel, unknow, or unimagine. There is no going back.” Glennon Doyle

What if every corporation was required to have equal representation on their executive team within the next 10 years?  Equal number of men to women and diversity representation.  If this was a requirement and every corporation had to meet the requirement, just like they are required to provide a safe working environment for all employees.  What would the selection and development track look like for a corporation?  How would the development and support resources be allocated differently than they are now?  What attention would be put to equal access to opportunities and development training?  What roles and rules would be established to insure equal opportunity for promotions and equal skill development?  Would women having children be supported differently knowing that the talent pool needed to be maintained to achieve an equal representation at the top? 

Why do we not already have equal representation at the top?  It is because this playing field is not even.

Men refer to sports analogies in business settings, so my reference to the “uneven playing field” not only describes the work environment women and minorities experience, it is right from the good ol’ boys play book.

I recently had a discussion with a new executive in a corporation.  He had come on board from a competing company in the same industry and had successfully built a managing board that was equally comprised of men and women and all of those individuals were also equally qualified.  In his role with the new corporation, he had all white men reporting to him, and a lot of them.  I inquired on his thoughts of this lack of diversity, he replied that there was a lot of work to do. 

The opportunity for diversity, inclusion and representation at the top must begin at the bottom.  In order to have women and minorities that are available and qualified for positions above middle management, the company must invest on building that talent and supporting those individuals along with sharing their potential steps up the corporate ladder.  It has to be a conscious effort to identify and choose under represented individuals that are interested and have potential to build a progressive career within an organization.  I would argue that there are just as many women and minorities as white men that would happily engage in discussions about their career trajectories and potential to move into Executive roles over a period of time.  The truth is these conversations are not being offered to these individuals.  They are being offered to the male individuals that the male executives are already comfortable with and have become friendly with over time.  These individuals move up this ladder because they make the decision makers comfortable, they are easy to engage with and they are exactly like them. 

There is an opportunity within middle management to not only identify these underrepresented individuals but also to begin the process of building them up and helping them to be noticed by the next level.

Managing in the Middle:

• Identify any unconscious actions that are causing any negative perceptions; (Refer to UNCONCIOUS ACTIONS ARE ROCKING YOUR REALITY)
• Find a way to connect with the individuals that you have identified.  Have real conversations about their “why” and what their dreams are for their careers.  Determine their interest levels and talk about what they want out of the next 5 to 10 years in both their life and their career.
• Be creative in engaging them with activities at your level.  Encourage them to attend a meeting with you and your manager to review the details of a project they are working on.  Get them face time with the decision makers in your corporation; bring them with you to the table when possible.
• Address the “imposter” syndrome and teach them the “Fake it ‘till you make it” strategy. (See below)

Fake it ‘till you make it…

The best book of all time for women in business is Hardball for Women; Winning at the Game of Business written by Pat Heim, PhD and Tammy Hughes with Susan K. Golant.  There are three editions in print of this book, I have all three.  I found a copy of the original version when I was just a couple years into my career at the age of 24.  The book changed my career and life, so much so that I make it a reading requirement for every young woman that joins my team.

I even hosted a book club for any women in my company that wanted to read the book and meet up via Zoom to share personal reflections.

In this book, the authors address the imposter syndrome.  It was something that I never even new was a thing until I read about it.  I had always felt it and faced those doubting voices in my head, but I did not know that practically every woman in this world had the exact same voices in her head too.

The imposter syndrome is common in woman that have been promoted into positions of authority or great responsibility.  Once they except the new role, the voices in their heads immediately start telling them that they are an imposter; “I have sold this company a bill of goods and they are going to figure out I am not capable.”

This syndrome can also occur in women that are doing the day to day work as defined by their corporation and when someone asks them to consider a larger role or working towards a promotion, the voice in their head is already talking them out of the potential opportunity.

When identifying this young and diverse talent, you need to know what the imposter syndrome is and quickly address any doubts that an employee may have in the limitations of their own capabilities.

The opposite of the imposter syndrome is the “fake it ‘till you make it” strategy.  Simply put, this is what men do.  When a man is promoted, even if they are not qualified for the role, the voices in their head will be confident and assuring.  Saying to them “I have no idea what I am doing but I will just make it up as I go.”

There is no questioning on IF they are capable of the role, the confident voices in their head have already convinced them that they are.

As stated in “Hardball for Women”; “The problem with confidence is that it may be confused with competence.  But one quality may have little to do with the other.”  You do not have to feel confident to be competent.  One is not required to have the other.  The confidence will come, all one needs is the bravery to take the leap.